Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. issued the following announcement on March 16.
Message from the Chair
Dear Clients, Colleagues and Friends,
In light of ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I want update you on some of the proactive steps being taken by Shook to assure the health and wellbeing of our people, clients and communities.
FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS
In consultation with our executive and operations teams, Shook has made the decision to move all offices to a remote working environment as of Monday, March 16, 2020. Many of your service teams have already been working remotely for the past few days or weeks; we anticipate no disruptions to client work at this time and are working together to minimize the impact of court closures and rescheduling.
Should you have any questions about the status of your trial or other work matters, please do not hesitate to reach out to your relationship partner or firm contact for additional information. All of the firm’s communications channels are fully operational; we also have technology available for video conferencing, if needed.
ADDITIONAL PREVENTATIVE MEASURES AND BEST PRACTICES
Shook continues to follow the guidance of health authorities and has implemented additional measures to help protect our communities. We have already restricted non-essential travel for all attorneys and professional staff; instituted a self-isolation policy for all employees returning from international travel; and limited guest access to our facilities when warranted. We are also in close contact with our landlords and building managers to ensure that the proper cleaning, hygiene and safety procedures are being implemented daily.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND PANDEMIC RESPONSE PLAN
In accordance with ISO 27001, Shook has a long-standing, well-established business continuity plan that includes contingencies for pandemic response. We activated our Pandemic Response Team weeks ago, as well as a team of dedicated business continuity and IT professionals to support these measures.
As part of our plan, we have migrated several mission-critical applications to the cloud for added resiliency and deployed our agile working protocols to minimize any potential disruption. In addition, we are working closely with our outside vendors to verify their pandemic response plans and ensure coverage for operations.
COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND CLIENT SERVICES
As a global firm, Shook remains committed to supporting all affected by recent events. Our top priority is always to protect the health of our colleagues and communities while providing excellent service to our clients during these challenging times.
I could not be more proud of our firm and clients for our collective demonstration of compassion, creativity and steadiness in the face of uncertainty. Please take care of yourselves, your loved ones and each other.
Original source can be found here.