legal assistant

attorney

communications manager

research coordinator

operations manager

Frost Brown Todd LLC

I was at Frost Brown Todd, LLC for 15 years.  (I previously worked for Brown Todd & Heyburn, PLLC before they merged with Frost & Jacobs, now Frost Brown Todd.)  Both law firms were good to work for as far as compensation and benefits.  Frost Brown Todd is a face-paced law firm with many clients worldwide.  A typical day at work would be to:  open mail; answer phone calls; make appointments; type and revise correspondence, pleadings, memoranda, Excel documents, etc. for three busy litigation attorneys; scan documents into FBT's system for clients' respective files; file hardcopy documents in clients' folders (for hearings, etc.); efile pleadings on both federal and state court websites; copy documents before mailing; billing for each attorney's clients; call federal and state courts for information regarding upcoming hearings, etc.  FBT is a very diversified workplace with many cultures represented.  The hardest part of the job was prioritizing my three attorneys's work to accomplish what they needed in one day.  The most enjoyable part of the job were my co-workers, who were willing to help out when needed.

The benefits at Frost are wonderful but the management team lacks heavily in facilitating a comfortable work environment. Hired as a records assistant i found that my job description only mattered if it pertained to my other coworkers because i found that despite heavily over producing results in my actual job of filing and file creation i was being delegated to being more so a handy man due to office renovations that instead of having a support staff of sorts suggested i cut and bust my clothes and hands on deconstructing massive shelving and furniture while my coworkers scrolled through Facebook and enjoyed water cooler gossip. When addressing my issues with management i was asked if i wanted to quit or leave frequently and the micromanagement escalated so much so that i was even called in to a meeting with Human resources for not smiling enough when speaking to my direct manager in the morning.

First off, this firm is HUGE - over 8 offices throughout the USA. Benefits are lackluster as a “business professional”. Starting you only get 17 PTO days and 1 floating holiday. Profit-sharing doesn’t start until you’ve been at the firm for at least a year (I worked at firms where it started on day one). Maternity leave is only provided if you full time and have been at the firm for a year. Plus, it’s only 12 weeks (8 weeks paid, 4 weeks unpaid). Attorneys seem to get way better benefits. The office manager doesn’t return your emails when you ask questions. I honestly regret taking this position, I wish I would have stayed at my previous firm. They had way better benefits and people who would check in on me to make sure I was doing okay. If you don’t mind being in a firm where you feel small and faceless then this place will be fine for you. If you like to have connections with others and feel like you’re a part of the firm, I suggest looking elsewhere. There are way better firms out there. 

Really appreciate the firm culture and how working as a legal assistant is not the usual "Attorneys vs. non-attorneys" vibe.  We are included as equal colleagues on events and in the office which is so refreshing.  Also, the attorneys here are professional and make you feel valued.  Management actually welcomes feedback and opinions are welcome with an open door policy and even an official committee to share thoughts with.  Vacation policy is nice with increases at 5 years and 10 years.  While holiday bonuses may not be as much at other firms, the salary is higher than other firms in this city which makes up for it and the profit sharing (after 2 years) and 401K match (4%) also compensate.  The profit sharing is really nice.  Raises are yearly and dependable and good work ethic is rewarded.  Team members are great to pitch in when coverage is needed.  Actually fun and professional place to work overall.

I started there as a "Desktop Support Tech" but was wanting more. Any attempt to try to advance my knowledge, share my knowledge, or to work on my current palette, I was reminded that "you were hired for 'X' and we already have 'YZ' doing "those things." It was extremely nerve-wracking. The other employees were catered to like babies - everything was done while holding their hands. No attempts were made (nor seemed to be allowed) to teach them how to do things themselves.Benefits were way expensive, based on my previous employers. Was extremely micro-managed, and seemed that those doing it didn't even realize it. Every single issue was an immediate emergency or fire that needed to be put out.

The workplace itself isn’t terrible but there’s a huge gap between legal and non-legal personnel. Non-legal personnel have harsher punishment than legal personnel. Little to no training and they expect you to hit the ground running. Management is help and kind when they are available. I don’t think management is inherently bad but they don’t have the bandwidth to provide support to all the people assigned to them. And when it comes to pay they aren’t forthright with their metrics and chalk everything up to their own way of determining market value. 

What is there to be said about frost brown todd except, this law firm is not like other law firms its size. Their annual “merit raises” do not keep up with cost of living so your best option is to switch jobs after a couple of years. It is sad because the coworkers are all very pleasant and the work is interesting, but the higher up leadership is slowly pushing away lower level staff.

If you are a fan of being "just a lawyer", a firm like FBT may be the right place for you.  Rather than develop true public policy professionals, the firm is focused on providing narrow deliverables of legal advice to clients, often without considering the bigger picture.  With that said, people are fantastic and you have access to all the resources of a mega-firm on the coasts from the comforts of middle-sized cities in the middle of the Midwest.

I worked here as a Summer Associate and was initially nervous about joining such a large firm because I expected a strict and intimidating environment, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, and the open-door policy made it easy to ask questions, even ones I thought might be silly. I felt fairly compensated for my work and thought the pay was good. The support and encouragement I received created a truly positive experience, and I genuinely hope to return in the future.

The job itself is great, the people i work with are great, but the Health insurance is much less than great. i have a $4000.00 yearly deductible that I will never meet, and the insurance covers NOTHING until that deductible is met. I don't have to see a doctor very much, i just have a couple of monthly prescriptions.  I end up using a prescription discount card to offset the cost of my medications since insurance doesn't pay for any of it.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Legal assistant 12 salaries reported	$41.72 per hour
Attorney 19 salaries reported	$158,921 per year
Communications manager 19 salaries reported	$112,500 per year
Research coordinator 18 salaries reported	$28.13 per hour
Operations manager 18 salaries reported	$157,500 per year

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