Last week, employees at Debevoise & Plimpton’s New York office had a terrifying experience that is far too common in this country. An emergency notification went out through the building, informing of an active shooter in the area. Fortunately, the alert, which was sent out based on information from law enforcement, was a false alarm and there was no danger. But, as an office-wide email confirmed, it naturally caused “a great deal of fear, concern, and likely some confusion.”
The cold, hard reality is that Biglaw firms around the United States — like schools and hospitals and movie theaters and concert venues and parades and nightclubs and malls and bars and churches and splashpads and literally everywhere else — have to plan for this increasingly likely event. A point underscored by this summer’s deadly shooting at 345 Park Avenue, where Loeb & Loeb is located.
A firm spokesperson told Above the Law, “building management reported an active assailant incident based on information from law enforcement, which was soon confirmed to be a false alarm. The safety and well being of our people is our foremost priority. Like any large organization, we regularly evaluate and improve our emergency protocols, and continue to do so in the wake of this week’s incident.”
In addition to the logistics of security, there’s also the real, human element to the planning. Indeed, a tipster at the firm said that even though it was a false alarm, it was challenging to “get back to ‘business as usual,’” after the stark reminder of the fragility of safety.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
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