Great culture, but still BigLaw - Associate Orrick Employee Review

4.0
Oct 26, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Possibly the healthiest culture of all the unhealthy top law firms. Friendly, down-to-earth people. This is not a work-hard, play-hard environment - it's a work-hard-so-you-can-go-home-and-have-a-life environment. There's no pressure to stay late, just to get your work done on time. (If you're working past 8:00, you risk being seen as inefficient.) Management makes an effort to be transparent.

Cons

The culture is so "nice" that you might get nothing but good feedback and you might not find out about a problem until performance review or bonus time comes around. Your mileage may vary when it comes to the culture of a particular practice group or the personality of the partner(s) you work most closely with. Some are great managers and communicators; others are cold and difficult to please. The move to the new offices was supposed to be an upgrade, but now it means tiny shared offices for some junior associates, sad windowless rooms for others, and unforgiving glass walls for all. No matter how "healthy" the culture is comparatively, it's still BigLaw: associates are given more work than they have time to complete well, and everyone is terrified of screwing up because they feel like they have no idea what they're doing and have to finish everything in a frantic rush.

Explore other reviews about Orrick

5.0
Feb 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great clients, interesting and challenging work, colleagues who I truly enjoy working with, and a lot of autonomy to develop my practice at my own pace and timeline. I appreciate that they don't force us all into the same trajectory or mold.

Cons

Sometimes the hours get crazy, but I think that's par for the course in litigation, and the hours never seem as bad as what my counterparts are dealing with.

1.0
Jun 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is good, benefits are strong, and PTO is decent.

Cons

It felt quite unsupportive, with management that didn’t provide much guidance or stability. Expectations changed often, which made it hard to stay on track or feel settled in the job. There also seemed to be frequent turnover in the team, which added to the sense of instability and made the workload feel more inconsistent and stressful.

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