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How broad is K&E's free market system? For example, say someone is in their IP Litigation Practice Group. Would it be possible to obtain work assignments from the IP Transactional Practice Group? If so, and the work becomes more interesting, could the person get significant amounts of work assignments from the transactional group?

Doesn't work that way. It's free market within your group only. IP Lit is separate from IP trans, and IP trans is separate from the transactional group in general. You can't use it as a back door into a different group. If you want to switch groups, just talk to someone and see if it's possible, as that has definitely been done at K&E before.

Anonymous User wrote:Doesn't work that way. It's free market within your group only. IP Lit is separate from IP trans, and IP trans is separate from the transactional group in general. You can't use it as a back door into a different group. If you want to switch groups, just talk to someone and see if it's possible, as that has definitely been done at K&E before.

OP here. My problem is that both groups interest me. But thank you for the advice. I will at least ask the question to see how K&E responds.

If you are summering there, you should definitely ask if you can try assignments in both groups. There's no harm I think. Once you're an associate, it's harder to switch, although it's definitely been done.

As a summer associate, you can do work in any group. In fact, some groups will aggressively recruit you to work with them (restructuring and corporate were those groups when I was a summer). As a full time associate, it's free market within your group. If you want to work in another group, you'll usually need to do a formal switch depending on what the group is (i.e., I actually think the dividing line between lit and IP lit isn't so strong). Doing a formal switch isn't super difficult. There needs to be a need (and there's always good odds that there will be a need in the core groups), but I think IP transactions always has a need. You'll also need a partner in the other group to pull you through, but that's generally not difficult. Just get to know them as a summer and keep in touch. If they like you as a person and the work is there, they'll shepherd you through.

Yeah, as a summer you can (and should) do anything you want and try out a bunch of different types of work. If you want to try cap markets, debt work, ip lit, ip transactions, M&A, and restructuring, that's definitely something you could do.