Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Reviews

Cons

It's hard to say anything negative about this firm, they treated me very well.

Cons

Hard to get promoted, and depends only on the manager's wish.

Cons

Manage the responsibilities of the mailroom independently. It can get overwhelming at times

Cons

- When you get your contract, get a lawyer to read it. It will have you sign away legal rights.

-Honestly, as soon as you start, do everything possible to try to fit in to the poisonous environment. Working in administration, if a senior assistant or a lawyer dislikes you, which is quite easy, there will be no one to stand up for you. Your manager or director, or even HR, will turn the other way because they're afraid too, and let them go ahead and unilaterally fire you. HR will fire anyone that the lawyers or certain assistants point at. The amount of time you have worked does not matter.

-HR has no power, since their bosses are the lawyers. There is not a disciplinary process before being fired. No verbal warning, no write up, no counseling, nothing. This is not the kind of company that cares about improving you as a professional or a person.

-They feel because they are a law firm, like most law firms, they can fire you and count on you not getting a lawyer to defend your rights, which you may have signed away in the initial contract anyway. They count on you not knowing any better. And of course you'll get short changed on the severance.

Cons

You have to fight for work. Pay lags behind the market. very cheap management. Will screw you out of what you’re owed, guaranteed.

Cons

Bureaucratic, if you're not a lawyer prepare to always get the shorter end of the stick: benefits, bonuses, respect. If you're not on the associate/partner track, it is quite hard to move up.

Cons

High workload, consistent with large firms.

Cons

The managers for assistants for the most part are absolutely terrible, one in particular who has schemed and lied their way to getting a number of people in trouble or fired under false circumstances. There's no recourse because going higher up the chain isn't useful because they all side with each other. Higher ups will dismiss your legitimate concerns and make you feel like you're not working hard enough or care about your job. Well it's hard to do your job properly when you have your immediate supervisor playing favorites and out to sabotage you. I didn't have it as bad as some of my former co-workers (who were unjustly fired), but the ridiculous childish office politics got to be too much. And it was time to leave especially when it seemed like every single move you made was watched. The micromanaging was ridiculous. You're treated like children who need to be monitored at all times

It's shocking that a firm of this size and stature has administrative management that are so blatantly atrocious. Some of the lawyers even noticed the constant changes and turnover, and they were unhappy because this caused stability.

The salary is extremely mediocre for a firm of this size. They don't match your experience, and the raise is nothing. It barely keeps up with inflation

Last I heard, the instability and high turnover is getting worse

Oh and they lie to you in your interview. They'll tell you that you don't have to be in a position you don't like, but that's nonsense. You get stuck especially when management has their favorites. Not all policies are applied equally

Watch out for co-workers who are chummy with management. They will report what you say to them, and management will use that against you. This happened to someone I used to work with, and I was surprised

Basically, don't trust anyone especially not HR

Cons

sometimes a bit slow to work on job changes

Cons

Small increases make it hard to keep with market.