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Anyone know anything about Cooley's Colorado office? I hear they're the strongest transactional player in town, but they're in Broomfield so you'd have a decent commute if you live in either Denver or Boulder.

Fish & Richardson is probably the only firm on this list that stands out. They are tops in IP and they rocked the Vault Quality of Life Rankings. If I were going into IP thats where I would go.......

Too bad I studied economics.......

Living in Philly, and working the Delaware office of Fish is a pretty sweet deal. You get paid new York salary and pay Philly prices.

Cooley's Colorado office is very busy--especially those doing transactional work.

It is a great gig if you want to make New York salary and have a suburban lifestyle (and have access to all the outdoorsy stuff Colorado offers).

The folks in the Colorado office of Cooley are pretty chill -- don't seem to work a lot of long hours. The salary to cost of living ratio is very favorable.

Pillsbury is a firm that probably won't be around 10 years from now.

Why won't they be around in 10 years. They just had the merger a few years ago. Have they lost business to that great of an extent or was the merger supposed to fix the problems and only made them worse? Just wondering.

First

10:43 - what are you talking about?

Must a candidate possess an excessive amount of yeast in order to rise up the ranks at Pillsbury and make partner?

Regional considerations dominate any discussion at this level.

Goodwin has a pretty good QOL - 1850 billables, 100% pro bono counts, market pay.

Can anyone comment on Cooley's health? It used to have a fantastic rep as a great place to work, but that was back when tech was money. I thought it sort of fell on hard times thereafter. Is it back on its feet?

10:13, if you work at Cooley in Broomfield, CO, and want to live in Boulder, the commute is about 5 minutes. It's about 15-20 minutes to a decent neighborhood in Denver.

10:23 - Pay is the same at all Fish offices. Imagine getting NY coin in Minneapolis!

Cooley seemed waaay back on its feet this summer when I was there. They are also really into communicating to associates regarding their financial health. Corporate was super busy, and litigation was busy and exploded at the end of the summer.

Also the people were really nice. People seemed... like they mostly didn't hate their lives. I actually liked the people I worked with, which is a big plus- and not just some people, but pretty much all of them.

Yes I'm a summer who "doesn't know anything" and drank the "cooley-ade" but... yes, it is back on its feet. And they raised without cutting bonuses or raising minimum billables, and paid their summers the raised amount.

Cooley's bonus kicks in at 1900, even though target billables are 1950.

The firm got a bad wrap after the crash because it was the first to lay people off. At least they were up front about it, unlike other firms that called it performance-based and thereby dinged the associates.

The firm seems to be going in the right direction as far as growth. In the last three or so years they've acquired a DC, New York & Boston office.

Nevertheless, I do think the "Cooley Culture" is not as cush as it used to be. But I guess it was easier to be a lifestyle firm back when billables were only 1640. Sigh.

Cooley SF has some nice partners, but avoid a certain partner whose first name is Gordon by all means necessary. He's a real %$*^$@^*

Pillsbury seems to be doing better after a couple years of merger-induced instability.

12:40 - proof?

Fish has 1900 billables.... not bad for a NY salary and bonus. Also, 100% pro bono counts toward billable hours as well.

This thread is WEAK. Guess nobody cares about these firms. NEXT!

I think once 2007 numbers come out for PWSP, people will start forgetting about the financial hit they took with the merger. Those costs are done and paid for and things are looking well (from my perspective which is not "in the know").

Otherwise, my office is casual and laid-back, but I am sure, given the different locals of the offices, that office and section personalities vary.

just like any merger, legal or corporate, there's a year or two of costs that take away from profits. A merger is not a short run game. Pillsbury is healthly adjusting to its new size and systems. And with the costs out of the way it will continue to be a strong firm in the bay and dc especially.

1:23, i'd imagine the next round of law firms (even lower ranked) would have even less response.........

Pillsbury has put the merger costs behind it. In California it has been a great firm for over 125 years. It is immensely healthy and hiring is way up. Training is great, associate life is good, and the cases are incredible. Anyone who says it will not be around in 10 years lacks any credibility. If there are any "real" applicants out there go ahead and ask questions.

2:50 - Doughboy management

11:21 -- and just think, it's even cheaper to live in Dallas than it is to live in Minneapolis, and you get that same NY salary!

Also, I've talked to people at Fish and they say that you don't have to have a tech background to do IP litigation with them -- just prosecution, etc.

Can anyone say anything about Fulbright in TX? They're huge here -- but I've heard they don't really have enough work for their summers (maybe even not enough for NAs).

3:57- its true you don't *need* a tech background, but its almost impossible to get in without one. You'd probably need something really compelling........ take a look at any Fish associate, i've never met one without some sort of tech background (unless they worked in the entertainment/copyright/trademark group)

To whomever said re: Cooley "And they raised without cutting bonuses" doesn't know what they're talking about. They stiffed almost all associats on bonuses to get Kronish in the door.

As for cush life at Cooley, don't count on it. They raised their billable rates to clients and upped salaries to NY levels...the firm's gotta make up the difference somewhere (ahem more hours, less perks).

I was talking about how they raised to 160 and didn't cut bonuses- not that they didn't cut them the previous year when they added Kronish. That's a whole other story.

Also, I never said life at Cooley was "cush"- I'm not sure who thinks that life at any law firm is cush anymore.

I'm not in any way counting on my workload being low, or any crap like that. All I care about is that the people actually seemed nice, like human beings- which is a lot to ask for from what I can tell.

