Vault’s Verdict

As an economic and litigation consulting shop with an extremely strong reputation, Bates White is a firm that will be on the mind of anyone with an interest in a career in providing expert testimony. And with good reason: the company’s experts are sought after across a wide range of cases and project types. 

While the firm will provide all the training and mentoring required to help employees achieve that “expert” status, be advised that it likely won’t come quickly. Given the high-profile nature of many of its cases, this is a firm with a defined hierarchy, with paths to the top meticulously charted out over many years—with lots of due diligence-style project work along the way.

That’s not to imply that the firm is a difficult place to spend those years, however: in addition to a collegial, academic culture, insiders report experiencing rewarding work, excellent training and growth opportunities, and an open, welcoming cohort of colleagues. With all that in mind, Bates White represents an excellent career opportunity for those with both medium and long-term aspirations.

Firm Culture

“Although we are not a super small company, all employees work in the same office in Washington, DC. I feel that this gives the firm a more unified culture and community relative to firms with offices across the country/globe.”

“Bates White culture sets it apart from the competition. Everyone is incredibly smart and talented but most importantly they want to help each other and enjoy their time here. Firm leadership is very intentional in setting up an environment where employees can succeed and grow.”

“Genuine employee support: focus on firm culture and investment in growing your career. That investment translates phenomenally well to staying and developing within Bates White (an opportunity somewhat unique among our peers), to moving into an MBA, JD, or PhD program, or to working in other adjacent industries.”

“My co-workers are some of the smartest yet kindest people I have ever met. From early on, upper management makes you feel included in decisions. I have worked side-by-side with managers and partners only a few weeks into working at the firm, which showed me that they do not have superiority complexes or think they are better because of their positions. People encourage you to take time off after a busy week, and actually care about your concerns.”

“The top levels are truly collaborative and I do not believe the partners are trying to compete with one another. I think this aspect is different from many other economic consulting firms that follow more of an ‘eat what you kill’ profit model.”

Quality of Life

“Bates White has a hybrid work schedule, which I think is great. We are in the office three days a week and work from home for two days. We are given Fridays to WFH, which is nice if you want to travel for a long weekend without taking time off. There are minimal, if any, travel requirements. I've been with the firm for over a year and have never had to travel. The PTO policy is pretty good. As an entry level consultant, we're given 15 days of PTO but can accrue up to 22.5 days and the week off between Christmas and New Year’s. It's really easy to take PTO. You just have to let your managers know that you'll be out of office. Using PTO is really encouraged at Bates White because there is the understanding that you'll be more productive when you take breaks.

The only negative thing about the firm's quality of life is the hours. They can be pretty unpredictable. Given the nature of the litigation environment, it can be difficult to know when you'll have a 40 hour week or a 60 hour week.”

“Being part of the economic consulting industry, the hours are often unpredictable and sometimes quite long, but I feel the firm does a good job of trying to mitigate these issues. Bates White hires more consultants than the average firm to attempt to spread out workload. When you do end up having to work long hours the firm will pay for meals and travel home. Bates White offers a generous PTO policy and respects employees PTO. I have never had to work while on PTO besides checking email once or twice a day. In addition to standard PTO, Bates White also allows employees to work remotely for up to 4 weeks at a time.”

“Coming out of the pandemic, the firm is taking active strides forward in increasing awareness and representation. … The hours have been tough this year. This is a result of several factors, including the firm's success, staff attrition, and the volatility of consulting. The firm has taken steps to mitigate the hours, but at the end of the day there are still substantial portions of the firm that have been logging longer hours.”

“The hours can be volatile given the nature of the work, but I believe the average is around 45 hours/week. However, there are periods of time when there are ‘sprints’, which tend to be around report deadlines, that require consultants to work a little bit longer. The hours are not excruciating at all, but I would expect a degree of volatility/unpredictability in them. That being said, the work-life-balance at BW is above-average, with an entire week off for the winter holidays and ample PTO. It is relatively easy to take time off, so long as it is communicated with managers and other members on the team (which is a reasonable expectation for most jobs). As an entry-level consultant, there are no travel requirements.”

