Photo: shutterstock.comFrom Glass Walls to Free Snacks, Associates Dish on What They Love, Hate and Fear
We asked associates some open-ended questions. Their responses reveal some of the good, the bad and the ugly in Big Law.
August 27, 2019 at 04:50 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
Some trends are quickly apparent from The American Lawyer's Midlevel Associates Survey this year: the respondents are happier than before, focused on finding a work-life balance, and have their eye on the risk of an economic downturn and the possibility of being replaced by a robot.
Of the 4,000-plus survey submissions from associates we received, a large number of associates were also satisfied with their compensation, but many in Big Law were worried about the risk of burnout.
Other common sentiments were also apparent:
|Free stuff polls well.
"More free snacks in the office!" Fifth year at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
"Provide more free food items and/or firm-branded merchandise … I'm not asking for Google-style benefits, but even a small amount of movement in this area would likely have a positive impact." Fifth year at Goodwin Procter.
"Thank you for the free La Croix." Fifth year at Troutman Sanders.
|Glass walls: about as popular as glass ceilings.
"[Don't use] glass-walled offices, which are hard for pregnant and nursing mothers and overworked associates." Fifth year in the Washington, D.C., office of an Am Law 50 firm.
"I would ask that at least a strip of frosting be added to the glass offices to relieve at least some of the anxiety of being constantly on display and watched." Third year at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
"It shows a complete lack of respect [for the] privacy and work of the associates to do this to them." Fourth year at the Washington, D.C., office of an Am Law 100 firm.
"I would remove the glass walls and doors." Third year at Covington & Burling.
|Some of the complaints were minor.
"More staplers that can staple extremely long documents." Fourth year at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.
"There aren't enough donuts on Fridays." Fourth year at Kirkland & Ellis.
"Low summer associate budgets. You want me to police a summer [associate] trying to order a $6 coffee drink? Or, god forbid, a coffee and a pastry?" Fourth year at Dorsey & Whitney.
"We need better coffee." Fifth year at Thompson & Knight.
|But some see a dire need for change.
"The elitism is obnoxious." Fifth year in the Los Angeles office of an Am Law 200 firm.
"Majority of partners should be women or racially diverse." Fifth year in the Los Angeles office of an Am Law 50 firm.
"We have bad apples in the firm that have not been handled. … Most partners here are absolutely wonderful to work for, but those that aren't really poison the well." Fifth year in the Washington, D.C., office of an Am Law 50 firm.
"There's … an alarming culture of sexual harassment, and what seems to be an unusually high number of partner-associate relationships/affairs for a law firm." Fifth year in the Washington, D.C., office of an Am Law 100 firm.
|How they responded when asked what was their biggest threat to their current role in the industry:
"Apathy and disinterest from millennials not wanting to grind in Big Law." Fifth year at O'Melveny & Myers.
"Unfounded industry-wide stereotypes about the work ethic of millennials." Fourth year at Crowell & Moring.
"Partners not retiring." Fifth year at McDermott Will & Emery.
"Proletariat revolution." Third year at Winston & Strawn.
"Recession or Godzilla (1998)." Fourth year at Vedder Price.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
From 'Confusing Labyrinth' to Speeding 'Roller Coaster': Uncertainty Reigns in Title IX as Litigators Await Second Trump Admin
6 minute read
New Class Action Points to Fears Over Privacy, Abortions and Fertility
Trending Stories
- 1Friday Newspaper
- 2Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 3Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 4NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 5A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
