Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton PMOLink - New Orleans ...
Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton PMOLink - New Orleans ...
Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton PMOLink - New Orleans ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Photo by Tracie Morris Schaefer<br />
T W O - T I M E H O N O R E E<br />
Heller Draper<br />
Hayden Patrick<br />
& Horn<br />
There is no revolving door at Heller, Draper,<br />
Hayden, Patrick & Horn. Rarely do<br />
employees leave the downtown <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
law firm, which specializes in bankruptcy and<br />
commercial and insurance litigation, to pursue<br />
other career opportunities.<br />
“It shows people enjoy working here,” said<br />
partner Tristan Manthey, who joined the firm<br />
as a law clerk in 1996. “It shows that it’s a<br />
sought-after place to work at.”<br />
Since paralegal Roxanne Holden was hired<br />
six years ago, only two new employees have<br />
joined Heller Draper, which has 36 full-time<br />
workers.<br />
“Really and truly, it’s hard to even get your<br />
foot in the door because there’s nothing as far<br />
as turnover,” Holden said. “I’m going to die<br />
here. They’re going to have to push me out<br />
the door. Other people I know at other firms,<br />
they’re continuously saying, ‘Roxie, let me<br />
know if there’s an opening.’”<br />
Employees said they enjoy the firm’s light,<br />
family-like atmosphere and its compassion<br />
toward its workers’ responsibilities outside<br />
the office.<br />
“My first year here working for Heller<br />
Draper, everything in the world that could<br />
have possibly happened, happened,” Holden<br />
said. “From the death of my brother to my dad<br />
having three or four (heart) attacks to my son<br />
Nature of business: law firm<br />
Where based: <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
Employees: 36<br />
Average starting salary: $28,000 to $48,000 for staff,<br />
$75,000 for attorneys<br />
Median salary: $45,000 for staff, $362,000 for attorneys<br />
Average employment time: 12 years<br />
Benefits: health care with 87 percent coverage, dental, vision<br />
and prescription plans, 401(k) with 5 percent match, paid maternity<br />
and paternity leave, day care options, telecommuting, flexible<br />
hours, job sharing, employee recognition program<br />
Wait time for benefits: none<br />
Paid days off: up to 32 holiday and vacation days, 10 sick days<br />
Web site: www.hellerdraper.com<br />
From left: Heller Draper Hayden Patrick & Horn employees Sandy Albert, Bernerd Berins and Lee Ann Wright wrap Christmas presents<br />
for needy families.<br />
getting rushed to the hospital. Here I am<br />
thinking, ‘Any day now they’re going to call<br />
me and they’re going to let me go,’ because<br />
that’s what law firms do.<br />
“Because they were as good as they were<br />
to me and were very understanding, it makes<br />
you want to do better for them. It makes you<br />
want to work harder for them because they<br />
are a great bunch of people.”<br />
Manthey said he has had opportunities to<br />
work for other law firms.<br />
“But I can tell you unequivocally that I’m glad<br />
I stayed with Heller Draper because it is a firm<br />
that truly cares about its employees,” he said.<br />
“Something else that I think is important to<br />
note is the amount of people that come back.<br />
A lot of times people think the grass is greener<br />
at another place, and the one or two people<br />
who have left through the years have made<br />
their way back because they know how special<br />
this place is.”<br />
One of those employees is legal assistant<br />
JoLynn Marino, who began working at Heller<br />
Draper in 1983. She left the firm from 1998 to<br />
2000 for a part-time position elsewhere.<br />
“I cried on my last day here because I didn’t<br />
want to leave,” she said.<br />
“If someone is out sick, we will call on the<br />
weekend,” Marino said. “We will call to check<br />
to see how somebody’s child is doing or<br />
somebody’s husband is doing. To me, that’s<br />
something extra that other places don’t have.<br />
It’s just a closeness.”•<br />
— Ryan Chatelain<br />
54 2009 Best Places to Work