The firm Linklaters has announced that it is postponing its first-year insight scheme due to rising concerns regarding the corona virus outbreak.
The firm, described by Legal Cheek as demanding but “top quality” in its training experience, has taken the decision to postpone its first of its two spring insight schemes at its London office, until May. It stated that “our spring vacation scheme is still going ahead; however, we are monitoring the situation very closely”.
There are various other City law firms that are considering whether to go ahead with spring vacation schemes, that see students attend from across the UK and overseas.
Shearman & Stirling were the first to have announced that they were postponing their spring vacation scheme in light of the current situation. Goldman Sachs has also postponed its legal internship at its London office, where an expected 100-200 students were due to start.
“As new developments of coronavirus (COVID-19) emerge, we want to emphasise that the safety and wellbeing of our people, including you our spring interns, are top of mind for us…
“As a result of these precautions, and out of an abundance of caution, we will be postponing our 2020 spring programme.”
Interns had apparently been told that the banking giant would ‘be in touch with bespoke virtual sessions’ and an introduction of a ‘virtual buddy’ who would be an analyst working in the division they were due to join.
There has also been the closing of the London headquarters of Taylor Wessing following the announcement that one of its employees had tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement, managing partner Shane Gleghorn said:
“We have received the news that one of our London-based colleagues has tested positive for COVID-19. The person concerned has been self-isolating for the past week, has had a mild reaction and is recovering well at home.
“We have been planning in relation to these events, and our existing technology and remote working access for our people enables us to continue business activity with our clients.”
With the increase in worries throughout the legal sector and how it will affect firms, many City law firms are testing their remote working capabilities, including Clifford Chance and Slaughter May.
Has your firm or office started to prepare for a potential case or closure?