Senior Trial Attorney Honest and Lengthy Review - Senior Trial Attorney Allstate Employee Review

This is a very balanced yet WATERED DOWN review since my reviews and feedback are constantly censored……… Let’s try this again: Legal Dept = SOMEONE over the legal department at Allstate has to be one of the worst in the business. The aforementioned is very detached from the current reality of the legal department(s) they oversee and provides zero guidance or effective recourse on the looming issues that has plagued the legal department(s) for years. Every year at the annual meeting there is a person who gives a “hope for change” speech, pretends to listen to feedback, then disappears until the next meeting where this same individual gives the same speech. Recently, an employee asked about promotions, the speaker told the whole Houston complex to pursue opportunities in other Allstate departments because there are no promotions. Everyone was speechless. You will notice, the aforementioned never takes notes on the feedback given by employees on the front lines, never discusses an action plan, openly states employees are underpaid, and refuses to take accountability that the aforementioned is (likely) the problem. Instead, these geniuses thought it best to spend millions on a risk management firm to tell them what they already know. Not to fix anything, but to “figure out” what the issues are. ASININE. Also, the aforementioned does not shy away from sending out email blasts for their favorite legal offices in certain states who obtain bare minimum “wins” yet fail to acknowledge other states for GREAT trial wins. For example, Houston, TX defense attorneys earned several No Negligent verdicts in extremely difficult and often unfair courts in 2024. One jury found the Defendant negligent, yet the jury awarded $0 to the Plaintiff because that’s how STRONG the defense attorney’s strategy was despite pushback from management. That is a rare and hard fought win. Guess how many times an email blast was sent for the Houston attorneys trial wins? None. Were any of those attorneys promoted? No. Are those attorneys paid comparable to their experience? You guessed it, no. You can guess what those defense attorneys all have in common… Wage Issues = Should you choose to work for this company, understand that you are being paid below the market rate. This is not a secret and openly discussed at company wide meetings. In MY experience, I brought several EEOC violations to the attention of upper management. Specifically, attorneys of DIFFERENT RACE AND GENDER with no insurance defense/trial experience are paid $20k - $40k more to perform the same tasks as other attorneys with a DIFFERENT RACE AND GENGER. I. Saw. The. Numbers. What did the *LEADERS* do? Nothing. What did HR do? Nothing. They do not believe the Equal Pay Act of 1963 exists and they do not adhere to the EEOC statement on their job posts. Oh and the compensation listed for attorneys is inaccurate. They pay on average $100k - $110k BEFORE taxes. Attorneys with 10-15 years of experience start at $130k. The job posts inflate the salary to grab your attention. Your first red flag should be the range, pay close attention to that huge salary range. They will never pay you $140k-$160k outright. Training and Trials = The LEADERS in the Houston office are not based in Houston. They do not understand Houston venues/judges/rules and are unable to provide venue specific guidance to the lawyers. Per Glassdoor Community guidelines, I am unable to use job titles in my review. However, this company, like every other company in the world, submit job postings with job titles and explanations of responsibilities on them when seeking employees, right? Well, per the job posts, LEADERS are suppose to attend trial with the lawyers on their team. Some leaders have never attended a single trial with a Houston lawyer, instead, they force other attorneys to go to trial with inexperienced lawyers, mostly with 24-48 hours notice. (Attorney(s) who are “required” to 1st chair these trials are paid less than the attorney(s) they are training.) LEADER(S) = SOME LEADER(s) have a horrible relationship with the attorneys. Several attorneys constantly complain about the lack of leadership, guidance, poor attitude, low morale, and constant disrespect from SOME LEADER(s). The office is already understaffed, now several attorneys have expressed TO ME desires to resign based on their experience with SOME LEADER(s). SOME LEADER(s) tends to bad mouth former attorneys. IN MY EXPERIENCE, I was praised and high recommended by CERTAIN LEADER(s) then later *spoken of in a negative light* when CERTAIN LEADER(s) spoke of me to other attorneys. It is disgusting behavior for anyone but especially for a LEADER. All I am permitted to say at this time is, believe a person when they show you who they are the first time. Job Performances = This company relies on employees out of the country to perform critical tasks with legal deadlines which impacts and hinders the litigation process. They have no phones and only communicate via email. Numerous firms complain, often to the local judges, about the ridiculous and often delayed deposition scheduling process which the staff and lawyers have zero control of. Numerous cases have motions to compel and sanctions filed on them due to no or late required disclosures, no responses to deposition requests, blatant disregard of attorney instructions on handling time sensitive matters, etc. We work hard