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With the Pfizer vaccine FDA approval on August 23, law firms are increasingly mandating COVID-19 vaccines for their personnel, but it's a small minority they're looking to convince with those policies.
Many California firms already tout high vaccination rates of 90% or more, and many California lawyers and recruiters who spoke with Law.com said they've seen little to no resistance among their peers or lateral candidates, respectively.
"Firm leadership took intelligent steps to prepare for a resurgence we're now experiencing throughout the country," Adam Sieff, a Los Angeles-based senior litigation associate at Davis Wright Tremaine said of the firm's vaccine mandate. Davis Wright was the first Am Law 200 firm to publicly announce a mandate in January.
The mandate "was the beginning of what I hoped would become a trend, and I'm glad to see that it has," Sieff continued, adding that law firms and large employers have a civic responsibility to make vaccines available—and easily accessible—to their employees.
More than three dozen California-based Big Law associates contacted for this article agreed with Sieff, noting that a vaccine mandate makes them feel safer and more comfortable to return to the office.
At least 56 additional law firms confirmed that they had enacted vaccine mandates in July and August. Others are expected to follow suit in light of the Food and Drug Administration's full approval of Pfizer's vaccine Aug. 23, according to several law firms.
For example, Goodwin Procter and Cozen O'Connor previously announced they would require a vaccine mandate upon full FDA approval of one of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Within the small portion of lawyers who do oppose vaccine mandates, resistance appears to stem from young lawyers who crave more involvement in their firm's return to work plans or who desire a flexible work arrangement going forward, recruiters said.
Associates aren't fond of mandates in general, despite the fact that a vast majority of the group appears to be vaccinated, according to Lorraine Connally, a Los Angeles-based recruiter at Swan Legal Search.
These young lawyers want "a voice and a choice," Connally said, noting that law firms that make their associates feel like stakeholders by actively involving them in such decisions are likely to have a more cohesive culture.
Another strain of defiance comes from young lawyers associating lack of vaccination with the ability to avoid a return to the office and commute on a daily basis.
"There is some interplay of younger lawyers being able to identify that we can work from home and have flexibility if we don't get vaccinated," said Jennifer Henderson, a Southern California-based recruiter at Major, Lindsey & Africa. "It all ties into being able to remain in a flexible situation."
It's not clear if those lawyers will forgo a vaccine or withhold their vaccine status to remain at home. Still, it's an ongoing challenge as firms attempt to get back to office life, Henderson said.
Some firms have already made clear this attitude will not be tolerated. For example, Goodwin specified in an internal memo this month that "non-vaccination status will not be considered a legitimate reason to support 100% remote work."
While a mandate itself is unlikely to be a deal breaker for most associates, the issue of remote work could be. It looms larger because it "touches more people," Henderson said.
Connally agreed that remote work remains a central issue in associates' minds.
"Younger associates are accustomed to working on their own," Connally said. "To some degree, they now have a proof of concept that they can do it. They've gotten a flavor for remote work over the last 18 months, and they don't want to go back to five days a week—most would like a hybrid model."
Jessie Yount
Jessie Yount is a reporter on ALM's business of law desk based in California, covering law firms and the intersection of law and technology. Contact her at [email protected]. On Twitter: @Jessie_Yount