Would never, ever recommend working at Egan LLP (EY's Immigration Law firm) - Anonymous employee EY Employee Review

1.0
4 June 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The only good thing about working at this firm was some of the other clerks at the office. We bonded a lot over the sheer crappiness of our jobs, and I'm still close friends with several of my old coworkers. Oh, and there was often free food, and the company parties were good since we tagged along with EY.

Cons

There are so many cons I hardly know where to start... I guess it makes sense to begin at the top. The partners of this firm are obsessed with numbers above all else. They ignore crucial problems with firm processes and the overall culture of the firm unless there is some immediate financial consequence. Staff are overworked, miserable, haven't had a raise in years, and are quitting in droves? As long as the partners are still raking it in, nobody will bat an eye at the insane rate of turnover. Just look at the job listings... Egan is ALWAYS hiring. They can't retain staff because they pay ridiculously low salaries, expect people to put in massive overtime, and treat their staff as disposable. Many of the lawyers at this firm are absolutely incompetent. Of course they are, a firm that is this poorly run and disorganized has no hope of retaining top talent. They manage to (barely) keep things running by snagging accounts with companies that already use EY for other purposes, and are given the benefit of the doubt because of the association with EY, but the actual quality of legal advice and work is really . While I was there, some lawyers did extremely unethical things that would get them in big trouble with the law society if they only knew. For example, making huge mistakes on clients' applications, then covering them up... all in a day's work at Egan. I already mentioned the laughable compensation. The salaries are very, very low for the amount of work and the high level of responsibility that the clerks are expected to take on. The partner would act really put out anytime staff requested compensation for overtime too. For Christmas, a senior partner came around and let us each pick ONE chocolate from an opened box. That was all we got in terms of a Christmas gift or bonus.

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Pros

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Cons

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5.0
21 Feb 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

1. You will have a very hard time not falling in love with every single person you meet there. 2. Seriously, you will meet your soul mate(s) there. 3. Prestigious and looks great on the resume. 4. Your brain will grow a thousand times more powerful. 5. Forces you to conquer your fear of public speaking. 6. Fun team bonding and lifelong friends. 7. Stepping stone to high paying jobs. 8. Helps you work on perfecting your charm. You will learn from the most charming people how to really get people to like you. 9. HR really cares. 10. Big support network (IT, creative services, etc.). 11. Teaches you to be calm and in control.

Cons

OK, I'm going to be discussing all the taboo things, and there are a lot of them. In spite of these cons, I still admit it's worth a five star rating. 1. High performers are "designated" (you have very little control over your rating) by the partner group (can be a pro if you get selected. Seriously, I have worked with some of the supposed "fives" and they are not any different than my threes and fours. 2. Quality is extremely low. Sometimes I felt like I was working at McDonalds and not a professional services firm. The emphasis is on getting through work as fast as possible and expectations for quality are not realistic. 3. EY has a very hard time firing bad employees. If you get stuck with one it can be a nightmare. 4. EY has a heavy emphasis on wasting time. For example, there are lots and lots of checklists which have no value that you have to fill out. Also, they wasted money and time on creating "Canvas" which is literally slower and more awkward than the previous workspace tool, GAMX. There is a heavy emphasis on "reinventing the wheel" and fixing problems that aren't broken with even worse solutions. Instead of wasting money on useless tools, that money could have been spent on your employees in the form of compensation. Like I said, EY is really focused on attempting to look as though value is being created when in fact it is not. 5. Lots of meetings. Appearances are very important. 6. Employees on global 360 accounts get better treatment. 7. Some employees (executives mostly) tend to overemphasize how important this work is. Let's face it, if it was really glorious work then we would have action figures. 8. Looks are very important. Seriously, if you are a girl, you will get promoted based on how hot you are (the quality of your work is largely unimportant). If you are a guy, you are treated a little better but there is still a sexist undercurrent in the environment. This is advice you won't get from HR obviously, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. 8. You will be forced to eat hours. 9. Your ethical compass will start to get weaker. 10. You will get a little cynical. 11. Lots of driving and travel. 12. "Family men" and married couples with children are more likely to be promoted. If you want to be a partner, you have to be married (few exceptions). 13. You will work on vacations. 14. Loss of relationships with family and friends. 15. Some backstabbing and credit-stealing (but not very common). 16. Comp is below market but that's to be expected. 17. Employee retention is not something management is interested in. This makes you replaceable and expendable (yes even as a manager, unless you have been "designated" as a high performer by the partner group).

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