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Here's a marketing distinction that resonates with clients: the Cleveland Plain Dealer named Tucker Ellis & West as the #1 Top Workplace 2011 for midsize companies. Clients like to work with happy law firms.

The firm arose from the ashes of Arter & Hadden, which closed in 2003. The survivors threw out some hidebound law firm conventions to do so.

Employees say the solidarity and bold thinking at the birth of their firm set the stage for why they give it high marks today. Tucker employees' job assessment led the firm to the No. 1 spot among medium-size employers in the Top Workplaces survey.

Here are examples of what working at the firm is like:

• Billable hours are not be the measure of attorney performance. Instead, employees are judged on the "significant value" they add -- anything from mentoring to community volunteering to logging time on client matters.The firm has extensive training programs for people to advance in their careers.
• Community service. Every July the firm closes for a day. Instead of reporting to work, lawyers, secretaries, paralegals, IT workers and staff accountants volunteer to paint classrooms at St. Martin de Porres High School, pick up litter along Lake Erie or perform some other community service. An evening party for employees and spouses is thrown at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Wendy Park or, this year, the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center.
• Transparency. When the firm moved in 2008 it held firmwide meetings to answer questions. What would parking cost? Would every office have a window?
• Getting internal feedback. Joe Morford, the managing partner, hosts breakfast for about 20 employees at a time at Sammy's Metropolitan Restaurant, where staff across all departments can air their thoughts.
• Wellness program. The firm pushes wellness with in-house yoga, fresh fruit at the front desk and Vitamin D screenings.
• Flexible work schedules accommodate the uncertainties of family life.
• Personal touch. When the firm relaunched partner Robert Tucker stood outside the firm's office suite, by the elevators on the 11th floor of the Huntington Building, handing out white coffee mugs with the firm's logo in blue.

"We have really terrific people who genuinely care about each other," Morford said.