Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Our Survey Says

VAULT'S VERDICT:

At Greenberg Traurig, desirable candidate traits include high academic achievement, a clerkship or other background experience, and a can-do attitude. The culture is professional but with plenty of socializing, though just how much varies by office. Associates feel that shareholders care about their development as professionals. Management is open about firmwide performance, but there is a lack of transparency into promotions and compensation, which is black box. Associates report the amount of work is reasonable—ebbs and flows aside. The firm does not follow Cravath scale, but some believe it’s commensurate with work/life balance, and others believe the more conservative pay helped prevent pandemic salary cuts—most associates are satisfied. Associates enjoy their work, which includes a reasonable balance of stretch opportunities along with more basic (but necessary) assignments. There are formal training and mentorship opportunities, but many feel they learn the most on the job. Partnership is a realistic path for those who want it, but some feel the process lacks transparency. The firm also has counsel and project attorney roles, and the firm’s alumni group is helpful for external placement. Technology is not necessarily the firm’s feature, but working from home has gone smoothly, and associates report great IT support. Wellness programming includes options like meditation, yoga, and counseling. Pro bono is important to the firm—25 hours are required each year, and there are tons of opportunities available. The firm has a number of diversity initiatives, from the GT DRIVES program to affinity groups to a listserv just for women attorneys.

ASSOCIATE REVIEWS

The below associate quotes are derived from Vault's Annual Associate survey, which took place from mid-March 2021 to mid-May 2021.

GETTING HIRED

Hiring Process

• “My understanding is that the firm seeks well-rounded candidates who have demonstrated success in their previous endeavors (academic, involvement, career) and show potential as a good fit for the firm, especially sharing the same values and having the same work ethic.”
• “We are looking for incredibly intelligent, confident, and charismatic attorneys. We do have feeder schools, which are not exclusively top law schools. We actively recruit the top of the local law school classes. The firm looks on clerkships very positively, although our clerkship bonuses could be higher.”
• “GT looks to a variety of factors in the hiring process. One of the main factors is to look at the associate's willingness to learn and to have a great attitude in doing so. The law school attended and previous working experience are important too, but it is important that the candidate has a great attitude.”
• “Our office wants elite law school grads with federal clerkship experience. Large firm experience in a major market is also highly sought after.”

Interview Questions

• “Questions [were] about the types of work I have done in the past, cases I have worked on, and what I am looking for in a job. It generally felt like they were just trying to get a feel for my personality and whether I could competently perform the work required by the position.”
• “Know your resume inside and out. Be ready to answer the why ‘this firm’ or why ‘law school’ style questions. The most important advice I can give here beyond listing ‘interview questions’ is to recommend you reach out and speak with attorneys at the firm. Get to know what the GT culture is really like.”
• “Lots of questions geared towards business development/involvement in the community. Also what you do outside of work. They want to know you're a well-rounded person, at least at this office.”
• “Why are you looking to leave your current firm? What is your favorite movie? Questions about experience.”

Lateral & Clerk Integration

• “It was pretty seamless. After a couple days, I was given projects, met my colleagues, and started attending meetings and working with others on projects.”
• “I am a lateral and the process was great. I was trained, treated with respect for my relative inexperience at the specific firm, and offered opportunities to prove myself and given clear guidance when I fell short.”
• “The firm has always done a very good job of welcoming lateral hires as if they had been here all along. The firm is a very welcoming place.”

ASSOCIATE LIFE

Firm Culture

• “Very collegial atmosphere. Lawyers from different practice groups will chat with one another regularly and will socialize after hours at sports events, happy hours, etc. There are regular firm-sponsored events that are well attended. Lawyers and staff interact in the same manner. Everyone is very friendly, respectful, and competent.”
• “Culture varies widely by office location. At our office, there is little social interaction outside of the that is not prescheduled. Most attorneys would rather finish work and head home than spend more time together.”
• “The firm encourages interaction through professional functions. The people I work with are generally friendly, reasonable, and down to earth. I would describe the atmosphere as professional but humane.”
• “Before the pandemic, the firm had a very lively social and professional atmosphere. There were frequent events for attorneys and staff alike. These certainly helped build familiarity and rapport. The day-to-day atmosphere in office was always very pleasant, and interactions were always very positive. There have been some events during the pandemic, but of course these are limited to online events and are harder to pull off. I look forward to the day that we are back in the office, being social again on a regular basis.”

