Pros and cons DLA Piper. Don’t say “enjoy” Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all,

I’m interviewing at dla piper for a lateral spot soon. Was wondering if people could throw out some pros (maybe to help answer the why dla piper question)...and if there are actually known bad things (other than t6 students shitting on their friends for summering there in 2005 ie “enjoy”), those would be helpful as well.

Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

Pros: market compensation for the past few years (base and bonus); decent reputation in certain practice groups, opportunity to work with other offices/regions; not many screamers/jerks in my experience; some enjoy a good work life balance;

Cons: huge firm such that your experience may vary depending on the group, office, partner; probably not much mentoring/development (especially to laterals); difficult to know where you stand among peers; almost impossible to make equity partner

[nealric]

Hey all,

I’m interviewing at DLA Piper for a lateral spot soon. Was wondering if people could throw out some pros (maybe to help answer the why DLA Piper question)...and if there are actually known bad things (other than t6 students shitting on their friends for summering there in 2005 ie “enjoy”), those would be helpful as well.

Thanks.

I hope you derive a great sense of well-being from becoming employed at DLA piper!

But in seriousness, the criticism of DLA is mostly that it's an amalgamation of a large number of smaller firms, including some in markets where biglaw usually does not do business. For this reason, PPP and RPL are lower than most market paying firms. What that means to you will vary dramatically by where you are working. I doubt the experience at DLA San Juan Puerto Rico will be anything like that in DLA Myanmar, which in turn will be nothing like DLA Short Hills, NJ.

Long story short, as a lateral, I think what really matters is going to be the specific group you would be lateraling into rather than the firm. Doubtful anybody on TLS would have meaningful background on that group, but knowing where the key partners came from and type of deals/cases they work on should be enlightening.

[NoLongerALurker]

Whats the story behind “enjoy” here? Im out of the loop.

[jacketyellow]

Whats the story behind “enjoy” here? Im out of the loop.

DLA did a crazy youtube video about how associates will enjoy their time at DLA, and it was put to music. It was embarrassing, and Above the Law called them out on it. They then threatened to sue ATL and then took down the video.

[objctnyrhnr]

Whats the story behind “enjoy” here? Im out of the loop.

DLA did a crazy youtube video about how associates will enjoy their time at DLA, and it was put to music. It was embarrassing, and Above the Law called them out on it. They then threatened to sue ATL and then took down the video.

I assume we don’t have a link for the above reason, correct?

[SFSpartan]

Whats the story behind “enjoy” here? Im out of the loop.

DLA did a crazy youtube video about how associates will enjoy their time at DLA, and it was put to music. It was embarrassing, and Above the Law called them out on it. They then threatened to sue ATL and then took down the video.

It has to do with (a) the video referenced above; and (b) the pre-2008 attitude that going to DLA meant that one couldn't get a job at a "worthwhile" biglaw firm. TBH, the whole thing is kind of silly.

[Anonymous User]

https://abovethelaw.com/2014/10/lawsuit ... dla-piper/

It’s less great to have Facebook as your courtroom adversary. But that’s exactly the position that DLA Piper finds itself in. Earlier today, the social-media giant filed a lawsuit against the Biglaw behemoth, as well as several other lawyers and law firms.

Why does Facebook want DLA to pay the piper?


Facebook’s lawsuit, filed today in New York Supreme Court (the state trial court), relates to DLA Piper’s role in woodchip salesman turned alleged huckster Paul Ceglia’s dubious lawsuit claiming ownership of a large chunk of Facebook (a matter that we covered extensively at the time). Facebook is suing for malicious prosecution and deceit and collusion.

What does DLA Piper have to say for itself? We reached out to the firm for comment. Here is what Peter Pantaleo, DLA Piper’s general counsel, told us:

This is an entirely baseless lawsuit that has been filed as a tactic to intimidate lawyers from bringing litigation against Facebook. DLA Piper, which was not part of this case at its outset or its conclusion, was involved for 78 days. Facebook and Mr. Zuckerberg claim that they were damaged in those 78 days, yet a mere 10 months after DLA Piper withdrew from the case and while the litigation was still pending, Facebook went to market with an initial public offering that valued the company at $100 billion. Today, Facebook is worth $200 billion and Mr. Zuckerberg is among the richest people in the world. We will defend this meritless litigation aggressively and we will prevail.

The “78 days” point and the Facebook IPO point are neither here nor there. It wouldn’t be a defense for DLA Piper to say, “Look, we committed fraud for just 78 days, and Facebook could afford it anyway.” As for the claim that the litigation is meritless, that’s what we’ll find out in the weeks and months ahead.

[minnbills]

It's a fine firm. If you need a job, don't let anyone talk you out of it.

[Anonymous User]

It's a fine firm. If you need a job, don't let anyone talk you out of it.

In light of the above, is there a chance that the lateral competition for this firm might be less competitive than the competition for a similar lateral opening at another vault50 type place in the same market? In other words, do you think that this reputation makes fewer people want to work there via lateral spot?

[SFSpartan]

It's a fine firm. If you need a job, don't let anyone talk you out of it.

In light of the above, is there a chance that the lateral competition for this firm might be less competitive than the competition for a similar lateral opening at another vault50 type place in the same market? In other words, do you think that this reputation makes fewer people want to work there via lateral spot?

This is really going to be more dependent on what practice area you want to lateral into, and Chambers rankings for said practice area (in general, Vault is a great proxy for traditional NY corporate work and not much else). So, I'd imagine, for example that there are fewer people applying to DLA's Silicon Valley office for EC/VC work than are trying to get into the same offices/practice areas at Cooley, WSGR, etc. That said, I don't think a silly meme makes fewer people want to work at DLA.