“While not super common, the Firm is open to different working arrangements, within boundaries. I have an atypical arrangement, with more remote work and a reduced capacity. I've found this to be extremely satisfying in this season of life, given my personal life at the moment. The firm has worked with me to make an arrangement work.”

Compensation

“Bates White really emphasizes pay equity. There is a lot of transparency across levels, so we know what others are making. They are increasing base salaries …, which is really exciting for next year. One great perk is that every in-office day we get free breakfast and free snacks. There are also a lot of lunches and dinners that we have. It makes coming into the office worth it, especially because we save money on food. Also, if you work >11 hours, you can expense dinner.”

“BW operates on a fixed compensation scale by tenure, which I believe is ideal for equity reasons. End-of-year bonuses based on billable hours are fine, and the company recently announced significant increases to base salaries for all positions, which is much appreciated.”

“The firm has undergone a compensation restructuring that will take place in 2023 and will raise all positions' base salaries. The salary progression at the firm is explicit and allows for upward mobility.  The firm has also started providing catered breakfasts and snacks, which are a favorite of many employees.”

“The pay scale has been significantly increased starting next year. Prior to this, our pay was beginning to lag behind competitors, which caused frustration among many of the consultants. The announced raise increases salaries across the board to six figures and brings our compensation more in line with the market. Consultants will be eligible for raises every six months, with a larger increase when promoted to senior consultant.”

Career Development

“Ability to be promoted without an advanced degree. Continual challenges await if you are ready. Heavy investment in mentorship and on-the-job training. Increasing focus on formal training tailored to our work.”

“Bates White does a fantastic job developing their employees with internal best practices that are ultimately applicable to a variety of industries. Early employee work is grounded in data analysis and data organization. This solidifies strong quantitative skills that are very helpful and complement the necessary qualitative skills. There are several formalized trainings that occur during your first few weeks and continue on into your professional career to ensure continued learning. What's most valuable though, is the on the job training that occurs regularly through managers and senior consultants.”

“Bates White is very transparent in fostering career development. Each person is assigned a sponsor that is assigned with keeping you informed of your career progress and relaying your wishes to the firm. We have formal check-in meetings several times a year to discuss feedback and promotions. Bates White values training opportunities heavily with formal training for the first several months, access to online learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Data Camp, and informal training through an emphasis on getting consultants access to topic areas and software they are interested in.”

“The best aspects of the firm's career development opportunities are grounded in the opportunities for informal mentorship and training, as well as formal technical and training. From the formal training perspective, the onboarding training is super robust and includes training on a range of diverse skills, from advice on how to navigate client relationships to more technical training, such as in R and STATA. Employees are also encouraged to utilize the other resources that the firm has made available, including their firm subscriptions to coding camps and LinkedIn learning, and to attend educational events that the firm hosts, such as conferences and sessions with visiting professors. Overall, there are a plethora of opportunities to learn and develop a robust professional and personal skillset. 

From the informal training perspective, the firm ensures that employees are engaging in matters where not only do they feel challenged and excited, but also empowered to ask questions. I believe that this has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the culture. Employees receive constant and proactive feedback and are encouraged to give the same for others. This sort of feedback loop is engrained in the culture, which I've found to be helpful to my progression as a professional.”

“Starting [in 2023], consultants will be eligible for a raise or promotion every six months. This change is meant to increase the rate at which consultants advance through the ranks and receive higher compensation. Promotions are based on a rubric of core competencies and feedback from the people that you work with - those working longer hours on more intense cases tend to be promoted faster. In general, the promotion system is very transparent and the sponsor/feedback system makes it clear whether someone is on-track or not.”

Community Engagement

“Bates White seems genuinely dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We have initiatives for several groups including women, international colleagues, and LGBT colleagues. The latter was started fairly recently, and has shown me how it has been easy for colleagues to start an organization if they are interested. We also have groups that encourage folks to get involved with other interests, including a sustainability committee, a committee that supports nonprofit fundraisers and community involvement, an econometrics reading group, a parents' support group, and more.” 

