Wachtell litigation reputation Forum

(On Campus Interviews, Summer Associate positions, Firm Reviews, Tips, ...)
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Apr 23, 2017 11:29 pm

Can anyone in NYC biglaw speak to the reputation of Wachtell's litigation practice? How does it stack up in quality of work/exit opportunities when compared to more litigation-focused shops?

User avatar
rpupkin

Platinum
Posts: 5653
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 10:32 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by rpupkin » Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:00 am

Anonymous User wrote:Can anyone in NYC biglaw speak to the reputation of Wachtell's litigation practice? How does it stack up in quality of work/exit opportunities when compared to more litigation-focused shops?
Reputation and exit options are as good as or better than anywhere in NYC big law.

User avatar
quiver

Silver
Posts: 977
Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 6:46 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by quiver » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:05 am

rpupkin wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Can anyone in NYC biglaw speak to the reputation of Wachtell's litigation practice? How does it stack up in quality of work/exit opportunities when compared to more litigation-focused shops?
Reputation and exit options are as good as or better than anywhere in NYC big law.
Yeah, this.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:34 am

Does anyone know whether Wachtell has decent antitrust litigation group? I mean this as distinct from a purely corporate merger review advisory practice, which I know they have.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:36 am

Current employee, my impression is not really.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Nebby

Diamond
Posts: 31195
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:23 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Nebby » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:36 am

Is Yale a good law school?

User avatar
Dr. Nefario

Gold
Posts: 2866
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:07 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Dr. Nefario » Mon Apr 24, 2017 9:39 am

Nebby wrote:Is Yale a good law school?
Not if you wanna do health care transactions in the Georgia market.

User avatar
Lincoln

Silver
Posts: 1208
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:27 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Lincoln » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:10 am

rpupkin wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Can anyone in NYC biglaw speak to the reputation of Wachtell's litigation practice? How does it stack up in quality of work/exit opportunities when compared to more litigation-focused shops?
Reputation and exit options are as good as or better than anywhere in NYC big law.
This is true, but my impression of Wachtell's litigation group is that it focuses on a narrower practice area than some of its (arguable) Big Law peers like Cravath, PW, DPW or litigation boutiques like Patterson, Susman etc. The litigation group derives a lot of its work from the corporate group, so the litigation partners tend to focus on merger-related and white collar litigation. If you want a broader practice that includes, say, IP, products liability, antitrust litigation, or really anything that is not deal-derived litigation, Wachtell may not be the best place to be.

Caveat: I have not worked at Wachtell, but I have friends and former co-workers who do, and I worked at a firm that frequently goes up against them.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:44 am

Wachtell's litigation group is stellar, as you would expect. The conventional wisdom that they simply do merger litigation is ridiculous, as their litigation group does a ton of high impact securities litigation, derivative litigation, and commercial litigation. Their white collar practice is as good as it gets: in the past 6 months, several litigators have gone to SDNY, EDVA, NDCal, and CDCal for AUSA positions. If you can make it to year 7 or 8, another law firm will hire you as a partner if you don't make it at WLRK (which is nearly impossible in litigation).

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


User avatar
Lincoln

Silver
Posts: 1208
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:27 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Lincoln » Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:20 am

Anonymous User wrote:Wachtell's litigation group is stellar, as you would expect. The conventional wisdom that they simply do merger litigation is ridiculous, as their litigation group does a ton of high impact securities litigation, derivative litigation, and commercial litigation. Their white collar practice is as good as it gets: in the past 6 months, several litigators have gone to SDNY, EDVA, NDCal, and CDCal for AUSA positions. If you can make it to year 7 or 8, another law firm will hire you as a partner if you don't make it at WLRK (which is nearly impossible in litigation).
What are some (publicly available) examples of this? Just curious, because I never seem to hear anyone mention this (including at Wachtell recruiting events that I've been to).

Totally agree on the white collar point. Notably, I was told that the last round of hires at SDNY USAO were all from Wachtell.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 24, 2017 12:31 pm

They did the world trade center building litigation which was one of the most significant commercial lit disputes in NYC for a time.

canoe

New
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:30 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by canoe » Tue Apr 25, 2017 12:23 am

Anonymous User wrote:Wachtell's litigation group is stellar, as you would expect. The conventional wisdom that they simply do merger litigation is ridiculous, as their litigation group does a ton of high impact securities litigation, derivative litigation, and commercial litigation. Their white collar practice is as good as it gets: in the past 6 months, several litigators have gone to SDNY, EDVA, NDCal, and CDCal for AUSA positions. If you can make it to year 7 or 8, another law firm will hire you as a partner if you don't make it at WLRK (which is nearly impossible in litigation).
Why is that the case?

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 25, 2017 10:29 am

so if you were otherwise qualified (top school, good grades, good COA clerkship) and wanted to break into their litigation group, what would be the best practice group to pitch? just white collar and securities? any way to avoid pure securities? I would be more interested in merger litigation, antitrust, white collar, or commercial, TBH.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 25, 2017 11:19 am

Anonymous User wrote:so if you were otherwise qualified (top school, good grades, good COA clerkship) and wanted to break into their litigation group, what would be the best practice group to pitch? just white collar and securities? any way to avoid pure securities? I would be more interested in merger litigation, antitrust, white collar, or commercial, TBH.
The merger stuff is really handled by the same set of litigation associates. Other associates will pitch in if asked.

