Schnader Ranked Number 1 Among Philadelphia Law Firms in The American Lawyer’s 2008 Midlevel Associates Survey – Firm Ranked Eleventh Overall Nationwide

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP has been ranked number one among law firms in Philadelphia, and ranked eleventh overall nationwide in The American Lawyer’s 2008 Midlevel Associates Survey. The annual survey is based on responses from more than 7,000 third-, fourth-, and fifth-year associates – or, the classes of 2003, 2004, and 2005 – from law firm offices around the globe. Any firm may participate in the survey, which is distributed during the spring.

“We are extremely pleased with the results,” said Chairman Ralph Wellington. “We have worked very hard to develop training and mentoring programs that truly enhance the lives of our associates, and strive to provide young attorneys with challenging, cutting-edge matters that help to sharpen their skills and foster their professional growth. But we also seek to develop an environment that is open and collegial, and I think the results of the survey strongly reflect that effort.”

Schnader placed extremely well in the overall scores, but also scored very well on a variety of individual questions, including “how interesting the work is,”  “quality of work assigned,”  as well as “level of responsibility,”  “opportunities to work with partners,” and “collegiality.” The Firm also ranked well above the national average in such areas as “training and guidance,”  “fairness of evaluations,” and “communication about partnership.” The Firm’s strong support of pro bono matters was also reflected in the very positive scores it received on the question “attitude toward pro bono.” 

A firm’s national score is the average of 12 questions on the survey that summarize the firm’s qualities, including the interest and satisfaction levels of work; benefits and compensation; relations between associates and partners; training and guidance; openness about finances and strategies; billable hours policy; the firm’s attitude toward pro bono work; and the likelihood of the associate being at the firm in two years. The same 12 questions are calculated for individual cities or markets to determine branch scores and rankings.