Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc. Forum

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Re: Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc.

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 08, 2018 1:15 am

Am a junior lit associate at KE. I went camping in a national park (no internet) for a long weekend. The case totally exploded while I was gone (judge ruled on a motion that had been pending for eons). I worked on my return plane flight, and the following Monday was crazy, but nobody gave me any flack for being afk for a few days. I've mostly felt encouraged by the vacations I see happening here.

Restructuring (crazy town) and corporate (probably a little crazier than lit) may be different; I have no idea.

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Re: Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc.

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 08, 2018 10:19 am

I’m a senior associate in restructuring. The vacation policy is a joke. You can bill 3000 hours a year and take a two-week-long vacation (entirely possible if most of the other 50 weeks of your year are hell) when you’re not that busy and when you’ve given plenty of advanced notice and get shit from people for taking such a long vacation. Plenty of mid-level and senior associates like to brag among themselves about how little vacation time they’ve taken. Absolutely toxic environment for people who aren’t of this mindset.

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Re: Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc.

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 08, 2018 11:50 am

with respect to the litigator above, it's very different to have things explode while you are away, and extracting yourself from a matter that is already explosive. no one will fault you when things explode in your absence - you aren't a fortune teller, but leaving an already active matter may be different.

also, there has been some indication here that you are responsible for finding your own coverage at KE. I can't imagine going to a fellow associate already billing 250 a month and ask him to take on my matter.

at my nyc v5, you tell the assignment coordinator you are going on vacation, she finds you coverage, and you hand off the entire deal to them. I've seen multiple midlevels leave deals the week before signing and during crazy periods, and were never bothered during vacations.

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Re: Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc.

Post by eastcoast_iub » Tue May 08, 2018 12:15 pm

Corporate junior in Chicago checking in with my 2 cents. Corporate partners heavily respect vacation from my experience. Several share partners I work with will drop people from e-mails when they're on vacation and not bother them, and I take it that this is the norm in the corporate group. I have taken 2 weeks and not been bothered at all. Have seen 3rd years take 3 weeks and also not be bothered.

Same for NSPs, know ones who have taken 2 weeks in places with limited Internet access, although as previous poster mentioned, it does get very difficult to unplug the more senior you get and you need to time it right for it to work out.

In general though, if you give decent advance notice, don't plan your vacation in the middle of a signing or closing and not take on new matters in the weeks leading up to your vacation, you will be fine.

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Re: Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc.

Post by Anonymous User » Wed May 09, 2018 11:51 am

right long live the kirkland restructring senior above. love the brutal honesty, at least one knows what to expect.

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Re: Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc.

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 22, 2018 1:16 pm

Anonymous User wrote:right long live the kirkland restructring senior above. love the brutal honesty, at least one knows what to expect.
I think this varies widely and depends on who you work for at KE. I definitely know partners who have made associates cancel vacations; this happens at every firm. But I know way more KE partners who abhor that idea and do their best to respect vacations. Kirkland's free market system lets the associate decide who to work for, though, so you can imagine what happens to the folks who make you cancel vacations.

Ultimately, I've found that vacations are encouraged and accepted and that most everybody takes them. (Some take them stealthily - that's a whole different strategy call.)

That said, you've gotta have the understanding that this is a client-focused industry, and if something hits the fan, you're gonna have to jump in and help out. That's our job. But I've been with the firm for awhile and have rarely had vacations interrupted, and even then, only for a couple hours of emails or calls to address something over the course of a week and then I'm right back to my mai tais.

So, in short, your mileage may vary, but I don't think its as doomed as the senior associate above said (although he/she definitely seems to be having a bad run and should try to re-calibrate a little to get some time off, for sure).

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Re: Kirkland & Ellis' Vacation Policy, etc.

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 22, 2018 1:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I’m a senior associate in restructuring. The vacation policy is a joke. You can bill 3000 hours a year and take a two-week-long vacation (entirely possible if most of the other 50 weeks of your year are hell) when you’re not that busy and when you’ve given plenty of advanced notice and get shit from people for taking such a long vacation. Plenty of mid-level and senior associates like to brag among themselves about how little vacation time they’ve taken. Absolutely toxic environment for people who aren’t of this mindset.
junior associate in rx. I can tell you that when you a junior/midlevel it is much much easier to take a vacation than when you are a senior.

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