Mainly, there's white collar stuff, but impossible to make partner doing it, so these are generally associates who want to make the shift to AUSA. There's securities lit and shareholder litigation. If you're really really good you can make partner doing it.

Two main reasons why litigation associates don't make partner, in my opinion: (1) litigation at WLRK is not as profitable as the corporate work; and (2) even though litigators regularly bill 2800 hours, they aren't working nearly as hard as their corporate counterparts who are machines by necessity.

Edit: to break into WLRK lit group, just be smart, push back against the partners in your interviews, show that you have some ideas and value to add.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 25, 2017 11:24 am

Out of topic - but does Wachtell lit hire only people with clerkships under their belt?

User avatar
Pragmatic Gun

Silver
Posts: 1361
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:25 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Pragmatic Gun » Tue Apr 25, 2017 2:37 pm

Nebby wrote:Is Yale a good law school?
Tagging this thread to see the answer to this question.

User avatar
KissMyAxe

Bronze
Posts: 365
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:01 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by KissMyAxe » Tue Apr 25, 2017 2:54 pm

Pragmatic Gun wrote:
Nebby wrote:Is Yale a good law school?
Tagging this thread to see the answer to this question.
It's a flawed question. Yale's a good school, but the inclusion of the word law assumes that students learn law there. That is a gross misconception.

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...


Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Out of topic - but does Wachtell lit hire only people with clerkships under their belt?
No and law review is not required either, but if you're at WLRK in lit, your grades should be really high to where it is no question that you could clerk if you desired.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:52 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:so if you were otherwise qualified (top school, good grades, good COA clerkship) and wanted to break into their litigation group, what would be the best practice group to pitch? just white collar and securities? any way to avoid pure securities? I would be more interested in merger litigation, antitrust, white collar, or commercial, TBH.
The merger stuff is really handled by the same set of litigation associates. Other associates will pitch in if asked.

Mainly, there's white collar stuff, but impossible to make partner doing it, so these are generally associates who want to make the shift to AUSA. There's securities lit and shareholder litigation. If you're really really good you can make partner doing it.

Two main reasons why litigation associates don't make partner, in my opinion: (1) litigation at WLRK is not as profitable as the corporate work; and (2) even though litigators regularly bill 2800 hours, they aren't working nearly as hard as their corporate counterparts who are machines by necessity.

Edit: to break into WLRK lit group, just be smart, push back against the partners in your interviews, show that you have some ideas and value to add.
Don't they make a new litigation partner almost every year?

User avatar
Pragmatic Gun

Silver
Posts: 1361
Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 3:25 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Pragmatic Gun » Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:56 pm

KissMyAxe wrote:
Pragmatic Gun wrote:
Nebby wrote:Is Yale a good law school?
Tagging this thread to see the answer to this question.
It's a flawed question. Yale's a good school, but the inclusion of the word law assumes that students learn law there. That is a gross misconception.
He was being sarcastic doe

Nebby

Diamond
Posts: 31195
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2014 12:23 pm

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Nebby » Tue Apr 25, 2017 4:01 pm

Pragmatic Gun wrote:
KissMyAxe wrote:
Pragmatic Gun wrote:
Nebby wrote:Is Yale a good law school?
Tagging this thread to see the answer to this question.
It's a flawed question. Yale's a good school, but the inclusion of the word law assumes that students learn law there. That is a gross misconception.
He was being sarcastic doe
I believe so was Mr. Axe

Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.

Register now, it's still FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 25, 2017 4:02 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Out of topic - but does Wachtell lit hire only people with clerkships under their belt?
No and law review is not required either, but if you're at WLRK in lit, your grades should be really high to where it is no question that you could clerk if you desired.
can confirm neither LR nor clerkship is required for an offer, at least during OCI

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 25, 2017 4:36 pm

Can anyone comment about Wachtell's hiring after completing federal clerkships? Do they hire clerks who have not summered there? How hard is it to get—harder or easier than at OCI? Just curious!

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Apr 26, 2017 3:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Can anyone comment about Wachtell's hiring after completing federal clerkships? Do they hire clerks who have not summered there? How hard is it to get—harder or easier than at OCI? Just curious!
As a general matter, they rarely hire laterals. In recent years, they've hired laterals from firms and from clerkships, but generally its like 1-2 people a year. Its extremely difficult to get hired there as a lateral.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428125
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Wachtell litigation reputation

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Apr 26, 2017 5:04 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Can anyone comment about Wachtell's hiring after completing federal clerkships? Do they hire clerks who have not summered there? How hard is it to get—harder or easier than at OCI? Just curious!
As a general matter, they rarely hire laterals. In recent years, they've hired laterals from firms and from clerkships, but generally its like 1-2 people a year. Its extremely difficult to get hired there as a lateral.
are you really considered a 'lateral' coming off a clerkship when you have no substantial practice experience elsewhere?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Legal Employment”