Wicker Smith Reviews

If you're thinking of accepting an offer from Wicker Smith, I urge you to carefully consider the negative reviews posted on here by attorneys (and take the positive ones with a grain of salt) in order to get a realistic idea of the firm culture and work environment. These reviews span over the course of several years and offices - rest assured, management has not changed and things have progressively gotten worse over time. A non-exhaustive list of cons: - Absurd amount of turnover (see below for some plausible explanations) - Bill mill, volume practice business model - Associates are just a number. Quality work product is of little importance. Partners only care about your billing - Associates are treated like children, not professionals. Don't expect much respect from partners or staff. You're at the bottom of the totem pole - everything that could possibly go wrong will be your fault. If you happen to do something right, it will likely go unacknowledged - Vague, ambiguous, inconsistent billing expectations - Favoritism towards certain attorneys (read: white male). Arbitrary inconsistency with raises, bonuses, compensation, and billing requirements. Don't be surprised when you find out someone who is less experienced/billing the same as you is getting paid significantly more for no discernible reason - You will be both micromanaged yet also given absolutely no direction or constructive feedback to help you succeed (except that you should be billing more) - Firm does nothing to invest in attorneys or retention. Constantly stuck in a cycle of low morale / high turnover - Depending on what office you're in, you could be working with pretty much every single partner in the office. This is overwhelming and makes it impossible to prioritize your work appropriately - No training whatsoever. Inconsistent practices across the board depending on the partners you work with - Billing practices are bizarre and unlike anything I've seen anywhere else. Partners steal associates' hours and leave them with scrap billing opportunities. They make it incredibly difficult to bill honestly. Borderline unethical/fraudulent billing practices are quietly encouraged. Ask about their "receipt and review" practices for more details on this - Firm charges clients pathetically low rates to remain competitive and, in turn, places ridiculous and unattainable billing expectations on associates - Associates are expected to make up their billing after taking PTO. Direct quote from a recent office-wide email: "billing does not take vacations" - Conservative, extremely outdated, old school, boys club culture. Absolutely no diversity whatsoever. No paid maternity leave - Partners are generally unavailable, busy, or not in the office to provide guidance. Some partners are dismissive and unhelpful. Basically no mid-level associates to help newer attorneys because they struggle to keep good/experienced attorneys - Zero positive reinforcement or encouragement. Certain partners are extremely passive aggressive, bordering on rude and inappropriate - Complete and utter lack of transparency on all fronts (management, billing, expectations, compensation, etc.) - No real substantive annual review or evaluation. HR conducts annual reviews for attorneys, which makes no sense (annual review is also just a 2 minute meeting where they tell you if you met your billing requirement and if you're getting a raise). HR has no business being involved in anything substantive related to attorney performance or work-product, yet for some reason HR is used as a mouthpiece for the partners instead of actually doing HR functions - HR is a joke and also unlike anything I've ever seen anywhere else. Unprofessional, immature, ill-equipped to handle the job, incompetent, petty, makes a mess out of everything, perpetuates toxic office culture, encourages gossip/drama rather than addressing legitimate issues, etc. - Support staff does little to no supporting. No oversight or accountability for staff, and any related incompetence is also the associates' fault - Bonus structure is not incentivizing at all. Benefits are below average. 401k plan sucks - Too many cases, not enough staff/attorneys - Work/life balance discouraged - In-office face time on weekends was basically required prior to COVID - No laptops for attorneys - COVID response was laughable. People who spoke out about the way things were being handled were treated unfairly - some were essentially pushed out. Borderline retaliation. Not a place that will take health or safety concerns seriously. Billing is more important than you or your health