You can definitely have a fulfilling career at Fragomen--if you strike gold. You are placed on a specific team when you are hired and so much can go wrong. For the record, I have friends that absolutely adore their teams, get along well with everyone and have a good work-life balance. This was unfortunately not the case for me.
I was placed on a team that had already been hemorrhaging employees for awhile (with one employee quitting the first week I was there and another quitting about a month later on a team of about 20,) and I soon found out why. Work expectations are generally vague and yet I was constantly criticized for not living up to these unclear requirements. I was told I would never have to stay past six in my interview, then told I would never be forced to do overtime, and then criticized and eventually fired for attempting to follow this policy by not volunteering to stay late one night! Within my first week I was also told I would need to reschedule an international trip I had planned for six months from my hiring date because the firm might be busy.
Paralegals constantly sought to both defy company processes regarding legal review and to place the bulk of their work upon assistant paralegals beginning at 4:45 PM. While Fragomen is considered a top-tier immigration law firm, I must concur with the majority of reviews. The firm hires recent graduated and expects them to behave as professionals with decades in the work force. Overtime and personal sacrifice are required, yet no one I knew had received a promotion or pay raise within their time at the firm (typically 8 months-2 years.)
My team somehow both lacked and was overwhelmed by oversight as I received no formal training for my entry-level position aside from a steady stream of criticism. If you do end up working here, keep your head down and an eye on the door, and dear god avoid the firm in the months of February and March lest CAP season overwhelm you.
