Inconsistent and overworked - Trainee Patent Attorney Dehns Employee Review

precision and accuracy really matter. It can sharpen attention to detail and discipline, even if it feels intense.

The overall working environment felt unhealthy and difficult to navigate, particularly during the early stages of the role. Expectations were consistently very high, with limited room for mistakes, and early errors appeared to have a lasting impact on how performance was assessed even when there was clear effort to improve. During probation, the level of scrutiny created ongoing uncertainty, and the extension of probation added to a prolonged sense of instability. Feedback was often direct and at times felt discouraging rather than development-focused, which made it challenging to rebuild confidence after setbacks. Overall, the environment lacked psychological safety during the learning curve and did not feel supportive in a way that enabled people to settle and develop with confidence.

Salary is decent, so are the overall benefits. HR is doing everything they can to stop people from leaving, but they can only do so much, when systems are outdated, management isn't fit for the job and nobody wants to update processes and procedures, that would enable people to work effectivley. The office itself is nice and the atmosphere generally good.

Partners surley are great lawyers but weak people managers, Lack of transparency around decisions (pay, promotions, strategy), Feedback is inconsistent, overly critical, or nonexistent, most attorneys feel reduced to billable hours and utilisation rates, little recognition for non-billable contributions (mentoring, internal work), Praise is rare; criticism is common, Outdated tech, high support staff turnover, no retention strategies in place for talents, Culture depends heavily on the partner you work for