Honestly, the coffee machine at DLA Piper is getting a lot more use lately. If you’ve been following the legal industry's slow-motion collision with the "new normal," you’ve probably heard the rumblings. The DLA Piper office attendance mandate increase isn't just a rumor—it's a calculated shift in how one of the world's largest law firms operates. While some firms are playing it cool with vague "encouragement," DLA Piper has joined a growing list of Big Law heavyweights drawing a line in the sand.
The firm, which pulled in over $4.2 billion in 2024, didn't just wake up and decide to annoy its associates. There's a strategy here. In late 2025, reports surfaced that the firm was upping the ante, specifically targeting its U.S. corporate associates with a four-day in-office requirement. Before this, they were cruising on a three-day schedule.
Why the change? Leadership points to things like "collaboration" and "mentorship," which sounds like corporate speak until you realize how hard it is to teach a first-year associate the nuances of a complex M&A deal over a grainy Zoom call.
The Reality of the DLA Piper Office Attendance Mandate Increase
It’s not just a U.S. thing. Across the pond, the firm began requiring three days a week for its international offices starting in November 2025. But the four-day push is where the real drama lies.
Andrew Gilbert, the U.S. corporate practice chair, basically said out loud what many partners have been whispering: face time matters. He argued that the extra day helps bridge the gap between "working at a firm" and "being part of a culture." It’s about being in the room when the unexpected happens. You can't schedule a "serendipitous hallway conversation" on a Google Calendar.
- The Specifics: For U.S. corporate lawyers, the bar moved from three days to four.
- The Global Picture: Outside the U.S., a three-day minimum became the standard late last year.
- The Peer Pressure: Firms like Skadden, Weil, and Ropes & Gray already made the four-day jump. DLA Piper is simply keeping pace with the market leaders.
Let’s be real—associates aren't exactly throwing a parade. Commuting is expensive. Childcare is a logistical nightmare. And honestly, some people just work better without the distractions of an open-plan office. However, DLA Piper’s Global Co-CEO Frank Ryan noted that some of this drive actually came from the associates themselves. Some of them want to be in the office more. They want the guidance. They want to know their names are being remembered when the high-profile assignments are handed out.
Is Four Days the New Five?
It sort of feels like it. While Sullivan & Cromwell has famously held onto a five-day requirement, most of the industry is settling on four. It’s the "Goldilocks" of mandates: enough to feel like a "real" office environment, but just enough flexibility to stop people from quitting in droves.
But here is the catch. The DLA Piper office attendance mandate increase isn't applied identically across every single practice group or geography yet. The corporate group was the first major domino to fall. Why? Because corporate law is inherently transactional and fast-paced. It relies on high-touch communication. If you’re a junior associate trying to learn how to redline a contract, being ten feet away from a partner is a lot more effective than waiting for a Slack reply.
The firm is trying to balance this "firmness" with a bit of reality. They know that if they push too hard, they lose talent to boutiques or tech companies that are still 100% remote. It's a high-stakes game of chicken.
The Elephant in the Room: Productivity vs. Presence
We’ve all seen the data. Lawyers have been incredibly productive over the last few years. Billable hours didn't tank because people were working from their dining tables. So, if the work is getting done, why force the commute?
The answer is usually "long-term sustainability." Partners worry that the "connective tissue" of the firm is fraying. If an associate only sees their colleagues through a screen, they are much more likely to leave when a headhunter calls with a slightly higher salary. Loyalty is hard to build through a 13-inch laptop.
What This Means for Your Career
If you’re currently at DLA Piper or looking to join, you’ve got to read the room. The mandate is a signal. It tells you that physical presence is once again a metric for commitment—whether they say it out loud or not.
- Visibility is Currency. In a four-day-a-week world, the person who is consistently there on the fifth day (or at least the four required ones) gets the "unofficial" mentorship.
- The Bonus Tie-In. Many firms are now looking at badge-swipe data when it comes time for year-end bonuses. While DLA Piper hasn't explicitly made a "no swipe, no bonus" rule like some other firms (looking at you, A&O Shearman), the trend is moving that way.
- Hybrid is Still Alive. It’s not a 2019 "everyone in every day" rule. There is still that one day of breathing room. Use it wisely.
The legal landscape in 2026 is much more rigid than it was two years ago. We’ve moved past the "experimental" phase of remote work and into the "reclamation" phase. Large firms are reclaiming their office space investments and their culture.
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Practical Steps for Adapting
If you’re feeling the squeeze of the increased mandate, you don't have to just grin and bear it. There are ways to make the transition less of a headache.
First, renegotiate your workflow. If you have to be in the office four days a week, make those days count for meetings, collaborative drafting, and networking. Save the deep-focus research and the "monk mode" work for your one remote day.
Second, leverage the "why." If the firm says they want you there for mentorship, hold them to it. Schedule coffee with partners. Sit in on meetings you aren't strictly required for. If you’re paying for the gas and the parking, make sure you’re getting the "career capital" they promised in exchange.
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Lastly, keep an eye on the market. Not every firm is following DLA Piper’s lead. Some mid-market and boutique firms are using "flexibility" as their primary recruiting tool. If the four-day grind is a dealbreaker for your life, there are still options, but they might not come with the Global 200 prestige.
The DLA Piper office attendance mandate increase is a clear sign that the era of "work from anywhere" in Big Law is effectively over for the major players. It’s a return to the traditional, and for many, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But for those who can navigate the new rules, it offers a chance to rebuild the professional networks that suffered during the remote years.
To stay ahead of these changes, you should audit your current commute and childcare costs against your compensation package. It’s also worth having a candid conversation with your practice group leader about how "flexibility" is handled for emergencies or specific client needs, as most firms still allow for common-sense exceptions.