30 Jul 5 Reasons Duane Morris is an Awesome Law Firm

To my faithful blogees: as you know I very rarely self-promote here, whether shamelessly or not. But I’m extremely excited about my new affiliation with the 700-attorney international law firm of Duane Morris LLP. The firm’s reputation spans many decades and has strongly and steadily grown throughout the time I have been practicing. Here’s why DM, in the “AmLaw100” as one of the largest US firms, is pretty darn awesome.

1. Collegial environment. In returning to my roots in big law firms, I recall experiencing a “silo” mentality at times where groups of people weren’t interested in collaborating with others. For many smart reasons Duane Morris has successfully managed to gather a group of attorneys who are incentivized to work together and help each other. I’ve seen that in spades already in just the short time I have been on the ground.

2. Worldwide reach. Many large firms based in the Northeast US concentrate almost all their attorneys here. Duane Morris intelligently realized the importance of being able to advise clients where they and their matters are located. Whether it’s New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Silicon Valley, London, Shanghai or many others, our attorneys can work on complex international matters with a local understanding.

3. Hard-working but not a sweatshop. As a young lawyer I turned down one of the largest, most respected firms because it was known as a “sweatshop.” That doesn’t mean folks at Duane Morris don’t work hard. They do. But not because the culture says that “face time” in the office is what matters. We roll up our sleeves and do whatever the client needs, but the hazing mentality that is all too present in certain firms and which causes resentment and burnout simply is not necessary.

4. Full service really means that. Some of the biggest names in BigLaw actually only have a small handful of practice areas in which they specialize. My friends say it’s ok, we’re doing fine. And they are. But they are not offering their clients the full service that is possible. One of my colleagues the other day said at DM we do everything except divorce. It’s really essentially true (of course lawyer disclaimer – check with me first!). While litigation and corporate law are certainly the largest groups of attorneys in the firm, our practice areas span literally dozens. Life sciences and healthcare, intellectual property, tax and trusts & estates, Internet and new media, real estate and construction and creditors’ rights are just some of the many strengths the firm offers its clients.

5. Great place to work! If you want a sense of how people are really treated in an enterprise, ask the executive assistants. One recently told me that she is very happy at DM and that everyone is treated extremely well. The firm was actually ranked one of the top 10 family friendly firms by Yale Law Women. That tells you something.

So ping me at DNFeldman@duanemorris.com and let’s catch up soon!