Pros
It's surprisingly easy to build an extensive network here, thanks to the constant stream of employees quitting and moving on to other firms.
Cons
The general JJA employment cycle looks something like this: (1) JJA hires you and the owners seem like decent people. (2) They make you feel valued by telling you the person you’re replacing was terrible and didn’t know what they were doing—this motivates you to prove yourself. (3) After years of hard work, you ask for a raise or promotion. For months, they claim they’ll look into it but never follow through (or blame HR for the delay). (4) Eventually, no matter how well you’ve performed, something—real or fabricated—will “come up,” and you’ll be placed in the doghouse, with any previous offers or promotions rescinded. (5) Once your dissatisfaction is noticeable, they’ll tell you the job market is tough and insist you won’t find better pay or conditions elsewhere. They’ll also tell you to “fix your attitude.” (6) You finally quit, much later than you should have, after feeling extremely stressed and miserable—only to land a much better job with higher pay and a manageable workload. (7) You connect with other former employees, attend occasional get-togethers, and realize most of them weren’t the “bad employees” they were made out to be. (8) You become the next scapegoat, and the cycle repeats with a new hire. Misc: They can’t retain good employees and are too cheap to hire experienced ones—especially attorneys—which results in extremely high turnover and inexperienced supervisors. Clients are often frustrated with the constant revolving door of people handling their cases. The only attorneys they’re able to hire are fresh out of law school or come from unrelated areas of law and are unfamiliar with the firm’s reputation. Every PI attorney, negotiator, and case manager with experience knows to avoid this firm. Feel free to confirm with any other PI firm—chances are, they have at least one former JJA employee. The owners frequently make unpopular decisions—such as firing supervisors or valuable team members, or implementing restrictive policies—and then conveniently leave for vacation so they don’t have to deal with the fallout. There have been numerous paycheck disputes, mostly involving attorneys and their final paychecks. Only a couple of holidays are given off each year. PTO accrues painfully slowly. Going out for lunch can get you in trouble if a client unexpectedly shows up or if the owners suspect you went with former employees. The owners are willing to lie about anything and everything—no matter how obvious or absurd—if it helps them maintain the illusion that they’re the heroes rather than the villains. Training is virtually non-existent. If you do receive any, it’s usually from someone who’s only been there a few weeks or months longer than you. Some employees are extremely overworked, while others have little or nothing to do all day. The owners are constantly burning bridges with medical providers.
