Staff have been told not to come in to the office.US Firm Tells London Staff to Stay Home in Latest Virus-Linked Move
A UK-headquartered firm has also told its staff to stay away from the office as firms around the U.K. step up their defences against the outbreak.
March 19, 2020 at 06:40 AM
3 minute read
Cooley has asked its London lawyers and staff not to come into the office as it seeks to limit the exposure of its staff to the coronavirus, according to three people at the firm.
Two people said that the firm's London office was still open and operating with a skeleton staff, with the majority of people now working from home.
Another person at the firm said that lawyers are unable to go into the London office "even if [they] wanted to".
The firm said in a statement: "The firm's lawyers and professional staff, all of whom are fully prepared and equipped, are largely working remotely in the service of client needs and in a manner that maintains the confidentiality and integrity of all the firm's data and that of its clients."
The firm has also launched a coronavirus resource hub to provide advice for clients on the legal, regulatory and commercial implications of the pandemic.
U.K.-headquartered firm RPC has also asked staff to work remotely. In a statement, the firm said that it will be keeping its London and Bristol offices open to maintain its operations.
"We have made this decision with the health and wellbeing of our people and our clients firmly at the front of mind, and in line with prevailing UK Government guidance," RPC managing partner James Miller said in a statement.
"We are continuing to support our clients' business needs in the normal way, and remain very much functioning as normal from a client point of view. Our people are well used to working remotely, and we have established agile working systems in place, so we expect it to have no impact on client service delivery."
The moves by Cooley and RPC follow similar action taken by U.S. firm King & Spalding, which recently told its staff to work from home for a period of two weeks with offices remaining open and staff still able to go in if needed.
Several other firms have encouraged remote-working from their workforce as the U.K. government steps up its guidance about limiting social interaction in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19.
|Read More
Law Firms Go Remote: Updates on Law Firm Closures During the Coronavirus Crisis
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Doctors and Scientists Lead Climate Protests at Each Magic Circle Firm
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
