Helping Attorneys Excel: Mentorship, Agency, and Career Growth at HS&S

There is no single way to learn how to be a litigator, but most lawyers can tell you pretty quickly whether their early years involved real responsibility or connection to it.

At Hurwitz Sagarin & Slossberg, attorneys are involved in litigation from start to finish. It’s part of what mentorship means here and it’s how we invest in our talent.

We asked members of our team what mentorship mattered most as they developed as litigators at HS&S. What they described was a pattern: early exposure to strategy, meaningful responsibility, and trust in them as lawyers being built over time.
 
Mentorship by Doing
 
Mentorship at HS&S is focused on practical doing. It is taking depositions, arguing and drafting motions, and managing cases through every stage of litigation. We value responsibility, and our team does too. A common thread among team members was the degree of ownership you have over your cases at HS&S.
 
This ownership is intentional. Instead of dividing cases into narrow tasks, our young attorneys are trusted to understand the full scope of the matter and contribute their input on strategy and execution.
 
As one team member put it, "You go to law school wanting to be a lawyer, and what a lawyer is, is somebody who addresses client priorities and manages their own cases."
 
As a developing lawyer, getting practical experience can be make or break you.  At HS&S, attorneys have more say on their files and develop the hands-on skills that make litigation work sustainable over the long term.
 
Culture Without Ego
 
One of the most surprising things for attorneys new to HS&S is the lack of ego. No matter your title, attorneys at HS&S are treated as colleagues - not associates or subordinates, but colleagues.
 
There is an intentional lack of top-down delegation at our firm. Everyone has visibility into cases firm-wide. This encourages collaboration, sharing of experience, and allows attorneys to step in and help where it matters most.
 
HS&S attorneys expressed that in joining our firim they were looking for an opportunity to avoid micromanagement - to be the face of their own work. "I was surprised at the lack of ego at HS&S," one attorney recalled. "It wasn't something I experienced at other firms. Here, there's no assumed incompetence. Input from younger lawyers is valuable. No one is criticized for asking questions."
 
This environment not only encourages professional development, but makes litigation work more sustainable. There's more agency, more control, and genuine understanding among colleagues.
 
Learning from Leaders
 
The partners all agree - mentorship is an open-door policy at HS&S. Leaders at the firm want younger attorneys to feel comfortable coming to them. Associates seeking advice on cases, legal strategy, and professional growth know that their questions will be answered, that their ideas will be heard.
 
This policy builds talented lawyers. Attorneys who have risen through the ranks at HS&S credit it to their success.
 
"David has been such an incredible mentor to me," shared one partner regarding firm owner, David Slossberg. "I would not be half the lawyer I am without him."
 
Working closely with experienced partners provides not just knowledge, but practical litigation skills applied to real cases.
 
HS&S prides itself on being a workplace where people genuinely care about each other’s success, both professionally and personally. When life happens, our firm is supportive of our team and their families.
 
Developing Complete Litigators
 
The responsibility given to our young attorneys is a challenge our lawyers aspire to. We’ve found that it accelerates growth.
 
Managing cases from day one, our attorneys learn how litigation actually works. They learn case management and how to walk a case through the entire process. Over time, this leads to something many lawyers don't develop until much later in their careers: confidence. It also provides a much needed perspective. When a lawyer knows what the case will look like at trial, they can make better strategic decisons during the lifetime of a case.
 
Our team found that this approach allows our attorneys to grow into more complete lawyers, with one team member noting, "You are given a lot more responsibility here. It's challenging, but when you get it, you are a much more adept lawyer - more capable."
 
Another attorney reflected, "HS&S has given me the opportunity to prove myself as a litigator. I've had experiences at HS&S that I never would have had at other firms."
 
Training Built for a Career in Litigation
 
We've designed our mentorship to support long-term growth. By placing trust and responsibility in our younger attorneys early, we give them the opportunity to develop judgment, confidence, and sustainable practices over time.
 
It's an approach shaped by our firm's belief that strong litigators are developed through experience, mentorship, and trust. At HS&S, you're not waiting for your turn. You're building your skills and your practice.