Thursday, November 01, 2007

Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto -- Lying, Low Class Sweatshop

Highlighted from the comments section:

"BEWARE of the firm Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto!

This is a firm that this past week started a '6 day project, through the weekend, with intensive hours' on a Thursday (so they won't have to pay any OT), then 'breaks the news' on Friday that 'there will be no work on the weekend and your services won't be needed until Monday night at 6 pm (?) or Tuesday morning for one day.'

This bullshit is occurring right now.

The project was staffed by Special Counsel, which doesn't seem to be a problem agency, at least not as much of a problem agency as FrankenDine, Update, or Lex. It seems that Fitzpatrick might have played them, too.

But you never know with these scumbag agencies - I'm sure common sense would've told them that they'd never be able to staff the project if they gave the real terms.

People have said that Fitzpatrick Cella plays this bait & switch game a lot."


"Horrible. We were shoved into a tiny room with no a/c. Air was stale and hot. We were watched constantly, and leaving the building was extremely difficult, if not impossible. We were cheated out of overtime, and the woman that ran the project tried to deny us our food and transportation, even though we were initially promised the stipend and even though we were required to work past 10 pm."


"Second that!

I was on a case for those assholes months and months ago. They would constantly run out of docs and send us home for a day or more while they reloaded.

While those problems might be IT/Hudson related, there was this asshole:
http://www.fitzpatrickcella.com/attorneys/bio.cfm?id=239

He roamed the cubicles and would literally knock on our cubicle walls if we were talking. Then one day he came up while I was eating my lunch and playing solitaire, very clearly on a break, and yelled at me for wasting billable time. Ironically, that was one of the few times when I wasn't on the clock and wasting billable time, but what did he know.

Anyway, I left that project and despite being called by Alan, Julie and Brett to come to another Fitzpatrick job I turned them down."


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Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto motion passed 48 - 4.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

a.cohen is a filthy and shifty bastard. validates so many stereotypes.

Anonymous said...

Fitzpatrick is a plaintiff firm. Plaintiff firms are notorious for their cheapness, since they foot the bill until the case settles or they win in trial. Defense firms, on the other hand, aren't as cheap. The client pays for everything; the firm's only concern is how to justify the expenses to the client.

A firm like Fizpatrick wants the luxury of being able to send temps home at will and not have to pay them for "downtime" when "documents are being loaded into the system."

You'd think they'd be more efficient by having the documents loaded in already, but why do that when you can "load docs" while the project is going on, send the temps home, and not have to pay them?

Note: "Downtime" comes quicker when you have a few Supertemps on the project who go through their documents at lightning-fast speeds, like the firm is going to offer them a job because of how quickly they review documents.

So, here's a bit of practical advice for all temps: AVOID PLAINTIFF FIRM PROJECTS unless the market is so slow that you have no choice.

Perhaps all the Tom the Temps out there can come up with a list of plaintiff firms that use temp labor as a public service for the temp community?

Anonymous said...

Fitzpatrick is an IP firm.

Anonymous said...

They aren't a plaintiff firm. They are just cheap fuckers.

Anonymous said...

9:49 is a predicable, disgruntled temp-- thinks the world owes him when he's just a big unwanted JD loser. Comes on this blog to feel "heard".

Fits so many sterotypes.

Anonymous said...

haha, i almost ended up on that project, but ended up on "lilac" at S&C which is pretty good so far

Anonymous said...

I worked there. STAY AWAY!!!! Bait and Switch city.

Anonymous said...

F&C is an IP firm, but the advice about avoiding plaintiffs' firms is still sound. Working for a plaintiffs' firm will also conflict you out of many jobs, so such work should also be avoided for that reason.

Anonymous said...

I thought Fitzpatrick was an IP firm that only handles plaintiff side matters?

Anonymous said...

They handle a lot of patent litigation, usually against companies that want make generics of drugs.

Something else to note about the old Fitzpatrick job was that they had mandatory 6 day weeks, but you couldnt work more than 9 hours per day. So while you could have made your "billable" requirements all during the week and avoided going in on saturdays, they wouldnt allow it.

