Top Law Schools

Interested in M&A and fund formation, don't know which yet. Sucks not to have STB on the list.
Any input about differences among these firms would help, to be honest. (culture/fit, what kind deals/clients, strong practice areas, etc.)

Interested in this as well.

Former DPW summer. Our M&A group is on the smaller side, Skadden and S&C get bigger deals. Our fund group is considered to be one of the "lifestyle" groups, not too familiar with their work. Culture-wise, it's pretty much what the stereotype is, DPW definitely has a type. Our strongest group is Cap Markets, if that's something you're interested in DPW is the hands-down your best bet.

DPW and Cleary are the nice (or, per critics, passive-aggressive) firms. Collaborative, friendly. Cleary also claims to be the "quirky" firm, whatever that means. Skadden is reputed to be fratty - more the outgoing, work hard, party hard type. These are broad generalizations (I'm sure there are quiet folks at Skadden and hard partiers at DPW) but there really is a cognizable difference overall. S&C has a more "academic" culture. It's like DPW/Cleary in that it's quieter and not fratty, but unlike DPW/Cleary in that folks are more direct (maybe brutally direct). S&C also is said to have a less "defined" culture - a broader mix of personality types.

DPW summer anon above is probably right to say S&C and Skadden get the bigger deals. Now bigger doesn't always mean better; smaller deals will be more leanly staffed and you may actually get to do more as a junior. But certainly true S&C and Skadden are stronger in M&A.

FWIW you should be aware there are lots of TLSers at DPW, so there is a bit of a built-in DPW slant on the board.