Baker McKenzie

Baker McKenzie and DLA Piper are preparing for the possible return of their staff to U.K. offices, with both firms appointing task-forces to manage the process.

Baker McKenzie sent a survey to its entire London workforce on Monday to gather information and opinions on a potential return to the base, which closed on March 18 due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

It asks people about their roles, where they currently sit in the office, and whether they take public transport when travelling to the base at 100 New Bridge St.

The survey also asks how people feel about coming back to the office and what the biggest challenges would be for them if they wish to stay working at home, or travel into the base.

The firm had set up a crisis team to handle the matter, which includes dispute resolution partner Joanna Ludlam, London managing partner Alex Chadwick and the firm's head of facilities.

Ludlam said the question of returning to the office is "emotional" as well as a "practical", and stressed the importance of diversity of thought when it comes to the situation.

She added: "We had heard anecdotally that there was a real range of views on this issue. This includes people who couldn't really contemplate spending any more time in the situation they have been in for weeks – for example, those living alone or in a flat-share, or people who live in places where broadband isn't reliable;  or people on the other end of the spectrum who cannot comprehend coming back to the office because they are home-schooling or have other commitments."

Employees were also asked in the survey what they thought management should consider as they consider re-opening the office, and asked for people to contribute ideas on how the process could be handled.

A Baker McKenzie London partner said: "I think it's really important to ask the people that will be affected what they think. It will be hard to decide what to do about this because so many people will have different opinions on it."

The firm has asked staff to contribute to the process ahead of an address by U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday. The PM said on Wednesday that he would give a statement on Sunday about plans to ease the lockdown.

Meanwhile, DLA Piper has also been planning for a return to the firm's U.K. offices, as part of a global working group's analysis as to whether U.K. staff could be back in the workplace by early June.

The firm has bases in London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, with management aiming to get a limited number of employees back in the office on a staggered basis. A spokesperson for the firm said that any return to the office would depend on the U.K. government's guidance.

Baker McKenzie's Ludlam said consideration of re-opening of its London operations raises "quite a big ethical question" about whether it is something the firm should be proactively doing, given the success its people have had working from home "without really any big challenges."

"Given that is the case, there is an overarching issue about whether we should be contributing to society by restricting the circulation of our people on public transport. We haven't reached any views on that just yet, but what is at the forefront of our minds is to make sure that we are contributing to efforts in keeping the virus under control," she explained.

The survey was sent out to all London lawyers and staff on Monday morning and is expected to close at the end of the day on Wednesday. Ludlam said that more than half of the office had already sent over their responses by Monday afternoon.

She added that the health and well-being of staff remains at the forefront of any decisions to re-open the office, and notes that the process for re-opening the London office after such an extensive closure will be more challenging than it was to initially shut it down.

The firm will take a "close look" at the government's guidance set to be issued on Sunday, Ludlam added, to see how realistic a return to the office would be, but says that they "have to be careful not to make too hasty a decision about things".

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