Ulmer & Berne

Law Firms

VAULT RANKINGS 2013

#22 Midwest

GENERAL INFO

Headquarters: Cleveland, OH
Company stats

NEWS AND UPDATES

Vault's Scoop

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

Started small

As the saying goes, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Just ask Ulmer & Berne LLP. The firm started small in 1908, when Jacob Ulmer and Joseph Berne founded a partnership in Cleveland. Ulmer & Berne went through several permutations, merging with small firms and changing names, but by 1953 it was still a 10-attorney shop. It wasn't until the late 1980s that the firm started to expand, opening a Columbus outpost. In 1998 Ulmer & Berne cracked the century mark with over 100 lawyers. The firm has since added offices in Cincinnati (2000) and Chicago (2001) en route to becoming the full service, 185-lawyer Midwest player that it is today.

From the Community

REVIEWS

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SALARIES

Ulmer & Berne 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

Ulmer associates report job satisfaction that falls somewhere on the scale between moderate and high. One associate describes the firm as "a very pleasant and fulfilling environment." Another says, "I enjoy the lawyers and staff I work with at my firm. If I were bringing in better work I would be more satisfied." The latter remark touches one area of concern. A midlevel associate complains, "I don't feel that I'm challenged with my daily work," and another lawyer confesses, "My dissatisfaction stems from an inability of the partners to delegate and give senior associates more responsibility."

Associates call the firm "open," "friendly" and "collegial," though they also comment on the "minimal" social interaction. "The firm is not as social as I'd hoped," admits one lawyer, "but there's not pressure to socialize either." Ulmer is considered "progressive" and "accepting," and sources appreciate that "the firm is intensely committed to family and lifestyle issues." A few associates, however, worry that the "culture is undergoing a change as the firm revamps and hypes its new image."

DISCUSSIONS

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Getting Hired

Tips from the inside

Specialized knowledge

Ulmer & Berne's selectivity doesn't depend solely on strict academic requirements. According to a Cleveland associate, "They are seeking outstanding candidates, but will gauge a candidate's abilities in a variety of ways rather than a rigid requirement like 'must be top 10 percent of class.'" A source in Cincinnati adds, "We have some very specialized practice areas, and I think we are looking for people that can contribute more than just law school knowledge." Another attorney agrees that "just as important" as "superior academic credentials" is "the ability to apply what has been learned. Lawyers here are given as much responsibility as they can handle. Ulmer & Berne is not the place to be if you want to practice for five years before taking your first deposition or closing your first business deal."
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