administrative assistant

associate

legal assistant

corporate paralegal

analyst

Thompson Coburn LLP

Supported 3 partners and one senior associate, one of the partners is the chairman of banking and commerical department.  Typical day was answering the phones for my attorneys and assisting the clients when the attorneys were not available.  Created all binders for the clients using the software "Filesurf" to scan and create the database which you would use to print out the binders.  Assisted other secretaries on the floor with software problems, doing all the filing for my attorneys, maintaining the calandars and keeping the attorneys informed when they had upcoming events.  Other responsibilities were to book travel arrangements for my attorneys, check all travel expenses coming into the chairman's inbox to make sure everything was accountable before he approved, enter all time in our time entry program daily and see that all invoices were sent out to the clients in a timely manner.  The most enjoyable part of the job was our whole department worked as a team, when one needed help, others would put their work aside and assist the person who had a priority project.  All of our secretaries looked out for the others, we all worked together to get the job done.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Very well run law firm that actually seems to care about its employees, listens to your concerns, and will act on them when appropriate.  Was quite impressed with leadership at this firm and all other levels as well. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
More of a personal issue than anything that could be attributed to the firm itself -- in my particular position at that particular time, I did not feel that I was being fully utilized to the best of my ability.  This was not necessarily the fault of any person at the firm, but rather a shift in the needs of this particular office at this particular firm of the person who was occupying my particular role.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very supportive, very friendly, and an honest effort to mesh lawyers with staff in a very productive and impressive way.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It's been quite a few years now, so I am not comfortable in sharing any info here at this time.

Pros: After the attorneys had meetings, they would put the leftover food in the lunch room. That was cool—also pizza and birthday cake every month for recognizing staff birthdays and work anniversaries. 

Cons: They will push you to become a legal secretary after you've been there for a while. There is no oppurtuny for growth as an ASA other than transitioning into a secretary. Must report on an excel sheet what you did every hour of the work day. They started implementing too many changes, like aditional tasks for people you weren't orginally assigned too, having to coordinate PTO days with other ASAs & secretaries, and being assigned to a new group without any consultation. If you see that not only you, but others are expressing issues with change, and you choose to speak up, you are seen as resistant to change, and documented for it.  Not much natural sunlight for ASAs & secretaries, unless you are in a the lobby, in an attorneys office or seated at the end of certain hallways.

I worked here on a "temp-to-perm" assignment for nearly a year.  I worked a variety of desks as a floater legal secretary and was promised by both my recruiter and my manager that I would go permanent after three months.  Well, of course that did not happen. They kept changing the job duties and assigning me to a different desk and work for different attorneys when the other secretaries (who were also temping) left for better jobs.  After I witnessed one secretary have a complete meltdown after working with a very difficult attorney for a year, my manager told me to take over her duties.  I demanded that they first hire me permanently since I'd been there almost a year.  She refused my request and instead,  my assignment ended for good.  I have no respect for any company that treats its employees like dirt.  Stay away!!!

I have worked for many law firms, both large and small.  Thompson Coburn LLP is the best firm I've ever worked for.  We have dual monitors at each desk and I am able to do several tasks at once.  We have scanners that also have copying capability at each work station. Thompson Coburn is very technologically advanced compared to other firms I've worked for.  I want to find a firm that is similar in that regard.  The benefits are very good.

Typical day at work would include entering attorney time, processing expense reports and invoices, filing pleadings in Circuit Court, e-filing in Federal Court, editing and proofing various legal documents (letters, pleadings, memorandums, etc.), coordinating docketing.

I never would have considered leaving but I have made the decision to relocate to Texas to be close to my family.  I am originally from Houston and I moved to Chicago in 1993.

She took me under her wing so to speak and explained everything, taught me a lot as this was my internship at first. She involved me in a lot of the aspects of her law firm. She was just getting started so she valued my opinions and ideas on things. She treated me as a person, not as a student. She helped me grow in the legal field. She gave me confidence to want to strive for more and be better and try new things and not be afraid. I went to the court house to file orders, question inmates at the jail and sometime officers when needed, and worked at the office drawing up legal documents, working on files, and maintaining equipment and assisting my boss as needed and assisting her in court.

A very tech savvy firm.  I was a desk dweller if you will.  I would spend most of the day, including lunch time at my desk. Management interaction was reserved to the Manager of the Paralegal Practice  Support Group.  I did not mingle much, but 90 percent of my peers and co-workers were very pleasant and hard working.  The hardest part of the job was doing EVERY thing ASAP.  I did not like pushing title companies for commitments etc as I know they have certain procedures and have certain criteria that is important for them to follow as title companies.  The most enjoyable part of the job was reviewing title documents and surveys.

I worked for this firm for 6 1/2 years and was an outstanding employee who received excellent annual evaluations from the attorneys and commendable comments from my immediate supervisor. I experience a family emergency and had to leave my post in a hurry and in a panic I did not notify anyone that I was leaving (due to the nature of the emergency, I did not think to contact anyone). An hour later, I called the office to report my whereabouts. Upon returning to work the next day, they let me work 1/2 day then called me to the office to terminate me. They showed no concern for my family situation but simply threw me away like a piece of garbage. 

Job Duties:

•	Process e-discovery and Imaging
•	Manage incoming and outgoing productions
•	Set up and manage extranets 
•	Provide support to team on software and hardware questions
•	Research and recommend software technologies
•	Trial support and other Litigation related projects

I learned a great deal from Thompson Coburn and I have respect for all management and co-workers. I enjoyed working there.

The hardest part of the job was when there was a deadline and things changed several times so there was a certain level of intensity while working to meet the deadline requirements. It wasn't so bad, just made things exciting.

Please save your sanity and do not even apply here. Upper management is so unprofessional and the least supportive managers I’ve ever had. There is no regard for a work/life balance and the micro managing creates a very toxic work environment. There is no respect for certain departments and everyone is over worked in certain departments and concerns about that were not addressed in my time working there. Turn-over is very high as well which doesn’t allow anyone to develop relationships with co-workers, LAA’s or attorneys. Training here is very sub par so you’re set up for failure from the start 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Administrative assistant 8 salaries reported	$43,472 per year
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