Career Center Survey Results: Top Partners to Work For -- Smaller Legal Markets

We hope you’ve enjoyed following our series on Top Partners to Work For, as we’ve made our way around the country highlighting the law firm partners who are not only great at what they do, but are also great to work for. As we mentioned earlier, this survey is now closed — but we’ll run it again in the future, so keep an eye out for it.

Earlier this month, we introduced six Chicago partners for whom associates enjoy working. Today we wrap up our coverage by leaving you with top partners who shine in the legal markets of Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, New Jersey, and even Hong Kong. Although some of these markets may be smaller, the firms are some of the biggest and best in the profession: Fish & Richardson, Ropes & Gray, Goodwin Procter, Jones Day, Brooks Kushman, Skadden, and Drinker Biddle.

Let’s take one last look at the partners who made the list….

Boston

David Feigenbaum. It’s no wonder associates want to work for Feigenbaum, a principal at Fish & Richardson, who exemplifies what it means to be one of the best partners: “Top of his field.  Pursues interesting clients and involves associates in client development from the start. Takes serious, deliberate interest in teaching associates and helping them to develop personally and professionally.  Treats associates as equals.  Always asks about schedule and workload.  Great sense of humor – total goofball.”

Joshua Levy. A Ropes & Gray litigation partner, Levy received the highest ratings in all survey categories.

Sponsored

Bill Schnoor.  Schnoor, a corporate partner at Goodwin Procter, co-chair of the firm’s Technology Companies Group, and co-chair of its Clean Technologies Practice, is an exemplary partner in all survey categories.

Harvey Wolkoff. An associate praises Wolkoff, a litigation partner and chair of Ropes & Gray’s Complex Business Litigation Practice Group, for being “a true teacher [who] wants to train associates to become lawyers.”  In addition, Wolkoff “is not interested in only getting things done at rapid speed — he takes time to explain his thinking and regularly takes associates’ ideas.”

Cleveland

James Dougherty. A Jones Day corporate partner, Dougherty sets the bar for the firm in nearly all survey categories.

Detroit

Sponsored

Kevin Heinl. One junior associate appreciates Heinl, a Brooks Kushman intellectual property shareholder, because “[m]y first week on the job, I was given a patent prosecution case to do all on my own.  Kevin gave me feedback and guidance to teach me how to be a great patent attorney.

John Le Roy. LeRoy, a Brooks Kushman patent litigation shareholder, is one of the best partners to work for a myriad of reasons: “He is truly a mentor.  He always takes the time to explain things, and he never loses his temper.  He always has the big picture in mind, and he presents it to associates.  He is always smiling and joking, even in high-pressure situations.  He is also very bright, but not arrogant; he listens to what everyone has to say, down to the lowliest associate, and he takes their input seriously.”  One associate goes so far as to say that “John is the best boss I’ve worked for, and I’ve worked for a lot of them, in a lot of different jobs.  If John left the firm, I’d probably follow him.”

New Jersey

Sean Monaghan. An environmental law partner at Drinker Biddle, Monaghan received the highest marks in nearly all survey categories.

Hong Kong

Nick Norris. An associate describes Norris, a partner and co-head of Skadden rsquo;s corporate practice in Asia, as “a rare gem.”  In fact, “[f]ewer of us would be looking for jobs if the other partners were more like him.”

Not quite as content with the partners you work for?  If you’re considering making a lateral move, let Lateral Link’s experienced team of legal search consultants help you.