How is Quinn not ranked higher than #35?

Fried Frank is reputed to be the Ish.

Cadwalader? Do they still exist?

I interviewed at Quinn NYC this winter. They have this really odd "fishbowl" office situation.

shearman is the new cadwalader

Why does everyone make Willkie out to be the sweetest place ever? Anyone have negative things to say about it?

winston is a quality place. great firm.

S&S to 190!

what's the real scoop on FF -- they are on my list. Information please. thanks.

What is happening to Akin Gump DC? I saw that a bunch of lit partners just left.

Proskauer is best

Willkie IS the sweetest place ever. It should be ranked higher.

There have been substantial stealth layoffs at FF. Law students beware . . .

Every firm varies between practice groups, but FF corporate is great.

Is Cadwalader a "value opportunity"? Is it a chance for those of us with crappy grades to break into the Vault/Am Law 100?

14 - would love to know how you know that. rumors, i assume.

8 = winston partner

I've heard the same thing as 11. Akin appears to be losing tons of partners and the DC office is rumored to be in turmoil. It does, however, have Tom Goldstein, which is sure to attract gunners who think they'll be arguing cases in three years.

16

sure. be my guest. lemme know how that works out for ya.

2- it's simple. The Vault rankings are complete nonsense. Any midlevel in any crappy city can take the survey, and they rank firms they've heard of higher than those they haven't. Ergo crappy franchise operations like Jones Day get a massive boost because they have offices in places like Cincinnati and St. Louis. You can't go by Vault for anything.

Winston sucks. They think they are a major player, but are not.

Re: Akin, I heard there was an intra-firm battle between Goldstein and some others. Goldstein won, but the losers (that ended up leaving) brought in money and Goldstein does not. Turns out pro-bono supreme court cases and blogs don't pay 160k associate salaries. Who knew?

I have Akin DC on my OCI list. Tell me about it.

Should I avoid it in light of these partner departures?

5 - what do you mean by "fishbowl office situation"

Who the hell is ranked #32...never heard of them.

FF has very low recruiting standards. If you're in the top 75% of a Tier 1, you should be fine.

I read somewhere that the changes at Akin are part of some larger strategic plan.

Anyone know anything about that?

26 - Freshfields is a large London-based firm.

There were a trickle of partners who left Akin DC even before the group departure to Hunton. Some real rainmakers have left.

I don't think that losing rainmakers are part of anyone's strategic plan.

What's FF's DC office like? Are the recruiting standards low?

25 -- the quinn nyc offices suck ass.

Orrick: great firm or greatest firm?

The Orrick people I have dealt with were the biggest group of unsufferable pricks I have ever had the displeasure of working with. Not only did they lack any apparent sense of propriety or ethics, they were simply bad people all around. The attorneys I worked with were all in IP, and I am sure they have nice people in other sections of the firm, but I would not associate with the likes of their IP group if you have any other choices.

The Orrick people I have dealt with were the biggest group of unsufferable pricks I have ever had the displeasure of working with. Not only did they lack any apparent sense of propriety or ethics, they were simply bad people all around. The attorneys I worked with were all in IP, and I am sure they have nice people in other sections of the firm, but I would not associate with the likes of their IP group if you have any other choices.

I just summered at FFNY. The people there are super nice, the recruiting department is great, and the assignments are varied. They are not school snobs - so if you are looking for a firm to kiss your ass because you go to HLS or Yale, then FF is not the place for you. As far as I know, they gave all 72 summers offers and most accepted on the spot.

31:

I knew a girl who was going to work at FF's DC office. Their standards are very low.

30 - who are the rainmakers that have left (other than the group that went to Hunton)?

Anyone care to compare Akin's DC office with Asbestos Defense, LLP?

How's proskauer's IP department?

haha... 34 sounds to me like a bitter lawyer who lost a case to orrick.

Does anyone have any insight re: Kirkland's bonus structure?

Willkie is full of studs. The firm is completely underrated on here.

38-
Re: Akin Rainmakers who have left, two come to mind pretty quickly.
According to the articles, Madigan left at same time, but not with the group.
Sherwood left early this year, but not sure if it was related in any way to the more recent departures.

37: Just because the girl refused to blow you doesn't mean that a firm's hiring standards are very low.

Maybe you should just realize you have no game.

