Baker Botts – “Leading Lawyers, Stressed Staff”

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.