The Work 

Where associates are placed largely depends on their prior field of work and study. The possibilities at associate level are: biotechnology & pharmaceuticals; chemical & metallurgy; electrical; mechanical; IP specialties; and trademark/copyright. For the last of these, a ‘techie’ background is not strictly required whereas for the others a technical degree – and often an advanced technical degree – is usually necessary.

Hiring partner Mark Sweet summed up: “When it comes to assigning work, we’re formal in our informality.” Practice group leaders monitor their attorneys’ workflow. He or she ensures they have enough work, or aren’t inundated. But attorneys are free to find their own work too. “If you feel confined in your group, you’re encouraged to pipe up,” a junior explained. “It would be difficult to miss out on opportunities to do what you want at Finnegan.”

Determining an associate’s practice is a two-way street. “The only restriction on doing what you want is managing your own workload. Your technical background naturally pushes you in one direction but it’s very easy to approach people in other groups.” Whereas some associates might expect to be “shoved” in one direction by the powers that be, there is some fluidity and cross-communication between departments. “For example, there is a lot of crossover between chemical and bio/pharm as well as between mechanical and electrical,” an associate observed.

Experience varied regarding work quality, responsibility levels and client contact, though none of our interviewees sounded despondent. “I’d heard that in any large firm, juniors should expect only grunt work. I’ve not found that. I have lots of client contact,” one said. Similarly, “a partner can make you the primary contact right off the bat if they trust you and think you can speak intelligently.”

That said, there are disparities from one practice group to another, and some associates can spend the first few months “doing mostly factual and legal research, drafting memos and helping on document review. It can feel like a rite of passage in these larger firms.” While that may hold true, Finnegan is loath to compare itself to the “big corporate machines,” preferring to preserve the title of ‘boutique’ despite its size.

Training & Development 

Associates receive a ‘partner adviser’ and ‘peer adviser’, generally an associate one or two years ahead. The former tracks the associate’s progress but “of course some are more hands-on than others,” sources said. The peer adviser is “a great resource for informal queries like who is fun to work with, and how to approach secretaries.”

Training is formal and focused in the first few weeks – and sporadic thereafter. “We learn everything from administration to legal writing skills and techniques specific to practice – these of course vary from litigation to prosecution work and so on.” While training can be a euphemism for ‘forced bonding', at Finnegan it’s “really helpful for becoming comfortable with how the firm works.” Writer-in-residence Ed Good provides writing skills training for attorneys and in-house training for the firm’s clients.

For the first two years, there’s a formal evaluation every six months. The practice group head and partner adviser conduct these, with the contribution of any other partner familiar with an associate’s work. Apart from this, “you tend to get as much feedback as you seek.” But it is not uncommon for junior associates to feel that criticism is “not specific enough, which can be frustrating. Then again, not hearing from your partner adviser is usually a good thing.”

Offices 

With 211 attorneys, the Washington, DC office is unmistakably the firm’s mothership. That said, managing partner Barbara McCurdy insists: “We’re not terribly hierarchical. The regional office managers certainly represent the needs and interests of their offices, making day-to-day decisions autonomously.” The regional offices are based in Reston, Atlanta, Cambridge and Palo Alto. All attorneys have their own office. “We all have windows and can even bring in personal artwork, which is pretty amazing,” a junior said. “Sometimes you can hear music coming from offices, but it’s kept pretty quiet.”

The DC office building was renovated within the past decade. “Our state-of-the-art technology is on the money! There’s nothing we don’t have. We video-conference with Tokyo on plasma screens and everyone gets an iPhone or BlackBerry.” At nearby Reston in the Dulles Technology Corridor, “most of the associates and partners out here have families,” a source said. “They want to live out in the suburbs and don’t care about the hustle and bustle of the city.”

Finnegan’s first overseas office was Tokyo in 1988. Subsequent openings in Brussels, Taipei and, most recently, Shanghai have extended the firm’s international reach. Associates have random opportunities to rotate through the Shanghai office for one to four months to help raise the firm’s profile out East.

Culture 

Finnegan is not a “credentials club,” associates said. It’s a given that they are smart and accomplished, and for that reason “it’s an unwritten policy that nobody’s allowed to hang diplomas in their office.” Once in, all that matters is what associates can bring to the table. This sentiment is reflected by the fact that Finnegan does not feel the need to meet a hiring quota. It never stopped hiring nor did it conduct layoffs during the recession. McCurdy says: “We stick together and, during tough times, that says a lot. It would have been inconsistent with our culture to lay off our attorneys or staff. I’m very proud of that.”

In and around the office, attorneys “hang out” with one another. “Doors are open and it’s a friendly and relaxed atmosphere,” they said. Interaction between partners and associates is good, from chatting in the hallways to sharing lunch in the partially subsidized cafeteria. That said, juniors were quick to admit that the firm is in a period of transition regarding communication. “Partners are becoming increasingly restrictive about telling people what they know. For example, the newsletter used to mention who left the firm. Now it doesn’t.” An associates committee (theoretically) meets regularly with management to exchange information, although some suggested there’s always room for more communication about the “bigger issues.”