45= John Edwards

Akin revamped its management structure by shrinking the executive committee. Some of the partners that left weren't a disappointment, but in the change some other partners that they didn't want to leave also left. Things appear to be stabilizing for the time being and other than the labor group leaving from Dallas and California, only DC has been significantly affected.

42

Kirkland bonuses are amazing and "market-shattering". Expect to make 10k above NY market in any of Kirkland's offices as a junior, and more than 50k more than NY market as a senior. And that's just the median differential. If you're a stud, the difference is more like 20k-100k.

47 - I can't help but think that the firm could have handled these changes a little better. Judging by the outcome, it seems as if the changes were basically forced, and the firm is now paying the price for treating people who deserved some attention and respect badly.

My boyfriend works at Willkie and is good in bed but snores.

#2, Quinn used to unranked so their ranking is pretty good for a litigation boutique. Additionally, their NY office is less prestigious than their LA or San Fran Offices. In general, Vault's rankings are not particularly good. Firms like Irell in California are much harder to get a job at than CWT or Milbank or FF but you won't see that in the rankings. Vault, also fails to note that it is much easier to get a job in NY than in DC or CA so even CA firms that have lower profits per partner and lower presitge rankings may be more impressive to get a job at.

Willkie, has no minimum billables which is pretty nice.

Freshfields, has a very generous vacation policy and associates can actually use most of their vacation time (all of it if they are in the London office).

I have a question. If I recieved an offer from my summer 2L firm and accepted, can they revoke the offer before I start next fall? Thanks alot.

the exchange between 42 and 48 is hilarious.

52 - they can, but it is unlikely that they will.

How's proskauer's IP department?
__________________________________________

I have a friend who left recently because the partner she did most of her work for left earlier, and she just wasn't getting as much work; but they will always have a niche in that area because of their strong profile in entertainment; it's probably a good opportunity for people who want high-level work and don't want to get stuck in patent prosecution.

if you want to do litigation, winston is an amazing place to work. very bright litigators, varied work, strong practice in all offices.

I was told at a Proskauer recuriting event that no one does (soft) IP full time.

Willkie is turning into Paul Weiss with document review factories.

Is Orrick as good of a place to work as it's hyped up to be?

are there any firms on this list that have either (a) no-offered summers or (b) not told this past group of summers whether they have received offers yet?

orrick is the shiz!!!

The Gump blows. Parnter departures, closing offices, stay away

61 - The Gump seemed to be doing very well for a while. What gives?

What is Quinn's (SF & LA--not NY) approach to hiring individuals who are currently federal appellate clerks? Thanks.

From all indications, Winston DC is in a bit of trouble. Bingham just picked up two of their major partners, and another Winston partner went somewhere else. They are also losing associates in litigation. Dude, if Bingham is poaching your partners that's a bad sign.

58: yes

58: I don't work at Orrick, but I can tell you that I know many associates there that are incredibly happy. I don't understand it. Because in my book, big law is big law, and big law generally sucks. But the associates at Orrick seem to be genuinely happy, or do a great job of faking it.

Another interesting thing, in SF, they have been poaching great partners from other firms a whole lot lately. The employment group from Heller and Angela Padilla from MoFo, are a few examples.

If you could work in any firm's SF office, which would you work in?

64: How is this different from any other firm?

I do, however, agree that Winston DC needs some work. It's like each group is its own firm. There is major disorganization.

It's also going to need some good PR for fall. I'm sure law students are soon going to hear that only 2/3 of the summers got offers. The firm decided to bring in a third too many summers. Nice. I'm sure they told these kids they were doing that from the get go. Classy.

Glad I'm leaving.

I just summered at Orrick's SF office and had a great experience, already accepted my offer for next year.

Any general thoughts on Allen & Overy's NY office? I know London/internationally A&O rocks, but anyone know anything about locally? I have heard people love working there and sometimes even receive weekends

66 is hilarious. Do you actually think that anyone believes that you don't work at Orrick? No disinterested "acquaintance" of Orrick employees would bother writing a post that long. You obviously work there, probably in the recruiting department. Try to be a little more subtle next time.

67 - Latham.

Seems as though there are several current/former Gumpers here. Hi y'all!

The nice thing about the Gump DC is that it always seems that the associates leave for better opportunities-- DOJ, in-house, government work-- but rarely for another firm.

