Special Counsel Reviews

Pros

The recruiters at Special Counsel are the most responsive, respectful, and professional I have worked with in the Washington, DC area. Client needs and wants are clearly defined, work sites are well managed, and their screening process keeps the weirdos out.

Cons

Assignments have been short as of late, but that reflects the industry more than Special Counsel

Advice to Senior Management

Leverage the fact that your staff is not asleep at the wheel.

Pros

Big company, room for growth

Cons

Feels like a secret society

Pros

The staff is nice and good about following up.

Cons

It's still a legal recruiting firm.

Pros

great atmosphere, people, interaction between branches

Cons

levels of management, training program could improve

Advice to Senior Management

great job

Pros

I've had nothing but a positive experience with Special Counsel. Even though I required a position that allowed telecommuting (positions which are very hard to find), the staff at Special Counsel continued to diligently pursue work for me.

They have been extremely supportive and professional, and I highly recommend them to anyone looking for contract work.

Cons

Money at a contract position is simply not going to be as high as working for a firm, but that is true anywhere, so this really isn't a complaint against Special Counsel. It's just the way contract work goes. Those complaining that they don't make over $50 per hour at a contract job are being unrealistic, in my view. Considering we're in a recession (and that law schools are pumping out new lawyers by the bucket-load), I'm simply happy to be working with a company that treats its employees like human beings.

Advice to Senior Management

Thanks very much to the New Orleans office for making my experience with Special Counsel run so smoothly- it has been much appreciated.

Pros

For an unemployed atty in my shoes, Special Counsel works dilligently to try to find me a permanent position at a good firm, but also looks out for and has successfully obtained temporary contract positions, which while not the ideal, is certainly better than nothing. SC's representative, at least here in New Orleans, is very professional and shows genuine interest in helping me find work.

Cons

I don't really see any downsides to working with SC, other than the obvious fact that it would be preferable to be in a position in which you do not need there sercices.

Advice to Senior Management

Allow local SC reps to, in appropriate cases, encourage actual lawyers, as opposed to office administrators or recruiting coordinators, look closely at a candidate's actual work product, as a reflection of the lawyer's talent & ability, as opposed to law school class ranking.

Pros

After reading some of the reviews here, I must say that contract work isn't for everyone. The project based work isn't particularly challenging, and because you are working on a paid hourly basis you do have to 'punch a clock', so to speak. But on the flip side, contract work has given me tremendous flexibility and work / life balance. My husband and I are both white collar professionals and have two small children. With two ambitious careers to manage (he's an accountant and also slave to the billable hour), something had to give and unfortunately, it was our children's care. Simply put, the sacrifices my children were making in the name of our careers became too much for me.

Contract work is beautifully simple. I am able to earn an income and stay 'out there' profesionally, while having the flexibility to dictate my hours and turn down assignments during the most hectic times of the year (can you say TAX season?!). It has really eased the stress in our household.

In the last ~year, I've had two assignments that were not project based, both related to asbestos litigation which is in line with my experience. Those were obviously more challenging, but the project work doesn't bother me too badly, really. In fact, there are many days when I am thankful NOT to be that lead attorney in the case, with full responsibility on his/her shoulders.

As far as Special Counsel goes, for legal contract work they are THE source in South Florida. I've been pretty pleased working with them. They are professional and generally respectful of my personal work/ life balance issues. Re: the poster who said they were dictating lunch breaks, frankly, I like the fact that they communicate the client's expectations very clearly. Moreover, I can appreciate that they have to represent their client's interests as well as mine.

I'd like to get back into practice some day, but not right now. For me, this is a good fit.

Cons

As mentioned above and in other posts, project work can be extremely tedious. For those who are looking for a career that challenges or even flexes the 'law school muscle', this is not the right type of work. There are other assignments available, depending on your level of expertise, but as mentioned they can be few and far between if related to a niche area of the law.

I would recommend that if contract work is not your cup of tea, work with the recruiters to get your foot in the door in a permanent position. An old friend of mine referred me to Special Counsel. He was recruited by them for an in-house IP position in Chicago, and loves it there.

Advice to Senior Management

I haven't really had any exposure to senior management while working as a consultant.

