Vault’s Verdict

The Brattle Group’s European offices boast a collegial environment where many consultants build close, personal relationships with both each other and the partners they collaborate with. The firm regularly hosts recreational activities to build bonds across teams, and it emphasizes working as a team when hiring. Insiders also say they enjoy lots of autonomy over their days and schedules. Although hours can get long around deadlines, staff have flexibility their working hours when their workloads allow. 

The firm also serves as an excellent platform to grow a long-term career. Many Brattle principals started their careers as associates at the firm, and the company pays for training and certification for its employees. International transfers are not exactly commonplace, but they are possible. However, applicants should note that the firm mostly takes a self-guided approach to career development, making it a great destination for those with a clear vision of their futures but more complicated if you need more direct guidance on how to grow your career.

Compensation at Brattle stands out as a positive, with competitive base salaries and bonuses, plus a budget to spend on sports or hobbies. Insiders note that bonuses require hitting a set billable hours requirement but then factor in non-billable contributions to the firm. Other perks include a wellness program and access to mental health and coaching professionals. 

Employee Reviews

Firm Culture

• “Although there are weeks with long hours, the firm fosters a collegial environment where colleagues support one another, which makes the workload feel less overwhelming. This culture of collegiality is reinforced both by the behavior of principals and by the recreational activities organized to strengthen bonds among colleagues.”
• “I appreciate the high level of trust. I feel that I have a lot of independence and autonomy while also being supported by highly capable team members.”
• “The work culture is positive; people work hard when it is necessary and acknowledge when it is not required. To the extent external pressures such as client or court allow, the firm tries to respect people’s work-life balance.”
• “The Brattle Group is a small firm with good personal relationships. Most principals in international arbitration were associates at Brattle before.”

Quality of Life

• “As long as you communicate openly to your team and manage expectations, people are very supportive of your work-life balance and vacation plans.”
• “Normal hours for consulting. Very flexible in terms of not requiring staff to stay at the office/online when there is downtime. Staff are encouraged to rest and take advantage of downtime.”
• “There are no travel requirements at my level. There are a lot of work hours when it is busy, but I think the flexibility the rest of the days compensates it really well.”
• “Some weeks you need to do many extra hours. However, as something positive, when there are no deadlines getting close, you have more flexibility.”

Career Development

• “Growth at Brattle is highly self-driven, which is great for people who know how to structure their own development. In terms of training, mentoring, mobility options, etc., there are many opportunities at all levels.”
• “There are possibilities to move to other offices when there is a business need, there are possibilities to do trainings and courses financed by the company, and there is a mentorship program that works both with the people of your office and the offices from other parts of the world.”
• “The best aspect is the fact the firm provides us with great opportunities to pass official certifications and visit other company offices abroad.”
• “The best aspects include training and promotions. At Brattle, there’s a strong focus in building your career. On the downside, there are few international opportunities. Most of the cases are local.”

Compensation

• “Salaries are very competitive, and the bonus scheme is very transparent. On the other hand, we don’t really know very precisely how our salary is going to grow over time.”
• “The compensation package includes additional remuneration after reaching a threshold of working hours.”
• “The bonus program counts billable hours and also non-billable contributions to the firm. This is a good scheme because it not only recognizes people who work many hours but also encourages people to contribute to firm culture.”
• “The firm has a budget each year that we can spend in sports or other activities that help us be healthy or grow our interest in some area (e.g., painting). They also have a wellness program that is free of charge and gives us access to mental health and coaching professionals.”

Business Outlook

• “The Brattle Group is known for its robust analytical approach and data-driven research.”
• “It has been growing a lot the last few years; however, in some sectors of consulting, we are smaller compared to the competition.”
• “Our principals are growing their business very fast.”
• “Some offices are less proactive about efforts to improve the firm’s business outlook. For example, expanding areas of practice or types of cases to allow employees to develop new skills.”

Hiring Process

• “The interviews are all done in one day and it is great because you get to know someone from each firm level. I believe they seek candidates that are hard workers, quick in thinking, and able to work under pressure. Also, I think other aptitudes are taken into account, like the candidate being nice, as in the end we spend a lot of hours together and having a good environment is important.”
• “I believe my firm is looking for people with the hard skills required for their jobs and who are good to work with.”
• “Mostly focused on knowledge, but I think it matters a lot to be sociable and have chemistry with the rest of the employees.”
• “The ideal candidate is motivated, detail-oriented, and intellectually curious. But most importantly, they want to work cohesively in a team environment to support all team members and produce high quality work together.”

Interview Questions

• “Interview questions are very standard (e.g., why are you interested in this firm?) but what makes Brattle stand out is its emphasis on understanding how interviewees would work in a team. Examples of constructive teamwork are important.”
• “Microeconomics cases, econometrics questions related to regression equations, questions about your experience in managing data. Hiring process organized with a first interview with HR and a super day in the office with five interviews.”
• “They give you real life examples of what a day could be and ask you how you would react in those situations.”
• “Case studies related to our day-to-day work, along with less technical interviews that help to get to know the candidate.”