Amazon Legal? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have experience with Amazon's legal department? Either on the recruiting front or what it's like to work there, including comp? Got an email from their recruiting department mentioning an upcoming interview event, wondering if it's worth responding. I found this thread from a few years ago which made it sound like it's not too different from big law in terms of lifestyle, with attractive salary/benefits, but curious to hear if anyone has any more info.

About me: mid level corporate associate, like my job ok but certainly willing to explore making the jump to in-house at this point and almost certainly looking to get out in a year or two more.

[2014]

It's supposedly run very much like a law firm, hours are worse than what you would typically expect out of an in-house job and the department is very large and unforgiving culturally. None of that is necessarily bad, it's just probably not a great fit if your reason for leaving is seeking a 9-5 haven.

I caveat that greatly by saying i don't know anyone personally who works there but my information comes from people I generally trust and who do know directly.

[Anonymous User]

It's supposedly run very much like a law firm, hours are worse than what you would typically expect out of an in-house job and the department is very large and unforgiving culturally. None of that is necessarily bad, it's just probably not a great fit if your reason for leaving is seeking a 9-5 haven.

I caveat that greatly by saying i don't know anyone personally who works there but my information comes from people I generally trust and who do know directly.

If they treat their lawyers the same way they treat their programmers, this seems reasonable/likely.

[Anonymous User]

How would one apply for a position like this? I've fantasized about working for Amazon for years. i think they may ultimately replace grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. You just send in a random resume?

[mvp99]

Amazon is probably the online walmart of employers

[Anonymous User]

I've heard Amazon is a tough place to work. I don't understand why any former BL would want to work there.

[Anonymous User]

Amazon was one of my clients at a previous firm. They can be an intense bunch, but not necessarily in a bad way. Their internal culture is to question and poke holes in everything, especially between colleagues. The result is high-quality work product. Definitely an environment where you have to be prepared to defend your ideas. Can't speak on compensation.

[Anonymous User]

Amazon is a company I respect generally but would not be anywhere near the top of my list for a tech in-house position.

There was a pretty unflattering article in the New York Times about its culture: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/tech ... .html?_r=0. I'm not sure how representative it is of the legal department, and of course Amazon disputed it, so take it with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous User]

I know a couple people who have gone in house at Lab126. They only had good things to say. Overall compensation (bonus, 401K, etc.) is comparable to biglaw for 3rd/4th years who went in house. This discrepancy gets larger when you take into account the larger biglaw bonuses for senior associates. There aren't as many benefits as like a Google or something. Hours are definitely better than at biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

I know a couple people who have gone in house at Lab126. They only had good things to say. Overall compensation (bonus, 401K, etc.) is comparable to biglaw for 3rd/4th years who went in house. This discrepancy gets larger when you take into account the larger biglaw bonuses for senior associates. There aren't as many benefits as like a Google or something. Hours are definitely better than at biglaw.

I've heard a lot of bad things about the Lab126 division, including that it was more hours than biglaw. It has a negative reputation in my legal field. Not corporate.

The Amazon attorneys I've worked with have been great.

[rpupkin]

I know a couple people who have gone in house at Lab126. They only had good things to say. Overall compensation (bonus, 401K, etc.) is comparable to biglaw for 3rd/4th years who went in house. This discrepancy gets larger when you take into account the larger biglaw bonuses for senior associates. There aren't as many benefits as like a Google or something. Hours are definitely better than at biglaw.

I'm sure different attorneys have different experiences, but I don't believe that the bolded is generally true.

[Anonymous User]

I know a few people who have taken different positions (in different cities) for Amazon legal. They get paid very well but all of them say the hours are 9 - 7 at least and then they plug in at home/on the weekends (seemingly every night and weekend) and the culture is very much Biglaw (up or out after a few years, Amazon expects burnout, etc.). I haven't heard about how their subsidiary legal teams are (Amazon studios, etc) but I do know they were aggressively hiring last year.

[ruski]

I've heard Amazon is a tough place to work. I don't understand why any former BL would want to work there.

because after a few years there, the door is probably open to a host of other in house positions at tech companies, which wouldn't be open to you if you stayed in BL those years

[CanadianWolf]

FWIW, several Amazon attorneys have left to work for Big 4 accounting firms.

[Anonymous User]

I've heard Amazon is a tough place to work. I don't understand why any former BL would want to work there.

because after a few years there, the door is probably open to a host of other in house positions at tech companies, which wouldn't be open to you if you stayed in BL those years

Necroing this. Would you have to worry about conflicts issues if you wanted to put in a few years at Amazon and then jump to another tech in-house position?

[Anonymous User]

I've heard Amazon is a tough place to work. I don't understand why any former BL would want to work there.

because after a few years there, the door is probably open to a host of other in house positions at tech companies, which wouldn't be open to you if you stayed in BL those years

Necroing this. Would you have to worry about conflicts issues if you wanted to put in a few years at Amazon and then jump to another tech in-house position?

[jhett]

Necroing this. Would you have to worry about conflicts issues if you wanted to put in a few years at Amazon and then jump to another tech in-house position?

Likely not. You just won't get staffed on any conflicting matters.