Pros
Freestone has a strong client base and a recognizable name in the Seattle market. You’ll get exposure to complex client situations and build experience quickly due to the workload. There are also good people across the firm at the peer level who try to support each other and do quality work despite the broader challenges.
Cons
The most concerning issue is leadership—specifically how poor management is handled. A recent example involved a senior leader who was promoted into a role overseeing the client service function despite clear concerns about their management style and effectiveness. The result was a noticeable decline in team morale, increased turnover, and a breakdown in communication and support for the client service team. Rather than addressing the issue decisively, leadership allowed the situation to persist for far too long. When action was finally taken, the individual was quietly moved out of the role instead of being held accountable in a meaningful way. That decision sent a clear message internally: performance and impact on people are secondary to optics and internal politics. This kind of approach creates a lack of trust in leadership. Issues are not addressed proactively, and when they are, the resolution often feels incomplete. It reinforces the perception that management is insulated from consequences, while the rest of the organization is expected to operate at a high level regardless of the environment. Combined with heavy workloads, limited resources, and compensation that doesn’t fully align with expectations, it becomes difficult to see a long-term path here. Many strong employees ultimately leave—not because of the work itself, but because of how leadership handles (or fails to handle) situations like this.