harmon law offices Reviews

Current Employee – been working at harmon law offices full-time for more than a year

Pros – The pay is reasonable - about $30k starting. Not great, but about what you can expect these days. The interview process is pretty straightforward and easy.

Cons – This firm does foreclosures. The work is not interesting or glamorous. It's repetitive, tedious, and mindless, for the most part. There have been threats (that the directors and management don't bother to tell us about), and you have to talk to a lot of unhappy people.

There isn't much motivation to do well, other than not being laid off/fired. There have been 2 large lay-offs in the past year, during which many people who were devoted, quality employees were laid off in favor of less-able employees who were paid significantly less. They also then immediately started hiring new people. The message is clear to me - the company is more interested in the hard numbers of what they are paying their employees, rather than the quality of work that is generated by the employees. A lot of things, consequently, seem to be falling apart. Many of the people who were not laid off but had been at the company for years immediately left.

There is no formal training at the company, so new hires were/are taught by random team members who may not have actually been properly trained themselves. Most people learn by doing or learn the proper way to do things after they are reprimanded by management - despite never having been told what they're supposed to do in the first place.

Vacation/sick/personal time is grouped into one category, and you only get 15 days a year starting. I definitely think that this is inadequate. Most people do, and you'll see people going in to work when they're extremely ill because of this policy. Comparatively, a lot of people with similar paying jobs around Boston have told me that they get 20-30 hours vacation, maybe 5 personal days, and anywhere from 15-unlimited sick days.

None of the employees are really happy. There are a lot of constant complaints. The computers are ridiculously old and slow (none have more than 512MB RAM. I didn't know this was even possible anymore). The applications themselves are outdated and cause problems when we share files with our clients, who all seem to have reasonably up-to-date equipment and software; a lot of the files become incompatible, or formatting gets messed up when it's converted to the newer version of the software. There are virtually no desk chairs that are not ripped/falling apart. The cubicle walls are old and also falling apart. Nothing is replaced until it absolutely does not work anymore, and it is replaced with whatever they have lying around that still sort of works.

Advice to Senior Management – Communicate with employees and be approachable, rather than being aloof and having an attitude of being better than the other employees. Own up to your own mistakes, and listen when people address problems rather than essentially telling them that it's their problem.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at harmon law offices full-time for less than a year

Pros – -other employees share your disdain of working here.
-some of the attorneys are nice enough I guess.
-you put your paycheck into an ATM, cash comes out.

Cons – -although cash comes out, it is a pittance equivalent to top ramen for dinner every night, and the occasional night out for drinking yourself stupid because you work for this foreclosure mill.

-The comprehensive employee training program is great because it's not real and you are constantly running around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to figure out how to do something your are expected to do.

-Management. If you are a manager, chances are you either have some sort of 4-year degree, or have worked at the company for an equivalent number of years. So it's safe to assume then, you are at least 4. Most 4 year olds I know understand the importance of being amicable and treating other with even a shred of respect. This is not the case here. The management is rude, unprofessional, unhelpful and extremely disrespectful. They will occasionally (once a month or so, when they are supposed to be once a week) hold meetings where you are intended to strategize and air grievances about the work environment/work in general/work load, and how to improve efficiency. These usually boil down to the manager hearing, but not listening to any employee feedback. Lastly, part of being a manager is managing/improving all facets of employee environment. Things managers here will manage: your use of cell phones, other people's assigned work they assume is yours, sending harassing emails, constant emails about company policy, constant emails about way you can get fired, emails about other departments problems, emails about how all employee interaction with each other is forbidden, emails about absolutely nothing relevant to you. Things they will not manage: everything relating to efficiency, improving employee morale, training, coping with claustrophobia from being locked in a 6x6 bankruptcy space-pod while doing a seemingly endless amount of mundane, monotonous paperwork.

-The workload is what one might call "sweatshop" in nature. there is a overwhelming mountain of evil bankruptcy work. If you stare at it just right, it looks like the pillars of fire coming from mount doom. you are expected to work on files that are now assigned to you because people were either fired or quit. You are expected to juggle around 100+ files and produce an unrealistic amount of work. You have things that pass due dates that are other people's faults and you are blamed. this was my favorite part. Additionally, you work with employees at banks who are at the bottom of their gene pool in terms of intelligence, and more often than not, you will miss "important" dates for something they screwed up.

-Ever seen a Rube Goldberg machine? The employee experience is similar in terms of turnover. Employees go in, are thrown for a loop, then spit out at the bottom.. all while being dragged through a needlessly complex arrangement of obstacles and pitfalls. Never a week goes by where someone does not get fired, laid off, or quits for better opportunity (for example, anything other than Harmon Law).

-The work ethic, expectations, environment, and senior management are about as stagnant as the Dead Sea, and as static as the Colonel's secret recipe. Seriously, nothing ever changes abut this place.

- when you start your employment, you are told not to talk to the media about the company, or you will be fired. This stems from Harmon Law Offices being investigated by the AG's office, and for good reason.

