Life at Baird Holm – an “Open Door” Firm
At Baird Holm, our associates have control of the pace at which their career grows. We don’t place unnecessary restraints on career paths or the areas of law in which you choose to practice. You own your career, but you won’t be lost in the crowd.
Each associate has a supervising partner and begins his or her career in one practice group. Your supervisor will be your mentor and assist you in learning the law. We don’t treat our work as a “commodity” at Baird Holm or your role in the process as that of an assembly line worker, which means that you will truly learn how to practice law, develop business, and balance your career with life outside of the firm.
Baird Holm associates are required to bill a certain number of hours each year, and it’s a structure that we’ve found leaves plenty of time to develop outside interests. We work hard, but we also maintain a strong sense of family and community. We hire new lawyers with the expectation that if they perform excellent work, they will become a partner; however, this is not done as a “numbers game.” We welcome new partners after six and a half years of practice.
Our associates have real client contact and develop the skills to solve complex legal problems early in their careers. They play an important role in shaping the future of the firm—there is an associate seat on the recruiting committee, and management’s doors (and the doors in all the corner offices) are always open.
Associate Compensation/Benefits
Compensation—at all levels of experience and professional achievement—compares favorably with that of other attorneys in this region.
Baird Holm pays a substantial portion of an associate’s individual health insurance. The firm also provides life insurance, long-term disability insurance, a 401(k) plan, and contributes to a retirement plan for all employees. Benefits extend to dependents and domestic partners. The firm also pays for the cost of bar review courses and bar exam fees for attorneys joining Baird Holm immediately after law school.
The firm is committed to providing training and supervision of associates and continuing education for all attorneys. At Baird Holm, training consists of CLE materials, in-house programs for all associates, one-on-one supervision on individual projects, and carefully-selected outside programs that respond to the associate’s stage of development and training needs. All attorneys are encouraged to attend continuing legal education institutes in areas of their particular interest at the firm’s expense.