“Every quarter, every attorney has to take a solid week off. Completely,” he says. Lawyers are forbidden from checking work email and may not call co-workers to discuss work-related matters. And what if the end of a quarter is fast approaching and a lawyer has not allotted time for his or her week off?
“I am going to schedule the vacation for them. I will cut off their access cards, lock them out of the building and office and will cut off their email access” for a week, Pollard says.
His legal team’s response to the new promulgation has been positive, Pollard says. “It is almost like they are relieved it is mandatory because that alleviates the pressure” that could otherwise exist.
He is emphatic the week off is in addition to any time off for various holidays or personal reasons. “It is vacation time,” he says.
If the impact of the mandatory week off results in his legal staff doing better work because they have had time to recharge, Pollard says the policy will prove to be a win-win for everyone involved. The attorney will be more relaxed, happier and work harder, clients will likely be more satisfied with their lawyer’s efforts and the firm itself will reap financial benefits.
If Pollard’s theory proves to be correct, does he think other firms will enact similar policies? “I don’t think any big firms will follow suit because they are so locked into their way of doing business. The notion of a week’s vacation every quarter is anathema,” Pollard says.
That steadfastness is quizzical to him. “I find those objections are not well thought out. Folks taking a week every quarter will only add to our bottom line, not detract,” Pollard reasons.
In February 2016, a Big Law firm announced a shift in policy relating to attorney vacation time to mirror a growing trend among Am Law 100 firms. In publicizing its new promulgation, Hogan Lovells issued a press release saying, in part, “The firm has joined a number of its Am Law 100 peers in moving to an open vacation leave model which will allow attorneys to take unlimited vacation time as needed throughout the year. We recognize that our attorneys are professionals and, as such, it is increasingly important for them to have flexibility as they plan their schedules to fulfill both their work and personal obligations.”
Progressive Law Practice sought comment from the managing partner of the firm’s Manhattan office, but no response was received as of press time.
Pollard says such a vacation policy rings hollow. “Nobody will take it. Props to them, but real talk: No attorney will take any significant time off because they’re worried about the ramifications. Nobody wants to be the first lawyer to schedule a vacation. It’s just for show,” he says.
Nick Pavlidis, founder of the Attorney Marketing Institute, an entity that creates content for lawyers' websites while counseling them on how to improve their marketing campaigns, calls Pollard’s vacation policy “wise.”
Pavlidis practiced law full-time for a decade then split his time between practicing and his fledgling company until quitting law altogether in November 2016 to devote himself to his business. He likes the mandatory week-of-vacation policy because “lawyers will perform better and be more loyal,” he says.
But that’s not the only benefit of the required time away from work, he says. Attorneys will “be better with their calendars because they know they will have a week off. It is beneficial to everyone—the firm, the client and the lawyer,” he says.
Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.