April 1 joke banning late-night and vacation emails backfires on Weil Gotshal
Image from Shutterstock.
An April Fools’ Day email to Weil Gotshal & Manges employees saying that electronic messages would not be transmitted late at night or to vacationing workers, was intended as a joke.
But this year the firm’s traditional April 1 effort backfired. Hard-working associate attorneys didn’t find the message about the purported new policy humorous. By the end of the day, the firm’s executive partner had sent a follow-up email apologizing for the misguided message, reports Above the Law.
“We know and appreciate the hard work that all of you do,” wrote Barry Wolf. “We have and continue to take work-life balance seriously and are always evaluating ways to improve the quality of life here, given the intensity and demands of the profession.”
The earlier email, taking a page out of the actual playbook for some European companies, announced that email would not be transmitted between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on weekdays and between 11 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday, subject to some exceptions.
