Pros
- Lazard is a well recognized firm that carries brand recognition - Great midtown location - If you are mediocre, you can have a long tenure (low turnover)
Cons
- Lazard AM is merely a collection of smaller firms wrapping themselves in the Lazard brand name. - Ability and talent varies greatly between groups and sharing between them is non-existent - The firm sponsors a gratuitous, "yes-man" culture in which the cognoscenti are "in" and the "unchosen" are very much out - Lots of behind closed door gossip and power struggles - Rumors that firm management have no idea of what they are doing abound - "Optics" (aka appearances) are everything and substance is very much undervalued (white-shoe reputation is very much valued) - Group-think rules the day, no one willing to break from consensus for fear of being shunned by colleagues