Associate/Partner Relations

• “Associates are supported and treated very well by partners. I have had an amazing experience and working with partners is collaborative. Partners want you to improve and take on responsibility. They are readily available to answer questions and support business endeavors.”
• “On the whole, the partners I work with treat associates very well. Firm leadership holds regular calls to keep associates apprised of the direction the firm is moving in. Reviews are done on an annual basis.”
• “The firm is lacking in transparency, especially when it comes to compensation matters.  It is not clear what is taken into consideration with regard to bonuses and currently, while most peer firms are matching the special bonuses, the firm has been silent about their decision-making process.”
• “Although compensation is a bit ‘black box,’ reviews and feedback are candid and management [is] fair.”

Hours

• “Very reasonable billable hour requirement. There is plenty of work, but rarely do I feel overwhelmed.”
• “In my years at the firm, I've been around 1,650 hours (my lowest year) to 2,300 hours (my highest year). The ideal place to be is right around 2,000, which is fair in my opinion. Even before the pandemic, my … location for work was flexible.”
• “The billable hour requirement is fair, and the total work assigned is not onerous, but the distribution of work is often unpredictable.  This leads to very heavy months or lean months in terms of work and hours.”
• “Overall, the firm is quite flexible about when or where you work, as long as the work is done in a timely and competent manner. Matters are very leanly staffed, which can lead to a feeling of uneven distribution of work depending on whether your practice area(s) are in high demand. …”

Compensation

• “I am fairly satisfied with my salary, as it is a generous one; however, it is not exactly equivalent to what other large firms are paying the associates. I believe I have the capacity to make a really nice bonus, although I am unsure of how much it would be. I am overall very pleased with my salary, as it is competitive and I think the work-life balance at GT is a wonderful tradeoff for the slightly less-than-market salary.”
• “Salary as compared to the market is good, but not great. Bonuses tend to be low, and the firm doesn't explain hourly requirements or any other factors that might help to get a higher bonus.”
• “From what I can tell, our bonus is black box, so it’s hard to compare if we're getting industry-standard bonuses. A lot of firms are giving pandemic bonuses, but our firm hasn't given one.”
• “I had spent most of my career in smaller firms, so the compensation level of a firm like this one is greatly appreciated. I was very happy with my bonus last year. I don't know how others feel, and I am aware that our firm has not always been the highest-paying firm, but I appreciate that their financial decisions, including this one, led to the firm being able to avoid cuts as a result of the pandemic.”

Quality of Work

• “I am given a great deal of responsibility and often allowed to run my cases. My opinions are valued, and I feel trusted by the partners I work with.”
• “I believe most of the work I do is appropriate for my level. Occasionally, I have done work that is more typical of someone with less experience, but only when necessary or when that particular project is a part of a larger project that I am working on.”
• “I was given substantive work assignments almost immediately upon starting. All the work I have been given so far has been appropriate for my level. I have been assigned research projects that vary in scope and complexity; drafted litigation documents such as complaints, motions, and declarations; conducted document review and prepared those documents for filing; drafted letters to opposing counsel; and drafted white papers.”
• “I perform substantive legal work, including drafting contracts to reflect the clients' negotiations and preparing documentation to effectuate transactions.”

Technology

• “The firm adapted [to remote work] well. Utilizing Teams and BlueJeans has allowed the group to work remotely more easily and get together.”
• “The firm provides what I need when it comes to IT services. I think that we are at least as innovative as most other big firms.”
• “The firm has generally provided associates with the technology required to work remotely. The technology could be updated, but it works fine for its purposes.”
• “GT has such a great IT team, and they are available 24/7. They are always available and very responsive whenever I have a technology issue.”

