Our firm is an exciting and rewarding place to practice law while living in one of the best cities in America, Austin. We get paid well and we enjoy what we do. Our firm culture breaks the mold of traditional law firms: We have few rules. No dress code. No minimum billable hours. We have great clients with interesting and complex cases, and our attorneys quickly gain real courtroom experience. At Scott Douglass & McConnico quality work is required and hard work is rewarded.
We welcome lateral candidates and hire law students from the top of their class who want to be outstanding trial lawyers in a very short time. We do not assign associates to any particular practice area. We encourage our associates to gain a wide-range of litigation experience and to decide their own interests and specialties. Our associates are quickly given real responsibilities. Associates take depositions, handle hearings and try lawsuits. Ask our associates to tell you about the cases they’ve tried, the hearings they’ve handled, and the responsibilities they are given.
We also have a short partnership track. We consider our associates for partnership after five years. We are unique in that we expect and intend every new lawyer we hire to become a partner in our firm. As a result, our young lawyers feel a great sense of connection to and ownership in the firm from day one.
Our compensation system is different from many other firms. We do not believe in lock-step compensation. We do not have minimum billable hours or hours-based bonus targets. Instead, our compensation system rewards those desiring to make a greater commitment to the firm while affording our lawyers the flexibility to balance work and personal life.
Associates receive a competitive starting compensation package. After one year with the firm, we review our associates for pay raises twice a year. Associates are also eligible to receive year-end bonuses based on their contributions to the firm and the overall success of the entire firm.
We offer a working clerkship. Summer law clerks work on substantive projects in active cases. Summer law clerks regularly attend trials and hearings and meet with our clients. We need to know if you can do the work. You need to know if you like the work.
