associate attorney

professional liability attorney

attorney

labor & employment associate

litigation attorney

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

I worked for LBBS 2002-04 in Orange County, CA...was shocked to get on here and find there is now a KC office... where I now live.  I was hired as a transcriptionist, which I loved as there was VERY LITTLE interaction w attys. However, I had to work every Mon and Fri for a female partner that EVERYONE hated, and just those two days per week for that awful female partner were enough for me to leave. Overall, I pretty much liked ALL of the other secretaries.  I made a lot of friends there.  The morale was horrible. A common complaint from secretaries were the extremely low yearly pay increases.  Depending on the atty the secretary was assigned to.. some secretaries were constantly staying late and had no life; others didn't have it that bad. I NEVER worked OT unless I volunteered. I just wouldn't do it. Turnover was very high. It's a dead end job... you can't get promoted as a legal secretary.. you are stuck. I went back and finished BA, grad'd at 42, and then landed a lucrative fed job. Another 13 years later, and I am working remote from home and working p/t as a bartender... no more white collar rate race, no more daily grind jobs... I am done with that... for good!!

I feel happy working here, I work with a great group of attorneys and the support I need to get my job done. I am learning a lot and there's always someone to answer my questions. I like the people I work with. The billable requirement is a too high (1600) and the pressure to bill is strong, which creates some competition. The culture is friendly and I am happy with the people I work with. I find that I can manage my schedule and take time off, there is barely any overtime and 7.5 day workweek. The downside is that it's all in-office, which is ridiculous considering most other law firms are now hybrid. The benefits could be better. No in-house tech trainer like in other firms, so you kind of have to figure things out as you go. The online training is very inefficient.
so, to sum up, here are the PROS:
1. excellent team all around (at least for me)
2. good work experience and options to grow as a paralegal
3. flexible with scheduling in terms of taking time off/apts
CONS:
-benefits could be better
-1600 billable is high
-no hybrid work
-no on-site trainer for new staff so they have to rely on other very busy coworkers, which takes time away from tasks

Maybe I just got lucky, but I enjoyed my time at LBBS. I worked on a great team with people I really enjoyed working with. My colleagues were kind, professional, and fun. Several of the partners really took some time to help mentor me and my work. 
The hours honestly were not terrible. The billing requirement is fairly high, but learning how to bill properly helps keep the workday manageable. I always hit my targets, I rarely worked on weekends, and I was usually out the door by 5-6pm. For my particular practice group, the pay was a little under market, but I did not feel like I was being grossly underpaid or used. 
The work can be a bit tedious, but being a lawyer in general is pretty tedious. I enjoyed really being able to take a lot of ownership over my cases. I demonstrated a desire and competency to take ownership of my cases, and they let me do it.
I no longer work here, but it can be a great place to work depending on your practice group.

If you’re a young attorney needing experience and have no other offers, get in and get out as fast as possible. There is no development, no mentorship, and is entirely sink or swim. You get experience quickly, but it’s primarily red car/blue car insurance defense, so the cases get tedious fast. Compensation is atrocious, and benefits are just as bad. This firm has 1.5k attorneys, and only about 150 equity partners. The non-equity partners’ pay is comparable to the starting salaries of new associates at the other Am Law 100 firms. If you end up here, walk in every day reminding yourself that you’re there to gain experience and lateral out as fast as you can. No one is particularly happy or thrilled to work here, and there’s a reason why. 

Do not believe any promise made in the interview. They may tell you that you’ll be able to work with the more substantive or interesting groups. That is not true, you will be doing insurance defense for car crashes and slip and falls. 

LBBS is what you make of it, just like any other large firm. Over the years I've worked with some really amazing attorneys and have been able to learn various types of law and I've worked with some really lousy ones too. Our OA tries to keep people happy but has their hands tied by the equity partners. The benefits suck, over the years they've pushed everyone onto HD Plans, so you're basically paying your own medical costs. The vacation is lacking (4 weeks after 10 years), 7 sick days & 2 personal days and zero 401k contribution. Another thing to note, there's no maternity/paternity leave if you're staff (non-exempt). You may or may not get out early before a holiday & usually don't find out until the day of. However, for the most part, if you have to leave early for an appointment, it's not usually a problem. I'd have to say the only good thing about LBBS is that they rarely fire people so you do have some level of job security.