67 – It depends on the practice group you want, but generally I would say Keker, MoFo or Orrick.

Keker is the most prestigious litigation shop in SF. But it’s a boutique firm, and the hours are heinous. Plus, it’s very difficult to hired.

MoFo is great because it is very well regarded in SF, probably the most prestigious among the larger firms. They have a great litigation department and the associates seem relatively happy. The only problem with MoFo is that they are in a transitional mode where they are moving very quickly toward a NY firm model and not a SF firm model. This means more hours (I'd say expect to bill 2200-2300). It also means the firm is growing more institutionalized. As a result, the firm has been bleeding associates and partners as of late.

Orrick on the other hand is still very much a SF firm. That means it's much more touchy feely. The associates work a little less (2000-2100) and therefore are happier. Also, Orrick has a lot of momentum in its favor. They have done a great drop attracting partners from other firms, and it definitely seems the firm is the new "it" firm in the Bay Area. The down side for Orrick is that not all of its practice groups are top notch. Orrick is great for corporate, employment, and securities/white collar. But not so great for general litigation or IP (the groups most junior associates want to join).

Other firms like Latham, OMM, Sidley, etc. are good firms too but they are not based in SF. Not sure if that matters to you, but generally I would recommend avoiding satellite offices.

Once upon a time, I would have recommended Heller, but clearly it's not longer a wise choice.

63: Quinn (LA/SF) gives large signing bonuses to appellate clerks and welcomes them with open arms -- then puts them to work in the doll mines.

67, Kirkland

I'm pretty sure these Orrick posts originate from the same person, or many of them do. Especially 58 and 60

we're all about hollerin' at the big O.

There is kind of a cult-like happiness at Orrick. Pass the Kool-Aid.

Why the fuck would I want to make a career at a vacuum company?

63--Quinn is fine interviewing (and hiring) current clerks, or those about to start a clerkship.

67 -- Kirkland. Easy choice. Some decent firms below them, though, no doubt.

holla

74-- No love for MTO?

holla

willkie farr lawyers are homos

the orrick kool aid is delicious. holla.

holla

Oreck sucks. Orrick doesn't.

holla

holla

i drink the kool aid! orrick for life!

I love how a summer associate at FF NY says the people are great. Yeah, wait until you actually work there. Do you think they let the really nasty people near summer associates? 25% of the partners at FF you would want to avoid at all costs. Another 25% aren't much better. The associates are generally nicer than the partners, however, there are some mid levels and seniors who obviously were abused by partners when they were junior and now they take it out on juniors who work for them. And the stealth layoff stories are true but who cares because almost every firm is doing the same thing.

holla

orrick. holla.

FF has many 1st year associates in NY sharing an office with 3 other people.

59 - orrick no offered at least 3 summers. kind of did it in a horrible way too if rumors are to be believed.

that said: big law = big law. give me 160k+bonus, not kool aid.

holla.

Orrick SV summer here; have drunk the koolaid- people really do seem happier here than elsewhere. And not a single douchebag in my summer class- how many other people can say that?

(holla!)

92 is right on

Orrick is awesome!!! Holla!!!

96 - are you talking about firm-wide? because if so that's a pretty tiny number considering the firm has 1000+ attorneys.

100: and something like 100+ summers across the firm.

Ok, I summered at Orrick, so I'm a little biased, but to address some of the comments above about IP and white collar:

The IP practice is huge (100+ attorneys) and very well regarded, with lots of high-profile litigation like Facebook, Intel, Cisco, Fujitstu, etc. The department is only getting better. Recently the heads of both the Mayer Brown and Cadwalader IP practices defected to Orrick (in NY), Routh (American Academy of Trial Lawyers) and two other IP partners from Hogan (in DC), Fishman from Day Casebeer, and Dickerson from Jones Day (their head of LA IP), Wine from McDermott (head of their LA IP). People aren't moving in the other direction.

The white collar practice is pretty good as well. Maybe it's not Davis Polk's, but it's got plenty of heavy hitters, like Walt Brown.

And I had a great summer and accepted my offer. I enjoyed my work and the lawyers here. Go figure.

Ok, let the angry responses begin!

winsTTTon and sTTTrawn sucks. firms like this should merge or disband.

winsTTTon and sTTTrawn sucks. firms like this should merge or disband.

