Stevens & Brand LLP

What would you, or others, like to see changed at employer?
Provide full proper training for assistants, not halfway organized training where 'rules' are changed day to day. Inform all of the assistants that curt attitudes within the office are not tolerated. The 'tenured' assistants and legal counsel need to be more informative and helpful between the different offices when someone leaves the S&B employ, and who to send inquiries to while a replacement is interviewed and hired. Conduct regular meetings before the full office to inform all employees of changes. Allow real input from the newer assistants, too, and show them their ideas are truly heeded.

What were the things that you liked most about this employer?
Excellent handling clients in the matters of estate planning, trust administration, division of assets, Medicaid planning and spend-down, bankruptcy, litigation, family matters, etc. The benefits of employee paid healthcare, healthcare savings accounts, etc. provided by this employer are not incentive to stay working in a rude and curt atmosphere perpetuated by some of the 'tenured' assistants and legal counsel.

What did you not like about this institution?
Poor communication between lower office staff/legal assistants especially from legal assistants who have been there; some 'tenured' legal assistants are rude and curt with newer legal assistants, thus there is a high legal assistant turnover. This rude and curt behavior makes the newer legal assistants look for another job with another law firm. Office procedures written down not followed; the 'tenured' assistants change their mind from day to day of whom to ask questions, deferring to another 'tenured' assistant or counsel also, which festers confusion with the newer legal assistants causing poorer performance, frustration and stress in the newer legal assistants. Poor handling by some legal partners/counsel of assistants: 1) impromptu emails are sent around the office changing newer assistant duties without prior meeting with the assistant informing the newer assistant duties are suddenly changed, 2) impromptu private meetings with the legal partner/counsel, and a 'tenured' assistant are held with the newer assistant where it didn't matter the what the issues the newer assistant experienced and shared were in this impromptu meeting, because the legal partner/counsel already made up their mind to diminish the newer assistant- the newer assistant's truthful experiences don't matter, no opportunity, since the decision(s) are already made before the impromptu private meetings, for the newer assistant to keep improving so the newer assistant would want to stay with this firm. Hence, the high turnover.

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Length of Employment:
10+ years