Pros
Collaborative workplace, clear expectations from people you work for directly, many people always willing to help and explain things to someone new. I had the pleasure to work for a fantastic partner at the firm who respected my intellect, folded me into more complicated patent-related work, and has been a great mentor. People were checking and double-checking one another's work, helping with problems, and finding solutions together. That part of the company culture worked very well...when it worked. Compensation and work scheduling are quite good, benefits are great. There are also fun company events, and company sponsored charity benefits as well. They make it easy for commuters by offering to compensate in part public transportation or parking costs. Some very intelligent and forward-thinking people work there, and it has been an absolute pleasure being able to work with some of them.
Cons
Some difficult attitudes that I thought were left in high school made work hard and fitting in very difficult. A few assistants, associates and partners were absolutely fantastic. Many, however, were exclusionary, gossipy and rather difficult personalities. The more ability you showed, the more you're disliked. It's a rough catch 22 - you're more useful, but other people with your job title talk about you behind your back, or at least it feels like it. Once certain people for some reason don't like you, the collaborative atmosphere flips 180 degrees and your questions go unanswered, no one wants to train you in ways that are important for you to grow within the firm to add more value, and no one has any time or even work to hand off to you. You begin to feel isolated and useless. I filled that time by reading the patent code and the MPEP, and analyzing the latest supreme court decisions. There is also an unpleasant and seemingly inflexible social hierarchy. In previous positions in other companies I was freely and often invited out by anyone in the firm, at all levels, CEOs, attorneys, management, and secretaries alike, as long as I had an opportunity to present to them that I'm productive, interested, show aptitude and am feeding my intellectual curiosity, and was someone they thought they'd like. All that goes entirely unrewarded here, and people are afraid to make it known that they repsect your intellect, they socialise with others of their own job title almost exclusively. They'll tell you that you're brilliant in private, or in the elevator, or in an email, but they won't have lunch with you. I've never experienced anything so isolating and ridiculous.