Pros
So far, I am happy working at Hodgson Russ. I have been quite busy at times, and it can be demanding, but I love what I do and feel it is the nature of the business. With that said, they aim to promote a healthy work-life balance, even if it does not always turn out that way. Most of the folks I work with are approachable, genuine, understanding and grateful for staffs' hardwork. The training is pretty thorough and is on-going. They are understanding that while you have experience in the field, it takes time to adjust to the firm's practices. They have also been understanding when I need to work from home and have even encouraged it on certain occasions. Therefore, you do not feel obligated to come to the office if someone in your household is not feeling well, if the weather is poor or if you need to run an errand during the day. I think they recognize it makes more sense for their employees to work from home as opposed to either calling out or taking the time to drive in to the office after an appointment (within reason of course). In fact, I will be permitted to work from home 1 day a week routinely after 1 year of service. I am not sure if legal secretaries are given the same level of understanding though. While they are permitted to work from home at times, it appears to me they are expected to be more discretionary with this practice. I bring this up because there is often some cross-over between paralegals and legal secretaries. The pay and benefits are good, but bonuses are unclear to me at this point. Albeit, I am not quite at my 1 year mark (I have been at the firm for 11 months). On the other hand, I did receive a decent annual increase. It appears that this is one of the few firms that tend to offer advancement opportunities, but it is unclear how you would go about being a candidate. The key to me is how approachable almost everyone has been thus far. I can say that while there are exceptions, I still genuinely like everyone I have worked with to this point, which speaks volumes, especially considering they are a larger firm.
Cons
I have been given a few tasks with poor direction that took much longer as a result. There was also some lack of communication on a few occasions regarding my position. I am also not keen on some of their practices, yet I understand why they are in place. However, I must admit that any concerns I have had were addressed promptly and respectfully thus far.