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Hi does anyone have any information on what kind of benefits Skadden provides starting associates post-graduation but pre-bar admission? Do they pay a stipend/graduation bonus? Or a salary advance? Bar fees? Thank you!

For class of 2020 they paid 5k salary advance around Feb 2020, 10k salary advance upon graduation, and 10k stipend in fall 2020 (due to delayed start date/COVID). Paid for two bar-prep resources (I did bar prep course + adaptibar), all C&F fees and bar fees, bar dues once admitted, cost of any requirements imposed by bar of admission, and paid for a bunch of home office stuff (again, because of covid). One flag is that some of these expenses require working for a full year otherwise you owe the firm for the costs incurred on a pro-rated basis -- something to consider if you plan on clerking and won't last for a full year.

Apparently, this year they are still yet to give a dime, outside bar exam costs…

I'm an incoming associate, and I got my $5,000 advance around March. They don't pay the additional $10,000 until they got a transcript that notes degree conferral, and that many schools won't do that until several weeks after final grades are in, so most people won't have gotten that yet.

As for bar exam costs, they don't pay those directly. We're on our own for the upfront costs, and they say they'll reimburse us when we start. Maybe it was different last year.