Skadden LA vs. Latham LA Forum

[Anonymous User]

Title says it all. Interest is in corporate transactional work (leaning M&A but not positive). Especially interested in any insight regarding differences in office culture/dynamics/etc. but all relevant info is relevant.

Thanks all.

[Anonymous User]

I got the impression that Latham's other offices were more integrated and as a result you were afforded way more flexibility (i.e., start in LA but move down to Orange County because you wanna do inversions and live in the OC). Could be a marketing gimmick though, I have no idea. I really, really enjoyed my Latham LA CB though and I get the impression that you will have much better institutional support starting in Latham's LA office as opposed to Skadden's LA office.

[WhirledWorld]

If Chambers ranks them both in band 1 for NorCal/SoCal M&A, I guess your decision should entirely come down to fit. Unless you're interested in PE M&A -- then go with Skadden -- or VC -- then go with Latham.

http://www.chambersandpartners.com/1602 ... torial/5/1

[rpupkin]

I really, really enjoyed my Latham LA CB though and I get the impression that you will have much better institutional support starting in Latham's LA office as opposed to Skadden's LA office.

I haven't worked at either firm, but I seriously doubt that Latham has "much better institutional support" than Skadden, in LA or elsewhere. In any event, I don't know how one could make a meaningful comparison of institutional support based on a frickin callback.

[PvblivsScipio]

and live in the OC

Don't call it that.

[Anonymous User]

Both are band 1 in pretty much all transactional practices, so it will really come down to fit. I chose Latham because I loved everyone I met.

[Anonymous User]

I really, really enjoyed my Latham LA CB though and I get the impression that you will have much better institutional support starting in Latham's LA office as opposed to Skadden's LA office.

I haven't worked at either firm, but I seriously doubt that Latham has "much better institutional support" than Skadden, in LA or elsewhere. In any event, I don't know how one could make a meaningful comparison of institutional support based on a frickin callback.

Let me clarify. Latham's office in LA is nearly double the size of Skadden's. The Skadden LA office felt tiny to me. For what it's worth that may be because I received my Skadden offer through Skadden NYC which is just an entirely different beast on its own. I was visiting the Skadden LA office to check things out and weigh the possibility of splitting my summer there. I'm not 100% familiar with how Skadden is structured, but I get the impression that Skadden's separate offices operate as their own profit centers (as opposed to Latham who claims that all profits are shared across all offices). In any case, I felt like the Skadden NYC office has a big swinging dick compared to Skadden's LA office whereas I felt like there wasn't a meaningful difference between Latham's LA office and their NYC office in terms of inter-office politics.

So by institutional support I meant that I'd feel like a Latham LA associate would feel closer to Latham generally than a Skadden LA associate would feel towards Skadden generally. Obviously my own opinion that's based off just a callback and a few second looks and I wouldn't make a decision based solely on this alone but this is my 2 cents.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks for the replies.

Can anyone speak to the difference in office cultures? I know Skadden LA gets an intense reputation, but I feel like biglaw is biglaw to some extent and that the reputation that precedes the office might be overblown. Might.

Also, as far as both longevity at the firm and options afterwards are concerned, are the two about equal?

Also curious how the feel is at Skadden in terms of being subordinate to NY to some extent.

Hard to tell any of this from a callback, honestly.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks for the replies.

Can anyone speak to the difference in office cultures? I know Skadden LA gets an intense reputation, but I feel like biglaw is biglaw to some extent and that the reputation that precedes the office might be overblown. Might.

Also, as far as both longevity at the firm and options afterwards are concerned, are the two about equal?

Also curious how the feel is at Skadden in terms of being subordinate to NY to some extent.

Hard to tell any of this from a callback, honestly.

I'm the anon who will be summering at Latham LA this upcoming summer. From what I can tell (obviously I can't be 100% sure) the general culture is very outgoing and social. It appears to be a work-hard, play-hard sort of deal, and the firm very much encourages "group bonding" sorts of things. For example, all Latham summers from all over the world meet for 4 days at a hotel in Beverly Hills for a sort of convention-type thing. During my callback one of the associates said that she sometimes came in to the office even when she didn't need to just so she could see all of her friends. I personally met over 10 people who work at Latham (both inside and outside of the formal interview process) and liked literally every single one. I also know a summer associate from last summer who really enjoyed everything about the firm. Obviously I am biased, but I am pretty stoked to be working there next summer.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Interesting info and confirms previous thoughts on Latham's office culture.

