Townsend and Townsend and Crew Reviews

Pros

Most attorneys there are very gracious and down-to-earth - no big egos or "yellers." Some of the smartest talent around. Firm is very forgiving and welcoming - attorneys and staff would frequently be welcomed back into the firm after leaving to go somewhere else. The client portfolio is quite amazing. Excellent benefits/profit-sharing.

Cons

Relatively low compensation scale compared with other firms (staff and attorney). Problems with chronic staff turnover due to very poor hiring choices - some very unskilled, unstable people got hired without proper vetting. Admin management seemed to have more power over hiring choices than the partners. Very strange.

Advice to Senior Management

No longer applicable - firm was absorbed into merger with Kilpatrick Stockton.

Pros

Lots of "perks" though some may have changed over the past few years. Paralegals are given a lot of respect and responsibility to do substantative legal work.Typically paralegals are given private offices.

Cons

Low compensation, long hours expected though official work week for support staff was 37.5 hours. High stress, very fast paced work environment. Not good work, life balance.

Advice to Senior Management

Give more feedback and praise to support employees. Work on improving work, life balance and scaling back expected hours for support staff.

Pros

Good client base
Good reputation in silicon valley
Some nice and intelligent attorneys
Variety of projects
Multiple locations
Not much else

Cons

Bias in favor of litigators over prosecutors
High overhead leading to relatively high rates for prosecutors
Actual policies and operation opposite to stated values
Partners highly competitive with each other to bring in work
Very poor work-life balance - need to work for free on weekends to make enough billable hours

Advice to Senior Management

Cut overhead
Pay those who actually generate revenue
reduce aspects of compensation that encourage competition among Partners

Pros

For staff there is nothing but incredibly long hours, minimal praise and nonexistent bonus compensation. For associates there are crushingly long hours, overwhelming workload in a sink or swim environment and decent pay. For partners there are long hours, and fantastic pay and bonuses.

Cons

Feast or famine mentality. In good times they spend, hire, get new toys and overextend. In bad times they squeeze, cut to the bone, torture staff for not working hard enough, fast enough and pleasantly enough.

Advice to Senior Management

Understand that Townsend isn't just a shingle on the door and an open spigot of money, the last name in the firm shouldn't just be the name of a partner, but an acknowledgment that the entire crew makes TTC money and wins cases and contributes to success.

Pros

Focus on prosecution
Good group of colleagues
High quality work product
Deep expertise in multiple technical areas
reasonable hour expectations

Overall, it is not a sweat shop, but then again it doesn't really have a good work-life balance either.

Cons

limited opportunity to explore other areas of IP law. If you are a prosecutor, there are limited opportunities to assist in l;itigation other than doc review. Similarly, as a prosecutor, there are limited opportunities to engge in licensing transactions, trademark or copyright work.

Firm is becoming more and more litigation centric.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop trying to make TTC like F&R or Finnegan.

Pros

The best reason to work at Townsend is for the experience. Townsend does give junior attorneys significant responsibility early in their careers, so it's a great place to learn the practice of intellectual property law.

Cons

The primary downside of working at Townsend is the lack of management support. If you like to work in a place where the benefits programs are well managed and the computers and printers always work, Townsend is not the place for you. You essentially have to administer your own health insurance, and technology related issues can take several days to resolve.

Advice to Senior Management

Senior management needs to realize that the support staff's clients are the attorneys, and that better support helps attorneys do their jobs better.