Skadden hours? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all,

I got offer from Skadden. Just wondering what their hours are like for litigation associates or corporate associates. Is there a billable requirement? What do junior associates average? Is 2000 the norm?

[mu13ski]

Dude, have you heard of google?

http://www.chambers-associate.com/Law/F ... ure/3656#5

[igo2northwestern]

This may be relevant to your interests.

http://abovethelaw.com/2011/06/in-re-th ... associate/

[Mal Reynolds]

An associate died from overworking herself. As far as anecdata goes, that's a bad one.

[Anonymous User]

Yes I have red chambers...not awfully informative. I'm assuming I'll need to bill more than 1800 at any top NY firm.

[oblig.lawl.ref]

I'm just gonna throw out there (3L, not associate) that it's incredibly hard to say how many hours one works at any firm. It varies wildly based on practice group, how many matters you're on, who you're working with, and what the legal market is like that day/week/month/year.

[Anonymous User]

Alright. How about this -- please state

1. Practice group
2. Office Location
3. Hours

[igo2northwestern]

An associate died from overworking herself. As far as anecdata goes, that's a bad one.

K

[DELG]

It completely depends on the attorneys you're working for and your matters. It could vary wildly between associates in the same group at the same firm. There's really no use trying to compare big firms. The strokes are too broad. And you have little control over who you end up working for and how your matters end up shaking out.

[Anonymous User]

As an associate, I'll advise you that you have the wrong focus. It is generally better to have more hours, because it means more people like working with you and you're being staffed on more matters and gaining more experience, except it's not good to have TOO many hours, and its not good to have a ton of hours if its repetitive or uninteresting work, which is a roundabout way of saying there are folks billing 2400-2600 in fantastic situtations and folks billing 1800 who are basically being fucked by their firms and everywhere in between.

Honestly, hours is not something you should be thinking about. You have very little control over it other than to do the best work possible and hope the right people (i.e., people you enjoy working with) notice.

[Anonymous User]

What does it mean that people billing 1800 are "being fucked by their firms"?--and how does this apply to skadden? If I'm a junior tax associate, should I be worried about just billing 1800?

[DoveBodyWash]

1800 is low even for "lifestyle" firms is it not? Skadden is not the place to go if you're looking to only bill 1800 hours

[Anonymous User]

I had a callback at Skadden's Wilmington office and the recruiter told me that the averaged billed was about 1800-1900. I wonder if she just straight lied to me, or if that was including stub years or something shady. I can't imagine that's accurate.

[mr.hands]

You are insane if you think you're billing anything less than 2,000. It'll be way higher.

Skadden doesn't have a minimum billable hours requirement because you aren't going to leave your office.

[2014]

What does it mean that people billing 1800 are "being fucked by their firms"?--and how does this apply to skadden? If I'm a junior tax associate, should I be worried about just billing 1800?

You will probably bill around 1800 as a tax associate but only because you will be on the hook for hundreds of hours of CLE type non-billable stuff that is expected of all tax people. Corporate and lit both have higher Time spent in the office: Hours billed ratios than tax. Doesn't mean you won't still be working the same hours that your corporate peers billing 2800 are.

[JusticeHarlan]

What does it mean that people billing 1800 are "being fucked by their firms"?--and how does this apply to skadden? If I'm a junior tax associate, should I be worried about just billing 1800?

Specialty folks (tax, ERISA, HSR, etc.) will tend to bill fewer hours. You'll probably be billed out at a higher rate to compensate, especially as you get more senior (but that doesn't mean you'll get a bonus if you're still below the hours threshold).

[FSK]

What does it mean that people billing 1800 are "being fucked by their firms"?--and how does this apply to skadden? If I'm a junior tax associate, should I be worried about just billing 1800?

Specialty folks (tax, ERISA, HSR, etc.) will tend to bill fewer hours. You'll probably be billed out at a higher rate to compensate, especially as you get more senior (but that doesn't mean you'll get a bonus if you're still below the hours threshold).

I know someone in the FDA group at a DC biglaw firm that has a pretty good QOL, even though the firm elsewhere is rough.

[Anonymous User]

What does it mean that people billing 1800 are "being fucked by their firms"?--and how does this apply to skadden? If I'm a junior tax associate, should I be worried about just billing 1800?

If you don't get enough work, you're not developing skills and experience and getting opportunities to work with lots of different people. Of course, the same can be true if you're billing 2700 if they give you the same shit over and over.

1800 hrs/yr and getting "the talk" at the end of year two with no meaningful marketable skills is not a good outcome.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry if I misunderstand but isnt 2 years of 1800-1900 a steal? You get the skadden brand on your resume and presumably some important work experience, without having to work to death?

[Anonymous User]

To the person who talked to the Delaware office, I don't think you were lied to. I have a friend that's a 5th year there who doesn't work crazy hours, and he's doing deal work. I think most people in that office get in around 10 and leave around 6:30, although they sometimes log in later from home. But overall, Delaware is a pretty sweet gig from what I've heard.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry if I misunderstand but isnt 2 years of 1800-1900 a steal? You get the skadden brand on your resume and presumably some important work experience, without having to work to death?

You make it sound like it's easy to get another job as a second or third year just because you have Skadden on your resume.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry if I misunderstand but isnt 2 years of 1800-1900 a steal? You get the skadden brand on your resume and presumably some important work experience, without having to work to death?

You make it sound like it's easy to get another job as a second or third year just because you have Skadden on your resume.

Same Anon here. Yes that is precisely my impression. Is that wrong? I mean say I do 2 years of capital markets at 1900 hours and then look to go in-house or to a smaller firm in a secondary market. Isn't that very doable?--precisely because I'll have Skadden on my resume?

[DELG]

(Works around the clock)
(Rationalizes it by saying people who worked less are the ones getting fucked)

[Cogburn87]

(Works around the clock)
(Rationalizes it by saying people who worked less are the ones getting fucked)

It's that extra 600 hours of doc review that really provides you with the EXPERIENCE and RAW SKILL needed to excel beyond those poor shits billing only 1900 hours.

[DELG]

If you put downtime to good use, you're almost certainly better off than people with crazy billables as a junior. The best lawyers I know do a TON of professional reading.