DC Reg & Lit: Skadden v. Gibson Dunn v. Hogan v. Jenner & Block Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all!

I'm in the fortunate position of choosing between the DC offices of Skadden, Gibson Dunn, Hogan Lovells, and Jenner & Block and I was curious about what TLS's recommendation would be. I'm interested in regulatory work and litigation. In terms of exit options, I'm interested in government work. I liked all the people I met at these four firms, but I'm curious if you all have any insights into differences in office culture.

Thanks!

[Elston Gunn]

I'd say it depends a lot how strong your interest in regulatory work is. I'm sure you know Jenner DC is basically a lit boutique with a small government contracts group. It's one of the best places in DC to be a litigator (by reputation at least), but you wouldn't go there for regulatory. I'm not sure about Gibson, but the fact that I can't even tell you if they do any regulatory probably tells you something about their practice. Skadden and Hogan probably don't have the reputation for litigation that the first two do, but they have obviously have big, awesome regulatory practices and are perfectly fine for litigation too.

Basically, if you're actually sure you want to be a litigator, choose between Jenner and Gibson (and I'd say lean Jenner based on everything I've heard about how much better it is to be a litigator in a small shop). If you think you probably want to do something regulatory, pick whichever of Hogan or Skadden you like better. (My bias btw is that you should do regulatory. The more you talk to lit associates, the more awful it sounds, and regulatory seems a much more marketable and slightly more humane practice.)

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks for the input!

I'm leaning more toward the regulatory side and Skadden has the strongest practice group for the particular regulatory area I'm interested in, so that's feeling like the front-runner right now.

My one concern is that I've heard from a few attorneys that if you think you might be interested in litigation, it's good to get experience with it early on. That's been the main factor drawing me toward Gibson and, to a greater extent, Jenner (which seemed like a bit of a better fit in terms of office culture and political orientation).

[BRama]

Hi there. Congrats on some excellent options. Can I ask which regulatory practice you are interested in? I could advise you better if I knew that.

Elston's response was very good and in my experience accurate. One other thing to consider is that Jenner DC's office is much smaller than the others. This means that it will likely be much easier for you to do both regulatory and litigation at Jenner. At the same time, Jenner's regulatory practice is likely not as deep in your area of interest (but it would helpful to know what that is) because the office has fewer lawyers.