Job-hunting lawyers interested in joining Berger Singerman learn up front what not to do: There are two ways to get fired from the firm, said co-chairman Paul Steven Singerman. The first involves lying. “The second way to get fired is what we refer to as internally competitive conduct, as opposed to collaborative conduct,” Singerman said.
Plenty of law firms claim to foster teamwork and collaboration, but Berger Singerman backs it up by tying lawyer compensation to how well its lawyers work together and advance the interest of the firm as a whole, rather than focusing on their own practices and clients. Lawyer salaries are based on three factors: productivity, fee origination and “corporate citizenry,” which refers to a lawyer’s willingness to be a team player.
