legal secretary

business development manager

attorney

recruiter

associate

Mcdermott Will & Emery

I was responsible for checking in all the files that have been delivered to file room the night before, for the departments of, Estate Planning, Health, Corporate and Tax . Finish up all lose filing from the day before and start a new bunch until finished with current lose filling. While keeping current indexes on the file clips of court filed documents. Dead file any jackets that are up for offsite storage.
Days I would cover phones I would open the switch board. Directing all calls from voice mail to online. Take down or forward all voice mail left on main switch board to correct person. Keep up with current conference room request threw out the day. Including catering for lunch breakfast and sometimes dinner. Also confirming visiting attorney request for office and computer set up.

Busy, nicely greeted, respectable day.

Increased my knowledge of litigation and bankruptcy filings.

When I joined the firm, the Los Angeles office had only been opened for 6 months. All employees personally knew each other and interacted both on and off the job.

Setting up any newly-formed office is the hardest part of the job. There was no litigation filing system and I created it from my previous experience.

The most enjoyably part of this experience was the inter-personal relationships with every employee, which continued as departments were formed and growth expanded rapidly. It couldn't be helped because the foundation of comradery was solidly in place. As a matter of fact, I still maintain relationships with fellow employees.

My day varied which may have included handling various facility issues, employee issues, or ensuring that I made all deadlines on reports.

I enhanced my negotiation skills, working with various vendors and negotiating lower costs.

My co-workers were supportive and a joy to work with from attorneys to staff across 13 offices in the firm,.

The hardest part of the job was prioritizing my duties, but found I was very successful at accomplishing these tasks.

The most enjoyable part were the people. I interacted with management, attorneys, and staff on a daily basis and had gained knowledge from each person.

Navigating the professional landscape as a woman of color often presents unique challenges, and this experience was no exception. In an environment where thriving and advancing should be accessible to everyone, I found myself grappling with significant hurdles. The demanding hours were a constant strain, but more impactful was the management style I encountered. Working under a partner whose approach didn't align with my values and work ethic proved to be a major obstacle. This misalignment not only affected my day-to-day job satisfaction but also my perspective on growth opportunities within the organization. It's crucial for workplaces to foster an inclusive and supportive atmosphere, especially for women of color who are striving to make their mark. In this case, the lack of such an environment was a clear deterrent to my professional development and overall job fulfillment.

Having worked at McDermott for 3 years, I can say that this was one of my favorite previous employers. Typically I worked with filing, book delivery, re-shelving books, and delivering book and file orders to attorneys.
I learned to be efficient with my jobs, meticulous in my filing, and to always triple check what I am doing before submitting my work/finishing a project.  My supervisors were amazing, the attorneys were fantastic, and everyone was supportive and patient when it came to work, questions I might have had or simply with their book/file orders.
The hardest part was since I only interned twice a week, I had much to catch up on when I came back to the office.
The job itself was the enjoyable portion. I enjoyed working there until the very last day of the internship.

Over the past several years, McDermott has been unable to acquire qualified personnel for the IT upper management positions. As of mid-2019, the CIO remains unreachable by the rank-and-file workers. The Senior Director of IT Operations is wholly incompetent to manage the large and distributed team. This same director prefers to micromanage, requiring an overabundance of pointless meetings. 

As always, these individuals attempt to communicate changes however they do so in a manner that leaves the entire IT organization wondering what is happening. 

While the CIO reports to the COO, no one understands the vision, mission, or strategy that the firm is attempting to execute.

I worked in downtown Chicago for four years. I received this job through school. The high school I attended provides all students with a corporate work and study program where the students attend school four days of the week and work for one. The pay they receive goes directly to help pay tuition. At McDermott Will & Emery, I worked in two different departments. My Freshmen year I worked in the resource department where I typically scanned books, made copies, delivered, made labels, and occasionally filed. My Sophomore through Senior year I worked in the marketing department. Here, I worked on the computer for nearly all tasks. The team I worked with in both departments were wonderful and they are what I miss most!

Office services are limited and the office is fairly busy. The department that I was in was not run very well and as a result there was little to no communication; secretary's are totally micro-managed down to the emails that are sent out to clients for various information, instructions, etc. For the amount of work that is demanded, the pay is considerably lower than the market surrounding SIlicon Valley and there is absolutely no support and/or guidance given from management. It's all about "job security" for the managers and forget about mentoring or really being a manager for the staff.

Overall I would not recommend MWE, but that's only my opinion.

This is a beautiful place to work! The building is up-to-date modern with several spacious and upscale common areas for reading or clearing your mind on lunch or break. The employment offices are peaceful and staffed according to each department. The work atmosphere is calm, and filled with hard working, dedicated people who get the job done and make the work life balance fun! The metra train is inside of the building which makes the job commute a blessing since employees do not have to leave the building in the cold if they catch the metra electric train line. McDermott pays well too, which is also another plus!

Excellent work environment and culture that really values employees and work/life balance. Only negative (which could be a positive for someone else) is that it is a very large firm so that can limit your room for growth because there is some position/department for everything already. My only negative would be compensation. The firm does give GREAT compensation, above average for the Miami area. However, I would like to see them step it up, because Miami in general underpays Legal Assistants so to be above average for the Miami area is great but not enough.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Legal secretary 16 salaries reported	$101,375 per year
Business development manager 11 salaries reported	$116,045 per year
Attorney 3 salaries reported	$147,167 per year
Recruiter 8 salaries reported	$91,813 per year
Associate 5 salaries reported	$223,000 per year

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