A man rides his bike through Midtown Manhattan, New York. Photo: Ryland West/ALM

Now that New York City law firms are allowed to reopen their offices, some lawyers and employees are going back to their office desks this week—albeit with extra precautions. But many firms, such as Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Pryor Cashman and Sidley Austin, are waiting a bit longer to reopen their Manhattan offices, as they continue to make safety arrangements.

Under the governor's pandemic plans, New York City entered phase two this week, allowing outdoor dining, retail, real-estate services and professional service firms to return to some version of normal.

Midsized firm Morrison Cohen, based in Midtown Manhattan, chose to reopen its offices on the first day it was allowed. "We reopened [Monday] at 25% capacity on a completely voluntary basis," said Kristin Roy, a partner in the firm's litigation practice. (Under current restrictions, offices can operate at 50% capacity.)

Roy said most administrative staff, such as human resources and information technology personnel, will continue to work from home for the foreseeable future. The cafeterias are closed, while coffee stations are being monitored so only one person is using them at a time.

Morrison Cohen's building, owned by Vornado Realty Trust, temperature-checks everyone entering the building and requires people to wear masks in common areas such as the lobby and elevators. The law firm is requiring everyone to wear a mask in public spaces, she said.

"Essentially, if you are someplace other than your office, you wear a mask," Roy said.

The firm's reopening happened a bit faster than anticipated, Roy added, as cases in New York have trended downward in recent weeks and paved the way for faster timelines on the various reopening phases.

"We thought mid-August for phase three," she said, which is when the firm would evaluate moving from 25% to 50% occupancy. "It's fantastic for the city that things are opening up sooner, but we don't anticipate as a firm that we are going to change the voluntary recommendation until Labor Day."

Sidley Austin, which has a 715-person office in Midtown, isn't officially opening its doors until next week, on June 29. New York office managing partner Samir Gandhi said that with a workforce as large as the firm's, coupled with construction taking place on some of the floors, it is worth the extra week to get it right.

"All of our plans are made first and foremost with our personal safety in mind and in a controlled way," he said, adding that the office will be limited to 25% capacity. Lawyers and staff have been divided into teams and groups that can rotate into the office on specific days, he said.

At the same time, Sidley is continuing to encourage everyone to work from home, and Gandhi said he does not expect the office occupancy to reach the 25% capacity at all this summer.

"We've told people they're welcome to come on a voluntary basis, which will continue for the first initial phases of the reopening," he said, noting that litigators may prefer the extra space and privacy in the office. "But we're not sure that for the great majority of our people, this [the official office reopening] is that big of a deal."

Firm leaders at Am Law 200 firms Pryor Cashman and Willkie Farr are waiting until at least next month before reopening. Other big firms haven't even set dates for reopening their New York offices.

"We took a survey, and found that 60% of our professionals want to come back to the office for one to three days a week," said Ronald Shechtman, managing partner and chairman at Pryor Cashman. "Even though we could be open, we announced we will not be opening until July 6."

Shechtman said the firm will be spending the next couple of weeks prepping the office to make it as safe as can be for those who want to return to work. He said the firm plans on making an office presence voluntary for the foreseeable future.

"We all learned a lot about remote working," he said. "There are some who have long commutes who find it easier to work from home, while others, maybe in a small workspace or having to deal with children, want to be back in the office. What will happen is people who can work better from the office or are happier in the office, we will enable that."

Willkie's New York office will also stay closed at least until July 6. Chairman Steven Gartner said that nothing in terms of reopening is set in stone. When the office does reopen, he said, there will be head count limitations, health certifications from employees and their households, hand sanitizer available and a mask requirement. 

Even with safeguards in place, Gartner stressed remote work would remain the norm.

"We're taking a very slow, methodical approach, and we've told our staff from day one that health and safety is paramount," he said. "We won't change that view just because cities are giving us the green light."

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