DLA Piper Reviews

Pros

I work with a fantastic group of people. There is good communication and lots of teamwork. The attorneys are nice. I'm fortunate to be here.

Cons

There's really no downside. It would be nice to be able to leave early before a holiday like many other places.

Advice to Senior Management

I am very satisfied with the management. I think they are doing great job especially with a firm this size.

Pros

The benefits are incredible and management is making moves to assure that the employees actually take vacation time. In my experience, the employees are generally treated well.

Cons

A law firm is made up of a lot of people including lawyers and support staff. Unfortunately the feeling seems to be that the lawyers make the firm. They seem to forget that the lawyers wouldn't be able to do their jobs without the support staff.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to keep in mind that the lawyers aren't the only important people in the firm. The staff makes a difference too.

Pros

Interesting Deals, interesting work and great exposure

Cons

Very political, very beureaucratic, tough to get ahead

Advice to Senior Management

Treat others with respect. Mentor associates . Open up!

Pros

Great leaders to who employees can look up tp

Cons

raises not the gretest- at the min a little more than cost of living would work

Advice to Senior Management

raise

Pros

The firm was, at one time, a very fine place to work and employees were proud to be associated with it.

Cons

Beginning in with Piper & Marbury's first merger and with each consecutive merger, this firm became less and less desireable as an employer, with management becoming a more and more faceless entity.

Advice to Senior Management

I have none - they think they're doing everything right.

Pros

The firm offers decent pay and good benefits. It is a good place to work when you are in need of a job. If you want a place to work until you retire, this may be it if you are at a partner level. However, as for support staff, you are treated and regarded as the "help."

Cons

Management! DLA needs to thoroughly screen the people whom they put in a position to supervise others. The management (of one particular office) telling jokes at the expense of the support staff and in front of other support staff proves immaturity for such a big name firm.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep your personal opinions to yourself. It's very hard for support staff to trust you if such behavior continues. Appreciate your support staff. No one received gifts or money during Administrative Professional's Day. None was really expected. However, verbal and written recognition goes a long way. Again, this is only for 1 office within a very large firm.

Pros

There is support from all the office through out the entire world which is very helpful to any practicing attorney.

Cons

We are sometimes isolated from the rest of the organization and even the other middle east offices as Riyadh is in the middle of the peninsula.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to diversify the client base a little more. The reliance on only a few large clients really hurt us when the work from those clients dried up.

Pros

* breadth of practice areas and opportunity to practice in burgeoning areas of the law
* 2,000 billable target is a benchmark and not a rigid requirement

Cons

* new associate compensation system makes DLA Piper perhaps the lowest paying law firm among its peers
* new associate evaluation systems states explicitly that the firm anticipates 30% of associates will not meet expectations, establishing a de facto curve system that is similar to law school
* firm is asking associates to work more with more uncertainty and lower pay

Advice to Senior Management

* reevaluate your decision to revamp the associate compensation system; associates will be leaving at the first opportunity
* involve your partners in decisions about associate compensation and evaluation, rather than simply informing them of decisions with no opportunity to provide input

Pros

I think all "Big Firm" life is likely the same. I hear the same complaints from friends at other "Big Firms."

Cons

Don't expect a personal life. Expect to work all the time. If you job is your life, then you will be fine.

Advice to Senior Management

As long as their are people willing to work instead of live you will have no problem. Otherwise - watch out!

Pros

Relatively high pay. Excellent benefits including health insurance from day one. Respect for employees and work-life balance. Good Paid Time Off system (rather than vacation/personal/sick days). Very few real jerks among the lawyers.

Cons

Excessive bureaucracy and territorial behavior. Office services unit (outside contractor) was very unreliable but a new company was hired in 2009 and may have improved this.

Advice to Senior Management

Contain bloat, weed out poor performers. Solve the problem of crippling conflicts that arise from a firm of such size that can prevent taking on new business (or prevent incoming partners from quickly bringing in their existing clients).