Which partners at your firms are notoriously terrible to work for? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Any partners at Latham NY, other than the Banking/Finance group? I know that group is a bit of a notorious meat grinder but it's mostly filled with direct hires unlike other groups. Particularly interested in hearing about partners and even senior associates in M&A and Capital Markets so I know who to avoid

[Anonymous User]

Any Cahill NY insight?

[Anonymous User]

double

[Anonymous User]

.

[Anonymous User]

I had a partner who was a nightmare. When I left, numerous partners said they were surprised I lasted so long working under the partner.

He never yelled. He just said things that would always be so condescending and rude. He would question my intelligence and didn’t trust any of the work I did. No other partners ever questioned me like that, and I have great annual evaluations.

He didn’t have a life outside of work. A divorced person with no responsibilities. When covid hit, I knew my limited work/life balance was gone.

I’d regularly have Saturday 10 pm calls followed up with 8 am emails on Sundays. I would be told there were urgent assignments late Saturday night that were due Sunday night. Then once I finished the assignments, the partner ignored them for weeks.

I’d get constant check-in calls and e-mails, because he liked to micromanage me.

I could go on... but the above is the general gist.

I complained to higher ups maybe 5-6 times during my time at the firm. Nothing changed. The partner is a rainmaker, so I just had to deal with it.

Luckily I was able to get out.

It’s a different person but this response reminds me of Julie Park at Pillsbury (Silicon Valley).

She yelled on occasion but for the most part she was just incredibly rude, condescending, and passive-aggressive. She encouraged us to ask questions but made sure you knew she thought you were irredeemably stupid for doing so. She constantly questioned and belittled our work, even if it was done correctly. And if we did make mistakes, she loved belaboring it. It was never enough to just request a fix - she had to know how and why you could be so moronic as to make a mistake (99% of which were things like not italicizing a comma).

I can’t even get started on the micromanaging and fake emergencies. The neverending status checks and messages were insufferable. Weekend “emergencies” over procuring a redline she could have made herself in about three minutes. Post-it notes on our office doors to explain our whereabouts if not inside. Shockingly she had absolutely no life outside of work.

Overall she was just a really insidious bully. I know talent is no excuse for awful behavior but it was insult to injury that she was a fairly mediocre attorney at the end of the day. A lot of our work was covering issues stemming from her gaps in knowledge/bad project management so she could save face.

I know it’s nothing compared to some of the outright screaming/other stories here but it was absolutely exhausting since every interaction was a roulette game of how she was going to call you stupid and incompetent in a new way. It’s a shame too because the office was super laid back before she arrived and ruined the atmosphere.

[Anonymous User]

Any Alex Oh stories given recent events?

[whats an updog]

I had a partner who was a nightmare. When I left, numerous partners said they were surprised I lasted so long working under the partner.

He never yelled. He just said things that would always be so condescending and rude. He would question my intelligence and didn’t trust any of the work I did. No other partners ever questioned me like that, and I have great annual evaluations.

He didn’t have a life outside of work. A divorced person with no responsibilities. When covid hit, I knew my limited work/life balance was gone.

I’d regularly have Saturday 10 pm calls followed up with 8 am emails on Sundays. I would be told there were urgent assignments late Saturday night that were due Sunday night. Then once I finished the assignments, the partner ignored them for weeks.

I’d get constant check-in calls and e-mails, because he liked to micromanage me.

I could go on... but the above is the general gist.

I complained to higher ups maybe 5-6 times during my time at the firm. Nothing changed. The partner is a rainmaker, so I just had to deal with it.

Luckily I was able to get out.

It’s a different person but this response reminds me of Julie Park at Pillsbury (Silicon Valley).

She yelled on occasion but for the most part she was just incredibly rude, condescending, and passive-aggressive. She encouraged us to ask questions but made sure you knew she thought you were irredeemably stupid for doing so. She constantly questioned and belittled our work, even if it was done correctly. And if we did make mistakes, she loved belaboring it. It was never enough to just request a fix - she had to know how and why you could be so moronic as to make a mistake (99% of which were things like not italicizing a comma).

