Tell me what you know about Patterson Belknap Forum

[dixiecupdrinking]

Is it really/still a "lifestyle" firm?

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously since I'm not sure how widely this is known but apparently they will no longer be taking summer associates FYI

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously since I'm not sure how widely this is known but apparently they will no longer be taking summer associates FYI

P. sure this is a troll, I haven't heard anything of the sort.

[Anonymous User]

e: double post

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously since I'm not sure how widely this is known but apparently they will no longer be taking summer associates FYI

P. sure this is a troll, I haven't heard anything of the sort.

Don't think so. See http://www.pbwt.com/careers/recruitingcontacts/ - looks like they are not hiring for next summer, and instead will look to hire people from the Class of 2016 in fall 2015, after they've finished their summers.

Anecdotally, I can also tell you that they aren't coming to Columbia EIP this year.

[Anonymous User]

Very interesting. Any idea why they made the shift?

[Anonymous User]

Very interesting. Any idea why they made the shift?

Baseless speculation here, but I wonder if it has anything to do with the winding down of mortgage-backed securities litigation in the face of the NY statute of limitations? They made a huge business of that type of work over the past few years, and I could see them getting conservative about hiring in the face of shifting litigation opportunities.

They also have a bit of a reputation for post-clerkship hiring, so they might be moving to rely more heavily on that model?

[Anonymous User]

Is it really/still a "lifestyle" firm?

I'd be interested in the answer to this (whatever the term means), as well as whether anyone who works there has had a good experience.

[Anonymous User]

Very interesting. Any idea why they made the shift?

Baseless speculation here, but I wonder if it has anything to do with the winding down of mortgage-backed securities litigation in the face of the NY statute of limitations? They made a huge business of that type of work over the past few years, and I could see them getting conservative about hiring in the face of shifting litigation opportunities.

They also have a bit of a reputation for post-clerkship hiring, so they might be moving to rely more heavily on that model?

I think a lot of it is that when you hire clerks they start pretty far ahead and training costs are lower.

[Anonymous User]

Very interesting. Any idea why they made the shift?

Baseless speculation here, but I wonder if it has anything to do with the winding down of mortgage-backed securities litigation in the face of the NY statute of limitations? They made a huge business of that type of work over the past few years, and I could see them getting conservative about hiring in the face of shifting litigation opportunities.

They also have a bit of a reputation for post-clerkship hiring, so they might be moving to rely more heavily on that model?

I think a lot of it is that when you hire clerks they start pretty far ahead and training costs are lower.

Bump

[Anonymous User]

any more specific questions, I can answer

long story short it's a great place to work and I would say v. underrated by law students

How are the hours? Are you happy with the quality of the work you do? What percentage of the work is doc review for a junior associate? How much pro bono can you do? I know they have a great pro bono reputation.

[Anonymous User]

any more specific questions, I can answer

long story short it's a great place to work and I would say v. underrated by law students

How are the hours? Are you happy with the quality of the work you do? What percentage of the work is doc review for a junior associate? How much pro bono can you do? I know they have a great pro bono reputation.

bump

[Anonymous User]

any more specific questions, I can answer

long story short it's a great place to work and I would say v. underrated by law students

How are the hours? Are you happy with the quality of the work you do? What percentage of the work is doc review for a junior associate? How much pro bono can you do? I know they have a great pro bono reputation.

Bump!

[Anonymous User]

Bumping this thread for visibility.

I'm currently in the post-clerkship job hunt and hadn't really considered Patterson until I started doing some research. I've read all the TLS threads I can find about the firm and the feedback has generally been incredibly positive (fingers are crossed for an interview). My concern is that Patterson doesn't have the same name recognition as, say, Paul Weiss, DPW, Cleary, Debevoise, Gibson Dunn, etc., which might be valuable if I decide to leave NYC. Can any current attorneys speak to Patterson's reputation both within and outside of NYC (in a way that doesn't simply rehash the Vault rankings)? And would working at Patterson limit your career prospects/trajectory in any appreciable way when compared to NYC megafirms - particularly those that have well-regarded litigation departments?

Additionally, I know Patterson has a diversified litigation practice, but has done a ton of RMBS work over the past few years. Can anyone speak to what the firm's future looks like if/when that work starts to dry up? And should this be a serious factor to consider in the event that the option to work for Patterson is on the table? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

Also interested in the post above and how selective they are now that they're just recruiting clerks.

[Anonymous User]

Bump

[Anonymous User]

Bumping this - they are coming to CLS's 3L EIP and I would like to know more.

[Anonymous User]

can confirm they just announced internally they'll be matching the Cravath-scale salary raises. for 3L EIP, i'd check to see what (if any) practice group they're hiring for -- could be general lit but since they primarily hire clerks I'd double-check to see if it's for one of the other specialty groups.