-The farthest you can hope to advance is into a neighboring cubicle. If you're lucky, you may be shifted to another department (or else they will fire you), or perhaps you will get a $ 0.30 raise every 6 months.

-As this being one of my first jobs post-college, I was not expecting a huge of amount of responsibility, but working here made me feel as if going to college was a complete waste of time, as you don't need a college education to do the work here. Chances are a robot will have your job in a few years anyways. There is 0 critical thinking required.

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture.

Advice to Senior Management – -Listen to your underlings
-Pay a wage that at least says "thanks for being depressed about the work you do"
-treat your low level employees with at least the same respect you treat your dog
-train. new. hires.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at harmon law offices full-time for more than a year

Pros – i can't think of anything.

Cons – the coffee sucks. so does everyone and everything about this soul-sucking foreclosure factory

Advice to Senior Management – retire

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at harmon law offices full-time for more than a year

Pros – -Gain work experience
-Quality paralegal and legal assistants, most graduated from good schools and would work harder if there was an incentive to
-attorneys are for the most part both helpful and understanding
-a good temporary job, transitional experience

Cons – -the computers do not work, the amount of money this company loses because they refuse to update their server is absurd
-management is unwilling to listen to paralegals
-impossible expectations
-upper management shows no appreciation for the work that gets done
-absolutely no training, learn as you mess up atmosphere
-constantly being harassed by managers via email
- managers do not trust their paralegals and treat them all like little children

Advice to Senior Management – if you just hired more employees, fixed the servers and paid your employees fairly, the company would make way more money. instead there is chronic turnover, waste time training new people who end up quitting right after they are hired because nothing works. the changes that need to be made are so basic. it's a shame because this company could be great if they were willing to change their attitude.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at harmon law offices full-time for more than a year

Pros – Free coffee and tea
Good paid time off

Cons – Faulty network system
Computers are outdated

Advice to Senior Management – Upgrade the network system

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at harmon law offices full-time for more than a year

Pros – There's never a shortage of work. It's easy to keep busy and easy to get overtime. The health benefits are good. The attorneys in my department are nice for the most part. You can take on more responsibility as you gain more experience.

Cons – The workload is never ending and can be stressful. Sometimes it feels like the emphasis is on quantity instead of quality. There is a lot of turnover. Upper management seems resistant to change. There's little opportunity for advancement.

Advice to Senior Management – Asking for/listening to employee suggestions could go a long way. A little bit of recognition would improve employee morale. Higher starting wages might attract a higher quality of worker and reduce turnover. 401k matching would be nice.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at harmon law offices full-time for more than a year

Pros – You have an opportunity to meet great Legal Assistants and Paralegals
Gain legal experience

Cons – Overworked and underpaid!!!
High Stress environment
Office environment is stale. Expected to keep quiet and not interact with others.
Everyone in the Bankruptcy Department is miserable
Constantly receiving demanding emails from management
No level of fairness - on all levels
The work is overwhelming and there is great pressure to maintain the crazy workload
The quantity is more important than the quality the of work being pushed out
The attorney's are rude, arrogant, unfriendly, awkward and take out there frustrations of the job on the Paralegals - not right!
Management completely ignores feedback - useless!
High turn over
The managers/supervisors are unprofessional, insulting, arrogant, clueless and unhelpful
Unfortunately your hard work will always be overlooked.

Advice to Senior Management – Treat and speak to your fellow employees how you would like to be treated and spoken too! Get some training if your really interested in maintaining employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at harmon law offices full-time for less than a year

Pros – Great team. The people are simply great. The team of legal assistants and paralegals innthe Bankruptcy Dept are all down to earth, extremely smart and har working. The work at Harmon is not easy. You are constantly relearning to adapt to the new real estate regulations and caprices of big banks since we represent them. Every team member has his or her own personality, and while there is no official training, new hires adapt quickly because the team takes time off every day to teach them something new.
Other pros are that you get pay 1.5 your salary to work overtime.Whether in the morning, lunch time, or evening. It's an easy way to get your salary increased.

Cons – The work can be very tedious and repetitive. Like many law firms, you have to constantly subject yourself and take too many hours doing something and subject yourself all the superfluous formalities of case language.
The attorney-legal assistant relationship can be mountainous. One day they will be nice to you when they give you back cases to correct, and other times, precisely because they review your work. they can get to be anal and cold. But I guess this is simply the role of being your superior.

Advice to Senior Management – Create a training

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at harmon law offices full-time for less than a year

Pros – None. Management is terrible, and employees act like they are in high school. Not a professional work environment.

Cons – Very poor management, treat you like a child! People act like they are in a soap opera, too much gossip! Hard work doesn't pay off! You work your ass off, and then they lay you off and say there are changes going on! Low pay, bad benefits! The managers treat the people that gossip better than the people that work hard! Nothing good to say about this company! Avoid it at all costs!

Advice to Senior Management – Reward the people that work really hard, and lay off the ones who gossip all day long!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at harmon law offices full-time for more than a year

Pros – None. Work is stressful and not fulfilling.

Cons – Harmon does not care about its employees.

Advice to Senior Management – Find new management.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend