What is Chicago market known for? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Transactional is to NYC as ____ is to chicago?

Bankruptcy? Transactional as well? If so, any particular kind?

[DoveBodyWash]

eh it's not like transactional can ONLY be to NYC. As a major market Chicago has its fair share of litigation. Private Equity is historically much more of a midwestern thing...lots of struggling manufacturers being bought up by PE funds...a lot of midwestern banks developed PE arms that ended up spinning off into their own thing etc.. But with technology being what it is, i don't think it's possible to package markets up into neat little boxes. Lots of Chicago offices work on deals that run through NYC or other markets. I know that Chicago is hard to generalize compared to places like LA (hollywood duh), SF/SV (tech start-ups), NYC (wall street), Texas (energy), DC (regulatory). But it's a large market and does a lot of across-the-board work.

[Anonymous User]

eh it's not like transactional can ONLY be to NYC. As a major market Chicago has its fair share of litigation. Private Equity is historically much more of a midwestern thing...lots of struggling manufacturers being bought up by PE funds...a lot of midwestern banks developed PE arms that ended up spinning off into their own thing etc.. But with technology being what it is, i don't think it's possible to package markets up into neat little boxes. Lots of Chicago offices work on deals that run through NYC or other markets. I know that Chicago is hard to generalize compared to places like LA (hollywood duh), SF/SV (tech start-ups), NYC (wall street), Texas (energy), DC (regulatory). But it's a large market and does a lot of across-the-board work.

Thinking about trying to lateral there after a few years so trying to get a feel for what experience would be sought out. So seems like transactional, maybe specifically PE, would be a good bet?

[DoveBodyWash]

eh it's not like transactional can ONLY be to NYC. As a major market Chicago has its fair share of litigation. Private Equity is historically much more of a midwestern thing...lots of struggling manufacturers being bought up by PE funds...a lot of midwestern banks developed PE arms that ended up spinning off into their own thing etc.. But with technology being what it is, i don't think it's possible to package markets up into neat little boxes. Lots of Chicago offices work on deals that run through NYC or other markets. I know that Chicago is hard to generalize compared to places like LA (hollywood duh), SF/SV (tech start-ups), NYC (wall street), Texas (energy), DC (regulatory). But it's a large market and does a lot of across-the-board work.

Thinking about trying to lateral there after a few years so trying to get a feel for what experience would be sought out. So seems like transactional, maybe specifically PE, would be a good bet?

haha your guess is just as good as mine, i'm only a 2L that's mostly parroting back what Chicago firms have told him during callbacks

ETA: My best guess, i think litigation is probably always sought-after. But once you start talking about transactional groups then it's probably very firm-dependent. Probably easier to get to KE if you have PE/Restructuring experience....Maybe McDermott too since i know they're trying to bulk up their PE group...Securities/Public M&A for Sidley maybe? Structured finance and Tax Controversy seem to be strong at Mayer Brown...Complex litigation for Dechert....

[Anonymous User]

Got it, so no simple answer like "transactional" for NY or "regulatory" for DC?

[Anonymous User]

Tears and disappointment. Provincialism. "Large" SA classes that top out at 35.

/not from CHI and butthurt how insular the market is
//V25 secure though

[Anonymous User]

Bankruptcy is not to Chicago. Bankruptcy is to NY with the exception of Kirkland (who also has an office in NY).

[Anonymous User]

Bankruptcy is not to Chicago. Bankruptcy is to NY with the exception of Kirkland (who also has an office in NY).

Very much this. 7th Circuit ruling in Kmart basically knocked Chicago out as a major bankruptcy center. NY and Wilmington are where it's at.

[Anonymous User]

Bankruptcy is not to Chicago. Bankruptcy is to NY with the exception of Kirkland (who also has an office in NY).

Very much this. 7th Circuit ruling in Kmart basically knocked Chicago out as a major bankruptcy center. NY and Wilmington are where it's at.

Not true. Kmart killed 7th circuit as a jurisdiction but not Chicago as a restructuring center. There is a ton of great bankruptcy work being done out of Chicago, they just fly into NY / Philly (to Wilmington) for hearings. Sprayregen is still based in Chicago, Skadden still has a strong Chicago-based restructuring practice. The reason Chicago persists as a bankruptcy center is that the Lazard group that does the banking work for many of the big debtors cases is based out of Chicago, and that group throws some work to Chicago lawyers.

[Anonymous User]

Bankruptcy is not to Chicago. Bankruptcy is to NY with the exception of Kirkland (who also has an office in NY).

Very much this. 7th Circuit ruling in Kmart basically knocked Chicago out as a major bankruptcy center. NY and Wilmington are where it's at.

