Cravath vs. SullCrom (NY lit) Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am kind of torn between Cravath and Sullcrom. Primarily interested in white-collar and securities litigation. I feel like the only real difference between the two is their work assignment system. Any thoughts?

[Anonymous User]

I am kind of torn between Cravath and Sullcrom. Primarily interested in white-collar and securities litigation. I feel like the only real difference between the two is their work assignment system. Any thoughts?

I'm choosing CSM because rotation system focuses more on developing core litigation skillsets and less on substantive law (which can always be learned).

[parkslope]

I am kind of torn between Cravath and Sullcrom. Primarily interested in white-collar and securities litigation. I feel like the only real difference between the two is their work assignment system. Any thoughts?

Cravath doesn't really do white collar, so that wouldn't be a great choice if white collar is important to you. https://chambers.com/guide/usa?publicat ... onId=12806

[Anonymous User]

I am kind of torn between Cravath and Sullcrom. Primarily interested in white-collar and securities litigation. I feel like the only real difference between the two is their work assignment system. Any thoughts?

I know nothing about how to measure the financial health of a firm but even if it says nothing about a firm's monetary state, cravath ran a full summer program with full pay and S&C cancelled their program while giving summers partial pay and the option to take out a 10k loan on their future income. Even though both will probably run full programs this summer, it does shine a bit of light on how they operate when the going gets tough.

[Anonymous User]

You're gonna work your ass off at either place and prestige/exits are indistinguishable. Comes down completely to your intuition of fit based on meeting people at firm/who's going there from your school + do you think rotation vs more generalist is better for you?

[Sackboy]

I know nothing about how to measure the financial health of a firm but even if it says nothing about a firm's monetary state, cravath ran a full summer program with full pay and S&C cancelled their program while giving summers partial pay and the option to take out a 10k loan on their future income. Even though both will probably run full programs this summer, it does shine a bit of light on how they operate when the going gets tough.

Meh, I don't think this shines as much light as one would think. S&C famously owns the building they're in, and COVID has been quite famous for commercial rent disputes. If any of the cutting was to stay lean, it's because of that, not because there is anything fundamentally wrong with the S&C business.

[Anonymous User]

You're gonna work your ass off at either place and prestige/exits are indistinguishable. Comes down completely to your intuition of fit based on meeting people at firm/who's going there from your school + do you think rotation vs more generalist is better for you?

Can you/anyone else please explain Cravath’s rotation system? I heard from an associate that she is stuck doing tax work...(I don’t have anything against tax)

[Sackboy]

Can you/anyone else please explain Cravath’s rotation system? I heard from an associate that she is stuck doing tax work...(I don’t have anything against tax)

I'm pretty sure that's not possible. CSM only rotates in corporate/lit. The specialists (i.e. tax, T&E, exec comp) are in their own teams and don't rotate. Look here: https://www.cravath.com/practices/index.html. If you land in corp/lit, you'd rotate within those sub-practices listed.

[Anonymous User]

Can you/anyone else please explain Cravath’s rotation system? I heard from an associate that she is stuck doing tax work...(I don’t have anything against tax)

I'm pretty sure that's not possible. CSM only rotates in corporate/lit. The specialists (i.e. tax, T&E, exec comp) are in their own teams and don't rotate. Look here: https://www.cravath.com/practices/index.html. If you land in corp/lit, you'd rotate within those sub-practices listed.

CSM will tell you that you rotate every 1.5-2 years in a way that’s supposed to develop your career. In practice, a single person randomly shuffles you around depending on where there is need regardless of your career goals.

[Anonymous User]

Can you/anyone else please explain Cravath’s rotation system? I heard from an associate that she is stuck doing tax work...(I don’t have anything against tax)

I'm pretty sure that's not possible. CSM only rotates in corporate/lit. The specialists (i.e. tax, T&E, exec comp) are in their own teams and don't rotate. Look here: https://www.cravath.com/practices/index.html. If you land in corp/lit, you'd rotate within those sub-practices listed.

CSM will tell you that you rotate every 1.5-2 years in a way that’s supposed to develop your career. In practice, a single person randomly shuffles you around depending on where there is need regardless of your career goals.

OP here. Thanks. Any insights on how S&C’s generalist system works in practice?

[Anonymous User]

Can you/anyone else please explain Cravath’s rotation system? I heard from an associate that she is stuck doing tax work...(I don’t have anything against tax)

I'm pretty sure that's not possible. CSM only rotates in corporate/lit. The specialists (i.e. tax, T&E, exec comp) are in their own teams and don't rotate. Look here: https://www.cravath.com/practices/index.html. If you land in corp/lit, you'd rotate within those sub-practices listed.

CSM will tell you that you rotate every 1.5-2 years in a way that’s supposed to develop your career. In practice, a single person randomly shuffles you around depending on where there is need regardless of your career goals.

OP here. Thanks. Any insights on how S&C’s generalist system works in practice?

Bump.

[Anonymous User]

I had offers from both SullCrom and CSM. Chose CSM for what its worth. I was particularly attracted to the type of work that they let you do as a young associate, which I thought sounded more substantive than a lot of other firms. My experience so far seemed to bear that out. I summered at another firm as a 1L, and the work I got to do as a 2L summer at Cravath was much more in depth and high level than the work I did my first summer. Hope that helps!

[Anonymous User]

For white collar/securities lit --→ Sull Crom - they have excellent lit in those areas in particular. If unsure on practice area, then really gonna depend on fit entirely. The firms are basically the same outside personal fit.