A great firm, but the non-legal staff are rotten to work with. - Legal Secretary Haynes and Boone Employee Review

3.0
Jul 12, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Big law firms are generally among the more secure jobs for a secretary, and they pay well above average. Haynes and Boone is a well regarded firm that you can be proud to say you work for. A job at Haynes and Boone is a stable proposition compared with similar jobs in the same market. They're very conservatively managed, and I don't think they've ever had layoffs. The lawyers are mostly good people. Haynes and Boone has a "no screamers" policy, and they stick to it pretty well. There are a handful of notorious hard cases, but Haynes and Boone is much more civilized than most -- even in litigation. I like and respect the lawyers I work with. (This is why some of my ratings appear to conflict: The aspects of my job that are controlled directly by my lawyers get higher ratings than those that are controlled directly by firm management/HR. The pay and benefits are right in line with the market. They're better at some of the other big firms, but not many.

Cons

For a legal secretary, Haynes and Boone can be a special kind of hell. And it's not the lawyers. By and large, the lawyers are a decent bunch; there are only a few bad apples. The trouble is the administrative departments and their heads -- Accounting, Purchasing, HR, and don't even get me started on IT! From the head of IT all the way down to the lowliest copy center clerk, they are arrogant and condescending toward secretaries. Sometimes they're downright nasty. They continually shift their responsibilities onto us, and when they make a mistake, they do their best to pretend it's our fault. Sometimes, it's just plain weird, like being in a Twilight Zone episode. No one in power seems to care about this, so it will never improve.

Explore other reviews about Haynes and Boone

1.0
Jul 3, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Each office has its own culture but most have events pretty often and lunches provided all summer long. You are overworked doing things outside your JD but you can bring this as a pro to say it only adds to your resume.

Cons

If I could write a book about my HB experience, all the victims would come forward. Working in one of the departments where you see pretty much everything is saddening to know how much they are informed and do nothing about it. Mistreatment, sexism, sexual harassment, bullying is just the start of it. My experience left me with no other choice but to leave because I was harassed by my leadership about things that were not work related. I was discriminated against and the way my leadership spoke about the other leaders was very telling. There is zero moral and ethics in place at this firm. Work schedule is 4:1 with zero flexibility, say bye to your mental health.

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