How Accurate Are Glassdoor Reviews for BigLaw?
BigLaw Bear · 2 min read
Glassdoor is one of the first places law students look when researching firms. The reviews can be genuinely useful, but they can also be misleading if you do not know how to read them.
The selection bias problem
People who leave reviews on Glassdoor are disproportionately either very happy or very unhappy. The associates who had a normal, decent experience rarely bother to write anything. This means the reviews skew toward extremes, and neither extreme is representative.
What to trust
Patterns. If 15 different reviews mention the same issue (unpredictable hours, poor communication from leadership, one specific problematic partner), that pattern is probably real. Individual reviews can be anomalies. Repeated themes are data.
Specific, detailed descriptions. A review that says "the bankruptcy group has great mentorship and the partners give meaningful feedback" is more credible than one that says "amazing firm, love everything about it."
Reviews from the last two years. Firm culture changes. A review from 2019 may not reflect the firm in 2026. Focus on recent entries.
What to discount
Extremely angry reviews. Reviews written in the immediate aftermath of a bad experience (or a firing) tend to be hyperbolic. They are useful for identifying potential issues but not reliable for assessing their severity.
Extremely positive reviews. Some firms encourage associates or recruiting staff to post positive reviews, especially around OCI season. If a firm suddenly gets a cluster of five-star reviews in the weeks leading up to January OCI, be skeptical.
Salary reports. Glassdoor salary data for BigLaw is often inaccurate because it conflates base salary with total comp, or mixes associate and staff salaries.
A better approach
Use Glassdoor as one input alongside other sources. Combine it with NALP forms, Chambers rankings, conversations with current associates, and the data on the firm directory. No single source gives you the full picture, but together they paint a much more accurate one.