Kirkland SF Insights? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have details about the office/practice group culture, people to avoid, etc.? Exit options?

[Anonymous User]

The credited response is to avoid this office, as far as I know. Search for past threads: K&E SF is a private equity death work camp, with a terrible reputation.

[BottomOfTotem]

Have consistently heard they work a lot. I mean, A LOT. Haven't heard crazy things about culture, which could mean it isn't that bad. They work a lot.

[Sackboy]

The credited response is to avoid this office, as far as I know. Search for past threads: K&E SF is a private equity death work camp, with a terrible reputation.

FTFY

[Anonymous User]

The credited response is to avoid this office, as far as I know. Search for past threads: K&E SF is a private equity death work camp, with a terrible reputation.

I mean, is this different than any other KE office? Not sure if this is an SF office-specific thing...

[Anonymous User]

I have not personally worked at Kirkland, but having spoken with many associates at Kirkland, including one who recently left, the following is the intel I received about the SF office.

Corporate: Apparently has a fratty/bro culture. General corporate has the worst hours - two of the people I spoke to in corporate moved into speciality transactional practices and recommended that corporate associates do so if possible because the hours are much better. There is at least one corporate partner who occasionally screams at associates.

The churn and burn that is often attributed to Kirkland is worst in corporate IMO because it’s a general practice, there are a lot of associates, and apparently the culture is one where there is no effort to retain talent in the long term (just hire a lateral). My friend who spoke to an ex-Kirkland SF corporate associate who landed at Gunderson asked why she left and she said, “Gunderson treats me like a human first and an associate second. It wasn’t the case at Kirkland.”

Litigation: Haven't heard anything awful re: commercial lit except also long hours. Don’t know anything about IP lit.

I did a lot of research because I received an offer from Kirkland SF to join a speciality practice earlier this summer. I’m planning on taking it because I love the people and practice group, but FWIW if it was an offer for corporate I probably wouldn’t do it unless I was just planning on staying 2 years for the prestige/money and getting out. However, that’s just me and another person might thrive in that kind of corporate environment (I know people who have been there 4-6 years still going strong).

If you’re seriously considering Kirkland I recommend you look up recent ex-Kirkland associates to get their unfiltered take on their experience at the firm.

[Anonymous User]

I have not personally worked at Kirkland, but having spoken with many associates at Kirkland, including one who recently left, the following is the intel I received about the SF office.

Corporate: Apparently has a fratty/bro culture. General corporate has the worst hours - two of the people I spoke to in corporate moved into speciality transactional practices and recommended that corporate associates do so if possible because the hours are much better. There is at least one corporate partner who occasionally screams at associates.

The churn and burn that is often attributed to Kirkland is worst in corporate IMO because it’s a general practice, there are a lot of associates, and apparently the culture is one where there is no effort to retain talent in the long term (just hire a lateral). My friend who spoke to an ex-Kirkland SF corporate associate who landed at Gunderson asked why she left and she said, “Gunderson treats me like a human first and an associate second. It wasn’t the case at Kirkland.”

Litigation: Haven't heard anything awful re: commercial lit except also long hours. Don’t know anything about IP lit.

I did a lot of research because I received an offer from Kirkland SF to join a speciality practice earlier this summer. I’m planning on taking it because I love the people and practice group, but FWIW if it was an offer for corporate I probably wouldn’t do it unless I was just planning on staying 2 years for the prestige/money and getting out. However, that’s just me and another person might thrive in that kind of corporate environment (I know people who have been there 4-6 years still going strong).

If you’re seriously considering Kirkland I recommend you look up recent ex-Kirkland associates to get their unfiltered take on their experience at the firm.

So the same as any other KE office then.

[Anonymous User]

OP to the post previous anon responded to. I don’t know anything about the other K&E offices and can only speak on what I’ve done my due diligence on. I hope the original poster of the thread finds the info helpful.

[Anonymous User]

I have not personally worked at Kirkland, but having spoken with many associates at Kirkland, including one who recently left, the following is the intel I received about the SF office.

Corporate: Apparently has a fratty/bro culture. General corporate has the worst hours - two of the people I spoke to in corporate moved into speciality transactional practices and recommended that corporate associates do so if possible because the hours are much better. There is at least one corporate partner who occasionally screams at associates.

The churn and burn that is often attributed to Kirkland is worst in corporate IMO because it’s a general practice, there are a lot of associates, and apparently the culture is one where there is no effort to retain talent in the long term (just hire a lateral). My friend who spoke to an ex-Kirkland SF corporate associate who landed at Gunderson asked why she left and she said, “Gunderson treats me like a human first and an associate second. It wasn’t the case at Kirkland.”

Litigation: Haven't heard anything awful re: commercial lit except also long hours. Don’t know anything about IP lit.

I did a lot of research because I received an offer from Kirkland SF to join a speciality practice earlier this summer. I’m planning on taking it because I love the people and practice group, but FWIW if it was an offer for corporate I probably wouldn’t do it unless I was just planning on staying 2 years for the prestige/money and getting out. However, that’s just me and another person might thrive in that kind of corporate environment (I know people who have been there 4-6 years still going strong).

If you’re seriously considering Kirkland I recommend you look up recent ex-Kirkland associates to get their unfiltered take on their experience at the firm.

OP here. I haven't heard of any screamers in the corporate department until now, so that's interesting. The office itself is large enough such that I don't think it should be a problem, but none of the specialty practices really speak to me. I think it's an open secret at Gunderson that there's a pattern of ex-KE refugees moving over once reality hits, but they seem happy to take people in, so there's that