Joke of a firm - Office Assistant Diaz Case Employee Review

I love it here. Honestly, I was nervous at first because I’m the youngest one working there, but they are so accepting as to who they hire. I started working there at 16 as an attorneys assistant to a family law attorney. I gained so much experience when it came to legal terminology, processes, and even social skills. It literally is like being a part of a family. You ask for help, and people are more than willing to show you how to do something no matter how long it might take them. Personally, my favorite part is free lunch sometimes and cake on your birthday! No, but in all seriousness, my experience here has been a dream. I never thought I would actually say that I love to work!! Whether you’re looking for experience, or are just looking for a job, I know working here will do nothing but benefit ones working experience. From the first day I started working there, I learned more about topics like DACA, citizenship, etc. than I ever could have reading a book! Love it here and 100% recommend. Everyone here is so comfortable with each other and it’s such a relaxed and secure environment. Especially now that the office relocated to Berwyn, everyone just feels so much closer and in sync. Before working here, I always preferred working by myself but now I love being a part of a team that works together and leaves no one behind. Unfortunately, I had to leave to focus on my studies, but they were more than understanding when I was there and they are so flexible with scheduling!!

I have nothing bad to say about them! If you’re looking to go into law or just experience at a law firm, I say apply! It made me realize I wanted to pursue a career as a family law attorney!

The only positive thing about this work experience has been the opportunity to go to court with the family law attorney to learn about the court system and assist our clients.

This law firm was a terrible working experience, it was my first job post-graduation from university and I wish I could have avoided it. I did not know much about the working world and was okay with being paid $12 and hour for what I was doing. I worked with the family law attorney in doing paralegal work which included having to translate between an English-only speaking attorney and court system with majority Spanish-only speaking clients. I did not have a problem in doing this although I realized that the work I was doing was well over what the firm was paying me. They started me off at that low rate and said that after a 90 day review I could be given a raise. After 90 days they bumped me up to $13/hr with the excuse that the firm could only afford that meanwhile they were hiring other employees and starting up new marketing campaigns. My enthusiasm working for this firm was shot down slowly week by week. The building was dangerous to work in. The ceiling was constantly falling apart and you could hear pieces falling little by little. There was one point where they moved my working space because water was falling through the ceiling. The carpet was really gross, it was being torn apart slowly, not to mention that the owner would walk around the office without shoes. The owner of the firm is extremely unprofessional. I asked her one time why the firm did not provide any benefits for employees such as medical insurance, 401K, or at least PTO, to which she responded that we needed to work extra hard to bring the firm money to be able to afford those things. I remember one time in a meeting she told me that PTO was earned, after one year of working there you would be granted 5 days only. The owner would also constantly threaten employees about reaching weekly quotas of revenue which were set between $30K-$45K if we wanted to be paid. This firm's practice is very sketchy. There was one time when the manager asked me to review a contract that they had some clients sign, they were looking to process a DAPA application. Keep in mind that at the time the immigration process was not even a law rather it was still sitting in Congress to be voted on. The manager asked me to review the contract to see if there's any way that we would have to return the money to those people who made deposits of $250.00. There was a clause of some sort that said everything was non refundable which really puts into perspective what kind of practice they are. The manager calculated that it was over $17k that they did not return to clients they falsely convinced of processing a DAPA application. They also required all employees to do consultations with potential clients, which is ridiculous because many of us were not even attorneys. We are not legally allowed to give legal advice but since they advertise free consultations they have paralegals do them. Many of my consultations were me trying to convince people to deposit money without really assessing their situation or letting them know what exactly we could do for them. I eventually resigned from my position after getting into an argument with the manager because she was asking me to work two different positions. I wouldn't have minded doing that if I was paid a better rate and I was not harassed by the owner to only work 40 hours a week exactly, nothing more or less. I am glad to say that I am working at another law firm that provides double the amount of what I was being paid with amazing benefits.