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Soliciting opinions/anecdotes about the firm, where I have an offer that I'm seriously considering against a few other DC firms. I've heard mixed things in other threads here and elsewhere and would be curious to hear anyone's thoughts or experiences. One positive that's stood out to me so far is that they're supposedly a little more laid back than some of their peers in DC -- does that match others' experience and knowledge?

Anonymous User wrote:Soliciting opinions/anecdotes about the firm, where I have an offer that I'm seriously considering against a few other DC firms. I've heard mixed things in other threads here and elsewhere and would be curious to hear anyone's thoughts or experiences. One positive that's stood out to me so far is that they're supposedly a little more laid back than some of their peers in DC -- does that match others' experience and knowledge?

Just going to throw out that TLS is a pretty horrible place to solicit advice and anecdotes about a law firm. You have no idea who is posting (despite what they may say) or what kind of credibility they have. Most responses I suspect will be people repeating things they heard elsewhere on the forum which may have no veracity, and at worst you'll have trolls or people who didn't get offers who are spreading misinformation. If I were you I would prioritize speaking to junior and senior associates (ones you find through the website so not the ones that legal recruiting can cherry pick). Look up a couple on the website (particularly ones who went to your law school or undergrad) and email to ask if you can talk to them about their experience. Most will say sure if they have time. Then ask blunt questions about the culture and the work and try to see if you'd want to work with them.

If your gut is telling you good things about A&P and they have the practice areas you want then don't let anything on TLS dissuade you. If you don't think A&P is a good fit, nothing on TLS should convince you.

Yeah, to build off the above, the only real value to anonymous TLS anecdotes is that they can potentially help you ask the right questions. Take everything with a grain of salt, including what attorneys at the firm tell you (same for former employees, who obviously left for a reason, but you'll never know the real reason). Ask questions of everyone and build your own picture of the firm in the aggregate.

If I was trying to ask questions about A&P, I'd want to know about the bonus structure and whether associates are satisfied with it, and about the culture generally. It's clearly an excellent DC firm, so if it makes sense, go for it.