Not true. Kmart killed 7th circuit as a jurisdiction but not Chicago as a restructuring center. There is a ton of great bankruptcy work being done out of Chicago, they just fly into NY / Philly (to Wilmington) for hearings. Sprayregen is still based in Chicago, Skadden still has a strong Chicago-based restructuring practice. The reason Chicago persists as a bankruptcy center is that the Lazard group that does the banking work for many of the big debtors cases is based out of Chicago, and that group throws some work to Chicago lawyers.

So... Chicago lawyers sometimes get staffed on work really happening in NY/DE, therefore it's still a "major bankruptcy center"? No. There are just some lucky Chi BK lawyers getting cross-staffed on NY-centric matters.

[Anonymous User]

Bankruptcy is not to Chicago. Bankruptcy is to NY with the exception of Kirkland (who also has an office in NY).

Very much this. 7th Circuit ruling in Kmart basically knocked Chicago out as a major bankruptcy center. NY and Wilmington are where it's at.

Not true. Kmart killed 7th circuit as a jurisdiction but not Chicago as a restructuring center. There is a ton of great bankruptcy work being done out of Chicago, they just fly into NY / Philly (to Wilmington) for hearings. Sprayregen is still based in Chicago, Skadden still has a strong Chicago-based restructuring practice. The reason Chicago persists as a bankruptcy center is that the Lazard group that does the banking work for many of the big debtors cases is based out of Chicago, and that group throws some work to Chicago lawyers.

So... Chicago lawyers sometimes get staffed on work really happening in NY/DE, therefore it's still a "major bankruptcy center"? No. There are just some lucky Chi BK lawyers getting cross-staffed on NY-centric matters.

Are you a bankruptcy lawyer? No? Good. I am.

The preeminent bankruptcy lawyer right now is probably Jamie Sprayregen. He is in Chicago.

The preemininent restructuring banker right now is probably David Kurtz. He is in Chicago.

This is not a matter of "cross-staffing". Chicago was, and remains, a center for restructuring work, and will probably be so as long as K&E is based out of Chicago and Lazard's restructuring group is based out of Chicago.

[Anonymous User]

Are you a bankruptcy lawyer?

Yes.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting push to sell Chicago as the restructuring capital of the world on account of Sprayregen splitting his time between there and NY. The practice does exist there, but it's just as you describe, limited to a couple of shops and still inexorably tied to NY and DE.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting push to sell Chicago as the restructuring capital of the world on account of Sprayregen splitting his time between there and NY. The practice does exist there, but it's just as you describe, limited to a couple of shops and still inexorably tied to NY and DE.

It's not the restructuring capital of the world, but it's clearly the third biggest restructuring center and the only place outside of NY and DE with debtor practices that can take on big cases. (Arguably, I guess, some of the satellite offices of Jones Day would count here too.) And I say this as a bankruptcy lawyer with no affiliation with Chicago whatsoever.

[Anonymous User]

I guess I saw Sprayregen/K&E Chicago/restructuring as more of a Lauria/W&C Miami/Chs 11 and 15 analogue, i.e. a satellite serving NY rather than a standalone practice. My bad.

[Anonymous User]

Transactional is to NYC as ____ is to chicago?

Bankruptcy? Transactional as well? If so, any particular kind?

Reasonably sophisticated practices at a less ridiculous cost of living?

[Anonymous User]

This thread was not supposed to be about bankruptcy. I just for some reason thought Chi did a lot of it.

This thread is supposed to be about what Chi is known for.

-OP

[Anonymous User]

deep dish pizza and the greatest basketball player of all time.

[baal hadad]

Criminal law

[Mal Reynolds]

Annoying OPs.

[jselson]

Criminal law

I was about to say White Collar.

[DELG]

This thread was not supposed to be about bankruptcy. I just for some reason thought Chi did a lot of it.

This thread is supposed to be about what Chi is known for.

-OP

I mean, what are you really looking for. Chicago does all the same work done in other major markets, but there are markets that do everything that Chicago does, better. There is no practice that Chicago does better than DC or NYC.

[Anonymous User]

This thread was not supposed to be about bankruptcy. I just for some reason thought Chi did a lot of it.

This thread is supposed to be about what Chi is known for.

-OP

I mean, what are you really looking for. Chicago does all the same work done in other major markets, but there are markets that do everything that Chicago does, better. There is no practice that Chicago does better than DC or NYC.

I mean, exactly that.

I pretty much to my answer a few posts ago, but when this thread jumped the shark and turned into a fight about bankruptcy I figured I would try to salvage it in the event someone had something useful to say.

[Mal Reynolds]

I pretty much to my answer a few posts ago,

[DELG]

if you got your answer, wtf do you care if the conversation naturally flows in other directions, you pinhead

why do people HATE it when threads they start, but no longer have any use for, address some other topic