For those saying Skadden, what is the rationale?

[Anonymous User]

If Chambers ranks them both in band 1 for NorCal/SoCal M&A, I guess your decision should entirely come down to fit. Unless you're interested in PE M&A -- then go with Skadden -- or VC -- then go with Latham.

http://www.chambersandpartners.com/1602 ... torial/5/1

I may be completely fucking up, but aren't Latham and Skadden both in Band 2 for PE M&A?

[PvblivsScipio]

OP here. Thanks for the replies.

Can anyone speak to the difference in office cultures? I know Skadden LA gets an intense reputation, but I feel like biglaw is biglaw to some extent and that the reputation that precedes the office might be overblown. Might.

Also, as far as both longevity at the firm and options afterwards are concerned, are the two about equal?

Also curious how the feel is at Skadden in terms of being subordinate to NY to some extent.

Hard to tell any of this from a callback, honestly.

I'm the anon who will be summering at Latham LA this upcoming summer. From what I can tell (obviously I can't be 100% sure) the general culture is very outgoing and social. It appears to be a work-hard, play-hard sort of deal, and the firm very much encourages "group bonding" sorts of things. For example, all Latham summers from all over the world meet for 4 days at a hotel in Beverly Hills for a sort of convention-type thing. During my callback one of the associates said that she sometimes came in to the office even when she didn't need to just so she could see all of her friends. I personally met over 10 people who work at Latham (both inside and outside of the formal interview process) and liked literally every single one. I also know a summer associate from last summer who really enjoyed everything about the firm. Obviously I am biased, but I am pretty stoked to be working there next summer.

lol you're gonna get rocked hard if you think that's how associates are treated.

[Cobretti]

and live in the OC

Don't call it that.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks for the replies.

Can anyone speak to the difference in office cultures? I know Skadden LA gets an intense reputation, but I feel like biglaw is biglaw to some extent and that the reputation that precedes the office might be overblown. Might.

Also, as far as both longevity at the firm and options afterwards are concerned, are the two about equal?

Also curious how the feel is at Skadden in terms of being subordinate to NY to some extent.

Hard to tell any of this from a callback, honestly.

I'm the anon who will be summering at Latham LA this upcoming summer. From what I can tell (obviously I can't be 100% sure) the general culture is very outgoing and social. It appears to be a work-hard, play-hard sort of deal, and the firm very much encourages "group bonding" sorts of things. For example, all Latham summers from all over the world meet for 4 days at a hotel in Beverly Hills for a sort of convention-type thing. During my callback one of the associates said that she sometimes came in to the office even when she didn't need to just so she could see all of her friends. I personally met over 10 people who work at Latham (both inside and outside of the formal interview process) and liked literally every single one. I also know a summer associate from last summer who really enjoyed everything about the firm. Obviously I am biased, but I am pretty stoked to be working there next summer.

lol you're gonna get rocked hard if you think that's how associates are treated.

I never said I thought that was how associates are treated. I simply wanted to illustrate that it appears that they want to encourage camaraderie to an extent. Obviously I am going to be grinding at any biglaw firm. I am by no means ignorant of what lies ahead, I'd just like to spend long hours with people I like being around.

[Anonymous User]

So no thoughts at all on why anyone would take Skadden over Latham in LA?

I guess this forum skews towards NY so maybe no one has enough experience to say, but if there's any insight out there I'd love to hear it.

[Anonymous User]

So no thoughts at all on why anyone would take Skadden over Latham in LA?

I guess this forum skews towards NY so maybe no one has enough experience to say, but if there's any insight out there I'd love to hear it.

i think you hit the nail on the head there. they seem comparable enough that you should really be basing your decision on fit. do your second looks and pull the trigger, GL.

[rpupkin]

So no thoughts at all on why anyone would take Skadden over Latham in LA?