Wellness Efforts

• “Pre-COVID, the firm began offering in-office meditation and yoga classes. During COVID, the firm stepped up its meditation/wellness virtual offerings and also provided tutoring help for parents at the firm.”
• “The firm makes a strong effort toward wellness. They provide trainings on burnout and have counseling available for all. There are wellness-related resources available such as programs and firm-sponsored activities. The firm provides standing desks to everyone and has comfortable chairs. The firm is very receptive to providing additional accommodations, such as specialized desks for very tall people and specialized chairs for people with back injuries.”
• “It is good, but could be better. The firm does offer free counseling and other resources. We also had a training recently about stress and burnout, which is a conversation that is very important for young associates to have.”
• “We have many programs, both for physical and mental health, should you wish to use them.”

Training & Mentoring

• “There is an initial formal training period over the first two days, formal required training for first year associates, and a structured mentorship program.”
• “There is a lot of formal training at the beginning. The most helpful training, though, is the day-to-day feedback I get from associates and partners on work I do. All partners have been willing to have a call or send comments. That training has been invaluable.”
• “The firm has many specific mentoring programs (i.e., a required basic mentorship program and then optional opportunities within specific aspects of the firm such as Affinity Groups or practice areas), as well as numerous required and optional trainings.  Firm CLE trainings and non-CLE trainings are offered on a near-constant basis.”
• “The firm has many options for formal training and mentorship.  Its utility is dependent on whether an associate will be proactive in taking part in the opportunities.”

Career Outlook

• “Partnership is realistic, and there are many exit opportunities as our firm has a large network with individuals branching into virtually any field.”
• “Promotion to partnership is realistic, although the process is somewhat opaque.”
• “Promotion to partnership is realistic for those who would like to make partner. Some senior attorneys may transition to a non-partner ‘of counsel’ role or part-time ‘project attorney’ role. Associates often leave the firm to go to in-house roles or boutique firms (very rare for any associate to leave for a different BigLaw firm).”
• “… The firm has an ‘alumni group’ of former firm attorneys—I think the existence of that group shows that the firm is committed to ensuring that attorneys that work here are able to easily transition to another job if they want to. I don't think I'm close enough to the partnership process to know whether it is transparent or not.”

PRO BONO & DIVERSITY

Pro Bono Commitment

• “Our firm requires 25 pro bono hours a year from every attorney. Pro bono is taken seriously.”
• “We can count 100 pro bono hours as billable. I have recently filed a trademark for a small beauty brand and am working on getting citizenship status for an unaccompanied minor from Guatemala. There is no shortage of pro bono opportunities at the firm, and we have a dedicated pro bono coordinator that sends out almost daily emails with new cases.”
• “… Associates are also allowed to find their own pro bono opportunities through organizations of their choosing (with reasonable limits) and the pro bono coordinators are usually willing to supervise.”
• “Pro bono is strongly encouraged, and your pro bono hours can count as billable hours. It's honestly one of the great parts about this firm. I've worked on helping a not-for-profit in obtaining property to further its objectives, as well as assisted in a quiet title action involving saving the home of an elderly, disabled woman that lacked resources to fight off meritless claims of ownership by a third party. …”

Diversity Efforts

• “From what I have seen, the firm prioritizes diversity with respect to hiring and promotion of women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and individuals with disabilities. GT DRIVES is probably the most visible of our groups, but I would say that firm leadership and shareholders value diversity. The firm does offer billable hours credit for diversity-related activities.”
• “There is a huge diversity initiative underway, which includes regular firmwide discussions regarding race, social activism, etc., and the firm is involved in a lot of social justice efforts. We do have a diversity committee and can bill to diversity initiatives; we also have lots of affinity groups. …”
• “We get billable credit for diversity related work. We also have a lot of initiatives devoted to diversity in hiring. Our office has a listserv for the women attorneys, which is a fun email connection allowing us to ask questions or [for] advice on work- or life-related issues.”
• “The firm has a number of women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community in leadership positions. There are affinity groups both locally and nationally. The firm attends diversity job fairs and recruits through the 1L diversity pipeline project. We are allowed up to 50 hours of billable credit for community service activities which can include diversity-related activities.”