Those fake marketing smiles. Interviewees, listen for "crazy" talk - Specialist Sidley Austin Employee Review

1.0
Sep 26, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Company is financially stable and there are some decent benefits esp if you are a lawyer. The firm's legal teams do really good work and they seem to take a lot of pride in their pro bono and diversity initiatives. Some nice people, I suppose. It's a polarizing environment. Marketing groups are expanding but...

Cons

I was recruited from another industry to join a small, possibly-growing Marketing group. Management were stress magnets who couldn't make a decision (due to bureaucracy of BigLaw and personal inability) and blameshifted constantly. Training involved watching someone talk on speaker phone for an hour. All directors should know how to perform each function of their employees and most do not. Behind the fake smiles is an untold amount of cynicism. The idea of earning trust is a joke because there is none to earn. There are major control issues and it lead to lots of attrition. Are you a free thinker? Do you have ideas that could save time/money/effort? Are you autonomous? Are you proud of your past accomplishments? Good. This is a very old, well-established firm that doesn't care. If all you hear about during the interview is that things are "crazy," look elsewhere.

Explore other reviews about Sidley Austin

5.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It was an overall great experience and team

Cons

Id say the growth there is slow

3.0
May 13, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Upward mobility, stability, prestige, good health care

Cons

Staff underpaid and overworked. The new Data & AI dept is a hot mess and has high turnover due to bad leadership (all from outside legal who don't understand the industry and don't care). Pay is way below market rate - left for a 30% pay increase and a colleague got even more, which is embarrasing for such a highly ranked firm. Culture has changed drastically and for the worse.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All