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    Sheppard Mullin Reviews

    Updated March 17, 2018
    51 reviews

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    Full-timePart-time
    3.0
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    (no image)
    Guy N. Halgren
    28 Ratings

    51 Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • Great benefits, great work environment (in 5 reviews)

    • Market associate pay, mostly nice people (I worked in the DC office) (in 4 reviews)

    Cons

    • High stress in areas there simply shouldn't be (in 4 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. Helpful (2)

      "Great for driven, motivated attorneys"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Partner in San Francisco, CA
      Current Employee - Partner in San Francisco, CA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Sheppard Mullin full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Good opportunities for attorneys -- not a lot of hierarchy; you need to be a self-starter
       Beautiful offices

      Cons

      Support staff is not as robust as one would expect for a large firm

      Advice to Management

      Invest in better support

    2. "Decent Firm"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I worked at Sheppard Mullin full-time

      Pros

      Good attorneys, family atmosphere, consistent hours.

      Cons

      Low pay, confusion with benefits.

      Advice to Management

      Treat staff with more respect.

      3. Join the Sheppard Mullin team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. "Accounts Payable Specialist"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Sheppard Mullin full-time

      Pros

      Everyone at work are friendly.

      Cons

      No room for growth in this position.

    4. "Another big LA firm"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Associate
      Former Employee - Associate

      I worked at Sheppard Mullin full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Comparable salaries
      Diverse departments
      Large CA presence

      Cons

      Partners hoard work during slow times
      Associates don’t get enough meaningful work

    5. "BE WARE! D&C Dept is a horriable place to work"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - DOKET CLERK in Los Angeles, CA
      Former Employee - DOKET CLERK in Los Angeles, CA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook

      I worked at Sheppard Mullin (More than a year)

      Pros

      location, salary, benefits, great compulaw training, the accounting department next to Docket on level E

      Cons

      The management of the department is lacking , the training is non existence. There no coordination within the department.

      Advice to Management

      clean house immediately

    6. Helpful (1)

      "Attorney"

      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
      Disapproves of CEO

      I have been working at Sheppard Mullin full-time

      Pros

      Big firm and name recognition are pros

      Cons

      Non-associate attorneys are poorly compensated in relation to the unpredictable, sometimes long hours (basically paid paralegal salaries to do paralegal work on an attorney's - read, around the clock - schedule). Untenable deadlines with no guidance or training. Poor leadership. It is a shame a firm of this caliber would offer paralegal salaries to attorneys while expecting them to work the same schedule as partner-track associates/partners. Avoid at all costs - please save yourself the drudgery of doing administrative/clerical work in this kind of toxic atmosphere.

      - High stress
      - High turnover
      - Supervisor physically removed from office
      - Lack of training on time-sensitive projects that needed to be "perfect"; "training" given after the fact
      - Backstabbing by more senior associates

      Advice to Management

      Stop taking advantage of non-track attorneys and pay them their due compensation. Provide full training on the practice area in question.

    7. Helpful (4)

      "Atmosphere Likely Worth Avoiding"

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

      I have been working at Sheppard Mullin full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      If you can avoid some groups, you can have a good experience
      Monthly catered gatherings
      There are still a few genuine human beings there who value people over image or pride
      Work/Life balance is decent in most departments

      Cons

      Benefits are below average
      Prevalence of cliques, toxicity (all the way up to even some in HR), bullying
      Highly disorganized
      High turn-over
      High stress in areas there simply shouldn't be
      Terrible management
      Extremely cheap in ways I've never seen

      Advice to Management

      Hold managers accountable. Implement a review process that allows staff to submit informal but thoughtful and constructive comments about their managers regularly. Staff need a neutral, objective, and protected outlet to address budding issues. A manager is supposed to help their team do their jobs well, not add to the confusion and chaos and go unchecked. The reviews should be a regularly solicited opportunity in addition to the typical “open door” policy. A formal process can foster integrity at all levels, facilitating honest growth and in turn respect and better collaboration and teamwork.

      Much of the turn-over, the resources spent on training over and over while already understaffed, and the ongoing loss of energy and focus due to the unnecessary level of stress, can be avoided if managers aren't untouchable so long as they aren't blatantly violating or aggressing in some obvious way. All of this contends with trying to effectively handle sensitive client work.

    8. Helpful (3)

      "Reactive, not proactive"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at Sheppard Mullin full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Good office location, good benefits

      Cons

      Lack of teamwork and a very prevalent “not my problem” kind of attitude. A real “every man for himself” kind of environment. I like to work hard and stay busy throughout the day, but it’s hard to stay motivated when people constantly do their jobs incorrectly and expect others to pick up the slack. Very few ideas on how to improve efficiency and streamline things. It’s pretty obvious that a lot of people there don’t want to work for a living.

      Advice to Management

      Try to be more proactive and anticipate issues/problems instead of letting them happen so that your staff can deal with them. Also, not good to constantly complain to staff when they work very hard.

    9. Helpful (1)

      "Coordinator"

      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
      Disapproves of CEO

      Pros

      They throw good parties and raffles for cool prizes .

      Cons

      High stress, not innovative, extremely conservative ,no mobility for staff

      Advice to Management

      Fire the dead weight

    10. Helpful (1)

      "Fun Atmosphere"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Legal Secretary in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Legal Secretary in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Sheppard Mullin full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Not your typical staunchy Law Firm. There is a very pleasant and fun atmosphere here. Everyone is very friendly.

      Cons

      None that I can think of.

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