Which Chicago firm would you choose and why? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Not to hijack this thread, but what would you guys say about Sidley v. Skadden v. Jenner in Chicago?

[Anonymous User]

Not to hijack this thread, but what would you guys say about Sidley v. Skadden v. Jenner in Chicago?

depends on practice area. what are you looking at?

[Anonymous User]

Absolutely no idea - probably M&A or banking & finance but also interested in maybe pursuing litigation. Would be interested in becoming a federal prosecutor or other gov't work, but really unsure what other exit options there are for litigation?

[Anonymous User]

Absolutely no idea - probably M&A or banking & finance but also interested in maybe pursuing litigation. Would be interested in becoming a federal prosecutor or other gov't work, but really unsure what other exit options there are for litigation?

I don't think Jenner should be in the equation unless you just REALLY loved the people there.

The mix of:

1) performance in the downturn
2) presence in Chicago
3) practice area strengths

makes the decision between Sidley and Skadden a little tougher.

[Anonymous User]

One thing that concerned me about Skadden is that the associate to partner ratio is really high (according to the NALP data). Like 3-to-1 whereas Sidley seems to be more 2-1 or even less. Any thoughts on what this means?

I also know that Sidley deferred much of c/o 2010 to fall 2011 or even January 2012. Does this say anything about how slowly the firm is bouncing back? Jenner did not defer anyone and I have not heard anything about Skadden.

[Anonymous User]

One thing that concerned me about Skadden is that the associate to partner ratio is really high (according to the NALP data). Like 3-to-1 whereas Sidley seems to be more 2-1 or even less. Any thoughts on what this means?

I also know that Sidley deferred much of c/o 2010 to fall 2011 or even January 2012. Does this say anything about how slowly the firm is bouncing back? Jenner did not defer anyone and I have not heard anything about Skadden.

Whoa. Sidley Chicago's partner-associate ratio is unbelievable - it's practically 1:1 and they don't have non-equity partners.

Skadden's ratio is par for the course for most biglaw. Their Chicago office has not resorted to any layoffs (including staff layoffs), but looking at the Nalp data makes me wonder - what happened to the summer class of 2009? 33 SA's, 33 offers, but only 18 is expected to begin work in 2010. Did the remaining 15 take part in the Sidebar program, and if so, are they coming back in 2011/2012?

Edit: It looks like the 18 people starting in 2010 are, in fact, the voluntary deferral people from SA class of 2008. I guess the entirety of SA class of 2009 has been deferred and are starting in 2011.

[Anonymous User]

33 SA's, 33 offers, but only 18 is expected to begin work in 2010. Did the remaining 15 take part in the Sidebar program, and if so, are they coming back in 2011/2012?

You know people do clerkships right?

[Anonymous User]

33 SA's, 33 offers, but only 18 is expected to begin work in 2010. Did the remaining 15 take part in the Sidebar program, and if so, are they coming back in 2011/2012?

You know people do clerkships right?

Nalp has data on post-clerkship employment as well. It looks like 2-3 post-clerkship people start in that office every year, so even assuming that the firm does not hire straight out of clerkships (which it does), there is a large gap which remains to be explained. See my edit above.

[Anonymous User]

OP, do you have offers from all those firms? Because that looks exactly like my callback season to a tee and the fact that I've heard zip from all of them frightens me - especially if you have offers on the table.

i have offers from 3 of them at this point.

Would you mind sharing which ones? I'm guessing that you've got Katten, Winston and Schiff - it seems like they've mobilized their offer mills.[/quote]

correct[/quote]

If you don't mind telling, when did you get your winston and katten offers, and who were the interviewing partners?[/quote]

Would you mind sharing your stats?


I got both offers on Thursday of this week. Winston was TB, Katten was AS.[/quote]

[Anonymous User]

Would the person with the Katten offer mind sharing their stats?

[rayiner]

The firms that aren't McDermott and Winston had offer rates around 50%. I'd take McDermott in your situation.

[Anonymous User]

The firms that aren't McDermott and Winston had offer rates around 50%. I'd take McDermott in your situation.

Why McDermott over Winston?

[Anonymous User]

Would the person with the Katten offer mind sharing their stats?

top 30-40% at U of C.

