Paris traditionally empties out in August as Parisians take a monthlong summer vacation. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Aah, August in Paris—when the city empties out as Parisians, lawyers included, flee for their traditional monthlong summer holiday.

This year will probably be different, Paris-based partners say.

After almost three months of COVID-19-related lockdown, many clients and their lawyers are eager to catch up now that restrictions are being lifted, and that could mean shorter vacations, working vacations, or no vacations at all.

"August in Paris is traditionally a very quiet month, after a pickup in early and late July," said Jil Ahdab, a partner at Bird & Bird in Paris.

This year, he said, "we anticipate a summer that will be calmer but also more even," as clients restart their work along with the restarting of the French economy.

Bird & Bird has asked staff and associates, "when work permits, to take their long-due vacation so as to be 100% operational in September—either in the office or remotely," Ahdab said.

At Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, the watchword this summer is flexibility, according to Rémy Blain, managing partner of the firm's Paris office.

"Historically, like a lot of firms, we would encourage most people to take some time off in August, especially the first two weeks when things slow down, and some in July, depending on their workload," Blain said.

But this year could bring the unexpected. He has refrained so far from issuing any specific instructions regarding August. "We will need to see what happens," he said.

The lockdown, Blain added, has not been a vacation for lawyers, and they need time away after working very hard. "But we are all thinking about making up for what we've lost," he said, "and not giving that opportunity away."

Paid summer holidays, a cornerstone of postwar labor reforms in France, are a cherished tradition here. Under French law, full-time employees are entitled to a minimum of five weeks' paid vacation per year, which many employees take as four weeks in the summer and one week at year-end.

"I don't think there will be the same attitude toward summer holidays this year," Xenia Legendre, managing partner of Hogan Lovells' Paris office, said in an interview. "People will take less vacation this summer. Those who usually take four weeks might take two weeks this year, and even if people go away, they may work remotely.

"Some people went to their homes outside Paris to work during the lockdown," Legendre added. "They were working, but they also got out of the city. So they may not have the same feeling of, 'I have to get away.' "

As in any year, how much vacation lawyers take in the summer depends on what their clients do, managing partners said.

"We are hearing from bankers that 'it's business as usual, so summer as usual,' " Blain of Bryan Cave said.

But not all clients are taking that attitude.

"Some companies are saying they won't close in August this year because they are trying to recover lost months," Legendre of Hogan Lovells said.

Certain practice areas might find that this August is exceptionally busy because of the economic effect of the coronavirus lockdown, she added.

"I don't think restructuring will take a single day off," Legendre, a tax partner, said. "There are so many suffering companies. And restructuring works very closely with banking, corporate and tax."

Whether the French courts will take their usual six-week-long summer holiday beginning July 15 will also be a factor.

Even before the COVID-19 lockdown on March 17, the courts were already backlogged because of the lawyers' strike over pension reform, which began in January. The Justice Ministry has suggested that courts take a shorter vacation this year to help clear the backlog. The Conseil National du Barreau, or National Bar Council, which represents 70,000 French lawyers, has gone further, calling for courts to take no summer vacation.

The Syndicat de la Magistrature, a union that represents French judges, is resisting, citing operating concerns such as safety in the courts and the availability of child care while schools are closed for the summer.

"The force of tradition is very strong," Legendre of Hogan Lovells said. "But if the courts are open, then our litigation team will be working, too."