Sidley vs. Akin Gump vs. Milbank vs. Skadden (All NY) Forum

[tree123]

I have received offers from all three of the first firms I have listed and I have my callback at Skadden next week. Please vote and then post which firm you would choose just between Sidley, Akin Gump, and Milbank.

I would preferably like to practice litigation, although I don't know enough yet to say in which field specifically. I know that Akin is primarily funds based in New York, that Sidley's office is not as prestigious in litigation as their Chicago office (so don't say that over and over again) and that Milbank has a very solid reputation in Bankruptcy and although a V30 compared to Sidley's placement as a V15, is considered part of the New York elite firms.

[Anonymous User]

Not sure what you mean by Akin Gump is primarily funds based in NYC. I felt like one of the things I enjoyed about the firm was that it had a broad litigation practice that allowed you to touch everything, except employment and IP, which are their own separate group. Also, one thing to keep in mind is that AG has a free market system, so you get to pick your own assignments as an associate, which, while making it tougher to get work if you're shy, does give you more control over your career. Not sure what the other three firms are like in that regard.

I'd think that Skadden would be your best bet based on brand name.

[Anonymous User]

Sidley NY's lit group was booming this past summer - tons of work to go around. The people making the highest hours in the office are almost always litigators. The NY group isn't as varied and doesn't have as many chambers-ranked guys as the Chicago group, but definitely pulls in its own clients and overall does different but interesting kinds of work (very good white collar and FCPA practices, for example). I don't know that I would take it over Skadden, but in NY it's overall as well as or better regarded than any of the other firms you listed (look, for example, at the Vault rankings for NYC specifically) - the thing is, the office itself is smaller and keeps a smaller summer class than firms that practice more exclusively in NYC (someone like Cahill, Cadwalader, or Milbank), so you don't hear about it as often anecdotally from law school peers. Really good pro bono opportunities in the NY lit practice, too. Also, note that Sidley also has a stunning appellate practice in DC, so getting a foot in the door now if you plan to clerk could be a good long-term decision.

[DrGuano]

Sidley NY's lit group was booming this past summer - tons of work to go around. The people making the highest hours in the office are almost always litigators. The NY group isn't as varied and doesn't have as many chambers-ranked guys as the Chicago group, but definitely pulls in its own clients and overall does different but interesting kinds of work (very good white collar and FCPA practices, for example). I don't know that I would take it over Skadden, but in NY it's overall as well as or better regarded than any of the other firms you listed (look, for example, at the Vault rankings for NYC specifically) - the thing is, the office itself is smaller and keeps a smaller summer class than firms that practice more exclusively in NYC (someone like Cahill, Cadwalader, or Milbank), so you don't hear about it as often anecdotally from law school peers. Really good pro bono opportunities in the NY lit practice, too. Also, note that Sidley also has a stunning appellate practice in DC, so getting a foot in the door now if you plan to clerk could be a good long-term decision.

Vault rankings are worthless in making decisions. Dewey was 37 and ranked the 9th best law firm to work for. If you're making decisions based on rankings, look at RPL and RPL by office.

[Anonymous User]

Sidley NY's lit group was booming this past summer - tons of work to go around. The people making the highest hours in the office are almost always litigators. The NY group isn't as varied and doesn't have as many chambers-ranked guys as the Chicago group, but definitely pulls in its own clients and overall does different but interesting kinds of work (very good white collar and FCPA practices, for example). I don't know that I would take it over Skadden, but in NY it's overall as well as or better regarded than any of the other firms you listed (look, for example, at the Vault rankings for NYC specifically) - the thing is, the office itself is smaller and keeps a smaller summer class than firms that practice more exclusively in NYC (someone like Cahill, Cadwalader, or Milbank), so you don't hear about it as often anecdotally from law school peers. Really good pro bono opportunities in the NY lit practice, too. Also, note that Sidley also has a stunning appellate practice in DC, so getting a foot in the door now if you plan to clerk could be a good long-term decision.

Vault rankings are worthless in making decisions. Dewey was 37 and ranked the 9th best law firm to work for. If you're making decisions based on rankings, look at RPL and RPL by office.

Anon from above. Nobody said to make a decision based on rankings or to rely only on Vault rankings - I was just saying offhand (and I think it's clear that that was a very minor point in what I was trying to make an overall helpful post) that Sidley's NY office is regarded in the ballpark of the better firms in NYC, which Chambers, Vault, etc. bear out. Anyway, OP should be making a decision based on fit - in terms of both personality and practice strengths, even if the best fit means not going to Sidley.

And by the way, Dewey's management structure being in shambles has nothing to do with the quality of the work they did. Kind of a low blow to the lawyers who were doing good work there to imply otherwise.

[Anonymous User]

what's rpl?

[tree123]

Can someone, anyone, give a good comparison of Sidley v. Milbank?

I really really really enjoyed the people at Milbank. I thought they were absolutely great - drinking the kool aid way too soon, I know, but I thought that they were incredibly transparent, helpful, and decent human beings. Given this, is Sidley's litigation department enough of a booster beyond fit?

[Anonymous User]

Milbank has a great litigation practice, especially their bankruptcy practice. There wouldn't be anything wrong with choosing it over Sidley, although in this situation the best thing to do would be to do second looks at both and actually talk to juniors and mid-levels about what their day-to-day entails and what kinds of matters they've been working on (especially because in a lot of firms, the lit and corporate practices attract different kinds of people, so you might not be getting the truest sense of the culture you'd be embedded in unless you talk to people from the practice you'd want to work in). If you felt like Milbank was the right fit, go for it.

Sidley runs the gamut in its financial-oriented corporate practices (investment funds, debt/equity, structured finance, securitization) and probably has a broader practice overall on the corporate side (decent insurance, M&A, and real estate practices, plus the above financial practices). Its litigation work is less oriented toward the general commercial stuff and more oriented toward securities, white collar, and cross-border things.

In terms of personality, it seems like Milbank has more of a work-hard-play-hard reputation, while Sidley is more buttoned up, but both of those are probably stereotypes to at least some degree. That being said, on the "decent human being" front, Sidley is known for focusing hard on fit during the interview process and has a reputation for being very teamwork-oriented and for avoiding the backstabbing types (both in terms of partners and associates) - and this isn't to say that Milbank isn't the same way; more so that you don't have to worry about Sidley being a shark tank, either.

[cdbanana]

what's rpl?

RPL = revenue per lawyer. See http://www.americanlawyer.com/PubArticl ... Am_Law_200

[Renzo]

I'm a newborn litigator, and I voted for Skadden. They do good litigation work, I like the people I know who work there, and it's got more brand-power than the others. Milbank is full of nerds, but they do have some pretty good litigators and big cases. Sidley and Akin Gump aren't really litigation shops.