However, there is a downside to this potential for chumminess. The firm has a notoriously clubby culture, although some insiders say that this is abating. The firm does have a clubby, cigar-smoking type clique, reports one insider, but it has a much lesser influence on the culture than in the past, says one insider. The firm is experiencing something of a revolution as it shakes off its stuffy, traditional image. The firm s chummy aspects do not end with the workday.
Many associates enjoy a happenin after-hours scene.
We play jokes on each other, plan dinners, go to happy hour on Fridays you name it, reports one insider. There are those people who have families or are otherwise uninterested in socializing at the firm, but there are core groups in both the litigation and corporate departments that are always planning some event. There s a lot of social stuff going on, but it tends to be highly cliquish, says one associate. There is decent interaction, though in general it is a very cliquish place where people who are different are often shunned. And some associates are displeased with the firm s party atmosphere.