Pros

Money. That's the only reason anyone works here, and it's not bad. Each US City has a different price range for contract attorneys and all 5 contract firms in Boston (except the ultra-lowball Robert Half Legal) offer about $30/hr plus overtime. Overtime is usually offered and usually good. If I worked 50 weeks a year (which never happens) I could make $80k take-home pay. Not prestigious, but it pays the rent.

Cons

The work is beyond mind-numbingly cripplingly boring, but that's not what I hate the most. I don't think I have ever felt like my intelligence has been insulted as much as it has here at Special Counsel. They treat us like idiot kindergarteners, spelling out for us exactly how much UNPAID lunch we are REQUIRED to take, telling us we are not allowed to work more than 50 hours per week, then restricting hours so that it is impossible to work more than 47. Most recently they asked us to show up at 9:30am--some people have close to an hour commute--and then let us know we're not getting paid until 10am. It's not about the money--it's insulting! We are obviously of so little value to them that they feel they can jerk us around however they want and we can do nothing about it. And as it turns out, they're right. The only way the attorneys could have any influence would be to all leave and go to another equally awful temp firm. So it's true, they hold all the cards.

In addition, the system is set up so there is zero incentive to do a good job. It's to your advantage to show up and work as slowly and lamely as possible in order to stretch out your hours as much as you can, like all hourly jobs. But the clincher is, Special Counsel doesn't have any incentive for you to work more efficiently either! They get paid for how many attorneys sludge along at a snails pace too!! Even if I went to the manager and said, look, I can do the work of 2 people and probably more accurately, instead of a raise (ha ha) I'd probably never get called back again.

They expect you to be ready for a project at the drop of a hat. Their health policy is more expensive than none at all. They give you 1 "paid day off" after 6 months of straight work, which of course only happens in a blue moon.

I know it's the nature of the industry, but does this company really have to make me feel so much more worse than I already do?

Advice to Senior Management

We both know it: everyone who works for you wishes they didn't. I honestly don't think this would be so hard to change. Simply treating your attorneys like the smart, capable people they are would go incredibly far in terms of morale. Giving us "Holiday gifts" of last year's leftover water bottle holders is an example of your pitiful attempt at appreciating us that just leaves everyone embarrassed.

It would be wonderful if you could keep better track of those who are actually doing their work well and make it a priority to put them on desirable projects. Please do not issue blanket statements of "you guys need to surf the web less", but instead send a descrete personal email to whomever is the offender letting them know that this is unprofessional behavior and if it continues they will be less likely to be called back for a project.

I know this is a stretch, but offering a financial incentive would be simply heavenly. An example of this could be, after an attorney has worked for you for 2,000 hours and completed their work in a way above expectations, their wage could be raised to $32/hr. An additional 3,000 may mean $35. This way you could build up an attorney workforce that would be MUCH higher quality than the others in this city. That reputation would be made evident to your clients, who are the ones really looking for efficiency and quality work. I doubt this would be more expensive for them, because the higher-paid attorneys would work more quickly and mean less paid hours for the firm. On Special Counsel's end, it would mean more business, offsetting whatever fewer hours your attorneys are working because of their higher quality.

It makes me feel better just thinking about how revolutionary this all would be...

Pros

If you have not secured a permanent position for after graduation, it is a good place to find quality jobs and competitive pay. The people I worked with at Special Counsel were respectful and I felt actually worked to get me different jobs while I was temping for them. While pay was not at the top, it was competitive with other similar work.

Cons

Jobs are temporary. Not likely to find a temporary to hire position without significant experience. Document review opportunities can be limited in tough economic times. It is also difficult to obtain your first document review job if you have no prior experience in document review. Most firms are looking for persons experienced in specific software for their document review. Work can also become tedious over time. While not a likely good career choice (as far as document review), it was good link between graduation and my first permanent job as an attorney.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate more with employees to keep morale high. Offer constructive criticism. Offer more opportunities for advancement.

Pros

If you are an attorney or law graduate and need some quick extra cash.

Cons

Polite people but the environment is patronizing.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to change your philosophy. Just because an attorney is willing to work as a temp does not mean that they should be treated like they work at Mickey Ds. Also, pay attention to the physical work environment. I have worked for Special Counsel on three different assignments in two cities and consistently their off-site work environments are crammed and uncomfortable. Many attorneys have been shocked to find this and it affects morale. Word of mouth will eventually catch up with your tactics...even in a less than stellar job market there are alternatives out there.