Professional Staff
A Career That Grows With You
The professional staff experience at Crowell is unique among law firms for its opportunities, inclusiveness, and warmth. There's no feeling of hierarchy or separation between staff and lawyers—we are truly one team. Here, it's not unusual to see the chair of the firm's management board chatting with a receptionist or asking HR staff to weigh in on policy issues.
Our people thrive because we trust them to take on new responsibilities, we listen to their ideas, and we take care of their personal and professional needs.
Professional staff are treated as just that—professionals—and just as much as the lawyers are; we just have different backgrounds. We are a community, and every voice matters.
— Carmen Barboza, Chief Human Resources Officer, Washington, D.C.
A Culture of Opportunity
Careers at Crowell can take unexpected turns, because no one is bound by a single job title. Rather, we look for hard workers who love to collaborate and are out to improve the Crowell experience. Ours is a high-performance professional culture that will challenge you and help you grow.
Some people stay on a consistent trajectory at the firm, while others reinvent themselves. Just ask Beverly Miller, who started in a secretarial support role and progressed up—and sideways—through the ranks, becoming a team lead, services coordinator, systems manager, and eventually, manager of operations. “I certainly don't know a lot of my peers that have had so many opportunities to move and to continue to grow without leaving an employer or company that they really enjoy,” she says. Or Ginnie Reid, a “boomerang” staffer who started as a records clerk and—after taking time away—returned as an attorney recruiting manager. Or Josh Lubin, originally a financial analyst, who became assistant controller and eventually worked his way to a position as Director for Applications Development and Data Architecture.
We’re going to find ways to retain people, whether that’s letting them work in a different office, figuring out ways that we can elevate their position, or even creating a new position.
— Daryl Derrico, Regional HR Manager, Los Angeles
Work That Matters
Although our core business is legal services, not all of the firm’s ground-breaking work is handled by lawyers. Our professional staff create, lead, and collaborate on projects that are vital to the firm’s success. They program diversity retreats, perform DiSC behavioral assessments and coaching, and develop proprietary apps, just to name a few. We help you stretch in whatever direction fulfills you.
A Crowell signature initiative, Social Justice Conversations, was developed by staff members in our Orange County office, to provide a safe space to process racial justice issues after the killing of George Floyd. What began as a 20-week program for one group has expanded to address the concerns of other marginalized groups in multiple offices.
We don't just support innovation; we create it, celebrate it, and reward it. Our Innovation Awards provide both bragging rights and cash benefits—a tangible show of appreciation. Recent Innovation Awards honored the staff creators of pandemic-era initiatives, including Crowell Cafe, a virtual gathering place designed to build community for remote workers, and OfficePass, an app that helped track people's whereabouts during hybrid return-to-work.
I’ve had the ability to work closely with firm leadership on challenging, exciting projects that mattered to me, like our sponsorship program. When I go to a conference and folks from other firms are talking about what they want to do and how to get buy‑in from senior leadership, Crowell is often already there.
— Sarah Stein, Learning and Professional Development Director, Washington, D.C.
Collaboration Makes the Difference
Crowell team members quickly develop firmwide networks that enrich their professional experience and improve work product. The feeling here is not one of silos, but of links that strengthen the entire organization. Staff members reach out to each other for assistance without hesitation, or just to brainstorm. It all makes for an energizing, creative environment.
You can’t tell where one team ends and another begins. I’ve had many wonderful opportunities to reach across the aisle and work with different departments, whether it’s finance, or accounting, or marketing. We’re all working toward one goal, and we do it seamlessly.
— Awaly Diallo, Assistant, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Washington, D.C.
Putting People First
Our team describes Crowell as “ahead of the curve in making our people feel cared for.” Whether it's providing backup care to look after children, parents and even pets, or enhanced access to mental health and wellness benefits through our CroWellBeing program, we treat our team as one family. Most firm benefits don't differentiate between professional staff and lawyers (for example, both groups receive the same 18-week parental leave), and there is an open door for discussion if professional staff members have ideas for improvement.
In addition to providing top-tier benefits, the firm steps up in times of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Crowell partners established a fund to provide outright grants to team members who were struggling financially. In better times, partners look to share the wealth with professional staff members whenever possible.
Our approach has always been to protect our people.
— Nellica Ducreay, Senior Business Development Coordinator, New York