74's advice about avoiding satellite offices in SF (or SV for that matter) is dubious. smaller offices have tons of advantages, and if the partners bring in their own business there really isn't much of a "satellite" feel to them

orrick in SV has a u-call-it brick-oven for pizzas. yum. I'd be happy too. also in a good spot for commuting from SF, but tied with Latham, Davis Polk for that.

There are no first year associates sharing an office with three other people at Fried Frank anymore. That was only the case initially because the firm is completely renovating its entire NYC office. Sharing offices for a short time is worth the improvement.
Further, the majority of the people at FF are fantastic to work with (I have had no experiences like #92 claims), the quality of the work and clients is high, and there are no issues with attorney lay-offs despite all of the ridiculous rumors being circulated. If poor employees are being encouraged to leave sooner than they would during other times, this is no different from any other big firm at the moment. Redundant, unproductive support staff were recently let go - something that would have happened eventually anyway even if the economy was fine.

There are no first year associates sharing an office with three other people at Fried Frank anymore. That was only the case initially because the firm is completely renovating its entire NYC office. Sharing offices for a short time is worth the improvement.
Further, the majority of the people at FF are fantastic to work with (I have had no experiences like #92 claims), the quality of the work and clients is high, and there are no issues with attorney lay-offs despite all of the ridiculous rumors being circulated. If poor employees are being encouraged to leave sooner than they would during other times, this is no different from any other big firm at the moment. Redundant, unproductive support staff were recently let go - something that would have happened eventually anyway even if the economy was fine.

And, the FF office has the best view in Manhattan, right next to the Staten Island Ferry. Suck it Latham.

I work at Orrick and drink the kool-aid. It's delicious and I am happy.

Ok, I summered at Oreck, so I'm a little biased, but to address some of the comments above about vacuum defect and janitorial litigation:

The air filter defect practice is huge (100+ attorneys) and very well regarded, with lots of high-profile litigation like Bissell, DirtDevil, Dyson, Hoover, etc. The department is only getting better. Recently the heads of both the Eureka and Swiffer upright vacuum practices defected to Oreck (in Tulsa), Routh (American Academy of Vacuum Trial Lawyers) and two other wet-vac partners from Rubbermaid (in Portsmouth), Fishman from Electrolux, and Dickerson from Sanitaire (their head of commercial vacuum transactions), Wine from Wal-Mart (head of their Janitorial Services Division). People aren't moving in the other direction.

The linoleum and hardwood practice is pretty good as well. Maybe it's not Lestoil's, but it's got plenty of heavy hitters, like Mr. Clean.

And I had a great summer and accepted my offer. I enjoyed my work and the lawyers here. My apartment is clean all the time too. Go figure.

For the record . . . when I said Oreck sucks, I was paying a vacuum company the highest compliment there is.

Ah...yes! The whole vacuum cleaner joke. Leave it to geniuses 80 and 111 to bring that up. What are you gonna tell us next? Perhaps, how the FF people like to fry their hot dogs? Or did I just go over your head?

113 is Orrick's HR troll who has posted about half of the comments on here.

111 and 113 are probably the same person.

111 - hilarious. Best post of the week!

FF = stealth firing market leader .

I can't choice between Davis Polk & Wardwell or White & Case.
Between these two which one has the best office out of curiosity and also salary differences?

This is not my criteria for finding which suits me but it was just for fun, if it comes down to this point I would have chosen the best office. LOL

Do any of the V5 ever have time to talk among themselves (associates) besides lunch time?

Ex: go to a bar or even go watch a game together. I know you are not there to socialize but what about after work?

I can't choice between Davis Polk & Wardwell or White & Case.
Between these two which one has the best office out of curiosity and also salary differences?

This is not my criteria for finding which suits me but it was just for fun, if it had comes down to this point I would have chosen the best office. LOL

Do any of the V5 ever have time to talk among themselves (associates) besides lunch time?

Ex: go to a bar or even go watch a game together. I know you are not there to socialize but what about after work?

67 here - thanks for the responses. I'm going into OCI looking exclusively at Northern California (SF or Sac) and I'm having a super hard time differentiating these firms. Does everyone agree that satellite offices are to be avoided if possible?

Holla at Uncle Ralph.