“The firm has a D&I council that it invests a lot of time and resources into and has been increasing its efforts related to race and ethnicity, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals.”

“The firm has several committees dedicated to DE&I efforts, including a DE&I committee and Women's Network and is in the works of developing others. The firm is also very proactive in creating an environment for consultants that is fair and inclusive and empowers their employees to ask questions, voice their concerns, and spearhead new initiatives.”

“Within the firm, individuals are treated with respect and are promoted consistently with regards to race, gender, and sexuality.”

“Women's Network always hosts events funded by the firm. For example, provided entire firm with book called ‘Invisible Woman’ about how data analytics sometimes exclude gender and race. Had a firm-wide lunch to discuss the book and reflect. Firm also frequently holds events that celebrates different cultures through food and potlucks, giving individuals the opportunity to share their cultures. I do believe that the firm gives everyone equal access to quality work and promotion. As an Asian-American woman, I have never felt otherwise at this firm.”

Business Outlook

“Bates White is a highly competitive, highly demanded firm in the economic consulting and antitrust litigation industry. Morale is high knowing we are working on high profile, meaningful projects, but this is also accompanied by a sense of employee burnout given how highly sought after BW is.”

“Economic consulting involves a lot of uncertainty about where future business will come from, and how much. That can be stressful if you have some responsibility for business development. On the other hand, we are busier than ever and turning away work in order to avoid burning out staff. Morale seems very high, and I think we have reached a nice equilibrium post-pandemic.”

“The employee morale is fantastic, especially with raises coming in January [2023]. I appreciate the academic enrichment as well, including the library, access to ABA events, and guest lectures.”

“The firm has a lot of business and many new opportunities in the pipeline. There is no shortage of work opportunities and experience for employees as our reputation in the market is strong and there is significant demand for our work. This translates into more hours, but also more development opportunities for consultants.”

“We have an internal growth model where we focus on developing our staff into business leaders and testifying experts. That has been extremely successful and we continue to have more work than we can deliver and have to turn down cases we would otherwise have worked on.”

Hiring Process

“Applications are screened by multiple people. Candidates are then put through an interview process that includes case and behavioral interview questions. Bates White seeks someone who thinks well, is willing to learn, and has some interest in working with data.”

“Everyone at the firm is kind, genuine, humble, and willing to help others. Ideal candidates should thrive in a team environment, be unafraid to learn new quantitative skills, and should look forward to learning quickly through experiences. The firm does not look for specific course-load or majors from college, so long as candidates demonstrate analytical experiences and show potential.”

“Our interview process occurs in two stages and attempts to uncover a holistic view of each candidate. An ideal candidate for Bates White demonstrates clear interest, strong work ethic, good economic intuition, and an aptitude for learning technical skills.”

“The firm has two rounds of interviews. The first is a short case interview and some behavioral questions. The second round is [a half day-long] interview process with a second case interview and meeting many employees. I believe the firm is seeking individuals who are intelligent, have strong communication skills, are willing to learn, and add to the firm's culture.”

Interview Questions

“A typical case interview will walk through a scenario that is similar to one of the cases we may actually be working on. These interviews will challenge candidates to think outside the box and apply economic intuition, rather than memorize economic concepts.”

“All interview questions highly tailored to the content of our work and our firm culture. Questions focus on teamwork, collaboration, leadership, ability to think creatively. Case problems are microcosms of real cases, e.g., relating to price fixing, Anti-Kickback Statute matters in the pharmaceuticals space, estimating liability related to defective products.”

“Our interviews consist of behavioral interviews and consulting case sections. The case section has conceptual and math components.”

“Tell me about a time you conducted some form of analysis. When was a time you had to explain something to an audience who was unfamiliar with the topic? What is a time things did not quite go to plan? Why are you interested in economic consulting?”

“We give difficult case interviews that are created in house, inspired by real cases, that are meant to allow us to see how candidates think and approach difficult challenges.”