[Anonymous User]

I'd take Sidley, Kirkland, or Mayer over any of them probably.

Is this a joke?

No they are good firms that are hiring more people. I know people that got offers at these three that struck out at the five listed. So it is still relevant information. In fact, I am one of those people.

you are an idiot in addition to being a douche. don't you think OP would have mentioned them if he/she had gotten offers/CBs there? but i forget that people like you constantly feel the need to proclaim to the world how great they are.

This would make sense if I had managed to land CBs at at least one of these firms. But I interviewed t all of them and completely stuck out. So I don't see how this would be tooting my own horn, especially since I did not even reveal this info until pressed. Just adding to the debate dude, relax. These threads are useful for more than the OP, at least in my experience on this magnificent site.

[lilybbloom]

If you had been trying to help people other than OP, you would have phrased your post that way and explained that you didn't have offers from the other firms. The way you phrased your post was obnoxious to say the least.

[lilybbloom]

you are an idiot in addition to being a douche. don't you think OP would have mentioned them if he/she had gotten offers/CBs there? but i forget that people like you constantly feel the need to proclaim to the world how great they are.

This is not what the anonymous feature is for.

that's fine, I think some people would agree with me.

[Anonymous User]

33 SA's, 33 offers, but only 18 is expected to begin work in 2010. Did the remaining 15 take part in the Sidebar program, and if so, are they coming back in 2011/2012?

You know people do clerkships right?

I have spoken with a few people who have been deferred. Sidley pressured a certain number of people to "voluntarily" defer although they didn't actually want to.

And I would not go to Skadden...have you met the people there? I would choose between Sidley and Jenner - they have better presence in Chicago

[Anonymous User]

Winston with McDermott a distant second. I wouldn't even consider Schiff or Katten.

[Anonymous User]

Where does Kirkland rank in all of this? The partnership prospects aren't as good at K&E as they are at Sidley, at least based on the partner:associate numbers, and K&E has the sweatshop reputation for a reason...

[Anonymous User]

Winston with McDermott a distant second. I wouldn't even consider Schiff or Katten.

May I ask why? Katten, like Winston, pays market, and based on other comments on this thread seems to have a good reputation for work/life balance. Why would you discount it?

[Person]

Winston with McDermott a distant second. I wouldn't even consider Schiff or Katten.

May I ask why? Katten, like Winston, pays market, and based on other comments on this thread seems to have a good reputation for work/life balance. Why would you discount it?

NALP has Katten paying $145,000, with Winston at market. Not that this is a good reason to pass up Katten. 15k is nothing if you really like the Katten people, and I have heard good things about Katten people.

[Anonymous User]

Winston with McDermott a distant second. I wouldn't even consider Schiff or Katten.

May I ask why? Katten, like Winston, pays market, and based on other comments on this thread seems to have a good reputation for work/life balance. Why would you discount it?

NALP has Katten paying $145,000, with Winston at market. Not that this is a good reason to pass up Katten. 15k is nothing if you really like the Katten people, and I have heard good things about Katten people.

Katten is bumping up to $160k.

[Anonymous User]

Winston with McDermott a distant second. I wouldn't even consider Schiff or Katten.

May I ask why? Katten, like Winston, pays market, and based on other comments on this thread seems to have a good reputation for work/life balance. Why would you discount it?

NALP has Katten paying $145,000, with Winston at market. Not that this is a good reason to pass up Katten. 15k is nothing if you really like the Katten people, and I have heard good things about Katten people.

Katten is bumping up to $160k.

I can confirm $160, as well.

[rayiner]

Where does Kirkland rank in all of this? The partnership prospects aren't as good at K&E as they are at Sidley, at least based on the partner:associate numbers, and K&E has the sweatshop reputation for a reason...

You're not going to make partner at either firm. You should be more worried about getting no-offered or laid off, and Kirkland is overall far more healthy than Sidley.

[PiersonVee]

Where does Kirkland rank in all of this? The partnership prospects aren't as good at K&E as they are at Sidley, at least based on the partner:associate numbers, and K&E has the sweatshop reputation for a reason...

You're not going to make partner at either firm. You should be more worried about getting no-offered or laid off, and Kirkland is overall far more healthy than Sidley.

+1