Top international litigation boutique Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has made an extraordinary offer to enable its lawyers to escape “dreary” February and March.

Under a new initiative called “QE work away week”, the firm is pledging around £1,200 ($2,000) each to its lawyers — including its team of 30 London-based solicitors — to go anywhere in the world they choose for a week. Suggestions from Quinn Emanuel’s management for potential destinations include an Indian beach cafe and a Colombian mountain hostel.

The catch? The lawyers have to work exactly like they were in the office as usual…

Quinn Emanuel’s eccentric managing partner John Quinn explained the terms of the deal in an internal email disseminated on Thursday that has since been leaked to US legal blog Above the Law. (Note that Quinn insists on using only lower case letters in his emails).

“u can go anywhere you want. but we expect that you will be working together. maybe you will throw down a power strip in a beach cafe in india. maybe a hostel in a village in the mountains of columbia [sic]. freak street in kathmandu? its [sic] up to the group.”

But — and it’s a big “but” — lawyers must follow these rules.

Quinn continues:

“there must be 24/7 connectivity wherever you go. you must be available at all the hours you would be available if you were in your home office. you are expected to continue working and be available just as you would if you were home. if your work assignments are such that you really can’t do them remotely, then wait until next year. client confidentiality must be maintained at all costs. and we expect that you will be working, just as if you were in manhattan, paris or wherever, even if u are wearing a bathing suit. we need to know how to reach you at all times, instantly. partners may or may not go–it depends how cool the places are that you pick. travel should be arranged so that you are open for work monday morning thru end of day friday. in other words, do your traveling on weekends.”

This morning Quinn Emanuel London managing partner Richard East confirmed to Legal Cheek that the initiative would apply to the firm’s London lawyers. He commented:

“It’s a great and novel idea. January and February are fairly miserable months with no bank holidays until Easter. Sometimes a change can be as good as a break. Of course, associates will have to be sensible (as they usually are) and plan around work commitments.”

East added that no one has yet come forward to ask to participate in the scheme, but that he expects some of the firm’s 19 London associates to do so. Those who take up the offer will be assigned to a group of 6-10 other associates from the firm’s offices worldwide, and together be tasked with deciding where they want to go. Using the £1,200 funding from the firm, they will then travel in a group to the agreed destination and work there for a week.

The full internal email explaining “QE work away week” is below:

QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN — EMAIL FROM JOHN QUINN — QE WORK AWAY WEEK

From: John Quinn

Date: January 30, 2014 at 6:51:59 PM PST

To: Attorneys

Cc: Selene Dogan

Subject: new program

its january and its dreary in most places of the qe world, and next month it will be february, and then march, promising more of the same. hard working qe lawyers need a break for sure. so we are introducing a new program. we haven’t really come up with a cool name for it yet–maybe “qe work away week”? the idea is this:

the firm will give associates $2k to go work anywhere in the world they want to work for one week. all expenses above $2k are your responsibility. associates will be assigned to a group of 6-10 other associates who also sign up for the program. you can ask to go with a particular person, but there are no guarantees that they will be in your group. part of the objective is to get to know lawyers in different offices, so associates will generally not know the other people in their group.

once you are assigned to a group, it will be up to the group to decide where you want to go work for a week and when. u can go anywhere you want. but we expect that you will be working together. maybe you will throw down a power strip in a beach cafe in india. maybe a hostel in a village in the mountains of columbia. freak street in kathmandu? its up to the group.

there are rules: there must be 24/7 connectivity wherever you go. you must be available at all the hours you would be available if you were in your home office. you are expected to continue working and be available just as you would if you were home. if your work assignments are such that you really can’t do them remotely, then wait until next year. client confidentiality must be maintained at all costs. and we expect that you will be working, just as if you were in manhattan, paris or wherever, even if u are wearing a bathing suit. we need to know how to reach you at all times, instantly. partners may or may not go–it depends how cool the places are that you pick. travel should be arranged so that you are open for work monday morning thru end of day friday. in other words, do your traveling on weekends.

who is eligible: first years will have to wait. you must have worked at least 2000 hours last year. you must be a full time associate or of counsel in good standing.

if you want to participate in this latest qe adventure, please email selene dogan.

John B. Quinn

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

865 South Figueroa Street, 10th Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Telephone: 213-443-3000

Facsimile: 213-443-3100

E-mail: johnquinn@quinnemanuel.com

Web: www.quinnemanuel.com

Twitter: @jbqlaw

“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own – not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine.”

– Marcus Aurelius