Weekly happy hours and informal lunches are common among associates, with a formal monthly happy hour sponsored by the firm. In Reston, “happy hour starts at 4.15pm so people can go home to their families.” The much-loved firmwide retreat – canceled in 2010 – was reinstated for 2011. Indeed, the (proverbial) budgetary belt has slowly loosened in the wake of the recession.

Hours & Compensation 

Finnegan has a 2,000 hour requirement for bonus eligibility. While that target is stressful at times, most associates agree that “the hours are fair and doable.”

The firm is accommodating when it comes to working from home and taking vacation. “We don’t have formal holiday entitlement – as long as everything gets done, you can take two straight weeks off and nobody will bat an eyelid,” one junior believed. Whether associates completely disconnect when they are away is a personal decision.

As far as compensation is concerned, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that salaries are back to competitive market rates from their freeze in 2009. They follow a lockstep increase, with $160,000 in the first year, $170,000 in the second and $185,000 in the third. Bonuses, however, have become something of a “fiasco” of late. There used to be a 5 percent incremental increase for every 100 hours billed above the requisite 2,000. That rate was cut in half during the recession and it remains “completely unclear,” much to the frustration of attorneys. “If we knew for sure that the rate was 2.5 percent, some of us might only aim for 2,000 hours rather than busting a gut.” The firm has placed a greater emphasis on the discretionary merit-based element of the bonus, which can be substantial.

Benefits are standard: health and welfare, participation in the firm’s 401(k) pension scheme, paid personal leave and transport expenses, to name a few.

Pro Bono 

“This has been the most rewarding work,” one junior said. Associates across the board commend Finnegan’s policy. “If you reach 96 percent of your billables, the rest can be made up of pro bono.” In other words 80 hours of community work can count toward the 2,000 hour target – and these can be undertaken through the firm’s connections or sourced independently. Any more than 80 hours of pro bono work is usually reflected in the bonus.

The firm offers “everything from criminal trials to landlord and tenant cases.” The Veterans Assistance Program is “fabulous” and the Asylum Representation Program is equally “very popular.” There is a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the topic. “We have big clients with long drawn-out litigations, but with pro bono you see instant results. I could run with the cases and when they succeeded it felt great.”

Diversity 

While IP firms tend to rate slightly lower for diversity, Finnegan can be proud of its standing among its BigLaw peers. Its diversity scholarship has attracted a lot of positive attention, providing one successful applicant with $15,000 toward law school fees every year, on top of a summer associateship. Since the scholarship’s foundation in 2003, 23 scholarships have been awarded. There’s a director of diversity, “whose sole job is to ensure we comply with the standard of diversity expected and continue to improve.” Likewise, the diversity committee welcomes feedback and suggestions from attorneys.

Hiring partner Mark Sweet admits that improving diversity statistics is something the firm “will continue to work on.” For the moment, the DC office has more than double the ratio of female associates to female partners, exhibiting its long-term move toward equality. Nevertheless, there is only a small handful of ethnically diverse attorneys at the partner level in each office and three openly LGBT partners firmwide.

Notably, Finnegan has displayed a growing number of Asian attorneys due to the high proportion of Asian science graduates with IP interests each year, sources suggested.

Get Hired 

Both the managing and hiring partner agree that there’s no Finnegan “type.” According to Sweet, the firm recruits “from about 30 law schools nationwide, seeking the best candidates in the top 25 percent of their class.” They conduct roughly 10–12 OCIs per day per visit, with about one in three getting called back for second interview. Careers fairs like the Loyola Patent Law Job Fair can bring about “64 interviews in two days.”

In order to get hired, good grades from a good school and some kind of technical or engineering background are a given. Otherwise the firm looks for “a genuine interest in IP, a valid geographical reason for office choice, and a willingness to really engage with the firm – rather than thinking ‘me first!’” There’s a healthy mix of those hired straight out of law school and those with industry experience. Because a technical degree is required, candidates tend to skew a little bit older than in most law firms.

Strategy & Future 

There is no real basis for Finnegan to alter its strategy going forward. Barbara McCurdy explains: “Looking back at 2010 and forward to 2011-12, we feel very good. Work has picked up and we have many trials scheduled for the year ahead.” The firm has no plans to open more offices. Finnegan’s emphasis lies with impacting foreign markets by expanding the client base, with a close eye kept on “the China practice, as well as continued growth in Korea, Japan and Europe.”

Hot areas right now include the International Trade Commission litigation practice, providing representation to both complainants and defendants. “Electrical and mechanical remain our busiest areas,” McCurdy says, and prosecution work has picked up as the economy recovers.

As for the future, Finnegan will continue to hire people “who have the potential to be successful at the firm based on technical background, legal acumen, character and personality.” And McCurdy’s message to prospective applicants? “Look beyond salary and consider a firm’s history and culture as much as possible. I can count the partners who have left Finnegan in the last 25 years on one hand. There is a reason for that.”