Godfrey, Leibsle, Blackbourn & Howarth, SC

Pros: I enjoy the autonomy my firm gives me. I handle transactions from the very start (negotiating and drafting the purchase agreement) to the very end (reviewing the closing documents and coordinating with the title company), which I really enjoy.

Cons: Lack of a support system. My firm has a lot of turnover in attorneys and staff. There are only 16 people total (8 attorneys and 8 support staff). In the past year, we've lost 6 people. Each time we lose somebody, it has a huge impact on our overall workload. We're constantly hiring new people to fill vacancies, but it takes time for new people to learn their new positions, so even hiring doesn't relieve the pressure or added workload. We've mentioned it to the managing partner, but he keeps saying his like to keep the staffing "lean." This leads to people feeling overwhelmed and burnout, which leads to more people leaving the firm. Our firm also requires formal apparel (pant suit or skirt suit) everyday, even if I am not seeing clients that day. This gets tiresome. Also, we must be in the office every day. I really want the flexibility to work remote if I need to.When I first took this job, I was excited to work at a small firm because I wasn't sure what field of law I would want to practice. A small firm allows you to dip your toes in a variety of different practice areas. However, I've gotten to the point where I would rather not be pulled in so many directions. I really like transactional work, especially real estate work.

Partners to Avoid and Why: Yes, the managing partner is difficult to work for. He tends to micromanage and over complicate transactional work. He is a litigation attorney, but occasionally his clients need transactional work as well. He won't meet with associates unless we make an appointment through his assistant. He also yells, which I cannot stand.
Another one of the partners is nice to work with, but he doesn't fully review documents. For example, if he asks me to draft a lease for a client, he'll skim the document and then have the client sign. It makes me very uneasy. One time, I had a question in the document, which I highlighted in yellow for him to review and address. He sent to the client for signature like that...so I know he didn't even open the document.

Current or former employee?: Current Employee

Job type: Full time