18 June 2019
The Sam Bernstein Law Firm Response
6yThis is Mark Bernstein. I'm the President and Managing Partner at the law firm. While some time has passed since the posting of this review, I want to address the observations shared and concerns raised by this former employee.
Let me begin by saying I take thoughtful advice from colleagues (both current and former) to heart. We are always looking to improve and learn.
We need to inform this work with facts. Not falsehoods.
The assessment of high turnover is factually untrue. I recently completed a review of our HR records to determine if there was a period of time when 7 people quit in less than 90 days. This did not occur in 2019. In fact, it has never happened in the 50 year history of our firm. Of course, we have turnover, but it is far lower than most organizations. The average staff tenure at our firm is extraordinarily long - at every job position (litigation secretary, para-legal, litigator, administration, etc. etc.). We also employ more than 100 people.
One last thought about turnover...I have noticed a trend recently involving the return of employees who departed our firm. We are thrilled when this happens because it validates the value of our culture and confirms for colleagues that this is a great place to be.
Facts can be stubborn things. Some more facts...our pay is within (or above) market rates for compensation and benefits. Our PTO program is by far more flexible and generous than virtually every law firm I'm aware of (there are likely exceptions, but not many). We do not provide automatic annual raises, but we DO provide raises to employees that we want to reward and retain. We do this often and with enthusiasm. Usually proactively. The good reviews that I have read are from colleagues who have worked at the law firm for various periods of time - some relatively new (a few years) and others who have worked at the firm for decades. It is safe to assume that our employees are fully aware of the environment they have joined and, frankly, are happy to be here.
When an employee departs our law firm and we suspect that they have acted in ways that compromises client or employee confidentiality, we are obligated to address this. Thankfully, this has only happened once in my twenty (approx.) years at the firm. I hope we never have to do this again.
With regard to our management team, some but not all managers are lawyers. We believe that any manager who touches the practice of law in their work must be a lawyer. This covers the vast majority of activity at our law firm (marketing is a good example of an exception).
We have recently hired a trainer to improve our work in this area. We needed to do better here, and we are. Our trainer has already made a huge, positive impact. We're going to keep at this because it's really important.