Partners, staff on equal footing at Robinson & Cole

PEER REVIEWED: The staff members at Robinson & Cole are encouraged to attend events and interact with employees. Aside from boosting morale, it also allows the company to provide a more “personal level” of services, said Regional Business Development and Marketing Manager Nicole Babine Campbell. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL PERRSON
PEER REVIEWED: The staff members at Robinson & Cole are encouraged to attend events and interact with employees. Aside from boosting morale, it also allows the company to provide a more “personal level” of services, said Regional Business Development and Marketing Manager Nicole Babine Campbell. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL PERRSON

At the Providence office of Robinson & Cole, staff are never treated second class.
That philosophy even extends into areas that include client events, such as a recent cocktail party that included partners, attorneys and staff members. Employees were encouraged to mingle with clients, never being called upon for support at the catered event.
“It was a huge success,” said Diane Cosman, a paralegal with the firm.
Regional Business Development and Marketing Manager Nicole Babine Campbell said that the firm’s partners in the Providence office want to encourage staff members to attend Robinson & Cole-hosted events.
“The working relationships that staff members cultivate with clients help the firm to deliver a more personal level of service that mirrors the culture of the Greater Providence business community,” she said.
That respectful and egalitarian atmosphere is one of the things that makes the law firm one of the best places to work in Rhode Island. Winner in the Small-Employer Category in this year’s Best Places to Work awards program, Robinson & Cole LLP is a 160-year-old Connecticut firm that has recently expanded well beyond Hartford. Today there are 370 full-time employees, including 200 attorneys. They work in nine offices, including branches in New York City, Boston, Manhattan Beach, Cal., and Sarasota, Fla. The Providence office opened five years ago; 15 people now work there.
The firm mostly handles business affairs and business litigation.
The collegial attitude extends to those working at other locations as well.
“We’re a regional firm, so that can make it hard to meet people from other offices,” Cosman said. “But Howard Schaefer, the chief operating officer, was here twice over the winter. Once he was here for our chili cook-off. He made his own.”
Cosman said that employees consider the benefits package top notch. “It’s great,” Cosman said. “We have a 401(k), with the firm matching up to 6.5 percent. I now have three weeks vacation, and I don’t know how many sick days. We have [Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island], that’s the best health plan, and other health coverage – dental, short-term disability, you name it.” Robinson & Cole pays 75 to 99 percent of employees’ premiums for medical coverage, prescription coverage, dental coverage and vision coverage, and for dependents, they pay 50 to 75 percent. For life insurance and disability coverage, both short-term and long-term, the firm pays 100 percent of the premium. Coverage is extended to domestic partners, too.
Both full-time and part-time employees are eligible for health care coverage and can choose from several plans. Among the options: a health-maintenance organization, a point-of-service plan, and a high-deductible plan. New employees are eligible the first day of the next month after they’re hired.
Salaries are considered generous, too. The average annual pay for staff employees is $57,000. There are also year-end holiday bonuses for both attorneys and staff, determined by an individual’s performance and the profitability of the firm, as well as referral bonuses.
That pay comes with plenty of paid time off. The firm offers 10 paid holidays each year, 15 days of vacation time after one year of employment, eight sick days and two personal days.
With only 15 employees in the Providence office, organizing activities can be difficult. However, Robinson & Cole is still able to provide staff with a workplace-wellness program. There’s a small gym in the building at One Financial Place, where the company rents.The office participates in community-service programs that also boost team spirit and reduce workplace stress. In summer months teams head out to nonprofit agencies to provide a few helping hands, be it for a cleanup at a wildlife sanctuary or serving food at a soup kitchen. Last year, a group bagged potatoes for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
Providence employees are also strong participants in the annual United Way fund drive. The firm never coerces people to get involved, or suggests how much anyone should give. Attorneys help the community with their expertise. “Everyone is encouraged to do pro bono work,” said Patricia Igoe, a partner and one of the founding members at the Providence office. “We take on cases through the bar association. We’ve done work for The Nature Conservancy, and an organization that represents group homes. Someone is representing a no-kill cat shelter. And all of our lawyers are encouraged to be on charitable boards.”
Mentoring is a big part of office culture, too.
For attorneys, there’s a program that pairs women associates with women partners outside their usual practice area. “It encourages you to broaden your horizons,” Igoe said.
The firm also provides a diversity summer fellowship for a student completing their first year at Roger Williams University law school.
Staff members are involved in mentoring programs, too. The firm participates in a program run by the Rhode Island Paralegal Association, and invites students in the program to spend time job shadowing at the office. “We recently had a young man here who was visually impaired,” Cosman said. “He was able to test a special adaptive computer. And a partner here got permission for him to sit in on client meetings.”
The firm offers tuition reimbursements to those who sign up for college courses, and encouragement along the way.
Through the year there are office events that make work feel a little less like work. Certain Fridays end with “Alive at Five” gatherings, where both lawyers and staff are invited to have a cocktail and socialize.
There’s also a “justice and literature” program, a discussion group in which members all read the same books and articles.
“We have a staff appreciation week, where each day they do something for us,” Cosman added. “It was lunch one day, breakfast another. We had Godiva chocolates on our desks.”

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