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hey guys,

i'm fortunate enough to have some offers in hand, but i was wondering if you guys could provide me with any insight into some of these firms.
interested in litigation (for now) but corp is also definitely a possibility, just don't know enough about corp yet,
I liked everyone i met at each firm, so the decision is a little tougher since i cant seem to draw the line; all NY offices

thanks for any and all help/anecdotes/anythinggg that will push me in one direction or another

=)

Congrats on the choices!

I've heard rumblings about White & Case tightening their belt further.
Heard Kaye's offices are gross and outdated, and the litigation partners are dicks.
Heard Winston is a sweatshop.
Heard nothing but good things about Cahill.

Kaye is moving in 2014 to some supposedly sweet new digs so their current offices should not factor in

OP here,

thanks guys!!!! any one else have more insight???? anything is greatly appreciated.

Have you been following the Winston news on ATL? Firm sounds like the last place I'd want to work as an SA and new associate. And ATL is reporting a low offer rate in the NY office, in addition to their scorched-earth approach to the Chicago office.

I would choose between Cahill and Kaye. And since Cahill is more corporate driven (or at least it seems that way), I would pick Kaye if you want litigation.

I'd stay away from White n Case and Winston Strawn.

Scholer's new digs look nice and the partners I met there (lit) all seemed just fine so I don't know where that's coming from. Cahill is great, but aside from Floyd Abrams, their lit practice isn't exactly mind blowing. Scholer is def. known for their lit work. Much depends on what type of lit you want to do. Cahill will pay better.

op (again)

yea, i was able to read the winston & strawn above the law article, thanks! and I know TLS has rumors about white and case, but i was under the impression that these are these just TLS rumors, since there isn't any outside information? i could be completely wrong, but if anyone has more information on the white & case situation, please share! thanks

Anonymous User wrote:I would choose between Cahill and Kaye. And since Cahill is more corporate driven (or at least it seems that way), I would pick Kaye if you want litigation.

Thought I'd chime in because I just summered at Cahill and am doing lit. I'd say Cahill is more financial/securities driven, not necessarily more corporate driven . . . so your lit work at Cahill is going to be securities lit or media/1st Amendment. I did mostly securities lit this summer and had a great experience. Also, there's no pressure to decide between corp/lit at Cahill until you start as an associate, if that's something that matters to you.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I would choose between Cahill and Kaye. And since Cahill is more corporate driven (or at least it seems that way), I would pick Kaye if you want litigation.

Thought I'd chime in because I just summered at Cahill and am doing lit. I'd say Cahill is more financial/securities driven, not necessarily more corporate driven . . . so your lit work at Cahill is going to be securities lit or media/1st Amendment. I did mostly securities lit this summer and had a great experience. Also, there's no pressure to decide between corp/lit at Cahill until you start as an associate, if that's something that matters to you.

I summered at Kaye Scholer and have a close relative who is an associate at Cahill.

The above poster is right that litigation at Cahill is definitely more media/securities lit (they just got a big name partner from Shearman), whereas the litigation at Kaye Scholer is heavily products liability (though there are various other areas in litigation and you can definitely get a good mix, even as an associate; and I probably did an assignment in every lit group during my summer). Additionally, Cahill is driven by banking clients, whereas Kaye Scholer is driven by pharma clients.

The transactional work is definitely different too, with Kaye Scholer's being real estate, mid-market M&A and securitization and Cahill's being primarily high-yield bond work, and credit work. They also represent institutions as opposed to companies on the M&A/LBO work that they do. However, it will likely be easier for you to get summer assignments in the corporate at Cahill than at Kaye Scholer if you have any inclination that you might switch to transactional; since the corporate group at Cahill is huge and incredibly busy, whereas the corporate/finance/real estate groups at Kaye Scholer are significantly smaller.

Kaye Scholer is also the opposite of Cahill where you basically pick your practice area at the end of the summer and that there are formal assignment systems; as opposed to Cahill's free market system (so think about in which scenario you would be more comfortable; some people definitely prefer a formal system, whereas others like the free market approach). Kaye Scholer also runs a much smaller summer program than Cahill does. Neither has particularly nice offices and seriously that should not make a difference to anyone when deciding. The only difference in terms of office preference would be if you have some strange preference between being in the Financial District and in Mid-town, which is still kind of a dumb way to pick a firm.

The huge advantage Cahill has over Kaye Scholer is the compensation factor. They're one of the few firms to give spring bonuses and they actually gave two year-end bonuses last year ($10k + the Cravath bonus). But I honestly don't think you could go wrong either way here, especially if you want litigation.