[Anonymous User]

can confirm they just announced internally they'll be matching the Cravath-scale salary raises. for 3L EIP, i'd check to see what (if any) practice group they're hiring for -- could be general lit but since they primarily hire clerks I'd double-check to see if it's for one of the other specialty groups.

Patterson mid/senior associate here, anon for obvious reasons.

3L hiring is almost certainly for litigation, which is the overwhelming majority of the firm.

Note that although they matched the raises, comp remains slightly below market. No retention bonuses this year, nor spring bonuses a few years ago. But they did do summer bonuses out of the blue in a year other firms didn’t do anything. Also, slightly below market salary for 7th and 8th year associates.

That all said, I highly recommend the firm. It’s not a lifestyle firm, to be sure, but most associates would agree it’s the best biglaw-like place to litigate in NYC.

[Anonymous User]

can confirm they just announced internally they'll be matching the Cravath-scale salary raises. for 3L EIP, i'd check to see what (if any) practice group they're hiring for -- could be general lit but since they primarily hire clerks I'd double-check to see if it's for one of the other specialty groups.

Patterson mid/senior associate here, anon for obvious reasons.

3L hiring is almost certainly for litigation, which is the overwhelming majority of the firm.

Note that although they matched the raises, comp remains slightly below market. No retention bonuses this year, nor spring bonuses a few years ago. But they did do summer bonuses out of the blue in a year other firms didn’t do anything. Also, slightly below market salary for 7th and 8th year associates.

That all said, I highly recommend the firm. It’s not a lifestyle firm, to be sure, but most associates would agree it’s the best biglaw-like place to litigate in NYC.

I'd love to hear more about how life at the firm would be for an incoming associate out of law school. Would there be a lot of substantive work early on? Would the firm be supportive of new grads in landing clerkships and leaving to clerk?

[Anonymous User]

I'd love to hear more about how life at the firm would be for an incoming associate out of law school. Would there be a lot of substantive work early on? Would the firm be supportive of new grads in landing clerkships and leaving to clerk?

In general, associates do get a lot of substantive work early on. For junior associates coming out of law school, there still will be the document review projects, but I think most teams try to balance out that sort of work with more fun assignments, like research or writing.

Yes, the firm would be very supportive of you leaving to clerk. People leave all the time and come back after a year or two.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, I’m a mid-level associate responsible for a lot of correspondence with opposing counsel on some of our cases. We oppose PBWT for one, and I find their attorneys to be a pleasure to litigate against (both at the associate and partner level). They’re sharp and not pushovers by any means, but they’re also collegial, don’t default to being argumentative, and are very reasonable. I’m not sure how that translates to intrafirm treatment, but I would suspect it means it’s a pretty good place to work.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know what the hell happened to Patterson’s rankings? They are completely out of the AmLaw 100 and Vault 100 and slid way down the AmLaw 200. And they went from Vault’s #9 best firm to work for to #48, not to mention dropping 10 ish points in pro bono, clerk integration, and hours. Did they just not do a good job getting people to fill out the surveys, or is something happening there? I left a top firm to accept an offer at Patterson and I’m nervous.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know what the hell happened to Patterson’s rankings? They are completely out of the AmLaw 100 and Vault 100 and slid way down the AmLaw 200. And they went from Vault’s #9 best firm to work for to #48, not to mention dropping 10 ish points in pro bono, clerk integration, and hours. Did they just not do a good job getting people to fill out the surveys, or is something happening there? I left a top firm to accept an offer at Patterson and I’m nervous.

I don't think Patterson has been in the V100 for quite some time now, probably since they stopped doing the summer program. They also have not been in the AmLaw 100 because they're a smaller firm, but their financials look fine. And the Vault speciality rankings are meaningless.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know what the hell happened to Patterson’s rankings? They are completely out of the AmLaw 100 and Vault 100 and slid way down the AmLaw 200. And they went from Vault’s #9 best firm to work for to #48, not to mention dropping 10 ish points in pro bono, clerk integration, and hours. Did they just not do a good job getting people to fill out the surveys, or is something happening there? I left a top firm to accept an offer at Patterson and I’m nervous.

I don't think Patterson has been in the V100 for quite some time now, probably since they stopped doing the summer program. They also have not been in the AmLaw 100 because they're a smaller firm, but their financials look fine. And the Vault speciality rankings are meaningless.

Patterson associate here. This is all correct. Haven’t been in Vault 100 in a long time, and finances last year were solid given the pandemic - see the article in Law.com from March 2021

Vault QOL rankings are even more arbitrary than normal vault rankings.