By
Albert G. Marquis

Not All Law Firms Are the Same

When I was a law student from 1972 to 1975 at the University of Washington, I was under the misguided impression that all law firms were pretty much the same. I assumed that selecting a job was similar to purchasing a new car. After all, if a person buys a Chevrolet or a Ford or a Dodge, what is the real difference? We tend to buy the car that we think is the “coolest,” but in reality, they are almost exactly the same.

But after working in the legal professional for a number of years, I came to realize that law firms have different personalities, different work ethics, different environments, different compensation plans and vast differences in what it means to be a “partner.” In fact, it seems to me that the “personalities” of law firms differ far greater than the personalities of individuals.

Some law firms are sweat shops–institutions where associates are treated like machinery. They pay good money–sometimes substantially more than other firms–but associates soon discover that they are expected to bill 50 or 60 hours per week–not by choice, but under threat of termination. And if they are fired, what chance do they stand to land another good job? Thus, such associates become slaves to an institution that is going to deprive them of their personal life by working them days, nights and weekends. It will extract from them a substantial income and then, at the slightest miscue, discard them like trash. Once a young lawyer accepts a high paying job at such an institution, he (pardon my use of the masculine) has basically entrapped himself in a lifetime of sweat, toil, stress and anguish.

Such “sweat shop” law firms generally have stringent academic criteria – even though these firms recognize the fact that individuals with high GPA’s do not necessarily make the best lawyers. They may lack common sense or they may not have the ability to instill confidence in clients. Or they may lack the social skills to interact with clients, judges and juries. But these firms really don’t care. Their intention is to lock the associate in a cubical and require that associate to turn out legal memos year after year after year. Common sense is not a criteria for such a job, and an associate may work for a couple of years before gaining any meaningful courtroom experience. If an associate can turn out 2,500 hours per year for seven to ten years, then, if he has somehow gained common sense and the ability to interact with other people, he might become a partner–although that title may not entitle him to share in the profits to the same degree as the other established partners within the firm. But what alternative is there? Such an associate is trapped.

Undoubtedly, this is why survey after survey has shown that 45% of lawyers wish they had chosen a different career. After seven years of school and an additional five years working at a law firm, they wish they had become a veterinarian. Nearly 50% of young lawyers think they have wasted all of that time! If I were a law student, I would consider this a frightening statistic.

“Insufficient income” is not a reason cited by the dissatisfied lawyers. Rather, these lawyers are dissatisfied because of their working environment. They made the mistake of assuming that all law firms are basically the same. They made the mistake of focusing on “the starting salary,” as opposed to the working environment, the bonus structure, the opportunity for advancement, and what it meant to be a partner in that particular firm. In short, these lawyers did not do their homework when they were in law school.

Get Started at the Right Place

In June, 2009, Wild Wild Law published its results of a survey in which associates were asked to rate the law firms where they were employed. In Las Vegas, the firm that came in No. 1 was Marquis & Aurbach. (www.wildwildlaw.blogspot.com). The site noted that the highest starting salary didn’t necessarily top the list. Rather, “Marquis & Aurbach (“M&A”) takes first in the inaugural WWL Best Defense firm to work for in Vegas based on a combination of its firm culture, perks for employees and professional reputation. WWL received several emails from associates praising the firm culture, the sense of camaraderie and the willingness of the firm’s well-known litigators to mentor younger attorneys.” From the outside, it is almost impossible to ascertain what it will be like to work at a firm. Only those who are already there know for sure. M&A’s ranking of No 1, as a result of a poll of associates from all firms, resolves any previous uncertainty. Marquis & Aurbach is the very best place to work.

