Baker Botts Reviews

Pros

The environment is enriching to anyone seeking to gain a sense of what is expected within the legal profession. Everyone is more than willing to help you along the way.

Cons

For some the environment can be deemed as a little conservative, but this should be expected within one of the largest corporate firms in Texas.

Advice to Senior Management

My advice would be to create a more engaged system of communication among the employees, creating a greater sense of interaction can only enhance an already amazing experience.

Pros

respectful partners, good work, decent work/life balance

Cons

billing hours sucks but you can't get around it!

Pros

Great vacation and benefits and a lot of flexibility to work autonomously for the most part. The people working there are also very nice and genuine.

Cons

A few attorneys can become a little egotistical at times, but otherwise most people are quite nice. Some more career development would be nice.

Advice to Senior Management

If upper management were to put more effort into training staff and having a more concrete career path for them, it would be very beneficial for the company.

Pros

Cool reputation. Respectable firm. Pay is good.

Cons

Folks are stuffy. Lot of attitude.

Advice to Senior Management

Get less stuffy

Pros

I especially appreciate the quality of work, the people, the flexibility of my working hours, the training, and the attention to professional development. Baker Botts is open with associates about their progress and whether they are on the right track. The firm encourages pro bono and does not limit the number of pro bono hours that count toward billables. There are endless opportunities for professional networking and community involvement. There are also amazing office perks.

Cons

I cannot think of any downsides. Personal initiative is key.

Advice to Senior Management

I love my job. I appreciate the opportunities that I have here to become a great lawyer. I also appreciate the formal and informal mentoring available.

Pros

As a paralegal clerk, it offers some insights into a big "Firm" for those considering law school. The people (attorneys, paralegals, support staff, etc.) at Baker Botts were very professional and kind. Some projects allow you to get some interesting perspectives on the true nature of legal work. If you think it's worth it, the sporadic, intense overtime can be offset by overtime pay.

Cons

The paralegal clerk's workload can get pretty tedious and overloaded at times, particularly with cases with sensitive deadlines. Expect monotonous work at times. Since you're just a clerk, there are times where you're not seeing the "big picture" of the projects you're working on.

Advice to Senior Management

Let the clerks see the context of projects. Ensure clerk work is spread equitably.

Pros

Well-known company and very high standards. Promotion of the Firm and its attorneys and their accomplishments is unprecedented. Incredible exposure to the legal field. Training program is wonderful.

Cons

In the past ten years, the focus on treating the staff as well as the attorneys has definitely declined. There used to be a huge company picnic every summer that was loads of fun for families and their children. The staff were given surprise treats throughout the years; you'd come in to work and find a CD case with a certificate for a free CD in your inbox, or a huge bar of chocolate that said something like "We appreciate you". Everything seems to be focused on the attorneys and clients now. There is the Prom, a formal party event for the attorneys and their spouses, and private concerts by people like Lyle Lovett for the client appreciation party. The attorney/secretary ratio has gone through the roof. Used to be two, maybe three attorneys to every secretary. Now the usual is five, some even are responsible for six or seven assignments. New accounting systems have secretaries doing more of the billing responsibilities with fewer resources such as floater secretaries or word processors to assist.

Advice to Senior Management

What ever happened to the attitude that the staff is important too? Working very long hours and getting minimal, if any, appreciation from the lawyers is distressing. After closing a major deal that had numerous members of the staff here several overnights in a row, the lead lawyer on the deal said that the overtime compensation was all that was required as appreciation. That doesn't leave one with the feeling that they want to give 110% all the time.

Pros

The friendly environment and the benefits of working for a large firm. The human resource department always makes it easy to ask questions and talk to them if anything is going on in the workplace that you do not agree with. I think that working for Baker Botts was a great opportunity to learn about the firm and the way human resource departments work.

Cons

The environment and work load can be very busy some days. I think that although you get a great exerience, it may be hard to obtain recommendations from employers that work above you. They are constantly growing and keep busy and do not commit to being a reliable resource for recommendation in the future.

Advice to Senior Management

I think they presented themselves in a very official way and made the emloyees feel welcomed.

Pros

The money, the money the money. The prestige is nice too.

Cons

No bonuses unless 2000 hours billed, why not allow alternate structures? Other big firms in other cities pay more for less hours, i.e., 1900 or 1850.

Advice to Senior Management

Either lower the billable hour requirement for bonuses, or allow credit of some portion of recruiting, client development, CLE, firm administration time etc...