The biggest issue with this firm is a lack of transparency and the toxicity. Important decisions are made behind closed doors and information is drip-fed when management has no choice but to share it. You spend a lot of time trying to work out what’s actually happening and often have to rely on rumours.
It’s absolutely disgraceful how people are treated when they decide to leave. The moment you hand in your notice or even if it becomes known that you’re exploring other opportunities then their behaviour changes dramatically. People who have been valued members of the team from day one they become an enemy. They’re excluded from discussions treated different, made to feel like outsiders. it’s such a hostile environment and not something you would expect from a company that talks so much about cultures and values and being one big family
There’s also a tendency to introduce policies without any warning or consultation. There’s no reason given for anything. It’s often some random stupid excuse like growth. Management simply expect everyone to accept whatever is decided. As soon as you speak up you’re no longer “valued” member of the team but a “problem” that has to be managed. I’ve genuinely never worked anywhere else where people were discarded so quickly almost to the point that they are dehumanised. You’ll hear endless conversations about chargeable hours and financial performance. Every meeting somehow comes back to billing. But if you step back and look objectively, all the actual work is carried by attorneys and support staff. Some senior people are excellent, but there are plenty who are barely scraping by.
Your experience can vary massively depending on which team you’re placed in and who happens to like you. Some people seem protected regardless of performance as they are “favourites” while others have to fight for every opportunity and every bit of recognition. Recognition is another issue. The firm talks constantly about awards and celebrating success, but it often feels like the same people receive recognition over and over again. When good work is done, it’s very common for senior people to take all the credit and as soon as there is a mistake it comes down to the individual again. They pick and choose when to be a “team”. You’re told budgets are tight. You’re told sacrifices have to be made. You’re told there isn’t money for certain things. Then you’ll see money spent on expensive trips particularly by the MDs, events, consultants, new leadership positions or management initiatives that don’t appear to generate any meaningful value. It seems like a revolving door of senior hires. New directors, chiefs, heads of this and that arrive with great fanfare. Nobody really understands what they’re there to do. Then some disappear a few months later and nobody says a word. All this while the people doing the actual client work are expected to keep carrying more and more responsibility with “peanuts” of a salary that they label as “competitive”. You’d expect people in senior positions to act professional, but some of them actually talk trash about their own teams and discriminate openly. It’s disappointing and honestly, it’s embarrassing. They think they’re untouchable, but everyone sees right through it. The so-called “chiefs” and MDs are probably the biggest problem. HR just waves their hands, saying they can’t do anything. HR stands for Human Resources but here they forget what being “human” even means. The only way to save this “months away” from drowning business is to replace the entire senior leadership team and rebuild from scratch.
They talk about change so much but the only change this business needs is at the top.