Photo: George Rudy/Shutterstock.comDrinker Biddle, Blank Rome Excel in Associate Satisfaction as Phila. Beats Average
Midlevel Big Law associates in Philadelphia are ever-so-slightly happier than their counterparts elsewhere, but some firms scored better than others.
August 28, 2019 at 02:14 PM
4 minute read
What's it like to work as a Big Law associate in Philadelphia? Generally, in a word, above-average.
According to The American Lawyer's Midlevel Associate Satisfaction Survey results, released Monday, Philadelphia-based midlevel associates gave an average total satisfaction score of 4.362, slightly above the industrywide average of 4.293.
Of the 10 firms with a group of responses from Philadelphia associates, six had an overall satisfaction score above the industry average. Five of those six were also founded in Philadelphia.
The top-ranking Philadelphia office was Drinker Biddle & Reath, which received perfect scores in nine out of 12 categories evaluated by the survey. Six associates from Drinker Biddle's Philadelphia office participated in the survey. On the national ranking, Drinker Biddle grabbed the No. 3 spot.
Blank Rome, which had the second-happiest group of Philadelphia associates, came in fifth on the national ranking.
Other Pennsylvania firms with above-average scores in their Philadelphia offices were Dechert, Duane Morris and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Pittsburgh-born Reed Smith's Philadelphia office was slightly below the industry average, at 4.072, and Philadelphia-headquartered Ballard Spahr came in at 3.875.
Several non-native firms that have entered the Philadelphia market made an appearance on the list as well.
Among the out-of-state firms with Philadelphia rankings, the top score went to DLA Piper, with an average of 4.594 for the city.
Holland & Knight, which just entered the Philadelphia market last year, had five Philadelphia associates participate, and scored just below the industry average for that office, at 4.267. And Baker & Hostetler's Philadelphia office, with a score of 3.658, came in last for the city.
Philadelphia-based Fox Rothschild was included in the national rankings, coming in at 94th with a composite score of 3.865 firmwide. But it did not have survey data for the Philadelphia office specifically.
| Firm | Total Satisfaction Score for Philadelphia Office | Overall Workplace Rating (Philadelphia Responses) | National Rank |
| Drinker Biddle | 4.958 | 4.833 | 3 |
| Blank Rome | 4.721 | 4.842 | 5 |
| Dechert | 4.605 | 4.600 | 19 |
| DLA Piper | 4.594 | 4.917 | 50 |
| Duane Morris | 4.578 | 4.625 | 40 |
| Morgan Lewis | 4.295 | 4.559 | 11 |
| Holland & Knight | 4.267 | 4.600 | 63 |
| Reed Smith | 4.072 | 4.286 | 70 |
| Ballard Spahr | 3.875 | 4.000 | 84 |
| Baker & Hostetler | 3.658 | 3.800 | 80 |
The American Lawyer's survey takes responses from 12 categories into account: interesting work, satisfying work, benefits and compensation, associate relations, partner relations, training and guidance, management openness, communication about partnership, billable hours policy, attitude toward pro bono, expectation to stay two years, and overall workplace rating.
Looking at the national results, on average, associates in their third, fourth and fifth years are more satisfied with their work lives than ever. The average composite satisfaction score for all 96 participating law firms was 4.29 on a five-point scale, an increase from last year's average of 4.27.
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