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History: San Diego (and Silicon Valley) diary Gray, Cary, Ames & Frye opened its doors in San Diego in 1927. In 1993 the firm was already San Diego's largest law firm (168 lawyers) when the decision was made to merge with Silicon Valley-based Ware & Freidenrich, a 24-year-old firm with 108 lawyers. It proved a wise business decision, as tech deals continue to stream in from Silicon Valley. The superheated high tech market in Silicon Valley induced Gray Cary to build out that location. The Palo Alto and San Francisco offices have over 200 lawyers with the San Diego and Golden Triangle offices lagging behind at approximately 145 lawyers. In addition, the firm has expanded to other tech hot spots. In January 1998, the firm followed the large Silicon Valley firms to Austin, opening its first office outside of California. The firm continued its expansion in 1999 and 2000, opening offices in both Sacramento (not that Sacramento is particularly hot for tech) and Seattle. Ageless lawsuit In a somewhat unusual case, Gray Cary engaged in a high-stakes legal battle with babyfaced guru, New Age author, spiritualist, and San Diego resident Deepak Chopra. After Gray Cary attorneys represented a client in a sexual harassment case against Chopra, the bestselling author of How to Know God and Ageless Body, Timeless Mind accused the firm of attempting to blackmail him for $1 million. All claims against the firm, with the exception of an invasion of privacy charge, were thrown out of court. Big and getting bigger Gray Cary has been expanding aggressively since its merger. Since mid-1996, the firm has grown from 235 attorneys to over 390 and gone from two offices to eight. Gray Cary has also increased the number of attorneys that make partner. In 1998 only nine associates were promoted, while in 1999 12 reached the position. The firm has also reported astounding growth in revenue. In 1999 the firm took in $140 million, an increase of 27 percent from the previous year.
Nontraditional lawyers: enter here One contact elaborates, "Gray Cary really cares about the caliber of people who work for the firm, so the hiring process is geared at determining whether the prospective associate would be a good fit with the other people who work here." Insiders reveal that the formula for getting hired by Gray Cary is merely "excellent grades and a personable demeanor." Another associate is pleased with the diversity of her co-lawyers, praising Gray Cary's "highly talented but unusually offbeat and eclectic mix. I think that reputation is recognized in the Valley, and consequently we may be a self-selecting group." "The firm is much more open than others to the non-traditional candidate," announces a Palo Alto associate.
Give me money Gray Cary was among the first large California firms to meet the pay raises initiated by Gunderson Dettmer. Associates at the firm are, understandably, pretty content with their wages. A San Diego associate raves: "Salaries have recently become on par with the highest-paying firms in the nation, with the added bonus that you get to live and work in San Diego, perhaps the best place to live in the U.S." Even non-San Diego fans have a reason to check out Gray Cary. Another associate agrees that "the pay is excellent, especially if you are living in a city with a lower cost of living, such as Sacramento, Austin, or San Diego." Turnover differences Retention can be a problem at Gray Cary, especially in the Silicon Valley office, where the attraction of dot com in-house positions is omnipresent and persistent. (Despite the siren song of stock and low strike prices, Gray Cary indicates that turnover overall for the firm has averaged under 15 percent over the past 10 years.) A Palo Altan defends the attrition rate, explaining, "Most attorneys leaving are going out of big firm practice altogether, not leaving to competitors." Partners just want to be your friends Partners at the firm attract overwhelmingly sunny feedback from associates. One source declares, "There are the notable exceptions, but on the whole, the partners are as nice as the associates." Another associate asserts, "The partners are very respectful. Even the biggest guns take time to get to know people personally and to thank you for your efforts." A senior associate reports that there is a "very low tolerance for jerky people here. I've been with a whole lot of firms, and while Gray Cary has its problems, partners are pretty nice." A wide-eyed first-year with a startlingly optimistic tone gushes that "the partners are so nice! I love these guys!" A jaunty social scene Associates at Gray Cary are satisfied with the social life at the firm. A lawyer from the San Francisco office reveals that "[there are] Wednesday socials and Friday high-end scotch-tastings; occasional ski jaunts or baseball games - it's a beautiful thing." According to a third-year, Gray Cary is "not party central, but a fair number of the lawyers in my group are actually fun people! Everyone seems to get along very well with no huge egos or political battles." Another continues, "I've been at other major law firms and I find people here are genuinely friends, especially the partners." As a senior associate explains, Gray Cary attorneys have little choice but to be social. "If folks spend 18 hours a day here, they really don't socialize with anyone else." A fourth-year disagrees slightly, claiming "this is a firm that attracts people who like to have a life outside the office, but many of us choose to spend our free time with our friends from the office. The firm also hosts a lot of parties that make it easy to get together." Hours: severe but controlled "Who isn't working long hours?" questions an overworked Gray Caryan rhetorically. Well, some associates aren't. Most associates find the hours at Gray Cary to be reasonable. An associate remarks, "The rumors about big firm hours don't seem to apply as much here." Indeed, the average attorney at Gray Cary bills about 2,000 hours a year, with the minimum being slightly more reasonable, at 1,950 billable hours. A Silicon Valley associate reports that Gray Cary attorneys still work hard: "Hours are pretty severe, but controllable. The new centralized assignment system appears to permit a more even spreading of workloads." A fifth-year asserts, "It's very busy here - the hours come from the amount of work, not any pressure to put in face time. I do feel like I spend too much time at work, but I also feel that Gray Cary does respect your personal life." Good chance for partnership Unlike some other firms, many associates find partnership to be an attainable goal at Gray Cary. In fact, an associate predicts that even merely "'competent' associates will likely make partner." One attorney reports, "They say making partner is tough, but since I have been here I have seen virtually everyone who was up make it. I can only count on one hand the people I know of who were up for partner but did not make it in the last five years." Womanly influence Associates report that Gray Cary is a relatively comfortable place for women. "There are lots of women partners with power here and it is totally acceptable to work part-time and still remain on track [for partnership]," notes an insider. A Silicon Valley source asserts, "The firm has a very high percentage of women in comparison to other firms. Many, if not most, of the department chairs are women." Another associate adds, "Gray Cary is one of the best firms I've seen for women. There are lots of women in very influential positions in the firm, and the atmosphere is extremely supportive." A San Diego-based lawyer agrees: "We have had women as managing partners in the past. We have several women equity partners and income partners. My summer associate class in 1995 had more women than men." However, a female associate does not feel that the workplace is a paradise of equality: "Don't expect to make partner as a female in the litigation department. You'll have to be 10 times better than any of the males to make it." Pro bono for first-years Associates have had mixed experiences regarding pro bono work at the firm. A second-year states, "Pro bono is probably rewarded in some way, but I've never heard the words 'pro bono' mentioned." Another reports that "Gray Cary is one of the leading providers of pro bono legal assistance through the East Palo Alto Volunteer Project," and that the "firm regularly staffs pro bono clinics and projects." Moreover, the firm makes an effort to promote pro bono activities, having established a committee which sends out regular e-mails regarding pro bono opportunities. A San Diego associate comments that "the less experienced, cheaper associates like me are definitely strongly encouraged to take at least one pro bono case each year. Additionally, I often get asked to help others with their pro bono cases, so on the whole I've ended up doing a lot for pro bono clients." However, one attorney asserts that "only certain types of pro bono work are approved for billable credit. These tend to be services offered to clients who don't really need pro bono services."
Leslie Colvin Professional Recruiting Director Palo Alto CA 94301 (650) 833-2133
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