Leaders of Top New York Law Firms Striving To Overcome Resistance to Return to Office Policies
10.17.2025
Managing partners at a New York State Bar Association event said they are facing stiff resistance from attorneys and staff who don’t want to work full-time in the office.
The leaders of four of New York’s top law firms said that moving back to the office is essential for creating healthy profits and developing legal skills. During a Continuing Legal Education discussion on Leadership at the Top, they discussed how working in the office promotes a collaborative work culture. Still, many firms are trying to strike a balance.
These firms are not alone in this struggle. A study by Savills Research. released in July, reviewed return-to-office policies of 200 U.S. law firms. It found that over 55% used flexible hybrid work model while 39% adopted a fixed hybrid schedule. In-office requirements are becoming more structured, with 82% of firms specifying exact days in the office, most commonly Tuesday through Thursday. As an example, the firm Katten Muchin Rosenman wants employees in the office three days a week.
“Learning what it means to be in an office with other people, how to deal with people is important. Working remotely, there was a lot that was missed in the casual conversation, the water cooler effect, or the walking by the office,” said Wendy Cohen, managing partner in Katten’s New York office.
Cohen explained that Katten’s hybrid model is flexible with some practice groups in the office three days a week while others maintain a different schedule. Other managing partners agreed that flexibility is key in a post-COVID workplace.
“The hardest thing I have is working to get the partners in my office to act like the owners of the company who set the tone, the culture, to act with the firm at heart,” said Barry Benjamin, managing partner of the New York office of Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton. “It’s difficult, because they’re going to see clients, traveling for depositions or deals, and they want to work from home. We know that New York is a difficult commuting town.”
Cohen said that some partners believe that working from home and skipping the long commute makes them more productive. What is needed, she says, is a new definition of productivity.
“Interacting with others, mentoring in person, having lunch together in the cafe, and being collaborative, that’s productive in a different way,” she said. “It invests in people. When people feel better, that increases ultimate productivity, which translates into more revenue.”
Jim Flynn, managing director at Epstein Becker & Green, says his firm is changing the definition of productivity by offering credit for work that is not billed to a client.
“Our diversity programs that we’ve continued even in the present administration we do give that credit,” he said. “The shadowing program is another way we give productivity credit, measure staff development and involve the client in the process.”
Craig Unterberg, managing partner at Haynes and Boone’s New York office, is studying the relationship between office attendance and increased productivity.
“We are seeing that associates who don’t come in as much are not as productive – they are not getting the random assignment,” he said. “There is a benefit to structure.”
Office design can make the workplace more inviting so it can compete with the comfort of working from home. Hayes and Boone recently opened new offices that prioritized lounge and meeting spaces with windows and natural light to invite collaboration. With added benefits such as cafes and lounges, lawyers and staff are more likely to feel good about going to the office.
Cohen said that her offices try to have events for staff and attorneys with great food each month. They also provide free food in their café each Wednesday, which she says increases attendance.
“When you can have events across practice groups and have human interaction, people think ‘hey, this is fun!’”
The Leadership at the Top program is available on demand.
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