Don’t disrupt associates’ holidays, Mayer Brown London boss tells partners

By Thomas Connelly

Unless it’s a major emergency 🚨

Mayer Brown is urging partners not to disturb associates while on holiday — unless it’s a major emergency, of course.

The guidance comes courtesy of the firm’s UK managing partner Dominic Griffiths, who reportedly sent an email to partners reminding them that any planned downtime should not be interrupted or cancelled for anyone.

The exception to the rule, however, is where a critical client emergency arises and no-one else other than the associate on annual leave can save the day.

Griffiths, who took over the top London role in January after Sally Davies’ five-year tenure came to an end, told The Lawyer (£):

“I’ve a long held belief that it is vitally important for our people to be able to take their holidays without disturbance, except in circumstances of emergency where no-one else can resolve a critical problem.”

He added: “That was naturally the case when I was a junior (as the technology didn’t exist) and I’ve always observed that the most successful of my partners make good provision when their lawyers are out of the office.”

Holiday guidance aside, it appears Mayer Brown’s senior lawyers are a pretty supportive bunch, with trainees and junior lawyers collectively scoring them an A for approachability in our annual industry survey. The firm could, however, only muster a C for work/life balance, with its US rivals — where pay is high and hours are often long — achieving similar grades.

The Legal Cheek Firms Most List 2022 shows Mayer Brown take on around 15 trainees each year and starts newly qualified associates on a base salary of £105,000.