Law students also need to realize that there is a vast difference between starting a job at the public defender’s office or district attorney’s office, as compared to starting at his/her firm of choice. It takes a thick skin and a strong constitution to work with hardened, penniless criminals day in and day out at the public defender’s office. At the district attorney’s office, you will at least be on the opposing side of such individuals, but you must still interact with them, and you seldom get the opportunity to handle a large, complex case. Some law students are under the impression that they will gain valuable trial experience as a public defender or a deputy district attorney, enabling them to later land a good job with a law firm. While it is true that they often gain valuable trial experience, a young attorney who has worked for the government has learned nothing about dealing with individual clients, quoting fees, keeping clients advised, and grasping the many complex issues that are presented by business clients on a day-to-day basis. And while it may also be true that government attorneys learn to think on their feet (often opening a file for the first time while they are in court standing in front of the judge), this is not good training for handling complex business cases where preparation is the number one priority. Just as important, government attorneys have had no experience billing 40+ hours per week or even keeping track of their time. Thus, working for the government right out of law school often disqualifies young attorneys from ever landing a job at a prestigious law firm.

A law firm is what the attorneys make of it. If the founding partners are the type of people who would make themselves king if given the opportunity, the firm will forever be run as a totalitarian regime. If the partners’ only concern is making money, then their associates will be treated like fungible billing units. If longevity is the determinative factor in the partner compensation formula, then young partners will never make as much as the old partners – even if the old partners do nothing. If the partner compensation formula is discretionary – meaning that a small group of individuals reserve the right to decide who gets what – you can bet that the younger partners will never make as much as the older partners. If partners within the firm are at each other’s throats, using their adversarial skills against one another and constantly making negative comments about fellow partners, then you can bet that it will be survival of the fittest for every single employee.

Contrast this to Marquis & Aurbach where our internal mission statement is as follows:

Marquis & Aurbach is committed to achieving strong and steady profitability while maintaining a productive work environment that fosters personal and professional growth.

Because this mission was originally developed by the founding partners, only those attorneys who have demonstrated a belief and commitment to this philosophy have become partners in the firm. Consequently, M&A is a firm at which:

• Associates earn a competitive and fair salary for five to seven years until they become a partner.
  
• Associates have unlimited earning potential, generating whatever bonus they want by calculating how much time they wish to put in under the M&A Associate Bonus Formula.
  
• Associates are given substantial responsibility which includes direct client contact, as well as court appearances and trials.
  
• Associates can take advantage of each partner’s “open door policy,” which enables them to learn, to avoid making mistakes and to advance within their chosen specialty.
  
• Associates receive training on how to conduct client meetings, collect fees, take depositions, draft briefs, prepare a case for trial, conduct a trial and perform other complex tasks.
  
• Ethics and honesty are stressed throughout the organization.
  
• Partners divide profits according to a written compensation formula (under which a first year partner can make more money than the senior partners).
  
• Each partner is entitled to one vote for all decisions.
  
• Compatibility and cordiality are cornerstones of the firm environment.
  
• Young lawyers have the opportunity to grow and develop economically, professionally, socially and spiritually.
  

What other law firm can make these claims?

One of our associates recently wrote an email to all of the partners. Here’s what she said:

I have friends working at firms all over the city, but none of them get the type of opportunities that associates at our firm get. The partners at our firm don't just use associates for grunt work and then make us take a backseat when it is time to meet with clients and experts to discuss issues and strategy. We are given the opportunity and expected to develop the cases and contribute in a meaningful way. Sometimes it is scary the type of trust you place in us, but in the long run, I think M&A associates mature at a much faster rate professionally. I never would have imagined that I would get the chance to work on so many exciting cases in my first year. This has been an incredible first year and I just wanted to say thank you.

This unsolicited email reveals the heart and soul of our firm.

Diversity

The attorneys and staff at Marquis & Aurbach are composed of diverse racial, ethnic and religious groups. Men and women are hired and promoted without regard to their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, family status or sexual orientation. We have republicans and democrats, conservatives and liberals. Because we work as a team, we derive strength from this diversity. Everyone is encouraged to provide input as to how things might improve. We welcome new ideas, and we are not afraid to modify long-standing policies or to be innovative when the situation warrants a change.

We would like even more diversity among our attorneys. Here, you will be judged on your lawyering skills, on how hard you work and on how well you get along with others. Those are our primary criteria. One of our recruiting goals is to enhance the diversity among our lawyers.

Why Las Vegas?

