Relations between female and male attorneys a: Whitman Breed are "very professional." However, one insider observed that "there is an underlying 'old boys' network' at the firm, especially in certain departments, so I think it's very hard for women to advance in certain, specific groups." Women partners do not specifically mentor junior female associates and female attorneys do not organize any formal get-togethers. Whitman Breed has several women who work on a part-time schedule, but the firm does not have a formal part-time policy. Whitman Breed is "not the most diverse of firms...It's ethnic, including Italians, Irish and Jews, and everybody's pretty noisy about whatever they are, but there aren't a whole lot of 'minorities' such as Asians or African-Americans," remarked one source. Whitman Breed has been making an effort to hire more minority attorneys in recent years, and the firm's minority attorneys "appear to be comfortable at the firm," we were told Sidney Holmes and Eric Taylor, both in the municipal finance department, are minority partners at the firm.

Summer associate program

Whitman Breed has a modest social life. Most associates and partners "just like to go home" after work, we were told, although "small groups of associates frequently have lunch together and sometimes get together after work." There is a Softball team and a basketball team at the firm, and players usually have "pizza and beers together after each game." The firm occasionally holds "TGIFs" at which beer and snacks are served, and sponsors a holiday party in December as well as an annual outing in July or August. Most of the office's social activities take place during the summer months. Whitman Breed's summer program was described as "lavish," in part because the class is usually limited to about ten students which permits a focused attention on their well-being. Summer associate events include attendance at baseball games, cocktail parties, dinners, a day at Meadowlands race track (some partners own horses), Broadway shows and an Ellis Island tour. One associate enthused that "my summer experience was great- a perfect mix of work and play."

Working for the Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLC.

Summers associates rotate through various departments at Whitman Breed and receive "real" assignments: generally research and memo writing, which "quickly turns into brief writing." Permanent associates are hired into a specific department, usually one that they have chosen. Although department heads typically parcel out assignments initially, over time associates tend to receive work from partners with whom they have worked closely. One insider noted that "it is important for associates to be aggressive in order to get the work that they want to do." First and second years often work with partners on smaller matters; larger matters are staffed more formally. The degree of responsibility that junior associates get varies: while some of our contacts complained about not getting enough responsibility, "others have so much responsibility that they sometimes feel overwhelmed" One contact explained that "some of this may be due to the associate's own capabilities, but partly this is also due to the philosophy of the department the associate works in." Most junior associates in litigation are mainly engaged in research and document review. However, they may also draft portions of court documents and take depositions by the end of their second year. Beginning real estate associates should expect to perform "some research, though not a lot (real estate lawyers don't believe in the library!)," as well as "a lot" of drafting. Second-year real estate associates have primary responsibility for smaller commercial loan closings and perform some residential work that, according to one source, is "unheard of at some other firms." Client contact varies across the firm. Litigation associates, including some seniors, receive "almost no client contact," whereas associates in the intellectual property department begin having contact with clients and opposing counsel "almost immediately." Associate training at Whitman Breed is largely on-the-job. One associate remarked that "I got thrown into a deal closing my first week- I didn't know what the hell I was doing, but I learned fast. It worked great." Whitman Breed has, to date, provided very little by way of formal training programs, "but now with New York's new CLE requirements, there will probably be a lot more formal training," according to one insider. The amount of informal feedback available at Whitman Breed depends on the partner with whom an associate is working, and varies significantly across the partnership. One contact remarked that "I feel that my work is critiqued almost dairy," whereas a second person described feedback at the firm as "sporadic and irregular." Associates at "Whitman Breed are reviewed annually in a process that is "very informal;" essentially, partners in each department "simply talk" to the associates about the work that they have done. The evaluation program is, according to our contacts, "not well-organized;" the "year-end" review is not given by any specific date, "causing bonuses to come very late." One source complained that "last year we received our reviews in February, after the rest of the world received their bonuses- instead of Christmas bonuses, we got Presidents' Day bonuses." Whitman Breed appears not to have a formal partnership policy, "although they tell prospective candidates otherwise," we were told. This was a repeated complaint from our sources, as well as a major concern for the firm's mid-level associates. (A firm spokesperson notified The that "a formal partnership policy was adopted by the executive committee in July, 1999.") While one insider told us that partnership prospects at Whitman are "dismal at this point," others remarked that the prospects are simply "unknown." Whitman Breed's management is organized in a "fairly formal" structure. The firm is governed by a five-member executive committee, with substantial direction from (iairman Herb Prem. Department heads Neil Underberg and Hollace Cohen are also "forces to contend with." Associates do not sit on any of the firm's committees except for the Y2K committee. The firm holds quarterly meetings with associates to "address questions and advise them on important matters," but several of our contacts were critical of the firm on the matters of information sharing and responsiveness to associate concerns. Whitman Breed's salary structure is initially competitive with other large firms in the city, but it "falls off after each year," we were told. To many, this "drop-off" is a worthwhile trade-off for the fewer number of hours associates bill each year as compared to New York's largest firms. One insider observed that "we work fewer hours than the Skadden-ots, so the compensation is probably pretty fair." Billable hour pressure has increased somewhat in recent years; however, our contacts agreed that the firm does not impose strong billable hour pressure. Associates must bill 2000 hours to receive a bonus, which is, however, "quite small."

References

http://www.whitmanbreed.com http://www.nalpdirectory.com http://www.lawfirmstats.com