legal secretary

attorney

associate

legal assistant

business development specialist

Haynes and Boone, LLP

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great competitive pay and bonus opportunities for the industry.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
High stress work environment with harsh expectations around availability and work/life balance. Be prepared to put the job first in every aspect of life.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Generally friendly environment, but culture varies per practice group. Some cultures are aggressive about work/life balance, others put the job before everything else. The firm is proactive on certain objectives like mental health and DEI, but the real-time application of these objectives lacks serious support from key partners who are out of touch with (or lack interest in) their associate’s experiences.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Show up to work stressed with deadlines and high expectations. Dread receiving new assignments during the day because they will add to your workload. As an associate, you cannot say no to work and are expected to overwork regularly to meet the needs of the practice group. Almost always eat luch at your desk. If you’re lucky and are in a good place with your workload you can leave work around 6pm. Don’t be surprised if you log back in at 7pm to do more work from home. Several associates work into the early hours of the morning and are back at work at 9/9:30am. If you are slow with work, the anxiety of not having enough billable hours creeps in and you find yourself asking anyone for work. All in all - most days are stressfull.

Working at Haynes & Boone, LLP started off as a transition from my previous experience working in litigation support. During my transition I had the honor to work, and learn from some of the most talented and professional individuals in their respective field.  

I’ve gained and learned much knowledge and experience in my 1st and 2nd degree helpdesk experience along with the Audio / Video conferencing capabilities.  I successfully provided desk-side support regarding hardware and software issues to over 130+ partners, attorneys, and staff members. 

I welcomed, studied and overcame any hurdles that came my way during my tenure at Haynes & Boone, LLP. I had a great team that I could always reach out to in the Dallas location whenever necessary to also assist on issues. 

It was sad departing such a great environment and working with intelligent individuals, but I felt that I’ve reached my pinnacle and my hungry for growth within the IT field is necessary for my personal and professional career.

The partners, who make the money, have no say in this firm.  Haynes and Boone is controlled by the HR administrators who are purely overhead which makes no sense at all.  The word is out about them and they have trouble hanging on to staff; in fact some staff don't even show up for work after they have been offered a position.  The good side is they have all the modern uptodate software and good technical support, including a good help desk and very good documentation.  Apparently, they have good benefits.

but all this is not worth the controlling atmosphere by the HR administrators.  If you don't get on their good side, you are not going to be hired.  But who would want to ever work for a place like this?

The attorneys were all ok to work with, but management was a definite downer. Never have I experienced such unprofessional demeanor from an office administrator. Favoritism, bad-mouthing, gossiping, and unapproachable personality all contributed to the difficulty I experienced in my three years at this firm. I was fortunate to have an exceptional group of attorneys to work with and coworkers who made my days enjoyable. I made wonderful connections at this firm. I am still thankful to this firm for allowing me to further grow in my career as a legal secretary. The lack of resources helped me play an independent role and learn new responsibilities in a law firm.

Will bring you onboard telling you that employee loyalty is important, but in reality, it is not. I saw fellow coworkers let go at the company who were there for 20 years for no legitimate reason. When you meet a high pay, they will replace you with a younger person right out of college for almost half your current pay. 

Management is passive aggressive. Say they will back you up but never do when you come to them with a problem. Inner office departments are toxic and constantly make your job more difficult by not willing to compromise on jobs and project preparation before execution. Unreasonable turn around times. 

Will make up workplace violations just to get you fired. Nothing to do with your work performance or job. 

Inconsistent support from HR and office administration, and the undermining of staff create a stressful environment. 

Historic bullying has been tolerated, and overlooked by senior leadership, despite the issues raised, which has lead to fast turnover of support staff who are constantly being undervalued.

Management has been slow to address conflicts or hold the individuals accountable. 

Management do not provide consistent support, foster a respectful work environment, or take reports of bullying seriously, and act promptly to resolve conflicts.


There is very little incentive to "work hard" here. The times where do you show initiative just set you up to take on more responsibility with zero compensation. There is very little room for actual advancement or growth inside of the firm. The compensation is not competitive for the market and the raises do not keep up with inflation. There is a lack of training from corporate and it can be frustrating getting help outside of your local office.

They have a small office in that there is always the push to do more with less, but the big corporate feel in the "you're lucky to have a job" attitude.

The attorneys that I worked for provided no direction, were unkind and the workplace was toxic.  The atmosphere at the office was very cold.  I did learn more about the area of law that I was working in but was made to feel inadequate and stupid.  I was basically ignored for a period of time and then expected to be fully responsible for all aspects of the legal documents and was to blame if any mistakes were made.  There was no communication between my supervisors and me.

Good working environment. Good benefits. Good place to work. Gained a lot of software and computer knowledge. Management was excellent. Got along well with co-workers. As a floater, I filled in wherever necessary in all sections of the firm including, IP, bankruptcy, environmental, litigation and finance. Looking for files or documents in a file sometimes was sometimes difficult since I was not completely knowledgeable regarding a particular section's filing. The most enjoyable part of my job was scanning documents and editing document.

I've learned a lot at Haynes and Boone - from my co-workers. There is no formal training program, so you learn on the job and from your co-workers. They are happy to help you in any way they can. And not just from your local office, but from all the offices Haynes and Boone has around the country.
I learned to ask a lot of questions - but from the people who actually do the job, not from the office managers who have never been legal secretaries.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Legal secretary 2 salaries reported	$83,750 per year
Attorney 1 salary reported	$152,625 per year
Associate 3 salaries reported	$166,333 per year
Legal assistant 5 salaries reported	$103,300 per year
Business development specialist 2 salaries reported	$122,500 per year

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