When I was about to graduate from the University of Washington Law School in 1975, I recognized that I was facing a window of opportunity to relocate to the city of my choice (assuming that I could land a job). I wanted to establish a client base and stay put. I wanted a city that would provide plenty of opportunities for a young lawyer as well as a suitable environment to raise my sons who were five and six at the time. I assumed that I was making a life-altering decision, and I was correct. Based on other decisions that I made at that age, I don’t think I was smart enough to really take into consideration all of the important, long-term factors, so luck and good fortune surely played a large part in my decision to select Las Vegas.

I have never regretted, even for one moment, the decision to select Las Vegas. For starters, we were all delighted to leave the gloomy weather of Seattle and live in the bright Nevada sunshine. Contrary to what many people think, Las Vegans do not live in casinos. In fact, we rarely drive on “the Strip” (leaving such experiences for visitors). In fact, few Las Vegans even gamble. The casinos are interesting side shows – somewhere to take friends and relatives who visit from out of state. In truth, Las Vegas is an excellent place to raise a family. We have more churches per capita than most other cities, and there are countless opportunities for family activities. When my sons were growing up, they spent half their life in the swimming pool or at Lake Mead.

In the summer of 2007, National Geographic ranked various cities according to their “adventure potential.” Because of nearby lakes, mountains, deserts and national parks, Las Vegas was ranked No. 1 in the entire nation. If you like the outdoors, you can’t find a better home than Las Vegas.

And from a professional standpoint, Las Vegas has been a virtual goldmine of legal work. I have often thought about attorneys who are practicing in some small Midwestern town. If everything stays the same, what legal work can possibly be generated? Lawyers must sit around waiting for their neighbors to collide at an intersection or for someone to die so that probate proceedings can be initiated.

Las Vegas has traditionally been the fastest growing city in the nation. Nothing ever stays the same. Mom and pop construction firms of 30 years ago are now worth $50 million. Las Vegans whose parents bought land here 30 years ago are now multi-millionaires. Businesses are constantly relocating to Las Vegas.

In 2001, Marquis & Aurbach moved into our own 25,000 square foot building in Summerlin. In the next four years, our firm doubled in size. We thought it would take ten years to fill our new offices, but because of our success and growth, we found it necessary to buy a second building in 2006. We seem to be faced with the perpetual problem of always needing to find more good lawyers.

An abundance of work is like an insurance policy for employees. Short term employees (such as law clerks and runners) know that they will not be laid off for a lack of work, and long term employees receive a steady stream of financial rewards. For attorneys, “lots of legal work” means plenty of billable hours and steady progression toward partnership as younger attorneys are brought into the firm.

For young, ambitious attorneys, M&A is the perfect environment. New attorneys find themselves in the action almost immediately. They have direct contact with the client. Litigators are in court on a regular basis. Transactional attorneys are handling million dollar closings. Everyone is given as much responsibility as they can handle.

Contact Us

Many young lawyers discover after the fact that they have taken a job at a firm where they do not want to be for the rest of their career. Consequently, they have to look around, interview with other law firms and basically start over at a better place. This generally results in a significant delay to becoming a partner. Don’t let that happen to you!

The attorneys at Marquis & Aurbach perform the highest quality legal work. We work hard but at the same time maintain a personal life. We are part of a family. We stick together and we support one another. Simply stated, there is no better place to work – anywhere!

That having been said, I must also add: We have extremely high standards, and only a small percentage of those who apply will be selected. Candidates must be extremely bright, have common sense, be articulate, be good writers, be hard workers and get along with everyone from the senior partner to the secretaries and the runners. If you think you have these qualifications, then we encourage you to send your resume to the following address:

Frank M. Flansburg, Esq.
Marquis & Aurbach
10001 Park Run Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89145
Phone: (702) 942-2194
Fax: (702) 382-5816
Email: recruiting@marquisaurbach.com

Our recruitment program concentrates on second year law students who are generally interviewed in September, October and November for a clerk’s position the following summer. From time to time, we also interview individuals who are concluding a judicial clerkship or who have worked at other law firms.

If there is any doubt about where you would like to work, ask around. Talk to lawyers, judges and business owners about Marquis & Aurbach. We stand behind our reputation.