LBBS will require you to work long hours everyday, on the weekends, on leave, and on vacation. The partners have adopted the attitude that associates and staff are as disposable as a roll of paper towels. The compensation is also way below market rates, not transparent and not uniform (so people at the same level are often paid different salaries). The only way to make partner is be a partner at a small firm that is then absorbed by LBBS. Also each office is its own kingdom, you are not allowed to transfer from one office to another and the partners hate on each other for stealing associates from OC to SD or to LA. Also bonuses are discretionary even if you make your billable requirements, so if the partner you work for doesn't like you, then you won't get a bonus even though you billed the extra hours. Also no compensation or recognition if you bring in a case or a new client. It is common place to hear a partner screaming at staff on a daily basis.

When I first started here, the place was great.  Everyone was friendly and kind.  They would have Christmas parties at The Hyatt, they would take everyone to Disneyland or Magic Mountain for the Company Picnics - then they hired in some real hardcore managers that started treating the staff like dirt.  They had way too many "Managers" and too many channels to go through to get anything done.  Massive amounts of  nonsensical e-mails from Management every single day about new ridiculous rules and regulations and new ways to make the staff absolutely miserable.  For example, you would get an e-mail around 1:00 p.m. on the day before a major holiday stating the office would be closing early that day at 2:30 p.m., and IF it was okay with your immediate Supervisor to go ahead and leave early (like everyone else), if you were unlucky enough to be working for a real hardcore workaholic without a life, you would have to stay and work while you watched everyone else take off!  Real NICE!

This firm is one of the worst I have ever worked for.  The office manager has no experience in managing an office or in the legal field in general and it shows.  Overtime is not allowed yet the work you are given cannot be completed in a 7.5 hour workday.  The office manager plays favorites and allows certain employees to get away with not doing their jobs.  This, of course, negatively impacts the workloads of other employees.  This is well-known in the firm yet nothing is done about it.   Training is a joke.  Most employees are not happy at the firm and talk about leaving constantly.  Many leave after only being there for a few months.   The firm may (or may not) be financially stable but the office culture certainly is not.  You are never truthfully told what you are walking into when you apply for a job with this firm.  Your responsibilities will rapidly increase while your pay doesn't budge even after a year of employment.   Think "bait and switch" and this sums up LBBS in a nutshell.  

This wasn't the best firm to work for but there are certainly worse. Management cared but definitely had favorites like every firm does. You will be able to accrue lots of vacation time the longer you're there but the pay you make for the amount of attorneys/workload you have leaves much to be desired. They do promote from within but if you're a secretary then you absolutely won't be able to switch,  not that you'd want to. The billing requirements for paralegals is so ridiculously high that if you call in sick or take a vacation then you're screwed for the year and you can't get a bonus if you don't meet and/or exceed your billing requirement.  Secretaries had a 3 attorney minimum when I was there and they were talking about making it 4 to 1 which I find unrealistic unless there is a balance of associate to partner. It is a very clique-ish place to work but if that doesn't bother you then you'll be fine. 

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard and Smith is a large law firm employing 300-500 attorneys. They are located in the financial district of lower Manhattan. You will never find a more dedicated group of attorneys whoose main accomplishments include insurance defense. A typical day of work last 8 to 20 hours. There are tight deadlines and no one leaves until they are done. I learned that I am capable of producing error free work and professional level documents and briefs. The hardest part of the job is prompting the client to pay their bills. The most enjoyable part includes the celebrations we use to have on cinco de mayo.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Associate attorney 656 salaries reported	$152,146 per year
Professional liability attorney 221 salaries reported	$164,468 per year
Attorney 215 salaries reported	$151,721 per year
Labor & employment associate 229 salaries reported	$199,432 per year
Litigation attorney 72 salaries reported	$149,861 per year

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