Daddy O in the hiz-ouse!!

"I can't choice between Davis Polk & Wardwell or White & Case."

Wow. Just--wow.

Uncle Ralph makes the best kool aid, holla!

SF or Sac? Whaaaaa?

Sacramento is where Ah-nold lives and that's about it. It's hot. It's a backwater business-wise. The only think going for it is that it's closer to Tahoe.

SF or bust. You HAVE to be joking about Sacramento. Seriously?????

If you want 'burbs in NorCal, live in Silicon Valley.

What the f*** is an "Akin Gump"? Is that the same as a Hurtin Dweeb?

Maybe this firm wouldn't be ranked so low if just changed its name.

Any thoughts on the Akin Gump NY office in particular?

Any thoughts on the Akin Gump NY office in particular?

64 and 68 - your information is way off the mark. I know for a fact that Winston made offers to over 90 percent of its summer class firmwide and that DC was around that number as well. As for Winston partners heading for Bingham, only one made that move and it was a complete non-event.

67 -- Kirkland

Re: Akin Gump NY, apparently more firm power is being directed to NY from DC. That is why DC partners are leaving. At NY, you do not have that issue.

67/119 -- avoid Sacramento at all costs. If you don't like SF try SV.

As for satellite offices -- not my cup of tea. ATL did a post on this a while ago, do a search to find it.

In my opinion, one of the drawbacks of a satellite office is that you have fewer exit opportunities. A satellite office is less likely to be entrenched in the SF legal community. Therefore, fewer SF connections and fewer opportunities to go in-house, work for the government, etc. Plus, there are many people who have no idea that Kirkland/OMM/Munger has a SF office. While every potential employer in the city of SF is very familiar with MoFo, Keker, Orrick, Heller, etc. and considers those firms to be highly regarded (well maybe Heller is no longer so highly regarded).

114 is a goblin with a mop

67 - Depends on what you're looking for. Keker, Munger, and Altschuler are the most selective in the bay by a wide margin.

Of the more typical BigLaw shops I see MoFo, Latham, and Kirkland as the best, with Orrick as an attractive quality of life option. I'd probably choose Latham but it's really practice area dependent. For example, Kirkland is an IP Lit beast. All are very good.

Fewer exit opportunities at satellite offices? LMAO. Corporate associate at the bay area offices of DPW, STB and SASMF all have in-house exit opportunities beating down their doors.

Shifting power to NY seems like a bad move for Akin.

Akin is very strong in DC, and it would seem to be better to build and expand on that rather than try to become a NY firm.

There are so many law firms in NY anyway, and no matter how hard they try, out of town firms almost never become major players in NY.

Willkie hires great people on paper and in person. It should be ranked much higher.

67 here,

thanks again for all the comments. I hadn't really given much thought to orrick until now, or kirkland really, nor to the home/satellite office distinction.

I guess it doesn't help that I'm not sure what practice area I want - I know it isn't IP (which rules out quite a bit in the bay area) but I am tentantively attracted to land use, appellate litigation, and real estate transactions/finance. I'm also more "quality of life" oriented and not money/status oriented but maybe that means I should run from the V100 altogether?

And yes Sac is a bit of a backwater but I did grow up there and it is a much easier place to live comfortably and raise a family (I know, lol family, but I think a single-income traditional household can make it work).

40 - Proskauer has a great soft IP department. Very good trademark/copyright practice for media/entertainment/sports. Patent practice is small. Don't know much about it.

67: If you value quality of life go to Orrick. Plus they have a Sacramento office too. Start in SF, when you're ready to start a family, move to Sac-Town. Good luck.

67 -- Orrick San Francisco's public finance group has a great reputation . . . it may fit what you are looking for.

holla.

hOlla.

133/139--Look, I really like being at Orrick, and I think it is a great place to work, but it is not a "quality of life" firm. It is a big firm, with big firm hours and big firm expectations. Quality of life firms have billable expectations of 1600-1800 and don't expect you to drop everything to work all weekend when needed.

I was a summer at Orrick NY, and I had a great time during the summer. I MET NOT A SINGLE DOUCHEBAG AT ORRICK NY! How many of you can say that? I accepted my offer on the spot. Seriously, if you're going to work in BigLaw, Orrick = Disneyland.

