Terrible managers and work culture
Pros
Stable job with interesting deal coverage and PE-backed LBO exposure.
Cons
Very bureaucratic organization structure, where seniors make it abundantly clear that you and your opinions are beneath them. You better be ready to bend over backwards to get the support of your managers otherwise you'll be strung along with no clear promotion timeline. Constant turnover due to poor management at the VP and director level. Don't let the title and the "Leveraged Finance" name fool you - you think you'd get paid fairly close to what capital markets/ investment bankers, but think again. Associates are severely underpaid compared to what peers make, and it'll make you feel unappreciated and demoralizing. Don't even think about getting inflationary raises in this group. Some years you'll have no raise while other years you'll get a 2% raise (other colleagues have confirmed as well).
