Skadden hours? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Sorry if I misunderstand but isnt 2 years of 1800-1900 a steal? You get the skadden brand on your resume and presumably some important work experience, without having to work to death?

You make it sound like it's easy to get another job as a second or third year just because you have Skadden on your resume.

Same Anon here. Yes that is precisely my impression. Is that wrong? I mean say I do 2 years of capital markets at 1900 hours and then look to go in-house or to a smaller firm in a secondary market. Isn't that very doable?--precisely because I'll have Skadden on my resume?

Yeah, you're not going in-house anymore with two years of "experience," and assuming you even could, it wouldn't be a good job. Skadden on resume means nothing if you were there for two years and have shit to show for it. There isn't an abundance of in-house jobs anyway.

Not as sure about secondary market firm jobs but from people I've spoken with at prestigious firms, those "smaller firm" jobs are $60,000 jobs.

[dixiecupdrinking]

(Works around the clock)
(Rationalizes it by saying people who worked less are the ones getting fucked)

This.

As if it's just impossible to gain any skills billing ONLY 1800 hours.

[5ky]

Sorry if I misunderstand but isnt 2 years of 1800-1900 a steal? You get the skadden brand on your resume and presumably some important work experience, without having to work to death?

You make it sound like it's easy to get another job as a second or third year just because you have Skadden on your resume.

Same Anon here. Yes that is precisely my impression. Is that wrong? I mean say I do 2 years of capital markets at 1900 hours and then look to go in-house or to a smaller firm in a secondary market. Isn't that very doable?--precisely because I'll have Skadden on my resume?

Even if you managed to bill 1900 a year, capital markets would be more like 270/month when busy and then like 100/month not busy. Still kinda sucks

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks for all of your perspectives. Very helpful. But im still wondering--since skadden had 147 first year assocs, and 100 second year assocs, where are these assocs going after just 1 or 2 yrs of experience? I can believe that they are mostly going to shitlaw jobs. Yet some of you are trying to tell me thats basically the case because even after 2 years ill have no real experience.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Some might be going to clerkships.

[Anonymous User]

Some might be going to clerkships.

Thats a good point. But the others? (Im just trying to figure out which practice groups are most marketable after 2 years of not worling myself to death.)

[09042014]

These 1800 and 1900 numbers are BS.

[Anonymous User]

(Works around the clock)
(Rationalizes it by saying people who worked less are the ones getting fucked)

It's that extra 600 hours of doc review that really provides you with the EXPERIENCE and RAW SKILL needed to excel beyond those poor shits billing only 1900 hours.

That's my whole point, dude. There are people getting fucked at 2500 hours because they get shit work and there are people at 1900 doing a much higher proportion of substantive work who are really getting trained. But if you're working 1800-1900 and getting shit work, lordy, after two years you barely know how to wipe your own ass, let alone get a decent in house job.

A prestige name on the resume don't mean shit if folks (correctly) perceive that you were a bad review year 1, "the talk" in year 2. My colleagues who were on that track uniformly had shitty outcomes, with one exception who happened to be in a super hot practice area and got picked up by another firm that needed bodies. So your UPSIDE outcome is even more years at a worse sweatshop. Yippee.

Do good work, get good assignments, learn useful and monetizable skills. It's not that fucking complicated (though it's pretty fucking hard).

[Cogburn87]

That's my whole point, dude. There are people getting fucked at 2500 hours because they get shit work and there are people at 1900 doing a much higher proportion of substantive work who are really getting trained. But if you're working 1800-1900 and getting shit work, lordy, after two years you barely know how to wipe your own ass, let alone get a decent in house job.

A prestige name on the resume don't mean shit if folks (correctly) perceive that you were a bad review year 1, "the talk" in year 2. My colleagues who were on that track uniformly had shitty outcomes, with one exception who happened to be in a super hot practice area and got picked up by another firm that needed bodies. So your UPSIDE outcome is even more years at a worse sweatshop. Yippee.

Do good work, get good assignments, learn useful and monetizable skills. It's not that fucking complicated (though it's pretty fucking hard).

(believes the 2500 hours he bills checking for comma splices in intercreditor agreements is worthwhile "substantive" experience)
(has Stockholm syndrome)

[Anonymous User]

That's my whole point, dude. There are people getting fucked at 2500 hours because they get shit work and there are people at 1900 doing a much higher proportion of substantive work who are really getting trained. But if you're working 1800-1900 and getting shit work, lordy, after two years you barely know how to wipe your own ass, let alone get a decent in house job.

A prestige name on the resume don't mean shit if folks (correctly) perceive that you were a bad review year 1, "the talk" in year 2. My colleagues who were on that track uniformly had shitty outcomes, with one exception who happened to be in a super hot practice area and got picked up by another firm that needed bodies. So your UPSIDE outcome is even more years at a worse sweatshop. Yippee.

Do good work, get good assignments, learn useful and monetizable skills. It's not that fucking complicated (though it's pretty fucking hard).

(believes the 2500 hours he bills checking for comma splices in intercreditor agreements is worthwhile "substantive" experience)
(has Stockholm syndrome)

<shrug> I'm not getting into a normative debate as to whether corporate work is stupid, but folks are willing to pay a lot of money for someone who knows how to do it well. There's a big difference between an in house job doing compliance or AML or some other back-office crap and a "real" in house job. If I was exiled to a cubicle at a bank doing mindless shit work, my head would explode.

Also, if you think you're still metaphorically checking commas after 4 or 5 years at a big firm, then you must be a 2L or a Cahill high yield associate.

[wert3813]

Can someone link to the post that I think Rainer did about working at Skadden. The one where he said tape this to your desk so you can read it in a few years? I've looked everywhere for it.

[toothbrush]

Can someone link to the post that I think Rainer did about working at Skadden. The one where he said tape this to your desk so you can read it in a few years? I've looked everywhere for it.

i think you mean the s&c one that sealocust posted (it wasn't original to him, tho)..

lemme look

edit: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0#p7082244

[wert3813]

Can someone link to the post that I think Rainer did about working at Skadden. The one where he said tape this to your desk so you can read it in a few years? I've looked everywhere for it.

i think you mean the s&c one that sealocust posted (it wasn't original to him, tho)..

lemme look

That's the one. I'll look too, let me know if you find it.

[toothbrush]

Can someone link to the post that I think Rainer did about working at Skadden. The one where he said tape this to your desk so you can read it in a few years? I've looked everywhere for it.

i think you mean the s&c one that sealocust posted (it wasn't original to him, tho)..

lemme look

That's the one. I'll look too, let me know if you find it.

just editted post

[wert3813]

Can someone link to the post that I think Rainer did about working at Skadden. The one where he said tape this to your desk so you can read it in a few years? I've looked everywhere for it.

i think you mean the s&c one that sealocust posted (it wasn't original to him, tho)..

lemme look

That's the one. I'll look too, let me know if you find it.

just editted post

thanks.


ETA: This is the actual thread I was looking for but that one is good too. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... n+the+know

[ymmv]

Anecdotally, the Skadden associates and burnouts I know are the most transparently fucking miserable people I know in biglaw. Stories of months or years in the dedicated doc review buildings cowed into silent insanity by the nearly literal whip-cracking senior patrols sound goddamn horrifying.

But maybe they're just more honest about it, and all biglaw is this bad.