HOLLA!!!

thanks so much 139, 140. I'm giving orrick a hard look and high bid now. 143, any insights?

- 67

Akin NY = Lots of good hedge fund type work, hence power shift there since its crazy busy.

Akin DC is fine. Noone is particularly slow, some like funds and bankruptcy are as busy as ever. The partners that left had minimal impact as of now.

Is there a firm in the V100 with an actual billable hour requirement at 1800 hours? As in you bill 1850 a year for nine years and (assuming you have a decent book of business) become an equity partner? I'm skeptical, but I really don't know.

147: Winston Strawn?

Cadwalader is officially no longer worth bashing. When do we get to Dechert?

Akin has made a strategic decision to move towards higher-value work - the stuff clients are willing to pay top rates for, and which will (hopefully) be in demand for the foreseeable future. The focus is now on investment funds/private equity, corporate mergers, restructuring (b'ruptcy), and policy (lobbying/int'l trade/etc.) work - all areas where Akin's practices are (to some degree) industry leaders. This means that other areas, including certain types of litigation, IP, labor and employment, land use, and other areas have been de-emphasized, with several partners being pushed out the door over the last eight months.

To be sure, the Hunton defections were not part of that plan, and are an unfortunate hit. However, those losses have opened up a lot of money for Akin to throw at other rainmakers, so I would expect some big-name laterals to come in soon, particularly after the election.

The office closings (Silicon Valley and Taipei), mentioned previously, were purposeful. Those two offices only had about 8-10 attorneys total, and were totally dependent upon one partner for work. They were very busy, but had a lot of trouble collecting from the clients, which made the practice unprofitable for the firm, so they pushed him out and closed those offices.

Also, the Dubai office (which closed a few months ago - the attys are working out of London now) will be relocated to Abu Dhabi later this year. That probably could have been handled better, but the major private equity client in the UAE wanted the firm to be in Abu Dhabi.

It is unfair, however, to paint these changes as being driven by Goldstein. Rather, they are being pushed by NY, and particularly the investment funds group, which is the most profitable section in the firm. The rise of the NY office is difficult for some people in DC to swallow, though it works out well for Associates because NY sends a lot of work to a wide variety of practices in DC (IP, labor, tax, environmental, trade).

It should also be noted that some of the partners that left recently were among the worst to work for in the entire DC office...

In short, the firm as a whole is fine, and will have a much better 2008 financially than many of its competitors. However, morale in DC is down at the moment in several practice areas. Expect things to really pick up after the election, as people leave to join the new administration and high level current gov't people look to go to private practice.

Oh, and Akin NY is moving into 1 Bryant Park later this year - the nicest (and most expensive) office space in NYC.

Dude, who is trolling Orrick today? I work at OHS and I like it but I can say that most practice groups are decidedly BigLaw-ish and it's not for everyone.

But I'm staying and I like my bosses (transactional partners) and the culture (trying to grow but trying to stay SF-ish).

The Orrick hollas aren't trolls, they're genuine Orrick pride from multiple Orrick associates and summers (see 79).

The Orrick hollas aren't trolls, they're genuine Orrick pride from multiple Orrick associates and summers (see 79).

For how many incremental threads down the Vault chain we will see Kirkland comments?

Daddy O and Uncle Ralph holla!! ;-)

128: Wrong. I work in the DC office and Winston only made offers to 2/3 of the class. Last time I checked 2/3 was a slightly different number than 90%.

Freshfields is going down the toilet. Law students -- don't come here! The firm has changed dramatically over the last several years. It used to basically be a structured finance boutique but then that market tanked. Now its a poorly organized hodgepodge of disparate groups lacking any sort of direction from the top. There are plenty of other firms to go to -- I would caution any law student from starting their career at Freshfields because it will severely limit their options. Caveat -- the above does not apply to the international arbitration group which is top-notch and expertly run.

157: Are you sure you work in the Winston DC office? If so, check your facts because you are the one who is wrong. Two-thirds is not accurate.

99% of the Oreck posts are from their SF office.

Ask anybody about OHS's Los Angeles office and you'll hear an entirely different story. I've never met a group of people who all hated each other as much as that place.

160 - the kool aid in NY is delicious.

