Cowles & Thompson

Law Firms

GENERAL INFO

Headquarters: Dallas, TX
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NEWS AND UPDATES

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ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

The best lawyers we could possible be

Cowles & Thompson was started in 1978 by a group of six Dallas attorneys, who pledged to be "the best lawyers we could possibly be and still enjoy the practice of law." The firm has its roots in insurance litigation, but now provides a host of other legal services, including corporate, real estate and tax law. In addition to its main Dallas office, there's a small office in Tyler, Texas, and the Addison office, which opened in 2006 when the firm merged with Higier Lautin Foxman McKinney & Owen. This merger should give the litigation-heavy Cowles & Thompson a stronger foothold in transactional law.

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SALARIES

Cowles & Thompson salary & compensation reviews include all signing and year-end bonuses, vacation time and other perks and reimbursements that make up total compensation.

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SURVEY SAYS

Low stress environment

Most sources find Cowles & Thompson a friendly, sociable place. "Friendly, cooperative, team-oriented, supportive, laid-back," are adjectives used by one associate to describe the firm culture. A few detractors describe the firm as "hierarchical and political" and claim you "have to be 'in' with the right people to get anything accomplished." But the majority describe a "social atmosphere" in which "lawyers and staff enjoy each other's company." "All of the lawyers socialize with each other as well as with the staff," observes a first-year. "There is no delineation between attorneys and staff. We are all one team." According to a Dallas associate, "The firm encourages a quality-of-life approach to both the practice of law and your pursuit of interests outside the office, especially family and community involvement."

DISCUSSIONS

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Getting Hired

Tips from the inside

Summer program

An associate at Cowles & Thompson says that the firm is looking to hire "good litigators and lawyers who fit in with the rest of the firm." The firm generally recruits at Texas schools, including Baylor University, SMU, University of Houston, University of Texas and Texas Tech University, for a relatively short summer associate program: six weeks in the first half of the summer. A few associates suggest that would-be litigators might have to wait for a spot. They contend that the firm is "not looking" for new recruits at the moment, since it is currently "overstaffed in litigation [and] moving associates to the transactional practice, which is booming." One associate notes, "We have a great recruitment program for minorities," and the firm adds that it is placing increasing emphasis on diversity.
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