Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP

Welcome your new hires, introduce them to the team they're working with. Communicate with employees directly rather than going around them and making swift judgments and giving zero allowances for being new.

Friendly, approachable attorneys. Firm is broken into teams, working for a group of 6 or 7 attorneys. Liked that it was a professional environment. The attorneys in my particular group were very nice and approachable.

Extremely high billable requirement. Lack of communication. Felt like a hired hand rather than a member of a team where I could add value. Assumptions are made without communication. They're very strict about cell phone use and had a policy re use of phones or computer for personal reasons even on a break; felt like I was being watched. People were not terribly welcoming. Cold environment.

This firm has a lot of partners, but I only worked with two partners and I thought they were both very nice, approachable people and I enjoyed working for them.

Very professional, quiet environment, able to work independently. Most people were nice but I was the one who had to make the effort.

Less than a year

Lower the billable requirement OR significantly increase compensation and improve benefits. Stop the competition and treat staff with respect. When you keep losing employees, it should be a sign that something is unhealthy at the firm.

Lots of resources. Some quality partners and plenty of friendly associates and staff. Lots of different practice areas and it is relatively easy to move between teams (though you might get judgmental sideways glances for it.) Holiday celebrations and attorney retreat are very nice (but it would be nice to have one that is family oriented - like the summer picnic).

Shareholders are competitive with one another and with junior partners which creates a hostile atmosphere. Disrespect between the different levels of employees. Below average compensation, subpar health benefits, ridiculously high billable requirement (at least 9 hours a day.) There is a revolving door of associates - in one year there were 25+ departures.

Dennis Kass is biased and makes snap, unchangeable judgments about people. I've heard Jeff Lenkov is difficult to work with but never had personal experience.

Location was convenient. Met some nice people. Was able to learn a lot in my chosen practice area which has led to partnership at a better firm.

I think there needs to be more resources available for the associates here so that we can do a better job. We should also be able to communicate with the partners in a better format.

The pay and benefits are decent at this firm. The work place also has some good amenities that help the associates here feel like the superiors care about their work place.

The culture that exists at this firm is a bit lacking when it comes to how we approach projects. Leadership tends to let some associates fend for themselves with some projects, and some clients are not too happy about the quality.