Clearly I am quite late to this discussion, but for what it's worth, I am a federal clerk heading to Orrick SF in the Fall. I had offers from many of the other firms in SF mentioned in this post. I decided to go to Orrick because (1) they are quite strong in the practice group I will be joining and (2) their associates were remarkably happier than associates at any of the other firm I interviewed at. I spoke to a LOT of people at Orrick and the other firms. People who recruiting referred me to, and people I sought out on my own. Overall, the Orrick associates seemed very satisfied with their work and their colleagues, especially in comparison to associates at other SF firms. This was enough to convince me that the firm must be doing something right.

Looking forward to drinking the kool aid.

150 = the most accurate AG comment on here

I, too, was a former, long-term employee (20 years). I worked on three shifts at FF. I have seen many changes dating back to 1984 and up until the present. KAlcott fell into that position by chance. She was a secretary just like the rest of us, but soon forgot when she was promoted because of the passing of the Secretarial Mananger. She had no formal training as a manager and/or human resource person. She placed people in supervisory positions just because she liked them and they made her look better. She never defended the staff because she felt inferior to the higher-ups. There were a couple of Managers who were fair and balanced toward the staff but she never supported them. She would undermine their ability to manage. Partners at the Firm were allowed to be abusive towards secretaries, i.e., tantrums, scream, throw phones, you get the picture. Nothing was ever done to rectify the situation. They were never reprimanded. Swept under the carpet. It is not at all shocking to me to see this taking place at this Firm. I’m one of the lucky ones. I left a couple of years ago and never looked back.

I, too, was a former, long-term employee (20 years). I worked on three shifts at FF. I have seen many changes dating back to 1984 and up until the present. KAlcott fell into that position by chance. She was a secretary just like the rest of us, but soon forgot when she was promoted because of the passing of the Secretarial Mananger. She had no formal training as a manager and/or human resource person. She placed people in supervisory positions just because she liked them and made her look better. She never defended the staff because she felt inferior to the higher-ups. There were a couple of Managers who were fair and balanced toward the staff but she never supported them. She would undermine their ability to manage. Partners at the Firm were allowed to be abusive towards secretaries, i.e., tantrums, scream, throw phones, you get the picture. Nothing was ever done to rectify the situation. They were never reprimanded. Swept under the carpet. It is not at all shocking to me to see this taking place at this Firm. I’m one of the lucky ones. I left a couple of years ago and never looked back.

I agree with 163. Also see: http://www.law.com/jsp/dc/PubArticleDC.jsp?id=1202423347202

108--"redundant, unproductive staff" equals age plus 40, making more money than under-30 staff in the same job. The ones let go had the misfortune to have K.Alcott as their direct boss instead of a regular assignment with FF lawyers.

160 - the hollerin' is an orrick ny thang.

Worked at FF for 3 years. Work was good, people were awful. Keep it as your last resort.

Winston DC had 31 summers and gave only 20 offers. I am on the associate hiring committee. Pretty porch.

SASMF owns Quinn - Barbie/Bratz was a dog of a case for MGA and Quinn got 2% of what he was asking for. TTT

Number 170 - you obviously don't work at Winston. Only partners are on the hiring committee and I doubt you are one of them. Of 31 summers, only a few didn't get offers. 2 also decided to go to Winston's new Charlotte office. Get your facts straight and stop spreading lies. Or at least identify yourself.

Number 170 - you obviously don't work at Winston. Only partners are on the hiring committee and I doubt you are one of them. Of 31 summers, only a few didn't get offers. 2 also decided to go to Winston's new Charlotte office. Get your facts straight and stop spreading lies. Or at least identify yourself.

Based on recruiting rankings and measurables, he's not a terribly impressive prospect, but with offers from Illinois, Michigan State, and West Virginia, among others, it's safe to assume he's a solid prospect. Plus, he's from Glenville, and it's the rare Glenville commit that doesn't contribute to the Buckeyes before his career's over.
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hennry

http://www.shepelskylaw.com

Should I be taking my Cadwalader offer seriously? I have another offer from a perfectly respectable V50 firm, but I secretly wonder the same thing as 16- given CWT's presumably challenging recruiting season, is this a back-door way for me (second-tier school) to get into a more prestigious firm?

Latham v. Quinn for SF?

Quinn

177, you are so late to the party that the building has already been leveled and a parking structure has been erected. Please, step in front of a bus.