Reed Smith Tells N.Y. Lawyers to Stay Home, Citing Virus Spread

Law firm Reed Smith is instructing lawyers and staff in New York to stay out of the office for at least the next two weeks, amid a jump in Covid-19 cases and concerns over the omicron variant.

Reed Smith closed its Manhattan office, except for “essential” business, according to four sources familiar with the situation. Firm leaders told employees to work remotely through at least the end of the year, the sources said.

The firm declined to comment. Reed Smith had been encouraging lawyers to go into the New York office, but not requiring them to do so, according to the sources.

Several major law firms are rethinking their office return plans as the new Covid-19 variant sweeps across the country. Cooley LLP and Mintz Levin on Monday said they would push back office return dates and allow lawyers and staff to continue working fully remote.

Omicron now accounts for 73% of all sequenced cases in the U.S., skyrocketing from 3% last week, according to federal estimates.

Reed Smith, founded in Pittsburgh more than a century ago, employs more than 1,600 lawyers in 32 offices around the globe, according to data compiled by the American Lawyer. The firm reported more than $1.3 billion in global revenue last year.