Careers
Attorneys
We imagine that most lawyers are looking for at least some, or even all, of the following when they make their career choices: legal work that is varied and challenging; excellent training; direct contact with real clients with real problems; and colleagues and mentors who enjoy their jobs and can combine the highest intellectual and ethical standards with a sense of humor. It almost goes without saying that the salary should also be competitive.
It isn’t easy to satisfy all these demands. The large firm experience can be a paper chase with little variety, less client contact, and few cases that ever go to trial. And, partner-associate ratios being what they are, most entering associates view the large firm as a way station in which they have no realistic expectation of ever becoming a partner. The small firm practice, on the other hand, may not provide the variety, the intellectual stimulation, or the caliber of training that you want and need.
We think Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller offers the best of both worlds—a sophisticated and wonderfully varied practice in a small firm culture. Our younger lawyers quickly become engaged in the actual practice of law, working directly with our most experienced lawyers and our clients on the most challenging and rewarding of engagements. And as for our culture, we think the firm is a wonderful, quirky, absorbing place to work, particularly for lawyers who have a good sense of humor. If you would like to read more about our firm culture read on here.
To have the kind of practice we have, we have to attract the very best candidates. Take a look at our attorney profiles, and you’ll agree that we’ve been able to do that. Of course, the real trick, these days, is keeping associates. We look at every incoming associate as a person who will more likely than not be our partner some day, and we work hard to give our associates a nice place to work.
Although our pay scale remains competitive with the largest Philadelphia firms (our starting salary for lawyers coming to Hangley Aronchick straight from law school is $125,000), we insist that our lawyers are entitled to lives outside the office. We have a part-time policy to facilitate alternative work arrangements. We worry as much about the associate who works too many hours as the one who works too few. We include our youngest lawyers in every aspect of the firm’s day-to-day operations and policy, from marketing to recruiting to finance to choosing the artwork that hangs on the wall. Every committee has at least one associate on it.
Many of our attorneys arrived at Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller after starting their legal careers elsewhere. If you are a lateral candidate, read on. If you are clerking or are a current law student, read on. Although we do not have a formal summer program, we have on occasion considered extraordinary candidates for summer employment. If you are interested in such an opportunity, please apply here.
It would be our pleasure to consider your application. If you have any questions about our firm or the hiring process, please feel free to contact the Shareholder Chair of our Hiring Committee, Dan Segal, or the Associate Co-Chair, Bonnie Hoffman. You are also welcome to contact any of our other associates and ask them what they do, how they like it here, and whether they think this might be the place for you.
Hangley Aronchick complies with the guidelines set forth by the National Association of Law Placement regarding the interviewing and hiring of law students.
Hangley Aronchick is an equal opportunity employer, values diversity, and strongly encourages minority students to apply.
