Careers at Grippo & Elden
Grippo & Elden offers its attorneys the best elements of both large firm and small firm practice. Our challenging and sophisticated legal work, coupled with an atmosphere of camaraderie and support, make Grippo a uniquely fulfilling place to practice law. Our young lawyers not only enjoy hands-on experience in high profile cases, but also a meaningful voice in the management and direction of the Firm. In short, if you are looking for a place where you will be excited to come to work every day, Grippo & Elden stands alone.
Staffing
For associates, Grippo's philosophy of staffing cases leanly translates into significant responsibility early on in their careers. We assign our associates to cases, not to projects, and expect them to be valuable contributors at all stages of the case. Associates immerse themselves in the facts, law, tactics, strategy, client relations and courtroom presentation of their cases. They work side-by-side with at least one senior lawyer on each matter, and they stay with their cases until conclusion. Our corporate lawyers employ the same approach. Moreover, our staffing philosophy ensures that associates work for a variety of principals in a variety of substantive areas. Our staffing attorney is also charged with responsibility for ensuring that associates get the hands-on experience they need to advance their careers.
Involvement in Firm Management
In addition to giving associates significant responsibility on their cases, we ask associates to participate in a variety of firm management functions, including recruiting, space planning, managing legal assistants and planning our annual (highly substantive) attorney conference. We evaluate and reward effective management contributions just as we do effective legal work. Giving associates a significant role in firm management, we believe, fosters professional maturity and satisfaction among associates by involving them directly in the complexities of the law business early in their careers. The insight and intelligence that our associates bring to these management responsibilities also make the Firm stronger and more efficient.
Training and Mentoring
Grippo & Elden puts a premium on attorney training and mentoring. Our associates and young principals are the future of the Firm, and it is paramount that we prepare them for that responsibility. In addition to the intense hands-on training that comes from lean staffing, the Firm organizes regular breakfast and lunch programs in which senior attorneys share practical advice on a wide range of pre-selected topics (typically chosen by the associates themselves) on everything from the nuts and bolts of drafting complaints and responding to discovery to a series of sessions on how to try a complex commercial case. These practical training sessions are not an attempt to duplicate law school, articles, or continuing legal education courses, but instead are meant to institutionalize the mentoring that is often overlooked in busy firms.
In addition, on an associate's first day at Grippo & Elden, an associate-mentor and a principal-mentor welcome the new associate to the Firm. Those mentors are available from that day forward to address any questions or concerns that might arise or simply to give and receive feedback about the associate's progress and development. Our Mentoring Committee meets regularly to make sure that the program is being actively implemented and to discuss ways to continue to improve the program.
Compensation
We recognize that to attract and retain the best and the brightest we must maintain a competitive compensation structure. Thus, our salaries are at the top of the Chicago market. We award annual bonuses to recognize outstanding individual performance. In addition to individual bonuses, we award teamwork bonuses in years in which the Firm as a whole has been especially busy.
Hiring
We occasionally interview at law schools, but we primarily hire lawyers with one to three years of commercial litigation (or related) experience from other top firms or judicial clerkships. All of our associates have outstanding academic credentials and a preference for a bureaucracy-free, entrepreneurial, and dynamic environment. They also possess a sense of humor, because we want to continue having fun at what we do. If this environment appeals to you, please send a short cover letter and resume to Sarah McTurnan. We encourage applications from minority attorneys.