Pluspunten
*Disclaimer- there are multiple “teams” of attorney’s and I am on a team with 1 huge client, different teams with different attorney’s and partners may have more strict rules but its mostly all the same. More laid-back than you think working at a big law firm would be like- business casual but you can get away with a lot, you can wear headphones while you work, you aren't constantly monitored so you don't feel like you’re being watched all the time so if you want to read the news or change your podcast and send a text, you’ll get away with it. The office is very nice in a cool building downtown, lots of free refreshments and nice office supplies/computers. In regards to the actual work, there is a TON of variety in the entire firm, HUGE clients, tiny clients, every type of Business Immigration matter you can think of, this firm deals with it. You will end up learning SO much, its hard not to. The attorney’s/partner’s are for the most part very experienced and successful, so as a young person going into the workforce, it is encouraging to work directly under people who have a wealth of knowledge and experience. On my personal team, I was trained and then let loose, I can do a full days work without physically speaking to anyone, so if that is your thing you will love the freedom and flexibility of how your daily schedule will be. As long as you get your work done, you can do it in any way/shape/form as long as it gets done. This is a great place to start, I will say that.
Minpunten
*Another disclaimer: I am young and just out of college, so I needed a job and basically took the first one I could. While I do not want to quit anytime soon, and don’t dread coming into work at all, I have noticed A LOT of things that could be changed. First, the way I was hired on was extremely stressful. Almost always you will not get directly hired, you will be a temporary worker on a contract, making about $14 an hour. You’re under the assumption that you will be eventually hired on, but for about 3 months I was just hoping everyday someone would come up to me and offer me the full time job (which eventually happened but it was stressful thinking at every moment I might have to find a new job tomorrow). If you are competent and get your work done, you will probably go full time but you have to ask beforehand because I’ve seen people get strung along like myself not knowing their fate. I will also say that when you are a temporary employee, most everyone else treats you like your dirt on their shoes, but that just be my experience because I am sensitive by nature. Now onto company culture, even though most of the employees here are young (under 26ish), this firm is clearly run by boomers and on old ideas of what a workplace should be. The lower on the totem pole you are here, the less important you feel and are treated. If you are looking for a fun “millennial” type workplace, this isn’t it. HR is almost nonexistent. I have yet to see any attempt in my time here to change the way things run, regardless of the 15+ people I have already seen quit in the last 5 months. The turnover rate is incredibly high and very discouraging for newer hires, I am already under the impression I won’t be here long because I bet I will eventually get fed up as well. I have also noticed that the environment and relationships between employees is very much like high school. People are petty due to the competitive environment (not sure why this exists because there really isn’t much mobility or reason) and I have yet to feel empowered enough to make many work friends because of the rude comments and behaviors of employees to others (However, there are a few extremely sweet people I have met & I bet this behavior is a direct result of mismanagement of employees). The amount of times I have been searching for an answer to a problem or asking for help of some sort, I am met with just downright condescension. From all sorts of people in roles “above” mine and my direct position. I have also witnessed PARTNER’s gossiping about their Assistant Paralegals and Attorney’s. There is no sense of teamwork. Regardless of the fact that almost every single attorney has a team of people under them whom report to them directly, you can tell most of them would rather not. Many attorneys make poor managers and it is clear they never got trained or learned how to manage people and it shows. The caseload is very high. Depending on what team you are on and what time of year it is, you could be expected to work 10+ hours a day and on weekends. Take from that what you will. I could go on even further, but I should get back to work.