National Jurist - October 2007 - (Page 27) “It’s not grudgingly given,” said, Patricia Festin, an associate at Ropes & Gray, number 20 on the list. “It’s being engaged and loving it, but knowing that if I’ve got a family event to go to, that time is protected.” Festin says her colleagues are enthusiastic 1 and interested when she takes vacation days, wish2 ing her well instead of 3 wishing she stayed behind 4 to work. 5 Another good sign that a firm is commit6 ted to quality of life is 7 when senior partners or 8 male associates are using 9 flex time — and not just mothers with small kids 10 who are off the partner11 ship track. Many firms 12 offer flex programs, but 13 when there is a stigma attached, only those who 14 have to use the program, 15 do so. 16 17 18 that will serve both the attorney and the firm well, said Nannes, the firm’s chairman. Best law firms to work for McKee Nelson LLP Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP Fish & Richardson P.C. Quarles & Brady LLP Morrison & Foerster LLP Baker & Daniels Patton Boggs LLP charge of firm-wide training. Also look for formal communications about what the firm expects of its associates, such as Weil Gotshal’s “Associates Development Goals” program, which spells out what tasks associates should be doing at different stages and what experience they should be getting. The firm pays attention to evaluators, too. Spector says through tips, techniques, and mock evaluations, partners are trained in giving meaningful evaluations. Associates are trained in asking the right questions. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP Dickstein Shapiro LLP Faegre & Benson LLP Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP Clifford Chance LLP Davis Polk & Wardwell Jenner & Block LLP Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP Carlton Fields Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker Ropes & Gray LLP Formal and informal training Training and professional development are getting a lot of attention from law students these days. Sure, departmental or practice group training sessions are useful, but they aren’t anything new — most firms have been providing substantive legal training to their associates for years, even decades. Firms on the Best Places to Work list tend to focus not only on substantive training, but also practical lawyering skills. Dickstein Shapiro’s “D&S University” runs profesPHOTO BY MELISSA STOTTLEMEYER Commitment by leadership Like all other initia19 tives, work-life balance 20 programs have to flow from the top to be successful. Look for a stated firm-wide commitment to work-life balance that’s backed up by something more than just public relations verbiage. At Weil Gotshal & Manges, number 16 in the ranking, management announced to all partners that one of the firm’s priorities and goals was to make the firm stand out as a great place to work, said Mindy Spector, a senior partner in the litigation department who chairs the firm’s Professional Relations Committee. “The management committee has made it clear to partners that how each individual partner fulfilled that priority is taken into account in their compensation,” Spector said. One good indicator that a firm has made a commitment is the employment of a professional work-life balance or alternative work schedule advisor, such as the one hired by Dickstein Shapiro. The advisor is there to talk to people about their options and work out schedules Clearly defined goals, regular feedback At firms that made the list, associate expectations are clearly defined, performance is periodically evaluated, and associates receive regular feedback and guidance about their performance. First, beware of once-a-year formal evaluations: successful law firms are now performing them at least twice annually, including Dickstein Shapiro, Manatt Phelps, and Weil Gotshal. Next, look for indicators that the firm frequently offers informal evaluations and guidance. Ropes & Gray has an “open door policy” where associates can visit partners any time to ask questions or get guidance on a project, said Rob Shapiro, the partner in October 2007 THE NATIONAL JURIST 27
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.