Let's Talk San Francisco - Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

On Shartsis:

I did a CB with them previously and absolutely would have accepted an offer there (did not get one). I am currently in biglaw in a different market. If you make it to the CB stage w/ Shartsis you'll be alright, b/c you have the grades & the interview was all about personality. Other firms will bite on you even if they do not.

[Anonymous User]

Phone screener with the hiring partner of Shartsis next week from mass mail. I like what I hear about them.

Callback!

[Anonymous User]

Any thoughts on K&E v. Latham (both in the City) for lit? I'll bid them both but the way my list is structured I only have a realistic shot at getting a screener with one of them. I'm having trouble distinguishing them from the outside...

[sundance95]

Phone screener with the hiring partner of Shartsis next week from mass mail. I like what I hear about them.

Callback!

Awesome, congrats.

[Anonymous User]

Any thoughts on K&E v. Latham (both in the City) for lit? I'll bid them both but the way my list is structured I only have a realistic shot at getting a screener with one of them. I'm having trouble distinguishing them from the outside...

Have heard bad things about k&e lit...specifically regarding one partner. But this was from a lateral, fwiw

[Anonymous User]

West Coast firms have a reputation for lighter hours. Can anyone speak to hours requirements for the major SF/SV lit players (besides Quinn), like MoFo, Cooley, Orrick, GDC, Latham?

[Anonymous User]

West Coast firms have a reputation for lighter hours. Can anyone speak to hours requirements for the major SF/SV lit players (besides Quinn), like MoFo, Cooley, Orrick, GDC, Latham?

Generally Gibson, MoFo, Latham, etc. are on the higher side, i.e. > 2250 hours (and up to 2400+ for K&E and Quinn). Orrick and Bay Area firms (Fenwick, Cooley, etc.) that pay market are around 1950/2000-2200 or so. Of course you can be busy or slow, so that's just a rough guide.

What is the pay scale (say 1-3 year associates) at Coblentz and Lieff?

[Anonymous User]

West Coast firms have a reputation for lighter hours. Can anyone speak to hours requirements for the major SF/SV lit players (besides Quinn), like MoFo, Cooley, Orrick, GDC, Latham?

Generally Gibson, MoFo, Latham, etc. are on the higher side, i.e. > 2250 hours (and up to 2400+ for K&E and Quinn). Orrick and Bay Area firms (Fenwick, Cooley, etc.) that pay market are around 1950/2000-2200 or so. Of course you can be busy or slow, so that's just a rough guide.

Thanks for this. Even 2250 doesn't seem that bad compared to NYC, but that's easy to say as a rising 2L.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know anything about Trucker Huss? Have an interview with them and any insight would be appreciated.

You ever get an offer?

[filibuster]

Pretty sure coblentz does not have a summer program

[Anonymous User]

I want to do litigation in SF and have an offer at Quinn. What firms is it worth going on other Callbacks for? I know that any firm might be a better "fit" but I specifically mean what firms have better cases, better financial stability/future, better reputation. better lateral options, etc.?

[WhiskeynCoke]

Get on chambers, it sounds like you definitely need to research this more.

The answer to your question will obviously depend on where you get callbacks, but you should be going on at least a few of them to develop a sense of what you referred to as "fit."

There are several firms that have a strong lit presence in the Bay area, and will give you solid CA exit options. MoFo (SF), Gibson Dunn (SF), Latham (SF), and Boies (Oakland) are a few examples. I've heard uniformly bad things about Quinn in general, so you should see what your other options are.

[Anonymous User]

Get on chambers, it sounds like you definitely need to research this more.

The answer to your question will obviously depend on where you get callbacks, but you should be going on at least a few of them to develop a sense of what you referred to as "fit."

There are several firms that have a strong lit presence in the Bay area, and will give you solid CA exit options. MoFo (SF), Gibson Dunn (SF), Latham (SF), and Boies (Oakland) are a few examples. I've heard uniformly bad things about Quinn in general, so you should see what your other options are.

Yeah I definitely want to go on at least a few. Many sites are rather opaque and even Chambers is not the best (though helpful). What about OMM, Pillsbury, Jones Day, Cooley, Kirkland?
I've also heard many bad things about Quinn. The people I interviewed with were obviously cool, but that's who they set me up with.

[sundance95]

There are rumors regarding Pillsbury's health. Knew a Quinn SF summer who did not like it at all; evidently the junior associate who was in office next to her/his had a habit of weeping in their office with some regularity, which was disconcerting to the summer to say the least.

[Anonymous User]

Get on chambers, it sounds like you definitely need to research this more.

The answer to your question will obviously depend on where you get callbacks, but you should be going on at least a few of them to develop a sense of what you referred to as "fit."

There are several firms that have a strong lit presence in the Bay area, and will give you solid CA exit options. MoFo (SF), Gibson Dunn (SF), Latham (SF), and Boies (Oakland) are a few examples. I've heard uniformly bad things about Quinn in general, so you should see what your other options are.

Yeah I definitely want to go on at least a few. Many sites are rather opaque and even Chambers is not the best (though helpful). What about OMM, Pillsbury, Jones Day, Cooley, Kirkland?
I've also heard many bad things about Quinn. The people I interviewed with were obviously cool, but that's who they set me up with.

Jones Day is a great litigation firm, but definitely not boutique. I'm in a different office and on the transactional side so I cannot really speak about exit options, but it was a big-time SF litigator (Bob Pr*fusek) who got me interested in the firm in the first place when I saw him give a presentation about one of his recent cases. Interesting matters for great household name clients.

