Pros
You get your foot in the door with the legal market in Philly, working in a Philly high-rise is pretty cool for about the first week, got some CLEs paid for.
Cons
Being associated with the Professional Liability group of Swartz Campbell was, well, a professional liability.If you are thinking about working for this firm, you probably are hoping for one of two things: first, that you will settle into this place and work your way up, or, second, you will work here for a short while and then leap-frog to something bigger and better. You have been warned: It will not pan out like that. From the top down, this firm is a prime example of how incompetent leaders can destroy an entity from the inside out, and no matter how much of a cleverly-worded review they try to use to justify their vulgar actions, the damage cannot be undone. I have experienced the vile nature of some of these partners. There is absolutely no coaching/mentoring, communication, strategy or teamwork in this place. An associate's job description should simply read "Putting out fires". Every day was filled with one crisis after the other. These crises were created by the partners' inability to lead (as mentioned, there was no communication so until matters got to the edge of the cliff, associates don't hear about them). Even worse, there was no effort by the partners to fix their faults or even make them manageable so things continually spiraled out of control. If you're a young associate trying to learn the trade, this is not the environment for you. On a more personal note, there are some of the worst personalities I have ever met here. There are no "good mornings" or "how was your weekend" here. You go in and work to the bone while keeping your pie hole shut. Another example of the nature of this place is a sign that was posted in the kitchnette. It read "Your mother does not work here. Clean up after yourself!!!!!". Using this place as a stepping stone sounds appealing but their reputation is widely-known in the regional insurance defense market. I read elsewhere the billing practices were not completely ethical. I agree. On numerous occasions I was asked to bill for tasks I did not do. I was also asked to slow down and to spend "enough time" handling things. Efficiency? Not in this place. The goal is only to maximize your hours. Also, the compensation here is on par with single-member firms. Despite any hot air being offered about how compensation "is tied to the amount of effort put in" by the associates, compensation is actually whatever the minimum amount they can give you to keep you there for another month or so. This place has gotten so bad that various offices are seceding from the main firm. For example, an office in Florida recently seceded and became associated with another firm. Its that bad.
