The years that I spent as a legal secretary at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips were one of the worst work-wise. There was no reward for hard work, no work-life balance, and a lot of racism in the sense that there is little diversity which is not something that you would expect of a firm reputed for carrying out pro bono work. But then there are a lot of double standards that this firm is complicit of and I would not like to take names but many of the attorneys are no “messiahs.” They are arrogant and standoffish and because the firm culture is such that instigates cut-throat competition, most are individualistic, unscrupulous, and devious showing no concern for staff who are handling their daily requirements.
Not just me, but others have felt the same too. It is tough on the associates, who have to pally up with arrogant attorneys and partners who do not think twice before firing you off. Many associates left the company in disgust as they were either overburdened or were coerced into doing stuff that their conscience would not allow. There were two who left this year after their disagreements over unscrupulous dealings that the firm was involved in came out in the open.
What they did while working with Centene Corporation and Health Net Inc. is well known. The attorneys of Manatt were behind the scheming that Centene-Health Net utilized to deny claims to thousands of policyholders and treatment centers which were driven out of business. The ugly law suits piled up against Centene and Health Net after the merger was rightfully the act of the in-house attorneys of Manatt. The lawyers employed by the firm are equally responsible for what Centene and Health Net did to the treatment centers and the individual policy holders.
I left the firm when I could not take their nonsense anymore but there were others before me – some really good people who left the firm in revulsion because they could not handle the daily toxicity and negativity which the management perpetuates.
Also if you are someone who respects ethics and morals this is not the place for you. Here it is the client who matters – even if they happen to be thieving conniving criminals, like Centene which has been in the dock for swindling the money of people many times by designing extremely lucrative policies but of little value. The firm will take up any client if it serves their purpose. They do not care about the kind of deals they might have done in the past – it is the money, and how they would better their prospects that matter most. Most of the attorneys are Ivy League but lack a human face.
I worked more than what was required of me as a legal secretary. I wanted to learn – but if as an individual you expect respect and value what you have been doing this is not the place for you. I slaved my butt off as I was reporting to more attorneys than I could manage but when it came to earning bonuses, those who spent hours chatting with the bosses or bootlicking them found favor. Not me. It was disappointing. Thoroughly disappointing.
Then here was the secretarial coordinator. The most incompetent person I have ever come across. The secretarial coordinator never comes around to find out what's happening. Doesn't have a clue about the nature of this work and has never come to check on us. That is bad because when we are on the firing line there is nobody who comes to our defense. For the management, the attorneys are literally like Gods who can commit no mistake, do no wrong. Therefore, it is us and others who work under them like the associates who get to face the music when something goes wrong which happens often as the briefings are never clear enough and the demeanor of our bosses is such that we are afraid to check on them again.
They do not say so much in words, but their looks indicate we are fools to be questioning them and that we should be finding answers on our own. This is discouraging and leads to an extremely contained environment. Also, there is this belief among the management that their stars – the attorneys are extremely self-sufficient and can take care of things on there. But they are mistaken.
The amount of errors in the briefings of some of the attorneys is horrifying, and it would do well for the management to have a look at what their star performers are doing once a while. They would be scandalized. I was privy to what they were doing in their work hours. Calling up their friends and wives, and girlfriends or ordering their secretaries around instead of doing some real work.
If I had a friend or a loved one, I would never recommend this place to them. I am glad I left this place before it took a hit my conscience. There is a great deal of disparity at work, the management is harsh on staff. People who slog the most the secretaries and legal associates are left with no work/life balance. It is demoralizing that they are rarely called to attend social events organized by the firm.
Bawin Reviews
The years that I spent as a legal secretary at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips were one of the worst work-wise. There was no reward for hard work, no work-life balance, and a lot of racism in the sense that there is little diversity which is not something that you would expect of a firm reputed for carrying out pro bono work. But then there are a lot of double standards that this firm is complicit of and I would not like to take names but many of the attorneys are no “messiahs.” They are arrogant and standoffish and because the firm culture is such that instigates cut-throat competition, most are individualistic, unscrupulous, and devious showing no concern for staff who are handling their daily requirements.
Not just me, but others have felt the same too. It is tough on the associates, who have to pally up with arrogant attorneys and partners who do not think twice before firing you off. Many associates left the company in disgust as they were either overburdened or were coerced into doing stuff that their conscience would not allow. There were two who left this year after their disagreements over unscrupulous dealings that the firm was involved in came out in the open.
What they did while working with Centene Corporation and Health Net Inc. is well known. The attorneys of Manatt were behind the scheming that Centene-Health Net utilized to deny claims to thousands of policyholders and treatment centers which were driven out of business. The ugly law suits piled up against Centene and Health Net after the merger was rightfully the act of the in-house attorneys of Manatt. The lawyers employed by the firm are equally responsible for what Centene and Health Net did to the treatment centers and the individual policy holders.
I left the firm when I could not take their nonsense anymore but there were others before me – some really good people who left the firm in revulsion because they could not handle the daily toxicity and negativity which the management perpetuates.
Also if you are someone who respects ethics and morals this is not the place for you. Here it is the client who matters – even if they happen to be thieving conniving criminals, like Centene which has been in the dock for swindling the money of people many times by designing extremely lucrative policies but of little value. The firm will take up any client if it serves their purpose. They do not care about the kind of deals they might have done in the past – it is the money, and how they would better their prospects that matter most. Most of the attorneys are Ivy League but lack a human face.
I worked more than what was required of me as a legal secretary. I wanted to learn – but if as an individual you expect respect and value what you have been doing this is not the place for you. I slaved my butt off as I was reporting to more attorneys than I could manage but when it came to earning bonuses, those who spent hours chatting with the bosses or bootlicking them found favor. Not me. It was disappointing. Thoroughly disappointing.
Then here was the secretarial coordinator. The most incompetent person I have ever come across. The secretarial coordinator never comes around to find out what's happening. Doesn't have a clue about the nature of this work and has never come to check on us. That is bad because when we are on the firing line there is nobody who comes to our defense. For the management, the attorneys are literally like Gods who can commit no mistake, do no wrong. Therefore, it is us and others who work under them like the associates who get to face the music when something goes wrong which happens often as the briefings are never clear enough and the demeanor of our bosses is such that we are afraid to check on them again.
They do not say so much in words, but their looks indicate we are fools to be questioning them and that we should be finding answers on our own. This is discouraging and leads to an extremely contained environment. Also, there is this belief among the management that their stars – the attorneys are extremely self-sufficient and can take care of things on there. But they are mistaken.
The amount of errors in the briefings of some of the attorneys is horrifying, and it would do well for the management to have a look at what their star performers are doing once a while. They would be scandalized. I was privy to what they were doing in their work hours. Calling up their friends and wives, and girlfriends or ordering their secretaries around instead of doing some real work.
If I had a friend or a loved one, I would never recommend this place to them. I am glad I left this place before it took a hit my conscience. There is a great deal of disparity at work, the management is harsh on staff. People who slog the most the secretaries and legal associates are left with no work/life balance. It is demoralizing that they are rarely called to attend social events organized by the firm.