Gordon & Rees LLP

The work at Gordon & Rees involves "fast-paced litigation with a lot of pressure." According to insiders, the firm's strengths include hands-on work and high-level responsibility for junior associates; weaknesses include a high-stress environment and less than satisfactory salaries. As one San Francisco lawyer reports, "Although I am able to gain experience handling high-exposure cases, the pay is definitely not commensurate with the hours and stress. Many of the associates are dissatisfied with the compensation packages."

Associates have little to say about the firm's formal training, perhaps because there isn't much of it. "There are a series of CLEs each year on various aspects of litigation," one lawyer tells us. "Other than that, there is not much formal training and most associates are given the sink-or-swim lesson." The firm may focus more on training associates before they come on board full time. As the firm reports, "Gordon & Rees is committed to providing meaningful training to summer associates," including "a seminar on how to take depositions," on completion of which, "the summer associate is well prepared to take a deposition on his or her own."

The firm also has "a new attorney mentoring program whereby each new attorney is assigned to a senior attorney mentor within the firm to help guide the new attorney during his or her initial year with the firm." But associates find the results a mixed bag. With respect to mentoring by partners, as one lawyer notes, "It really depends on which partner you are talking about."

Associates say that the firm is staffed with "close-knit, fun and intelligent" lawyers. But while insiders seem to like their colleagues and respect the partners, they don't necessarily spend much time mixing together outside the office. As one litigator reports, "The group I work in does not really have a tremendous amount of time to socialize." That said, associates generally report that they are "very satisfied" with the number of hours they spend in the office.