There was also NO shot at getting meals, internet, or cars, in fact they were expressly denied. Add that in with their generally prickish demeanor and that they were constantly sending people home to refresh the database and I would wholeheartedly recommend against any Fitzpatrick job.

Anonymous said...

Why aren't there any hot guys on any of these NY projects? What's a lonely doc reviewer girl to do when she can't get out of the docs to meet a guy in real life, and all the contract guys are socially awkward weirdos with loser/angry/bitter attitudes because they can't get laid?

I feel like I'm at a star trek convention.

Anonymous said...

There are lots of hot guys at the Quinn Emmanuel job. You should go there.

Anonymous said...

I worked for Fitzpatrick Cella earlier this year and would work there again. The firm expects quality work product from professionals and does not always turn a blind eye to fraud. If this is a problem for you, stay away.

Anonymous said...

Of course that's problem for these losers. If they can't "chill and bill" AND get food and cars, then they won't work. Gotta love a temp.

Anonymous said...

10:26- Fuck off. How do they "turn a blind eye to fraud" when they engage in it themselves? That's like the cat calling the kettle black.

Anonymous said...

Fitzpatrick is a trashy firm that helps raise the prices of pharmaceuticals. HTH.

Anonymous said...

10:26 Toilet law toilet mouth suffering from cognitive dissonance: You make no sense. Were you one of those special law school students admitted under the no discrimination against mental handicap clause?
Perhaps the associates were too busy whith their own work to keep on top of the time sheet cheating, partying, skipping out to the gym on the client's dime, coding at the rate of one-doc-an-hour to bulk up hours, playing solitaire constantly, pretending to review foreign language documents in a language one doesn't speak... That's the fraud I noticed temps involved in on that project.
No wonder NYC temps have such a bad reputation. "The cat calling the kettle black," hmmm? If you can't comprehend what you read, you shouldn't be coding.

Anonymous said...

7:43- It's obvious you either work for Fitzgerald, or you have your head so stuck up your ass, you can't see straight.

Partying, cheating, skipping out? How is that even possible when you are constantly watched like a hawk, completely micromanaged, and treated like a 3rd world slave nigger? Managers would bang on cubicle walls, follow temps around the office, knock on bathroom stalls if you were in the crapper too long, and generally carry themselves in an unprofessional and thuggish manner. Before you generalize and malign the integrity of the entire contract attorney population, look in the mirror and take a look at your own firm's shitty reputation.

Anonymous said...

7:43: Yes, obviously. Who is Fitzgerald, by the way?

What you are describing was not what I observed at Fitzpatrick. But maybe it is the result of what I observed.

Unfortunately a large enough number of bad apples will spoil the whole bunch, where reputations are concerned.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Firms like Fitzpatrick are bad apples that give the legal profession a bad name.

Anonymous said...

Don't you mean "Fitzgerald"?

Ha.

Loser temps.

Anonymous said...

"Fitzpatrick" As in Fitzpatrick is a toilet. HTH.

Anonymous said...

That asshole Chevalier had me canned after just 4 days at that hellhole.

I was up all night taking care of my newborn and got just one hour's sleep.

I told him this when I came in in the morning.

Nonetheless, when I shut my eyes at my desk for a second, he came by, clapped his hands in my face, and yelled, "wake up." I wasn't even asleep.

I got the call from Hudson that night. I was out.

Anonymous said...

You should have taken the day off.

Anonymous said...

Take the day off? What a nice idea! I'd have loved to have slept in until noon. Except...I'm a single parent. I needed the money to feed my child.

Thanks to Chevalier, it was a very lean Christmas last year.

Anonymous said...

I was on that case; I remember that guy. He was a prick. And I remember a lot of the women on the case saying that they felt uncomfortable around him and that he has a "pervy" appearance.

I always scan "to catch a predator" to see if he shows up at the undercover house.

Anonymous said...

Terrible place to work. Married partners should not work at the same firm! Also, some associates there have not even passed the Bar exam! Unprofessional firm.

Anonymous said...

An attorney committed suicide while working at this firm. They had a psychologist consult to see if anyone else was considering checking out. I believe the firm billed the former attorney's client for the consultants time.