Upward Review: Anonymous Big Law Partner Reviews by Associates
Upward Review
Read associate accounts of working with Big Law partners at AmLaw 100 firms. We verify who contributes, and reviews appear without the writer's name. Share a review to access the full database.
User-Generated Content Disclaimer: Reviews on this platform are submitted by users. Mosaic Search Partners and Bryson Malcolm verify reviewer identity and employment dates, but do not verify the substance of reviews and do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any statements or opinions expressed. Reviewers are solely responsible for what they submit. If you believe a review is false, defamatory, or otherwise violates our policies, please report it for review.
Reviews without names
Reviews appear without the writer's name, but details can still make an experience recognizable. Verifying a reviewer and publishing their account are separate steps. Learn how →
Reviewer verification
We verify every reviewer's identity and employment before granting access or publishing a review. We do this without contacting your current or former employers.
Contribute for access
Submit a review to access the full database. Each contribution gives other associates more information to consider in their career decisions.
How it works
Write your review
After verification, we send you a submission link to review partners you worked with. Your name does not appear on the published review. Be careful about details that could identify you indirectly. Read about reviewer privacy →
Submit by phone
If your experience feels too sensitive to put in writing, reach out to Bryson to discuss it on an unrecorded phone call. He will write up the anonymized review on your behalf.
Get access
After you submit your review, you can browse the full database of associate perspectives on partners across AmLaw 100 firms.
Access is granted for one year. Each Q1, all access resets and members re-verify through Step 1. This ensures that only current associates, not partners or counsel, maintain access to the platform.
Why I built Upward Review
“I built Upward Review because associates need better information about the partners they'll work for, and a way to share what happened when they worked with them. I'm a Columbia Law School graduate and former Big Law associate. I had mentors who shaped my career, and experiences with partners that made me question the profession. Associates deserve transparency, accountability, and a safe place to talk about both.
Associates have very few ways to give honest feedback about the partners they work for. That power imbalance has lasted for decades, and it hurts associates, firms, and the profession. Upward Review gives associates an anonymous channel to share their experiences, so others can hear perspectives they wouldn't otherwise have.
Before a review goes live, we check that the reviewer and partner worked at the same firm during the same period. We don't verify the content of the review itself. Reviews appear without the writer's name, but someone familiar with the situation may still recognize details. I want contributors to understand that before they share an experience.”
What a partner review looks like
Each card is a review of a partner, written by an anonymous associate. The partner's name is displayed. The reviewer's identity is never shown.
The reviews below are fictional examples for illustration purposes only. All names, firms, and details are made up.
Partner Under Review
Sarah M. Johnson
Smirkland & Pallas LLP
Litigation Partner
Makes time to teach
She gave junior associates work they could learn from and made time to explain her feedback. She checked in regularly and talked us through the case strategy.
Anonymous Review · Reported by Senior Associate
Partner Under Review
James T. Mitchell
Cheatham & Potkins LLP
Corporate/M&A Partner
Clearer instructions and earlier feedback would help
He is excellent at the legal work and well regarded in his field. I often received assignments without enough context, and feedback arrived later than I needed it.
Anonymous Review · Reported by Mid-Level Associate
Partner Under Review
Rebecca L. Chen
Madden Tarps LLP
IP/Patent Partner
Listens to the associates in her group
She is an excellent IP strategist and asks associates what they think. I felt that my work mattered to the group, and compensation discussions were straightforward.
Anonymous Review · Reported by Senior Associate
We currently accept reviews from current and former associates at AmLaw 100 firms only. Anyone promoted to partner or counsel is ineligible. We're starting with this group to build a reliable database and may expand later.
User-Generated Content Disclaimer: Reviews on this platform are submitted by users. Mosaic Search Partners and Bryson Malcolm verify reviewer identity and employment dates, but do not verify the substance of reviews and do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any statements or opinions expressed. Reviewers are solely responsible for what they submit. If you believe a review is false, defamatory, or otherwise violates our policies, please report it for review.
Frequently asked questions
Start by reaching out to us on LinkedIn or by email. We independently verify your profile and employment records to confirm you served as an associate at the firm in question, without contacting your current or former employers. Once verified, you receive a unique, anonymized submission token to write and submit your review directly. You can also share your account by phone with Bryson, who will prepare an anonymized review on your behalf. Agree on how the conversation and review will be handled before sharing details. Once your review is submitted, you get full access to the Upward Review database.
Mosaic verifies reviewers without contacting their current or former employers. Participation in Upward Review is separate from a recruiting conversation, and the published review does not display the reviewer's name. Before contributing, read the privacy explanation and ask about any circumstances that concern you. A specific story can still be recognizable to someone who knows the events.
Current or former associates at AmLaw 100 firms can request to contribute, provided they haven't been promoted to partner or counsel. The platform is for the associate perspective. Our team must verify you before you can submit a review.
Mosaic checks reviewer identity and employment, and Bryson reads submissions before publication. Those checks establish the writer's background, rather than the truth of every statement about an experience. Reviews appear without the writer's name. Please leave out unnecessary details that could identify you, clients, matters, or colleagues.
You control how much detail appears alongside your review. You can share your seniority level (e.g. "junior associate" or "mid-level associate"), an approximate timeframe for when you worked with the partner, and, if you choose, details about your ethnic or gender identity. None of these are required. Your name and any other identifying information will never be published.
Associates who contribute a review can read the full database. Each new review gives members another account to consider when evaluating a partner or firm.
Absolutely! If you've had a good experience with a partner, we'd be glad for others to hear about it. Positive and negative reviews are equally welcome. Both help associates understand what working with someone can be like.
Your name is not displayed on the published review. Mosaic uses a verification process before publication, and the review itself should avoid unnecessary identifying details. No system can promise that an experience will be unrecognizable to everyone who was involved. Ask Mosaic about verification information, access, and retention before submitting if those questions affect your decision. Read the reviewer privacy explanation →
Yes. If a phone conversation feels more comfortable, you can share your account with Bryson. He will listen, prepare an anonymized review on your behalf, and publish it with the same verification standards as any other review. Agree on how the conversation and review will be handled before sharing details. A phone conversation does not, by itself, prevent someone from recognizing the circumstances described. To set this up, reach out to Bryson on LinkedIn and let him know you'd like to do a phone review.
Starting with AmLaw 100 firms lets us focus on careful verification and useful reviews as we build the database. We may expand to other firms later.
Share a review to read the database
Verify your identity through LinkedIn, submit your review, and you're in.