" ... Paul Weiss has emerged as a power center in the Biden era." - Bloomberg Law, March 24, 2021.
That positioning - label it being "a Friend of Joe" - brings new scrutiny to the dynamics of that law firm.
Just as when law firm Jones Day had been"a Friend of Donald," it will be under the microscope for the next four years. Can you hear it? That's the sound of the media rushing onto the playing field to develop unique angles on how Paul Weiss operates, externally and internally.
One feeder pool for data about Paul Weiss is the input from members of the firm, present and past.
On Glassdoor, they give the firm a 4.1 rating out of 5.
That's in the ball park of other BigLaw players such as Cravath which has a 4 rating. It's higher than Willkie Farr's 3.8
Overall, the gush factors about working at Paul Weiss mirror those at most of BigLaw:
Good pay, decent benefits. At least for lawyers. Staff has some beefs.
Smart colleagues.
A shot at interesting assignments. Some do get stuck in the document review ghetto - and for years.
Availability of lots of overtime for paralegals.
Transparency.
Satisfaction with the chairman Brad Karp (92% approval rate).
Most of the negatives also mirror much of BigLaw:
Politics. The values are power-driven. Most large law firms are microcosoms of what goes down Inside the Beltway. Talk to those who don't make partner and their assessment frequently is that they played the politics wrong. A useful read for insight into those machinations is the oldie but still relevant "The Power Game" by Hedrick Smith. Another oldie but helpful is "The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli.
Long, unpredictable hours. The implied expectation is of availability 24/7.
Staff perception that they are being treated as "lower class"
Arrogance of some of those with authority. The gallows humor could be all about the divine right of kings. But, I have a hunch, that's already as much a cliche as the "perfect storm."
Low probability of upward mobility. One post reads "Only chance of promotion is becoming a Senior Staff Attorney, which is extremely hard to get (maybe 1% make it) and only available after 5 years." After all, the system is up-or-out. Large law firms are a dead-ringer for the tenure game in elite academia such as Harvard.
Little predictability about what assignments you will get. Could be stuck in menial tasks or could wind up in a team who is in the courtroom for trials.
But there are also the rants which stand out as a sticky on Paul Weiss. They include:
Ironically, a Conflict Analyst reported, "I was yelled out and chastised for any mistake I made." What's of note here is that that kind of behavior was of the type that not even a conflcit analyst was able to tame. Interesting.
There is also the issue of turnover, which may be atypically high. One employee comments about " ... some really impatient and unpleasant clients (internal and external) so most people won't last long."
No formal or informal connection between legal and non-legal employees.
One post uses this terminology "dirty clients." (But, hell, don't most clients contact elite law firms because of alleged serious wrongdoing? That should stink up the place.)
Another post uses the term "toxic" to capture the culture.
Some or much of this could change.
Yes, the barbarians could be at the gate.
Even before the disruption of COVID, Millennial lawyers have been challenging the traditional values, policies and practices of large law firms.
With the current chase after talent their voices have become louder and are being heard.
Actually, though, no one can freeze-frame those Millennial values. That's one reason Abovethelaw is conducting a major survey about what young lawyers want.
The stakes for law firms, including Paul Weiss, are high on this one.
The Millennials can leak to media and/or exit as a lateral, solo, or boutique player. They can also file lawsuits. The gender-bias ones may only be the beginning of the litigation challenges to how it is to work in large law firms.
The whole future of work, of course, is in play.
Overdue is how those issues could transform career paths in the legal sector. Incidentally, Willis Towers Watson is among those projecting the end of careers. Replacing them will be developing and carrying around a portfolio of skills and experiences.
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