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Which one would you choose and why? I have an interest in litigation, but I want a broad experience this summer. If I had to specialize, I would probably go with white collar. Liked the people at Skadden generally a little bit more than at S&C.

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S&C by a mile. If you want to do white collar, S&C has a ton of former AUSAs and a lot of their enforcement work is international, which is pretty cool.

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Greg Giraldo worked at Skadden and he left to make snide jokes but just died of a drug overdose. Thus, if YOU work at Skadden you might transition into a fun hobo lifestyle career but will ultimately succumb to high-end cocaine. Just saying. It's logic.

By this reasoning if you become a managing partner at Locke Lord, you will die of a heart attack in the office (which sounds even MORE likely than the drug hang-up).

animalcrkrs wrote:Greg Giraldo worked at Skadden and he left to make snide jokes but just died of a drug overdose. Thus, if YOU work at Skadden you might transition into a fun hobo lifestyle career but will ultimately succumb to high-end cocaine. Just saying. It's logic.

By this reasoning if you become a managing partner at Locke Lord, you will die of a heart attack in the office (which sounds even MORE likely than the drug hang-up).

lol WUT?!?


oh wait, yeah that makes sense.

I'm in pretty much exactly the same situation as OP, and am curious on more thoughts.

I had to make this exact decision and went with Skadden. Really I don't see where all the Skadden hate comes from. Last I checked that place was pretty awesome.

Honestly I didn't see a meaningful difference in the quality/quantity of work, offer prospects, exit opportunities, etc. All of that looks to be exactly what you think and what it should be. Where I did see a difference was in office culture. S&C looked much more formal, and I would think the probability of that being a better choice is probably directly proportional to how many pairs of cufflinks you own. Skadden just seemed to have more people I could see myself hanging out with, not that there will be time for that.

I recall reading a story about two associates competing for partnership at S&C. One was passed over because it was rumored he drove a motorcycle to work.

This was back in the 60s, though, but interesting nonetheless.

I've heard the location of the firms does make a difference. Skadden is right at Times Square, which can be overwhelming, while S&C is way downtown, where there aren't as many things to do.

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This may seem silly but location matters in terms of food options. The last thing you want is to worry about what to eat when you've been working so much.

I also liked skadden but mainly bc they threw extravagance at me. S&c did as well but to a lesser magnitude. At the end of the day there is no free lunch and the firm will find a way to make back all this money and more from you.

Crim wrote:I've heard the location of the firms does make a difference. Skadden is right at Times Square, which can be overwhelming, while S&C is way downtown, where there aren't as many things to do.

This was something that really worried me about choosing Skadden, because Times Square is awful. But Skadden is located just a little east of times square (between Broadway and 6th), so if you ride the F or anything that stops at 42nd St/Bryant Park, you can get into and out of work without going through any of the touristy stuff.