Elite Magic Circle law firm lets lawyers bring dogs to the office
Slaughter and May’s new managing partner is set to let lawyers bring their dogs into the London offices of the elite City firm.
Deborah Finkler – who took up her new role as Slaughter and May’s first ever female managing partner last month – is set to hold the Magic Circle firm’s first ever ‘Bring your Dog to Work Day’ on 24 June, in an effort to boost morale and alleviate stress.
The managing partner said: “I have long been an advocate of having our dogs in the office and so am delighted that we are trialling Slaughter and May’s first ever Bring your Dog to Work Day.”
“The benefits of all animals and especially dogs to mental health, morale and alleviating stress are widely recognised, and I also hope that the trial makes for a fun and sociable day,” Finkler said.
If successful, the law firm is set to host a “Bring your Dog to Work Day” on the last Friday of every month, for the rest of the summer months.
The plan comes as the top City law firms are increasingly struggling to recruit and retain staff, due to a battle for talent that has seen them offer increasingly eye-watering salaries and ever more inventive perks.
The ongoing battle for talent in April saw Slaughter and May itself up its newly-qualified lawyers salaries to sums of £115,000 per annum, as the firm also vowed to pay out two rounds of bonuses each year.
Slaughter and May’s ‘Bring your Dog to Work Day’ also comes as the 133-year-old firm has increasingly sought to eschew its stuffy image, as legal sector firms have become increasingly sensitive to issues around mental health and wellbeing, in the face of a wider cultural shift.