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A growing number of law firms in Australia are telling staff not to come into the office as the country steps up its response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

King & Wood Mallesons, Linklaters-aligned Allens, and Baker McKenzie have all told staff to work from home, while Herbert Smith Freehills and Squire Patton Boggs are encouraging staff who would like to work remotely to do so.

All say they are well-prepared for remote working and will continue to be able to meet client needs.

Baker McKenzie's Australian offices will commence a mandatory arrangement that calls for all staff to work from home beginning Wednesday to protect the health of its staff and their families and to contribute to the community's coronavirus response, the firm said in a statement. Under this arrangement, a small number of employees will be available on site to provide essential services or where, on an exceptions basis, it is essential to meet client needs.

The work-from-home directive will be in effect initially for two weeks and will then be revised.

"The firm is well equipped with the technology, systems and processes to continue to seamlessly service our clients and be fully operational during this extraordinary public health crisis. We believe this is a responsible course of action which puts our people, clients and community first," Baker McKenzie national managing partner Anthony Foley said in a statement.

No staff members in Australia have the virus, a spokesperson said.

National firm Allens, which is in an alliance with Linklaters, is also requiring all staff in its Brisbane office to work remotely beginning Tuesday—a directive issued because of fears that a staff member there might have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus.

Staff in other Allens offices will work remotely beginning Wednesday.

"Allens is well prepared for remote working—it will be business as usual in terms of our client service. Clients will be able to reach Allens as normal," the firm said.

Staggered Starting Times at Squire Patton Boggs

King & Wood Mallesons has already had a coronavirus scare following concerns a staff member contracted the virus while overseas. The staff member has tested negative but the firm is continuing to require staff to work from home.

"We have asked all of our people in Australia to work remotely until further notice unless working in the office is absolutely essential. We are confident in our remote working capability and remain committed to maintaining our high-quality client service levels at all times," a spokesperson said.

The Australian offices of Squire Patton Boggs remain open "at this point," although Sydney staff are being encouraged to work from home and those in Perth and Darwin can work from home after consultation with their manager, a spokesperson said.

The firm has also introduced staggered starting times to minimize the impact of travel to and from the office.

Herbert Smith Freehills is allowing only essential business and client-critical international travel and has introduced a 14-day self-quarantine period for people where required, the firm said in a statement.

While its offices remain open, the firm said it is encouraging any staff who would like to work remotely to do so.

Most client meetings and events will take place via phone, Skype or webinar, although a small number of essential meetings and events may still need to take place in person.

"Our response has not been informed by any known cases of Covid-19 among our people but we believe this is the right thing to do," the firm said.

More Government Stimulus in the Pipeline

The Australian offices of HFW in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth remain open, but the firm has "facilitated all of our personnel being able to work remotely from home," Gavin Vallely, managing partner of HFW Australia, said in a statement.

"A significant number of our lawyers and business support personnel routinely work remotely in any event so the transition will not have any material effect of our service delivery capability.

Vallely said the firm has been contingency planning since January and has made a "significant investment" in computer hardware and in increasing remote access capacity in anticipation of a possible escalation of the crisis.

The Australia offices of Norton Rose Fulbright remain open although the firm has a global business continuity plan which includes a mixture of flexible work, social distancing and worksite hygiene measures.

"We are keeping all of our Australian offices open for business, with a number of our staff working remotely as we implement precautionary social distancing measures with effect from Wednesday," the firm said in a statement.

"Flexible work is already a common feature of our operations and so this experience, together with recently trialing large numbers of people working remotely, means we are confident that an increase in remote working will have no impact on our ability to continue to provide high-quality services to our clients."

Like other firms, it has also put off many events and is limiting travel for business-critical purposes.

EY Staff to Work from Home

Big Four accounting firm EY and its legal arm has also asked its staff to work from home.

While the firm has had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Oceania region, the firm has asked all EY Oceania staff to work remotely for two weeks, beginning Wednesday.

The firm has also restricted all international travel, and nonessential domestic travel and will also be repatriating its people who are currently overseas.

"We are focused on responding to the important short term issues but are also ensuring we stay balanced and maintain a focus on the medium and long term business issues—COVID-19 will pass," Tony Johnson, EY's Oceana chief executive officer and regional managing partner, said in a statement.

Global law firm Dentons said it is not providing any specific office-related information.

Jones Day shut a floor of its Sydney office last week due to a coronavirus scare, the Australian Financial Review reported. The firm has not responded to requests for comment.

The Australian government introduced a A$2.4 billion (US$1.46 billion) health package and a A$17.6 billion (US$10.7 billion) economic stimulus package late last week and is planning another stimulus package.

As of Tuesday afternoon eastern time, there have been 450 confirmed COVID-19 cases and five deaths in Australia due to the virus.