[Anonymous User]

I have a MoFo SF callback coming up, and want corporate work. Is it worth taking them over some of the Silicon Valley big names? What's different about this office versus some of the others in Northern California, and what sort of clients would they be working with on a regular basis?

What advantages would they have over Wilson/Cooley/Fenwick/some of the NY branch offices for someone looking to go in-house at a tech company eventually?

[Anonymous User]

I have a MoFo SF callback coming up, and want corporate work. Is it worth taking them over some of the Silicon Valley big names? What's different about this office versus some of the others in Northern California, and what sort of clients would they be working with on a regular basis?

What advantages would they have over Wilson/Cooley/Fenwick/some of the NY branch offices for someone looking to go in-house at a tech company eventually?

None. MoFo, Wilson, Cooley, Fenwick, Gunderson, Latham are all tops at getting people inhouse.

If your goal is to go inhouse at a big tech company, all of those firms will set you up well (though if your goal is a specific tech company, like Google, you are best served by going to the firm who has them as a client (WSGR) and working in the partner group that regularly has back and forth with Google (Saper)). If your goal is to become GC at a start-up, you are better off at one of Wilson, Cooley, Fenwick and Gunderson. MoFo has a start-up practice, but it isn't even close to these firms.

The SV firms of NY offices are hilarious. They're not nearly as plugged into the ecosystem as the above firms, they work you way harder and they have zero clout around here. You will almost certainly find yourself trying to lateral after one to two years of working at these firms... if you can (we get a ton of resumes from people at these firms).

[Anonymous User]

I have a MoFo SF callback coming up, and want corporate work. Is it worth taking them over some of the Silicon Valley big names? What's different about this office versus some of the others in Northern California, and what sort of clients would they be working with on a regular basis?

What advantages would they have over Wilson/Cooley/Fenwick/some of the NY branch offices for someone looking to go in-house at a tech company eventually?

None. MoFo, Wilson, Cooley, Fenwick, Gunderson, Latham are all tops at getting people inhouse.

If your goal is to go inhouse at a big tech company, all of those firms will set you up well (though if your goal is a specific tech company, like Google, you are best served by going to the firm who has them as a client (WSGR) and working in the partner group that regularly has back and forth with Google (Saper)). If your goal is to become GC at a start-up, you are better off at one of Wilson, Cooley, Fenwick and Gunderson. MoFo has a start-up practice, but it isn't even close to these firms.

The SV firms of NY offices are hilarious. They're not nearly as plugged into the ecosystem as the above firms, they work you way harder and they have zero clout around here. You will almost certainly find yourself trying to lateral after one to two years of working at these firms... if you can (we get a ton of resumes from people at these firms).

Thank you, I appreciate that. I'd heard Latham and Davis Polk were two NY branch offices that fared a bit better than the others in SV - is that at all true?

And if Silicon Valley firms serve most of the premier public tech companies as well as the start-ups, what does MoFo have left? Would you happen to know which clients they typically work with?

[Anonymous User]

Thank you, I appreciate that. I'd heard Latham and Davis Polk were two NY branch offices that fared a bit better than the others in SV - is that at all true?

Latham isn't a New York firm. It is an LA firm that relocated its HQ to NY, but it's still very much a national firm and a regional heavyweight. Great brand recognition in Silicon Valley.

Davis Polk is a whatever in Silicon Valley.

And if Silicon Valley firms serve most of the premier public tech companies as well as the start-ups, what does MoFo have left? Would you happen to know which clients they typically work with?

I would lump MoFo in with "Silicon Valley" firms, but caveat that it's more of a law firm that represents blue chip corporations than start-ups. The firms in Silicon Valley rose to fame because the start-ups they represented eventually became blue-chip corporations.

I don't know many of MoFo's clients. I'm pretty sure they do a ton of Intel work, but in general I don't work across from them that much (but I almost exclusively do venture deals, so maybe that's why).

[Anonymous User]

Thank you, I appreciate that. I'd heard Latham and Davis Polk were two NY branch offices that fared a bit better than the others in SV - is that at all true?

Latham isn't a New York firm. It is an LA firm that relocated its HQ to NY, but it's still very much a national firm and a regional heavyweight. Great brand recognition in Silicon Valley.

Davis Polk is a whatever in Silicon Valley.

And if Silicon Valley firms serve most of the premier public tech companies as well as the start-ups, what does MoFo have left? Would you happen to know which clients they typically work with?

I would lump MoFo in with "Silicon Valley" firms, but caveat that it's more of a law firm that represents blue chip corporations than start-ups. The firms in Silicon Valley rose to fame because the start-ups they represented eventually became blue-chip corporations.

I don't know many of MoFo's clients. I'm pretty sure they do a ton of Intel work, but in general I don't work across from them that much (but I almost exclusively do venture deals, so maybe that's why).

Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

Any Kirkland (SF) offers out there? If so, how long was the turnaround from CB to offer?

[Anonymous User]

Any Kirkland (SF) offers out there? If so, how long was the turnaround from CB to offer?

Yep. 2 days from CB to offer. I think the hiring committee meets on Thursdays.

[Anonymous User]

covington and burling offers??

[Anonymous User]

Any opinions on Mayer Brown Palo Alto?

[Anonymous User]

Any opinions on Mayer Brown Palo Alto?

Bump.