Goodwin reviews

Goodwin recently implemented a new pay system for associates named "banding." Instead of being paid by class year, associates will be in "bands" and the salary for each person will be different. Therefore, it will be really hard to determine how well you are getting paid compared to others in your group, as the ranges will probably not be disclosed. Goodwin is not known for being open about bonuses. Billable hour requirements have gone up and pro bono hours are no longer encouraged (as associates are only allowed to count 150 hours of pro bono work to their billable requirements). Recently, lots of junior partners have been terminated, so the chances of making junior parner are slimmer than ever, due to cost-cutting efforts. The equity partners don't seem to want to share the pie.

Changing firm management and ambitions to reach the next tier of law firm prestige means we are losing some of the culture as a sacrifice for greater margins and faster client service (often at the expense of quality of work and internal training). Less emphasis than the little there already was on internal training which means we aren't training the next generation of great and smart lawyers and rather are training robotic paper pushers who have to sink or swim.