Berry Appleman & Leiden Reviews | Glassdoor
Berry Appleman & Leiden Reviews
Companies
  • Jobs
  • Companies
  • Salaries
  • Interviews

    Berry Appleman & Leiden Reviews

    Updated August 9, 2017
    124 reviews

    Filter

    Filter

    Full-timePart-time
    2.8
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    (no image)
    Jeremy Fudge
    48 Ratings

    124 Employee Reviews

    Sort: PopularRatingDate
    Pros

    • We have fun, wear jeans, have a flexible work schedule, and our management truly cares about it's employees (in 7 reviews)

    • Fun work environment, good training, and great work experience (in 11 reviews)

    Cons

    • Work life balance is nonexistent (in 9 reviews)

    • High caseload, high turnover, can be stressful (in 9 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. Helpful (1)

      "Administrative Assistant"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Administrative Assistant in San Francisco, CA
      Former Employee - Administrative Assistant in San Francisco, CA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I worked at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Amazing people and great entry job to learn about Immigration law.

      Cons

      Not enough recognition. Heavy work days. Low compensation.

    2. Helpful (2)

      "Excellent!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Dallas, TX
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Dallas, TX
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Wearing jeans every day, One BAL comraderie, great coffee, nice offices, great salaries, awesome clients. Prizes, fun environment. Partners are cool.

      Cons

      Not really a con, but the work is INTENSE. That should be expected with a firm like this. Expect some unpaid overtime.

      Advice to Management

      Be more open to paying overtime. Training could be a little better organized. Holiday policy is a little stingy.

      3. Join the Berry Appleman & Leiden team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (1)

      "BAL is an amazing place to work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Marketing Coordinator in Richardson, TX
      Current Employee - Marketing Coordinator in Richardson, TX
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      At BAL, they care about their clients and their employees. From the first day, they have made me feel welcomed and appreciated. I enjoy working with my team and my manager and have learned a lot from working here. The office parties, the team-building activities, the benefits, PTO, etc. make the experience working here amazing.

      Cons

      I have not experienced any cons

      Advice to Management

      Management has given me all the tools I need to succeed at this firm, I would not change a thing!

    4. "Consular Services Advisor"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I worked at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time

      Pros

      The company is all about teamwork.

      Cons

      No training is provided. You will need to learn everything as you process a case.

    5. Helpful (2)

      "Great People, Fun Environment (when, on the rare occasion, you have time to enjoy these aspects)"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time

      Pros

      -Intelligent, driven, hard-working, fun colleagues.
      -Depending on your role, you never stop learning.
      -You will broaden and strengthen your capacity to handle stress and keep cool amongst chaos.
      -Great "happy hour" events/celebrations (when they occur).
      -Fun company-wide challenges a couple of times a year.
      -Great holiday party.

      Cons

      -Awful work/life balance.
      -No matter how hard you work, it never feels like enough, which is extremely frustrating for go-getters (the only type of individual that can survive in the high volume, high stress for long)
      -It seems compensation is often decided by duration of employment instead of quality of performance.
      -Inequalities in expectations between employees at similar levels.

      Advice to Management

      Work on:
      -Hire more staff at all levels.
      -Don't make promises you can't keep.
      -Market rate salary adjustments, annual salary adjustments, and discretionary bonuses should not be mutually exclusive.
      -Staff is more intelligent and more aware of the company goings-on than it seems management understands. Keeping staff in the loop is beneficial to all.

    6. Helpful (1)

      "The worst place I have ever worked."

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Paralegal in San Francisco, CA
      Former Employee - Paralegal in San Francisco, CA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      -Casual dress code.
      -Bagels on Thursday.

      Cons

      - No opportunities for growth.
      - Salaries below average for the Bay Area
      - No work life balance
      - A lot of stress/anxiety/tension
      - Expensive health insurance
      - No additional perks

      Advice to Management

      - Need to understand that employees are valuable people too not only clients.
      - Treat your employees with respect, NOT just as a number.
      - Letting your ego get ahead of you and thinking you know it all is a sure path to failure.
      - Be generous with Reward and Recognition and "Thank You" notes. Recognize the hard work of your employee publicly.
      - If you treat employees only as the means to an end, you will never have their loyalty.
      - Don't just consider them as a robot on your production line. Demonstrate that you value people and they in turn, will work hard and take care of your clients.
      - Don't make promises that you can't not keep.

    7. Helpful (1)

      "No option for ZERO stars!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I have been working at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      If I could put zero stars, I would!

      Cons

      This is the most UNETHICAL place I have ever worked. Do not come to work here if you have a conscience or any type of knowledge on best practices within in industry or certain subject matters. I made the worst decision of my professional career coming to BAL and I cannot wait to get out of this pathetic excuse of a company!

      Advice to Management

      Get it together!!!!

    8. "nice!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Berry Appleman & Leiden part-time

      Pros

      Fun! People are nice! Free food!

      Cons

      Long drive but that's on me.

      Advice to Management

      You're perfect.

    9. Helpful (3)

      "Terrible Work Environment"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Berry Appleman & Leiden full-time

      Pros

      Coworkers were a pleasure to work with.

      Cons

      - Management is the WORST. Any errors/mistakes are automatically deflected upon the lower tier Employees. Don't own up to their own misguidance/mistakes. Also rude and unappreciative.
      - Micro Management. Despite being there for years, there is zero level of trust built.
      - No opportunities for growth.
      - Salaries below average for the Bay Area
      - No work life balance
      - A lot of stress/anxiety/tension

      Advice to Management

      Appreciate your Employees. Don't micro manage. Own up to your mistakes. Give constructive criticism. WORK LIFE BALANCE!!!

    10. "Law Clerk"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      Pros

      They're are a lot of resources and free bagels on Thursdays

      Cons

      Not too many opportunities for advancement

    Showing 124 of 137 reviews
    Reset Filters