Organizational Facts

Q: How are you organized?
A: We are a Pennsylvania professional corporation.

Q: How are you governed?
A: We are governed by a policy-making Executive Committee representing each practice group and each geographic location where we maintain an office. The Executive Committee reports to our Board of Directors, consisting of our shareholders.

Q: How are you managed?
A: We are managed by a lawyer CEO (whom we call our managing partner) assisted by a team of non-lawyer business professionals and a Management Committee, which consists of the heads of our practice and industry groups. Practice and Industry groups are managed by senior shareholders with assistance from our non-lawyer managers.

Q: Do you actively seek to employ a diverse workforce?
A: Yes. In the past five years, we have added 25 women lawyers. In that same time period, 8 lawyers who are women were named shareholders. We also look to recruit lawyers who bring us age, occupational and educational diversity. For example, we have on staff a former hospital CEO and CFO; a former CPA; a licensed professional geologist; a pharmacist, several registered nurses and former banking and business executives. We believe diversity helps us size up client situations more accurately and deliver solutions more effectively.

Promotion

Q: How long is the typical "partnership track?"
A: We have no partnership or shareholder track. We promote based on professional growth and achievements.

Q: How many shareholder slots are available per department each year?
A: There is no such thing as "slotting" at Stevens & Lee. We have no quotas or other limitations on the number of associates who can be promoted to shareholder in any given year. Our criteria is qualitative, not quantitative.

Q: Is there any shareholder to associate ratio you strive to maintain?
A: No. We have no explicit or implicit ratio requirements. 

Q: How would I become a shareholder at Stevens & Lee?
A: Becoming a shareholder is based primarily on the evaluation of competence, responsibility, productivity, business generation potential, commitment, loyalty, professional development and reputation. A potential shareholder must qualify under these guidelines during two calendar years that need not be consecutive. The potential shareholder must receive a 75% vote each from his or her Department, the Executive Committee and all shareholders. Three separate 75% majority votes represent what we feel to be a fair and accurate evaluation, and eliminates any potential incidence of bias.

Q: What is the capital contribution to become a partner?
A: Extremely low - presently only $2,200. Many firms require contributions of $50,000 to $250,000.

Compensation and Benefits

Q: How much will I make as a first year associate?
A: Our first year associates make a minimum of $127,000, including base salary, a guaranteed bonus and a firm contribution of 10% of total compensation (salary plus bonus) to a tax-advantaged savings plan. We also offer one of the best individual and family benefit packages in the industry, without any premium co-pay.

Q: What are the criteria for determining associate bonuses?
A: Productivity expressed quantitatively based on the number of hours you work and qualitatively based on the perceptions of other lawyers of your professional development. We also pay associates 10% of each dollar collected for new business originated by that associate and a significant additional bonus for helping us recruit new lawyers and support staff.

Q: What does your benefit package include?
A: Benefits include:

• Full Blue Cross PPO (including prescription drugs) medical health plan for lawyers and their families (subject to coordination with other coverage) fully paid by the firm (no current employee premium co-pay). Dental and vision coverage is available for purchase at group rates.
• 10% (salary plus bonus) annual contribution to funded pension plan fully paid by the firm (no employee contribution)
• Life and long-term disability insurance fully paid by the firm (no premium employee co-pay)
• Voluntary 401(k) retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Malpractice insurance
• State and local bar association dues
• State and local license fees
• Voluntary Supplemental Life Insurance for employee and family
• A flexible spending account is also offered to our attorneys, which can be used to reimburse yourself on a tax advantaged basis for expenses associated with dependent care, medical expenses, parking and mass transit

A flexible spending account is also offered to all our attorneys, which can be used to pay for expenses associated with dependent care and medical expenses.

Q: Do you pay for CLE and other educational programs?
A: Yes. We pay for all mandatory continuing legal education programs and other programs designed to aid in the professional development of our lawyers. We also encourage our lawyers to continue their formal educations, particularly in programs toward LL.Ms and MBAs, and reimburse them for successful completion of their courses. Ongoing technology-related training is also available through the firm.

Quality of Life

Q: How do associates' hours at Stevens & Lee compare to those at peer firms?
A: Our associates work comparable hours to our peer firms based on American Lawyer and Altman Weil publicized information.

Q: How hard must I work?
A: We let each lawyer dictate his or her work pace with the understanding that professional growth, promotion and compensation increases are in most cases linked to each lawyer's contribution to the firm and its clients and with due regard to fairness as it relates to peer workloads.

Q: Are part-time work and alternative working arrangements available?
A: Yes. Part-time arrangements are available in certain circumstances. Technology has also allowed the firm to offer work-from-home options, which some attorneys use to minimize travel time and maximize effectiveness.

Q: What is your family care leave policy?
A: In accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act, we provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons.

Q: Do you have a paid maternity leave policy?
A: Yes. The firm offers 12 weeks of maternity leave at 100% pay for attorneys. Additional time may be granted beyond 12 weeks.

Q: What is the dress code?
A: Dress is business casual.

Communication

Q: How often will I get to meet my colleagues?
A: Some departments meet monthly. Others meet once a quarter. We all get together at least two or three times per year. It's our sharing environment, though, that has many of our lawyers from different practice groups and different offices working together frequently.

Q: Will my opinions count?
A: Yes! We have retreats, at minimum, twice per year for both shareholders and associates which encourage the exchange of ideas and invite opinion and commentary. 

Q: What kind of information about the firm will be made available to me as an associate?
A: More than at any other firm we know of! We share firm financial information with all of our associates. We also offer training in law firm economics. We expect our associates to know what and in whom they are investing their time and effort.

Q: What about mentoring?
A: Good old-fashioned professional development - a real issue in our profession and sadly lost in most places - is a real priority here. We have a full, formalized program geared toward fostering professional growth among our associates. All associates are assigned mentors who are active in guiding them in their professional development. They serve as counselors, teachers, role models, coaches - and as business sources and public sponsors, who expose them to outside opportunities via client and community contact.