There is a work hard, play hard mentality at L.E.K. Although the environment is very collegial, the hierarchy can feel very political at times depending on who you are working with. We work very long hours during the week, but L.E.K. does a great job at giving us our weekends.

As a analyst, you really just focus on the grunt work, which is common in large firms. The work is not too inspiring and most of it focuses on market research. Even though that is normal, I have heard taht companies like Deloitte and Mercer actually put their new people in front of clients, although I'm not sure how true is that.

The people at L.E.K. are very fun to work with and are also very motivated. The consulting industry is very high pressured, and I would get stressed everyday if it wasn't for the great people that I work with. The Consultants are very collaborative and go out of their way to help you out in your career.

The Partners and Managers follow an open door policy. I can walk into their offices and start up a chat with them anytime I want to. I know many of my peers in other consulting firms have trouble talking to their management, but definitely not here at L.E.K.

There is no up or out policy at L.E.K., but there doesn't seem to be a merit based system either. Promotions come to you at certain time intervals, and these promotions do depend on how well you have performed. However, if you've been performing extremely well, don't expect to get a promotion until your window is open. It is tough to get promoted and see your friend not get the promotion.

Consulting is a tough industry. With that said, L.E.K. is a fantastic place to work at. The Managers and Partners are welcoming and do their best to reach out to you. I feel like I can look up to the Partners and would love to someday be in their shoes. In terms of "big name" clients, we do not yet reach the caliber that McKinsey or Bain reach; however, I am confident that L.E.K. will continue to grow.

A work/life balance at L.E.K. completely depends on the project your are staffed on. As you progress through the firm, you will gain the ability to manage your own hours and delegate tasks to the team. Analysts in the company do not travel, but as you get up to Associate Consultant, you will travel very often to the client site.

This is a great corporate company with an academic culture. Everyone at the office respects each other. The work varies greatly depending on project to project, but L.E.K. does bring in some interesting cases. Overall, I feel this is a good company with lots of opportunity for growth and personal development.

In 2006, I was hired as a Consultant and got 110K in base salary. Me end of year bonus was about 25K.

I was hired as an Associate at L.E.K. in 2005 and received $60,000 with a signing bonus of $8,000.

I am an Associate at L.E.K. and receive a base salary of $60,000 with a signing bonus of $6,000.

LEK relied significantly on PE work. That has completely dried up, and hence its in trouble. Some attempts are being made to branch off into other areas/ services, but in mind these should have been done when the going was good. In 2008/9 a fair number of people have been laid off.

Unlike other firms, LEK is not driven by partners selling business or developing expertise/ relationships. Its based on repeat business by existing clients, most of which were PE.

In terms of future career growth, its basically a 'White Boys' club. While there are several very smart managers who are Asian/ Blacks, etc, there is not a single minority partner. Its Ok if LEK were a startup, but it has been around for 25 years!

The work culture is stifling. The office floor is quiet and unwelcoming, and people who you worked with extensively and spoke to 8 hours a day on dont even acknowledge you the after the project is over. However, the people are very smart, and a riot in the pub on Friday evening, but not otherwise.

The hours tend to be crazy. I remember working very often till 3-4AM in the night. While that is Ok in itself, the general attitude of thanklessness in the firm makes it frustrating.

On the plus side - there is a lot of sactitiy of the weekend. I didnt have to work any weeeknds, even on the craziest of cases.

Comprensation is pretty good. As a consultrant, I got GBP 65K in 2007, which was better than peers who joined other consulting companies after MBA. However, due to recession, the salaries are currently frozen and there was zero bonus, which was a bummer because the firm did make a packet in the PE book in 2007-8

Most of the work at LEK is private equity related due diligences.

Even though in theory MBA's join as Consultants and have 'team leadership' responsibilities from day one and do indeed have 2-3 associates working for them, the 'thinking' is really done by the partner at top. Everyone else is basically just executing - that includes managers, junior partners, and of course consultants and below. The basic thumb rule for LEK is that every person works a level lower than their designation.

Expect very long hours, and exceution work. If you are lucky, you can be staffed on a very anaytical project, which really is the only strength at LEK

Associates can be promoted to Consultant after 3-4 years without needing an MBA. Consultant's are promoted to Manager in about 3 years. Promotions are given only to those that deserve it.

The work is rough at L.E.K. but the people at the company make the whole experience worth while. The company has a great review program so it is easy and simple to compare yourself to your peers. This is all done in the most amicable way so that there is no backstabbing culture in the company.

Expect to work very long hours at L.E.K. Even if you're finished with what you need to do, you're expected to stay and help the rest of your team. This is the down side because pretty much every project at L.E.K. requires very long weekday hours. It's good that people have to stay and help you finish with your project, but at times I wish I could just go home when I'm done with what I need to do.

Vault says that LEK is less prestige than Deloitte Management Consulting (1 place behind...2007), but when looking more into it, more people from LEK get into Harvard and Stanford Business School afterwards, so in actuality, it should be more prestigious and competitive.

As an early Associate at L.E.K., you will not get to travel very often. This has its ups and downs. There is an aura around consulting about traveling and meeting with top executives of companies. Traveling isn't all that great and it can take its toll on your morale and health.

L.E.K. is selective in its recruiting efforts. Although the top strategy firms can be more selective, you will find very qualified, top-notch people here at L.E.K. I feel challenged everyday and have never felt that one of my coworkers wasn't pulling his or her own weight.