I summered in one of PWSP's CA offices this year and loved it. Real work, variety, and great people. I had many candid conversations with associates re. hitting billables, quality of life, rumors on sites like this that it was in trouble, progression, etc., and came away with a feeling that it is a good firm to work for and is in no danger of closing shop. It may not be V10, but it is a reputable firm and I highly doubt working for PWSP would foreclose future options…else I’d be looking to go somewhere different.

Does anybody know where to get PPP information for the London "Magic Circle" firms (Clifford Chance, Linklaters, A&O, Freshfields)? AmLaw doesn't seem to have anything.

5:26 -- go the The Lawyer.

http://www.thelawyer.com/global100/2006/pep.html

4:29 - I can't speak for every Cooley office or every associate, but in the Palo Alto office bonuses were larger after the merger and they are expected to stay that way.

9:50 PM, many thanks.

Correct about Fulbright, definitely not enough work. The downtown in work coupled with increased pay nationwide doesn't paint a pretty picture (not to mention that Fulbright's bonus system leaves many associates in some cities without a year-end bonus or a bonus that is tens of thousands of dollars less than what associates with similar hours at other firms get).

You do NOT need a tech background to work in litigation at Fish. Some offices strongly prefer it, but the SD office has at least 5 patent litigation associates (and several litigation principals) without tech backgrounds. You just have to be willing to learn fast and not shy away from the technology.

Fish is hands down one of the best firms to work for.

According to vault, Fish is the best firm to work for.

Goodwin DC is awesome. When people leave, it's not to go to another firm. Goodwin Boston is much crazier.

Fulbright like Pillsbury probably won't be around 10 years from now. It's moving down the AmLaw 100 list because the firm is behind in so many ways--profits, compensation, international work, diversity, pro bono...it would make sense to merge with a non-Texas firm that isn't a one-tiered partnership.

Pillsbury used to rely on Chevron as the anchor client. Some sort of internal battle resulted in a group departure. Big pieces of Chevron litigation left too. How dependent is Pillsbury on Chevron today?

The group departure actually did not impact the Chevron account. The Pillsbury/Chevron relationship dates back to the founding of Chevron and the firm. There are several other strong anchor clients, including AT&T, Union Pacific and others. Pillsbury has leveraged its Chevron experience to become a leader in energy and enviro work. There is a good variety of work though, interesting high profile, bet the company cases.

Follow up to 10:13/10:26 (on 8/24): How's the QOL in Cooley Colorado given that transactions are booming there? Cooley ranks high on attorney satisfaction generally--what about in that office?

Fulbrigth has lost the firm culture that it had 5-10 years ago. Over the last three years the firm has gone lateral-hire crazy, particularly in the Dallas office. The firm used to advance home-grown associates to partner, but over the last three years the best way to make partner at Fulbright has been to lateral in as a corporate partner from a no-name local firm.

The partnership track for home-grown associates at Fulbright is 9-10 years. Sure there are occasional 8 year partners, but the those are the exception to the rule. The eight-year partners are usually tied to some special case. Most associates are not seriously considered for partner at eight years because there are too many nine and ten year associates waiting to be considered. At the same time, however, the firm has been lateraling in seven and eight year partners from smaller, low-ranked, regional firms. Associate morale is genenerally low, at least among the senior associates.

Even when you get to the nine and ten year mark, the firm gives you no feedback on your chances for partnership. I mean absolutely no feedback. The firm has an irrational fear of giving the associates any suggestion as to their partnership chances. It is a complete surprise to everyone every year when the new partner list comes out. The partnership decision is made by the executive committee, which means you might have one or no partners from your office among the group making the partnership decision.

Fulbright is also behind on the salary increases. The first years got a raise, but the other associates were told - "we'll get to you by autumn" WTF?! The first years are now making more than the third years.

Last year several of the low-performing partners lost significant points (i.e. money). This was the first time the firm took away points to such a degree and from that many partners. It wasn't on the scale of Mayer Brown recently or Sidley Austin of a couple of years ago, since no one was actually fired. But I think that is coming within the next year or two. I also see the firm shifting to a two-tier partnership within the next two or three years. The current one-tier partnership is great for those at the top of the pile, but it is a limiting factor on new partnerships and advancement. Why not create a non-equity partnership as a bone to throw to the nine and ten year associates that are leaving, particularly when it wouldn't dilute the pool of points?

All in all, Fulbright is probably an OK place to start, but for your own good don't plan on sticking around after year three or four.

AVOID Fulbright Houston at all costs if you're from an East coast school. The attorneys are great, but the executive committee seems to have something against summers from the top East coast schools (Columbia, NYU, George Washington, etc.). Fulbright in Houston has repeatedly rewarded summers and associates from Houston and Texas area law schools over east coast schools. Which is great if you're from Texas, but not so great if you're from New York.

Absolutely true about the extensive lateral partner hiring at Fulbright - there are easily twice as many lateral partners each year as home grown partners, and not just in Dallas. What's sad is that a lot of lateral partners don't really prosper at Fulbright and end up leaving after a couple of years, usually to go to other firms. But even more discouraging, in the past few years, several younger home grown partners have left to go elsewhere after being Fulbright partners only for a short time.

Regarding first years getting paid more than third years, the firm's management will come around and make an adjustment, if for no reason than that they are very sensitive to negative publicity, including negative comments on boards like this or bad ratings in surveys.