Bradley is super collegial in tangible ways. They truly care about the people they work with and will do whatever they can to support you, especially personally. Hours are fantastic for the sophisticated work you can do, and they give a lot of responsibility/tangible work to young attorneys and summer associates. While training could be better, they generally believe (and I agree) that the best way to learn is by doing, and most attorneys will take time to give you feedback if you ask. They have a great commitment to pro bono, especially compared to other Southern firms, and will generally support any pro bono projects you’d like to take on. Though they have work to do in increasing diversity, this has more to do with them being based in Alabama than their culture. They are genuinely supportive of diverse identities (saying this as a “diverse” candidate myself) and are trying to increase diversity at the firm–they’re unfortunately fighting the stereotype that Alabama isn’t as inclusive as other places. Having worked at two Vault 100 firms in NYC, and being a student at a T14 school in the North, I can say with confidence that this is the most inclusive and welcoming firm I’ve worked at. While the pay is below NYC, DC, or other big cities, cost of living more than makes up for that.

While they’re genuinely trying to increase diversity, they still have work to do. Their policies are gender neutral (fantastic parental/fertility benefits), and they do a lot of great pro bono work. However, they aren’t great at advertising this like they should, and they don’t do much (if any) LGBTQ+ pro bono work. As a summer associate, they focus heavily on social events and bonding, which is definitely fun but at times makes it difficult for summer associates to see the genuine warmth and support the attorneys/staff give to each other. They also seem to worry about being seen as too political and thus shy away from using their status as a huge Southeastern powerhouse to enact change or support local organizations doing good work.

They care about work product and competence, but the major factor beyond that is your ability to get along well with others. They want to make sure their attorneys can carry on a conversation and get along well with most people, as this is especially important in the Southern legal culture. Generally, this is what they’re looking for the most when interviewing candidates/evaluating summer associates. Be warm, take initiative to get to know people, and communicate if you don’t understand or are struggling with a task—you’ll be set.