Morgan Lewis Associate Taking Questions (Class of 2014) Forum

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Hope you all are having a great evening and a fantastic spring semester. I graduated in 2014 and work for Morgan Lewis. Love the place and would be happy to field some questions if anyone's interested.

I'm rewatching the NFC Championship game, so I figured I might as well spend some time with you folks while I'm hanging out. Go Eagles!

Time's yours...

[1styearlateral]

Go Birds.

[LSstudent]

Assuming you are in the Philadelphia office. What practice areas are most dominant in the office? Also, is it possible to transfer from the Philly office to NY/DC 1-3 years after starting?

Go Eagles!

[Anonymous User]

Would the firm sniff someone from a T2 top 30%? also, what is the 2l clerkship? is it like a summer associate position without a guarantee or post-grad employment?

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Go Birds.

Go birds!

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Assuming you are in the Philadelphia office. What practice areas are most dominant in the office? Also, is it possible to transfer from the Philly office to NY/DC 1-3 years after starting?

Go Eagles!

We have a large CBT practice and fairly large litigation practice. In my experience, they've been the largest groups that I've worked with over the past few years. The philly office is diverse though, which makes it nice if you want to change up and seek out different areas of the law to work in. It's not uncommon for folks to collaborate throughout the building, or even throughout the firm as a whole.

Folks do transfer between offices, but there's not usually much of a drive to do so. For example, in my practice area, I work with the Washington folks on a regular basis for some matters. I've been to both the NYC and Wash offices, they've got great people, but the atmosphere in the Philly office is awesome.

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Would the firm sniff someone from a T2 top 30%? also, what is the 2l clerkship? is it like a summer associate position without a guarantee or post-grad employment?

I was T2, but I lateralled in from a smaller firm. Depending upon your background and focus, I think you would have a chance.

I can't speak to the 2L clerkship unfortunately. Sorry about that.

[synergy]

thanks so much for doing this, i've been very interested in this firm and had a few questions:

how is the firm with regards to facetime? Is that dependent on office and/or by practice group/partner? could you speak to their benefits?

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

thanks so much for doing this, i've been very interested in this firm and had a few questions:

how is the firm with regards to facetime? Is that dependent on office and/or by practice group/partner? could you speak to their benefits?

I'm assuming you mean client facetime? It's partner dependent in my experience. Most of the partners I've worked with want to get you in front of the client so that you can begin to build a relationship. Partners want the clients to trust you when the partner delegates work to you. However, you have to earn that trust from the respective partners. They're not going to put you out there unless you demonstrate that you can do the work.

For me, I started out by picking up whatever I could and built a rapport with three partners in particular. As I demonstrated that I wouldn't screw things up, they gave me more control over specific matters and more facetime with the clients. I think it's something that you definitely earn. I haven't met a single partner yet that barred associates from working with the clients directly.

As to benefits, health insurance and other benefits appear standard. They do not match 401k, so you're on your own with that. However, they follow the Cravath pay scale and the bonuses are solid after your first year. If you meet your hours you're good.

As to hours, I've found that there is plenty of work to go around (at least in my practice group). No problems making hours. Furthermore, pro bono time counts 100% towards your billables. If you bill 100 hours pro bono, that all counts toward your 2000 for the year.

[smokeylarue]

Lol pretty sure the poster meant facetime, as in are you expected to be in the office everyday from X am to Y pm even if don't have work/what are the office's feelings on working remotely, etc.

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Lol pretty sure the poster meant facetime, as in are you expected to be in the office everyday from X am to Y pm even if don't have work/what are the office's feelings on working remotely, etc.

My bad. Regarding real facetime, people work from home from time to time and all the partners that I know are cool with it.

Generally though, most folks work an 8 to 5:30 day. However, it's expected that work related emails are responded to within an hour. The motto, "always on," is taken seriously.

[Anonymous User]

Since the FY ends in September, when do you move up in class year/salary? Do you go up in class year/salary on January 1 each year or when the fiscal year ends?

[Anonymous User]

Are you guys done hiring laterals for now? A little late to the party here on L&E positions.

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Since the FY ends in September, when do you move up in class year/salary? Do you go up in class year/salary on January 1 each year or when the fiscal year ends?

You move up in class year/salary as of Jan. 1.

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Are you guys done hiring laterals for now? A little late to the party here on L&E positions.

My understanding is that it varies by practice group and need. We bring in laterals all the time.

[Anonymous User]

does the Philly office take laterals not barred in PA? (e.g. junior associate who is barred in another state and cannot waive in for a few years)

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

does the Philly office take laterals not barred in PA? (e.g. junior associate who is barred in another state and cannot waive in for a few years)

Yes. But you'll almost certainly be asked to sit for the PA bar.

[Anonymous User]

Are you guys done hiring laterals for now? A little late to the party here on L&E positions.

My understanding is that it varies by practice group and need. We bring in laterals all the time.

So it seems he/she was interested in the L&E group. Any insights or thoughts about that group specifically?

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

Are you guys done hiring laterals for now? A little late to the party here on L&E positions.

My understanding is that it varies by practice group and need. We bring in laterals all the time.

So it seems he/she was interested in the L&E group. Any insights or thoughts about that group specifically?

Unfortunately, no. Nothing specific with regard to bringing in laterals.

[Anonymous User]

Are you guys done hiring laterals for now? A little late to the party here on L&E positions.

My understanding is that it varies by practice group and need. We bring in laterals all the time.

So it seems he/she was interested in the L&E group. Any insights or thoughts about that group specifically?

Unfortunately, no. Nothing specific with regard to bringing in laterals.

Thanks for all of your help! Do you know whether people are generally happy in L&E? Is the practice a sweat shop or a more manageable group at Morgan?

[Anonymous User]

I know our office is looking for L&E people (satellite west coast), but not sure if that holds true across all offices.

[Anonymous User]

any idea on lateral timeline at Morgan Lewis? (in Philly office)
interested in making a move but not sure how long the process takes.

[Anonymous User]

any idea on lateral timeline at Morgan Lewis? (in Philly office)
interested in making a move but not sure how long the process takes.

Also interested.

[Anonymous User]

Is it possible to lateral into Lit with several years of exp, without top grades but strong Philly ties?

[FlyEaglesFly1701]

any idea on lateral timeline at Morgan Lewis? (in Philly office)
interested in making a move but not sure how long the process takes.

Also interested.

For me it took somewhere between 4-5 weeks, but that was with a recruiter.