Former Associate - Team Morale is Down and Turnover is High - Associate Mintz Employee Review

- Lack of transparency with hours requirements. When you join the firm, HR tells you one thing about your billing target and the bonus structure, and it's full of fluff. In reality, management is expecting a much higher number. The bonus structure is definitely not an "opt in" incentive, no matter how much HR tries to tell you it is, and with the bonus amounts being so low compared to other firms, it's super frustrating and, frankly, not worth it. - Commitment to pro bono is dwindling. The firm used to be (and in some circles continues to be) known for its serious commitment to pro bono and really putting its money where its mouth is to serve the community. This is a big part of the reason I chose Mintz. When I joined the firm, all pro bono hours counted as billable hours. The firm changed this policy and now only counts pro bono hours as they relate to your bonus calculation after taking billable hours into account (i.e. you need to bill 1850 hours and have 2000 total hours). The result is that if you're low on hours, the last thing you'll do is take on a pro bono matter, or, if you're close to a higher bonus tier, you'll pile on the billable work and forget about pro bono work altogether. This is super unfortunate and has resulted in a reduction in associates' willingness to take on pro bono matters. It's frustrating to see the firm continue to tout its commitment to pro bono while silently changing its policies on this, knowing it will decrease pro bono work. - Powerless HR Department/Section Management. I get it; it's a big law firm and it will be demanding. However, HR and section management were clearly powerless to effectuate any change in the way associates are treated by partners. There were certain partners that had terrible reputations for treating associates horribly, and the advice my colleagues and I were generally given was "avoid working with him/her." This really set the tone for a) allowing these people to continue behaving badly, and b) precluding associates from gaining valuable experience in certain practice areas because the people in those areas were so awful. I definitely didn't feel like associates were well protected from this in my section. Many times it also felt much like an "Old Boys Club." - Culture is dwindling. The firm used to be known as a firm that embraced its local Boston roots and shied away from trying to keep up with the bigger firms, particularly with respect to their approach to work-life balance and competition. However, my experience at Mintz was quite similar to my friends' experiences at these firms, particularly during the end of my time there. Management seems to now be focused on making Mintz a New York firm at any cost, and the first victim of that approach is the culture. My colleagues seemed overworked and bitter, and the more senior associates/partners were often openly nostalgic for the "old" days at Mintz. - High turnover among Associates. There's been a lot of turnover throughout the last couple of years, and the firm (or at least a few sections) is becoming a firm of laterals. I only knew of about 2 people in my section that had actually summered at the firm and stayed on to become senior associates. This is another factor that's hurting the culture. Overall, compared to the other "big" law firms in town, Mintz is probably better. However, it's looking more and more similar to them as time goes on.