I can’t even get started on the micromanaging and fake emergencies. The neverending status checks and messages were insufferable. Weekend “emergencies” over procuring a redline she could have made herself in about three minutes. Post-it notes on our office doors to explain our whereabouts if not inside. Shockingly she had absolutely no life outside of work.

Overall she was just a really insidious bully. I know talent is no excuse for awful behavior but it was insult to injury that she was a fairly mediocre attorney at the end of the day. A lot of our work was covering issues stemming from her gaps in knowledge/bad project management so she could save face.

I know it’s nothing compared to some of the outright screaming/other stories here but it was absolutely exhausting since every interaction was a roulette game of how she was going to call you stupid and incompetent in a new way. It’s a shame too because the office was super laid back before she arrived and ruined the atmosphere.

I dont think you have to minimize this experience. Sounds fucking awful.

[Anonymous User]

I had a partner who was a nightmare. When I left, numerous partners said they were surprised I lasted so long working under the partner.

He never yelled. He just said things that would always be so condescending and rude. He would question my intelligence and didn’t trust any of the work I did. No other partners ever questioned me like that, and I have great annual evaluations.

He didn’t have a life outside of work. A divorced person with no responsibilities. When covid hit, I knew my limited work/life balance was gone.

I’d regularly have Saturday 10 pm calls followed up with 8 am emails on Sundays. I would be told there were urgent assignments late Saturday night that were due Sunday night. Then once I finished the assignments, the partner ignored them for weeks.

I’d get constant check-in calls and e-mails, because he liked to micromanage me.

I could go on... but the above is the general gist.

I complained to higher ups maybe 5-6 times during my time at the firm. Nothing changed. The partner is a rainmaker, so I just had to deal with it.

Luckily I was able to get out.

It’s a different person but this response reminds me of Julie Park at Pillsbury (Silicon Valley).

She yelled on occasion but for the most part she was just incredibly rude, condescending, and passive-aggressive. She encouraged us to ask questions but made sure you knew she thought you were irredeemably stupid for doing so. She constantly questioned and belittled our work, even if it was done correctly. And if we did make mistakes, she loved belaboring it. It was never enough to just request a fix - she had to know how and why you could be so moronic as to make a mistake (99% of which were things like not italicizing a comma).

I can’t even get started on the micromanaging and fake emergencies. The neverending status checks and messages were insufferable. Weekend “emergencies” over procuring a redline she could have made herself in about three minutes. Post-it notes on our office doors to explain our whereabouts if not inside. Shockingly she had absolutely no life outside of work.

Overall she was just a really insidious bully. I know talent is no excuse for awful behavior but it was insult to injury that she was a fairly mediocre attorney at the end of the day. A lot of our work was covering issues stemming from her gaps in knowledge/bad project management so she could save face.

I know it’s nothing compared to some of the outright screaming/other stories here but it was absolutely exhausting since every interaction was a roulette game of how she was going to call you stupid and incompetent in a new way. It’s a shame too because the office was super laid back before she arrived and ruined the atmosphere.

I dont think you have to minimize this experience. Sounds fucking awful.

Yea, crazy to say, but I'd take a screamer over this any day

[cavalier1138]

Any Alex Oh stories given recent events?

I thought Oh stepped down because people were throwing a fit about her history of defending corporations; did someone suggest that she was also hard to work for?

[ExpOriental]

Any Alex Oh stories given recent events?

I thought Oh stepped down because people were throwing a fit about her history of defending corporations; did someone suggest that she was also hard to work for?

It wasn't even that; the people who were throwing a fit were just doing the same thing they always do, and no one cared.