I guess this forum skews towards NY so maybe no one has enough experience to say, but if there's any insight out there I'd love to hear it.

I don't have an opinion on your decision, but I will share this: I know someone who got no-offered at Latham LA due to "fit." 2L grades were fine, work product was fine (or so she was told), but the firm didn't like her "performance" at social events. Maybe this kind of no-offer happens at Skadden (and other firms) as well, but I've only heard of it happening at Latham.

This is, of course, just an anecdote. But since you're hunting for reasons to take Skadden over Latham, you might want to look a little further into the possibility that Latham is more willing to no-offer SAs.

[Anonymous User]

So no thoughts at all on why anyone would take Skadden over Latham in LA?

I guess this forum skews towards NY so maybe no one has enough experience to say, but if there's any insight out there I'd love to hear it.

I don't have an opinion on your decision, but I will share this: I know someone who got no-offered at Latham LA due to "fit." 2L grades were fine, work product was fine (or so she was told), but the firm didn't like her "performance" at social events. Maybe this kind of no-offer happens at Skadden (and other firms) as well, but I've only heard of it happening at Latham.

This is, of course, just an anecdote. But since you're hunting for reasons to take Skadden over Latham, you might want to look a little further into the possibility that Latham is more willing to no-offer SAs.

Or straight up "Latham" people...meaning lay-off herds of attorneys like they did not too long ago. People have short memories it seems.

[KD35]

From meeting attorneys at each in interviews, Latham seemed like a better place to be for more outgoing people. Skadden LA seemed to fail at hiding the fact that their life completely sucks, which meant to me that they may not be as positive of people to be around as Latham LA.

TL;DR fit.

[Anonymous User]

I know someone who got no-offered at Latham LA due to "fit." . . . since you're hunting for reasons to take Skadden over Latham, you might want to look a little further into the possibility that Latham is more willing to no-offer SAs.

Curious about this. How long ago did the no-offer happen? Vault data for 2013 shows Latham as having offered 148/149, and Skadden 146/148.

[Anonymous User]

OP here.

Skadden people also struck me as pretty damn outgoing but maybe I just met the outgoing bunch. For what it's worth, I found the people I met at both firms near equally as social seeming.

Are hours/exit options theoretically the same? (my guess would be yes to both)

[Anonymous User]

So no thoughts at all on why anyone would take Skadden over Latham in LA?

I guess this forum skews towards NY so maybe no one has enough experience to say, but if there's any insight out there I'd love to hear it.

I don't have an opinion on your decision, but I will share this: I know someone who got no-offered at Latham LA due to "fit." 2L grades were fine, work product was fine (or so she was told), but the firm didn't like her "performance" at social events. Maybe this kind of no-offer happens at Skadden (and other firms) as well, but I've only heard of it happening at Latham.

This is, of course, just an anecdote. But since you're hunting for reasons to take Skadden over Latham, you might want to look a little further into the possibility that Latham is more willing to no-offer SAs.

Latham offered 100% this last summer

[Anonymous User]

OP here.

Skadden people also struck me as pretty damn outgoing but maybe I just met the outgoing bunch. For what it's worth, I found the people I met at both firms near equally as social seeming.

Are hours/exit options theoretically the same? (my guess would be yes to both)

I would imagine exit options are pretty much the same, though it could likely depend on specific clients of the firm. I have anecdotally heard that Skadden LA associates work atypically hard. However, I don't know how much anecdotal evidence really conforms to reality.

[Anonymous User]

OP here.

Skadden people also struck me as pretty damn outgoing but maybe I just met the outgoing bunch. For what it's worth, I found the people I met at both firms near equally as social seeming.

Are hours/exit options theoretically the same? (my guess would be yes to both)

I would imagine exit options are pretty much the same, though it could likely depend on specific clients of the firm. I have anecdotally heard that Skadden LA associates work atypically hard. However, I don't know how much anecdotal evidence really conforms to reality.

Interesting.

Thanks for the response.

[Anonymous User]

Any final thoughts?

Decision must be made tomorrow and so far it seems like Latham=better QOL, Skadden=better transactional work (to oversimplify).

Torn.

Munger is also in the mix.