for our license(s) and it is constantly at risk with these processes. The whole process is awful. It’s a very “you get what you pay for” type of system and the attorneys are constantly berated and humiliated by local judges for an issue that has circled the drain for years. Understand what you are walking into. File Dump = Onboarding will be overshadowed by the numerous files assigned and dumped onto you during your first week. You will be required to sign numerous Attorney Designations all at once and within the first 30-60 days LEADERS will require you to complete a “100% file review”. Will they tell you how to complete it? No. And if one does, it’s a very vague explanation with no in depth guidance. New hires rely on senior attorneys for help on how to complete the file review, however, many senior attorneys do not know how as this was not required years ago. Prepare for a blind leading the blind experience when it comes to file reviews. In my experience, I was hit with a dumpster load of files when I first started, I was assigned 400 past due tasks from someone who quit, and these tasks were unfairly included on my performance review that year. I fiercely objected to this as inaccurate and unfair; nothing changed and my performance review was not amended. Months after cleaning up that mess, I was file dumped again! I was then tasked with completing a 100% file review on all these reassigned cases which no one read because the manager(s) quit and all the documents in their name were locked. Wasted two months doing that file review and no one so much as asked about it. They set you up to fail and use it as a reason why you wont receive a raise/promotion. OLD cases = There is no reason a case 10 years+ old should still be open. Cases from 2013-2014 are STILL sitting, clients haven’t been contacted in years due to the turnover, and when the question arises with what is the status on the case. No one knows because it’s that old. I will never understand the disorganization and delay on these cases. Five years is ridiculous but ten years? Pay the claim and go?! Should a jury award so much as a dollar, interest alone would pay off a car fresh off the lot. Reporting = Most of what you are doing is summarizing and regurgitating information. Several lawyers attempt to provide proper legal guidance and strategies, however, their efforts are undervalued or outright shut down by claims who often refuse to spend the money for a proper legal defense. The reports are redundant, vague, and often useless. Attorneys who complete good reports are frustrated when their legal strategies are not so much as considered by the claims partners, and several claims will settle for unreasonable amounts anyways, thus, wasting the attorney(s) time and resources. Working relationships = Claims run everything here. It’s a legal department, however, lawyers require “permission” before they can effectively litigate a case. It makes no sense. It’s a huge conflict issue resulting in poor client surveys and frustration between the attorney-client relationship. Numerous cases are referred to the legal department stemming from poor pre-lit evaluations resulting in a lawsuit. This causes a backlog of cases attorneys must waste time and resources on. It’s asinine. Litigation Adjusters are overwhelmed and careless. Attorneys are overwhelmed and spread thin. Staff is exhausted and depleted. It’s hard to walk into a company with a positive outlook yet bear the blame for a situation you walked into, now solely responsible for, and see no clear path on how the company plans to fix the issues. There is an unbelievable amount of incredible talent at Allstate, however, the leaders turn a blind eye to the talent. Employees here are burnt out and cries for help fall on deaf ears. Turnover = The turnover is ridiculous. From April - December 2023, at least 15 attorneys, including two managers, all resigned from the Houston office. A graveyard shift of attorneys and staff remained after the fallout and we were stuck with the backlog of cases to deal with. What did senior management do? Send a “keep calm everything is fine” email and carried on as if nothing happened. One man was promoted following that mess. One. No 3rd party attorney in the Houston, TX office has 5 years tenure.… Morale is low, senior management demand feedback year after year but does nothing with it. The problems in the legal department are not new, they are lingering issues that fester resulting in internal turmoil and resentment then turnover. It’s easier for people to just leave a sinking ship, and that’s exactly what happens. Overall = The Houston office has undeniable and proven talent, very welcoming and down to earth attorneys who support, train, and guide new hires and staff alike. My experience with the lawyers and staff on the front lines who hold Houston down is the best part of the job. If you ask why people stay, it’s because you won’t find a legal community as supportive and genuine as the lawyers in this office. The prominent and experienced Houston PI firms have a great working relationship with Allstate lawyers who know the game, there’s a mutual understanding that everyone is doing the best they can with the cards they are dealt. Unfortunately for you, it’s comes at the price of mental fatigue, burnout, smoke and mirrors. Like I said, if you are going to join, know who the players are, understand you are in a losing game, and prepare for a lot of meaningless changes with no progress.