All the bureaucracy of Big 4 without the brand recognition or training
Pros
They'll hire pretty much anyone who shows interest They are growing rapidly If you can tolerate it, and stick around you're pretty much guaranteed to get promoted every couple years. Life as a director/MD seems okay. During non-busy season, people hardly have to work. 20 PTO days per year is generous
Cons
-It is extremely hierarchical Associates are seldom invited in for calls and there is zero client contact at junior levels regardless of advanced degrees. -While they pay lip service to wanting to grow the commercial side, in practice, the focus is almost completely on the HNW segment. There is very little consulting work on the commercial side and even less training. -The only training you get at junior levels is how to fill out forms. -LA office is dominated (at junior levels by an Asian mafia. -at junior levels, there's no opportunity to focus on things that interest you (unless filling out forms interest's you) -Bonuses are minimal (i.e.<5% unless you kill yourself during busy season) -same for raises half the partners force associates to print every work paper out and put in binders which takes hours. There's zero effort at going paperless or at standardization. -one of the "pros" is that if you stick around long enough you'll make director, but the downside is that people end up getting promoted beyond their level of competency.
