Mahir
He/Him/His
Associate, Chicago
- Why did you choose Analysis Group?
- Throughout high school and college, I was very interested in economics, math, and debate. I felt that economic consulting was the perfect combination of these subjects, as it blended the analytical side of economics with the art of crafting arguments. I chose Analysis Group because of the firm’s collaborative culture and flat hierarchy, which I had heard about before joining but really experienced during my analyst internship in the Chicago office. I appreciated the opportunity to learn from so many intelligent coworkers while also feeling like I had a significant voice to express my own thoughts to my case team.
- What do you work on at Analysis Group?
- I work on a wide variety of litigation cases. During my year of full-time work at Analysis Group I’ve worked on antitrust, finance, intellectual property, and international arbitration cases. Those cases have covered a wide range of industries, including banking, health care, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and media.
- What do you enjoy most about your work? What do you find most challenging?
- I most enjoy the balance the work provides between quantitative and qualitative analysis. I appreciate putting some of my statistical background to work to help answer challenging economic questions, but perhaps my favorite aspect is then taking a step back and thinking critically about how the analysis I just ran fits into the broader picture of the case we are building in our report.
The most challenging part of the job is the high level of attention to detail it demands. Everything you do in a litigation case is going to be scrutinized in court and by equally smart people working on the other side of the case, so you need to ensure your work is error-free. Thankfully, as part of a case team, you never have to take on this challenge on your own. - What new experiences have you had at AG?
- For the first time in my life, I took full ownership of the code required to build a dataset, clean the data, and run all analyses for a case team. As someone who did not have a strong background in coding before joining Analysis Group, I was amazed by how quickly I was able to build on those skills from case to case. I kept asking for more coding responsibilities with each new case until eventually I was in charge of the core of the analyses for one of them. The experience came with a lot of pressure, as it was not something I had done before, but it gave me a lot of confidence in my own coding abilities and made me realize how much I enjoy the data science aspect of the job.
- What is it like to work on a case team?
- It feels a lot being on the ideal group project in college. You are given a difficult problem to solve and the various team members take on different aspects of the problem based on their skill set or area of expertise. Those higher up in the firm are more responsible for interacting with clients, managing the project, and delegating responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean the analyst’s role feels insignificant. As the analyst on the team, you are the one closest to the raw data and most familiar with the underlying information, so the insights you provide to the case team are extremely valuable.
- What do you think about AG’s collaborative culture? How does this benefit your work? Clients?
- Being responsible for the analyses that may determine the outcome of a big merger decision or lawsuit can be stressful at times, which is why I really enjoy Analysis Group’s collaborative culture. It relieves some pressure from each individual knowing they have a team of smart but humble people there to help them tackle challenges and produce high-quality work.
- How do you find a suitable work/life balance?
- The hours at AG can be difficult at times, particularly near a case deadline. During these times, I try to let my managers know that I need a break in the day so that I don’t get overwhelmed, and they are always understanding of these requests. There are also times at AG where your cases may be on hold and you may not have as much to do, and I think it is crucial to take advantage of these times to balance out the long hours. During these lighter weeks I try to get out as much as possible and play some tennis or hang out with friends.