The real reason is because she got hit with an order to show cause for sanctions due to misconduct surrounding a depo in defense of Exxon. I'm on the fence on whether it merited a resignation, but the underlying conduct seemed to be fairly bad. Nothing really catastrophic though, the main issue appears to be that she mislead the court about OC's own conduct.

Now the people who were screeching about her defense work are claiming a win, and are just ignoring the real reason or are burying it below the fold. It'll be funny to observe the reaction when she's replaced by yet another biglaw defense attorney, though.

But in response to the actual question here - unless you can infer how someone behaves as boss/coworker from how they treat OC (I don't think you can), what's become public about her doesn't give much of a reason to suspect she's a nightmare to work with or anything.

[Anonymous User]

Any Alex Oh stories given recent events?

Fwiw- she's good to work for. Pretty demanding, has high expectations, and blunt but that's a function of just how brilliant she is. (Think of the brainiac partner in your office who doesn't quite understand why you can't understand super complicated issue X on a first pass because they always can.) She's known for actively trying to give substantive opportunities to women/POC.

[Anonymous User]

Any Alex Oh stories given recent events?

Fwiw- she's good to work for. Pretty demanding, has high expectations, and blunt but that's a function of just how brilliant she is. (Think of the brainiac partner in your office who doesn't quite understand why you can't understand super complicated issue X on a first pass because they always can.) She's known for actively trying to give substantive opportunities to women/POC.

That's great to hear. We need more partners like that. And I suppose brilliant lawyers are good, too.

[12YrsAnAssociate]

I googled this Julie Park person people have commented about and she's not a partner. Looks like she was a senior associate until recently, and now she's counsel.

[tlsguy2020]

Did anyone ever work with the Wilkie chair that went to jail for the college admissions scandal?

[Anonymous User]

Who has the survival guide for S&C General Practice group?

Who is good to work for? Who to avoid, other than Dietderich?

second this

[TLSReturntoWork]

Who has the survival guide for S&C General Practice group?

Who is good to work for? Who to avoid, other than Dietderich?

second this

He actually looks like a nice guy or at least not intimidating in his firm photo. A survival guide for all of the V10 would be nice.

[Anonymous User]

Any partners at Latham NY, other than the Banking/Finance group? I know that group is a bit of a notorious meat grinder but it's mostly filled with direct hires unlike other groups. Particularly interested in hearing about partners and even senior associates in M&A and Capital Markets so I know who to avoid

also interested in this, what about the general M&A/PE group and CM group? NY office

[Anonymous User]

Did anyone ever work with the Wilkie chair that went to jail for the college admissions scandal?

I heard he was a massive douche and everyone who worked under him at Willkie was happy that he was gone.

[Anonymous User]

Deb Festa at Milbank LA's alternative investments group is a well known must-avoid. Juniors have quit ASAP and it's known that incoming first years will frantically search for another job if they get placed in her group.

WOW - that's wild. She interviewed me at OCI and I thought she was the coolest person ever. Very chill and calm

[Hi-So - ArshavinFan]

Imagine grinding away your life for years and years only to have your name immortalized on TLS as a top asshole among an industry of assholes. Idk how these people don't have enormous regrets about how they've gone about their lives.

A lot of them do. I had to network heavily 3L yr for a job, so I had a lot of lunches/dinners. So many partners told me about how selfish they were in chasing their success, how they had uprooted their families and caused divorces/separations/massive angst among their families.

A lot of people in biglaw aren't the most socially adjusted before going in - and they don't have the time to become so doing work, so they dont get the chance to realize it anywhere but their own family life. Many of them knew/understood how flawed/fucked up they were. I believe with even taking the lunch with me & offering me guidance they were trying to rectify it. It's a tough thing too - at least three of the partners I met with told me of how they were bullied growing up and I'm sure they hadn't healed/resolved their past.

You never know what demons people are going through. But I will say this - I was lucky enough to play sports at very high level. The partners in BL come nowhere close to high school football coaches, much less even college football/S&C ones. I once witnessed a coach grab a player by his neck roll and close him into the locker. He then locked it on him, and proceeded to squirt a Gatorade bottle of water through the holes while yelling profusely.

