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An Inside Look at the Skadden Annual Review Process

Today, we take an inside look at the annual review process for attorneys at Skadden Arps. In this special report, we'll provide general observations on the Skadden review process, highlight noteworthy comments from leaked attorney evaluations, and show you a few reviews in their entirety. If you're interested in learning more about performance reviews at one of the world's biggest and best law firms, please keep reading....

By David Lat

onOctober 13, 2011 at 10:16 AMOctober 18, 2011 at 7:34 PM

SUPER MOM
(2009 rating was “Exceptional”): 2010 rating – [ ].
Chargeable Hours: 1,295 hours for 2009; 778 actual YTD hours through 10/31/10 (SUPER MOM was on maternity leave for significant parts of 2009 and 2010).
Docket: SUPER MOM principally worked on a variety of matters for [redacted], including litigation, counseling, and transactional work. She also has worked on some [redacted] matters along with helping [redacted] in connection with the [redacted] merger.
Evaluations: [One partner] provided an evaluation and [two partners] provided interim evaluations. All evaluations called SUPER MOM’s work uniformly outstanding or exceeding expectations in every category in which they had a basis for comment. [One partner] believes SUPER MOM is “above class level.”
Strengths: [Partner #1]: SUPER MOM was called a “very talented lawyer” with “extremely good analytical abilities” and is “highly regarded by the clients with whom she works.” She “operates at the level of a junior partner and is fully capable of handling matters on her own.”
[Partner #2]: “SUPER MOM functions as a junior partner.” She “personally handled the [redacted] transaction which involved a second request and a consent decree.” She “handled the majority of the interactions with … Wachtell, led many of the FTC meetings, and interfaced directly on a daily basis with the client.”
Weaknesses: None
Additional Training: None
Partnership Potential: [One partner] thinks that SUPER MOM “unquestionably has the skills to be a partner.”
Review Message:
Upward Feedback Report: SUPER MOM received very high marks for management skills, professional development/mentoring, and teamwork, better than the antitrust group or firm average. Anecdotal comments: “SUPER MOM is great at sharing wisdom on how to succeed as a lawyer here at Skadden. One of SUPER MOM’s strengths is creating the sense of team and loyalty where the ups and downs are shared alike.”
Self-Assessment: SUPER MOM believes her skills have “developed and improved” and would like to “continue to develop and improve [her] analytical, writing and communication skills.” Over the next 2-3 years, she would “like to expand the breadth of [her] experience and continue to deepen [her] knowledge of substantive law. [She] believes additional litigation experience and counseling opportunities would be valuable.”