Attorneys of Kirkland. Talk to incoming 2L SAs about your experience at the firm. Forum

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

This is not exhaustive

Yeah P.C. is a tax thing that *many* SPs find valuable but not *all.* So if someone has P.C. they are an SP, but if someone lacks P.C., it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re NOT an SP.

My apologies. I thought “generally” would make that clear but I did overstate things. I was trying to give an answer for people who don’t have access to an Outlook account at Kirkland yet.

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

Is NSP to SP up or out? Are there a bunch of 15-20 yr NSPs who are just gonna stay that way until the end of time

No, Kirkland is way too smart for up or out, which is a stupid and outdated concept. As in all things, Kirkland’s only real metric seems to be “is X decision profitable?” So if an NSP is still profitable, why the hell would they arbitrarily fire them after a certain amount of time? Firms with up or out are fucking dumb.

The firm’s cold, “business-like” mindset gets a lot of hate, but this is an example of the upside: as long as you bring in more money than you cost, there’s no reason to worry about your job (unless you sexually harassed someone or pissed off someone important socially, or whatever).

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

This is not exhaustive

Yeah P.C. is a tax thing that *many* SPs find valuable but not *all.* So if someone has P.C. they are an SP, but if someone lacks P.C., it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re NOT an SP.

My apologies. I thought “generally” would make that clear but I did overstate things. I was trying to give an answer for people who don’t have access to an Outlook account at Kirkland yet.

delete

[Anonymous User]

Is the 80% attrition after 2 years pretty standard for firms at this level?

For the folks who leave after 2 years, where do you see then going? Is the narrative more along the lines of relocation to a different city because a S/O has a job there or more like “screw big law, I’m going to a mid size firm or in-house” or something like “screw K&E specifically, I’m going to Latham, Ropes, etc.”

Thanks for sharing all these insights!

Judging by my class and the ones above me, it seems like nearly everyone who leaves as a junior is going to another BigLaw firm. As folks are more senior, a larger and larger portion are going in-house.

There are certainly people who relocate geographically (although those people often just transfer if K&E has an office there). There are also people who aren’t happy and want to try a different team elsewhere. But the vast majority of juniors seem to leave simply for the money. When you’re only a couple years in and someone is waving $100k+ signing bonuses in your face, it’s kinda tough to ignore. I’m quite happy with my K&E office, so if I leave the firm any time soon, that will be the reason why.

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

For incoming attorneys / junior attorneys: Be careful with this attitude. I know you're just kidding around but NSPs, especially the more senior ones, tend to effectively run the cases / deals and are often very tight with the SPs, a lot of whom they'll have been supporting for years. Now "of counsel" is a different kettle of fish

[Anonymous User]

Anyone here that recently joined KE out of school? What was the incoming summer associate gift you received? KE sent out a notice today saying they're going to be sending something but I thought the cookies we got last year were the welcome gift

[Anonymous User]

Anyone with experience moving offices? I'm going to Chicago but thinking about one of the Texas offices for a move. Is this an easy request, assuming Houston/Dallas and not Austin?

Also open to any and all insight regarding the Chicago or Houston transactional groups.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone with experience moving offices? I'm going to Chicago but thinking about one of the Texas offices for a move. Is this an easy request, assuming Houston/Dallas and not Austin?

Also open to any and all insight regarding the Chicago or Houston transactional groups.

I've been warned by several K&E associates not to fuck with K&E Houston. You've now been warned.

[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

damn looks like I'll have to hit the 3L hiring trail or go to dallas instead lol

or maybe just stay in Chicago. I liked the folks there a lot. Non-firm related reason for seeking TX. any particularly good/bad experiences in any of the specific Chicago groups?

[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

damn looks like I'll have to hit the 3L hiring trail or go to dallas instead lol

or maybe just stay in Chicago. I liked the folks there a lot. Non-firm related reason for seeking TX. any particularly good/bad experiences in any of the specific Chicago groups?

If you for sure want to be in Houston I would look at V&E. The people are good. True Houston firm that has stood the test of time and big bad K&E coming into town. I really like the people there and would have joined the firm despite it being a lower ranked firm. Ultimately decided not to go to TX.

[Anonymous User]

correct me if I'm wrong but isn't one of the Houston partner the guy who was put on blast by ATL for sending a super aggressive email about how people needed to work on Rx stuff?

[Anonymous User]

Not going to quote the anon above but, you couldn't possibly mean this guy right here?

[Anonymous User]

damn looks like I'll have to hit the 3L hiring trail or go to dallas instead lol

or maybe just stay in Chicago. I liked the folks there a lot. Non-firm related reason for seeking TX. any particularly good/bad experiences in any of the specific Chicago groups?

If you for sure want to be in Houston I would look at V&E. The people are good. True Houston firm that has stood the test of time and big bad K&E coming into town. I really like the people there and would have joined the firm despite it being a lower ranked firm. Ultimately decided not to go to TX.

Thanks for the insight! I will definitely keep this in mind after this summer.

[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

hahah there it is. i know people like that exist everywhere but damn thats a bad one

[Anonymous User]

Not too familiar with the dallas partner but both of the houston partners have nasty reps. the first one less so because he can generally be a nice guy, but he's a frat bro who favors the military bros and can get nasty quick. if one had to guess, i'll go ahead and say it was the one you named second that behaved in an aggressive way during the interview.

[Joachim2017]

Not going to quote the anon above but, you couldn't possibly mean this guy right here?

Wow, I have no skin in this game, but this Andrew Calder guy based on that email sounds like a total asshole. Probably wants to do the same hazing he had to go through to become a partner himself, just an outdated view on so many things.

[Anonymous User]

Not going to quote the anon above but, you couldn't possibly mean this guy right here?

Wow, I have no skin in this game, but this Andrew Calder guy based on that email sounds like a total asshole. Probably wants to do the same hazing he had to go through to become a partner himself, just an outdated view on so many things.

I don't see what's wrong with his email. Yes it's really direct but unless you're an overly sensitive handwringer not sure what the problem is.

[urbancowboy]

[/quote]

Wow, I have no skin in this game, but this Andrew Calder guy based on that email sounds like a total asshole. Probably wants to do the same hazing he had to go through to become a partner himself, just an outdated view on so many things.
[/quote]

Is this what people consider to be tough partners in BigLaw? This seems pretty reasonable. I always thought people meant getting staplers thrown at them or something...

[Anonymous User]

Wow, I have no skin in this game, but this Andrew Calder guy based on that email sounds like a total asshole. Probably wants to do the same hazing he had to go through to become a partner himself, just an outdated view on so many things.
[/quote]

Is this what people consider to be tough partners in BigLaw? This seems pretty reasonable. I always thought people meant getting staplers thrown at them or something...
[/quote]

People are soft now. This is pretty mild to be honest.

[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

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