NYC Appellate Firms? Forum

[ambrau90]

Which BigLaw firms have appellate groups in NYC? I realize most of this work is down in DC, but it does seem like a few have established groups in NYC too. A 2013 post (http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=209129) mentioned Jones Day, Wilmer, Mayer Brown, and Patterson Belknap. Seems like Orrick would be a name too since Rosenkranz joined. Any others worth noting?

[blahblewblah]

Quinn.

[o0o0o0o]

The three with dedicated groups--and with non-trivial numbers of people in those groups actually working in NYC--that I'm aware of are Orrick, Jones Day, and Mayer Brown. Of course, if you go to a place like Patterson or Holwell Shuster or something, you'll probably end up handling some amount of your own appeals from trial-level lit.

[Anonymous User]

Associate at Patterson. We don't have a dedicated appellate group - I wouldn't come here if that's what you're looking to do. Because we don't have an appellate group, you will work on your case if it is appealed, but you certainly can't count on that happening frequently.

[Anonymous User]

Associate at Patterson. We don't have a dedicated appellate group - I wouldn't come here if that's what you're looking to do. Because we don't have an appellate group, you will work on your case if it is appealed, but you certainly can't count on that happening frequently.

So could you explain why Patterson is regarded so highly in appellate work then? Just curious, as I'm interested in the firm.

Is there a partner or two that does a lot from other matters? What gives?

[Joachim2017]

Quinn.

Would love to hear from anyone with direct or reliable second-hand knowledge on what it's like at Quinn, both appellate and more generally. Is their weird comp system worth it? Are there chances to do appellate, and are the people ok to work with?

[Anonymous User]

Associate at Patterson. We don't have a dedicated appellate group - I wouldn't come here if that's what you're looking to do. Because we don't have an appellate group, you will work on your case if it is appealed, but you certainly can't count on that happening frequently.

So could you explain why Patterson is regarded so highly in appellate work then? Just curious, as I'm interested in the firm.

Is there a partner or two that does a lot from other matters? What gives?

Patterson associate here. I don't have a satisfactory answer to that misconception. Patterson hires a lot of clerks, and clerks want to work here - including prestigious and/or appellate clerks. Appellate work is prestigious. Perhaps those two things are being conflated?

But the clerk appeal isn't based on the strength of an appellate practice. There isn't a dedicated appellate group, nor any partner whose practice is mostly appeals. We don't tend to attract clerks interested in exclusively appeals -- e.g., no SCOTUS clerk associates, and I don't think we have any D.C. Cir. clerks either.
As far as I know, we're not regularly being brought in to handle appeals where other firms handled the trial. But our trial teams will generally handle the appeal.

[Anonymous User]

Quinn.

Would love to hear from anyone with direct or reliable second-hand knowledge on what it's like at Quinn, both appellate and more generally. Is their weird comp system worth it? Are there chances to do appellate, and are the people ok to work with?

Not sure what you mean by “weird comp system.” There are definitely chances to do appellate work. Appellate people are great to work for in my experience. Others can be hit or miss. If interested in appellate, I would make it known when you interview.

[ambrau90]

Quinn.

Would love to hear from anyone with direct or reliable second-hand knowledge on what it's like at Quinn, both appellate and more generally. Is their weird comp system worth it? Are there chances to do appellate, and are the people ok to work with?

Not sure what you mean by “weird comp system.” There are definitely chances to do appellate work. Appellate people are great to work for in my experience. Others can be hit or miss. If interested in appellate, I would make it known when you interview.

Do you know if Quinn's appellate group handles their Federal Circuit work? Or if the IP lit group does most of it? I've heard different things about different firms -- like K&E apparently gives most to their DC appellate group but Wilmer's IP group keeps a lot of theirs.

[LBJ's Hair]

Gibson does a good amount (particularly NY state appellate) in its NY office. Although more in DC obviously.

[Anonymous User]

Quinn.

Would love to hear from anyone with direct or reliable second-hand knowledge on what it's like at Quinn, both appellate and more generally. Is their weird comp system worth it? Are there chances to do appellate, and are the people ok to work with?

Not sure what you mean by “weird comp system.” There are definitely chances to do appellate work. Appellate people are great to work for in my experience. Others can be hit or miss. If interested in appellate, I would make it known when you interview.

Do you know if Quinn's appellate group handles their Federal Circuit work? Or if the IP lit group does most of it? I've heard different things about different firms -- like K&E apparently gives most to their DC appellate group but Wilmer's IP group keeps a lot of theirs.

Appellate partners handle a lot of the Federal Circuit work, including arguing. Not sure as a practical matter how much the IP group is involved or who handles the briefing primarily, though.