[Anonymous User]

Imagine grinding away your life for years and years only to have your name immortalized on TLS as a top asshole among an industry of assholes. Idk how these people don't have enormous regrets about how they've gone about their lives.

A lot of them do. I had to network heavily 3L yr for a job, so I had a lot of lunches/dinners. So many partners told me about how selfish they were in chasing their success, how they had uprooted their families and caused divorces/separations/massive angst among their families.

A lot of people in biglaw aren't the most socially adjusted before going in - and they don't have the time to become so doing work, so they dont get the chance to realize it anywhere but their own family life. Many of them knew/understood how flawed/fucked up they were. I believe with even taking the lunch with me & offering me guidance they were trying to rectify it. It's a tough thing too - at least three of the partners I met with told me of how they were bullied growing up and I'm sure they hadn't healed/resolved their past.

You never know what demons people are going through. But I will say this - I was lucky enough to play sports at very high level. The partners in BL come nowhere close to high school football coaches, much less even college football/S&C ones. I once witnessed a coach grab a player by his neck roll and close him into the locker. He then locked it on him, and proceeded to squirt a Gatorade bottle of water through the holes while yelling profusely.

Top Biglaw partners and college football coaches are cut from the same cloth. There are plenty of partners who are red-faced screamers like Brian Kelly or wackos like Les Miles, they just aren't on TV every Saturday in the fall so we don't know who they are unless they're named on ATL or in a thread like this one.

[Anonymous User]

Deb Festa at Milbank LA's alternative investments group is a well known must-avoid. Juniors have quit ASAP and it's known that incoming first years will frantically search for another job if they get placed in her group.

WOW - that's wild. She interviewed me at OCI and I thought she was the coolest person ever. Very chill and calm

she just lateraled to Akin Gump

[Anonymous User]

Imagine grinding away your life for years and years only to have your name immortalized on TLS as a top asshole among an industry of assholes. Idk how these people don't have enormous regrets about how they've gone about their lives.

A lot of them do. I had to network heavily 3L yr for a job, so I had a lot of lunches/dinners. So many partners told me about how selfish they were in chasing their success, how they had uprooted their families and caused divorces/separations/massive angst among their families.

A lot of people in biglaw aren't the most socially adjusted before going in - and they don't have the time to become so doing work, so they dont get the chance to realize it anywhere but their own family life. Many of them knew/understood how flawed/fucked up they were. I believe with even taking the lunch with me & offering me guidance they were trying to rectify it. It's a tough thing too - at least three of the partners I met with told me of how they were bullied growing up and I'm sure they hadn't healed/resolved their past.

You never know what demons people are going through. But I will say this - I was lucky enough to play sports at very high level. The partners in BL come nowhere close to high school football coaches, much less even college football/S&C ones. I once witnessed a coach grab a player by his neck roll and close him into the locker. He then locked it on him, and proceeded to squirt a Gatorade bottle of water through the holes while yelling profusely.

I'd take playing for the meanest coach over staying in biglaw. I had a tough coach in high school and at least after practice it was over. But these partners can come for you any time. No time is safe, even from the nice partners. A mean coach wouldn't find you in your bed early on a Sunday morning without warning and give you a massive amount of stuff to do that eats up your whole Sunday. But even nice partners do this. (Not necessarily through any fault of their own. The client wants what the client wants.)

Got an email while writing this post and my heart lurched. It was only a recruiter though, not someone asking me to do more work.

[Anonymous User]

There are some partners to avoid at Perkins Coie (CHI), the firm's performance in the Fortune ratings be damned. I'm happy to PM with anyone considering going to PC Chicago. Without outing myself by providing details of my own experiences here, I'll just strongly caution the reader against ever working on anything for a female partner with the initials RL.

[ExpOriental]

Bumping a GOAT thread that deserves life