Attorneys of Kirkland. Talk to incoming 2L SAs about your experience at the firm. Forum

[Anonymous User]

edit: opening this up to all Kirkland offices

Summers: please post your questions and include the office you're asking about

Attorneys: please provide answers or make unsolicited posts where time permits. (Please include office).

Much appreciated!

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Do you mean that it’ll be hard as a summer, or just as an associate once you start full-time?

Not OP; just curious.

[Anonymous User]

And don't limit responses to transactional—plenty of us are going into the other practice areas!

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Do you mean that it’ll be hard as a summer, or just as an associate once you start full-time?

Not OP; just curious.

I was talking about associate.

Summer will be a wine and dine just like it is anywhere else. It's not representative of life at the firm, which is true of every SA program everywhere.

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Thanks for the info. If you wouldn't mind a few more questions, I'm curious about your experience pertaining to the following:

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

And a general question, what level associate are you?

Anyone else in Kirkland Corporate, please feel free to respond! Thank you all.

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Thanks for the info. If you wouldn't mind a few more questions, I'm curious about your experience pertaining to the following:

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

And a general question, what level associate are you?

Anyone else in Kirkland Corporate, please feel free to respond! Thank you all.

I'm an NSP, have been at the firm since graduating LS. Not comfortable sharing my practice group, but I am in a transactional practice.

Most of the partners are fine, ordinary people. Things can get heated when the deals are heated/clients are being brutal even with the fine, ordinary partners--that's just part of corporate practice. There are a handful of partners that are worse (I'm not going to be comfortable giving names). From talking to people at other firms, it's not much different from anywhere else in this regard.

"Too much on your plate" is relative. Obviously for the past year and a half-two years, every single corporate person has been completely slammed--everyone has had too much on their plate--so it's a question of where you are compared to others. That said, when I've needed to, I've turned down work without negative ramifications. It's far, far worse to overextend yourself and do poorly than it is to turn work down.

I can't really say there is a "typical" schedule, because it all depends on where you are on your deal flow on any particular deal. Sometimes it's M-F 8:00-5:00/6:00 with minimal weekend work, sometimes it's every waking moment. Nature of the beast.

I think my original post kind of sums up the perks vs. downside. You'll get better experience here than you will elsewhere, with more responsibility earlier on--that makes the job more interesting, or at least it did for me. But you work longer hours for it. The pay still beats market for most people (because most people are over the 2k threshold that newly came up this past year), but not as much as it used to, for sure, and it's hard to know where that trend will go in the future--Kirkland will never be anything less than market, but it's days of consistently beating market by significant amounts seem like they may be over. Equity partnership is just as (un)likely here as it is in any other biglaw firm.

I guess the one relatively unique perk we have, as far as I know, is the concierge program, which is a pretty comprehensive "errand running/event planning/ticket finding/appointment making/gift suggestions/etc." type of thing that is part of our "wellness" package. Maybe other firms have something similar but I've never heard of it. It's got to be incredibly expensive to run and it is pretty nice if you can actually bring yourself to take advantage of it. A lot of people feel really weird using it though--I was one of those people for a long time but I'm starting to come around a bit. It can't do "emergency" requests though--generally a couple of days turnaround time.

All in all, I've always been happy with my choice to come here and I will have very good exit options when the time comes.

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Thanks for the info. If you wouldn't mind a few more questions, I'm curious about your experience pertaining to the following:

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

And a general question, what level associate are you?

Anyone else in Kirkland Corporate, please feel free to respond! Thank you all.

I'm an NSP, have been at the firm since graduating LS. Not comfortable sharing my practice group, but I am in a transactional practice.

Most of the partners are fine, ordinary people. Things can get heated when the deals are heated/clients are being brutal even with the fine, ordinary partners--that's just part of corporate practice. There are a handful of partners that are worse (I'm not going to be comfortable giving names). From talking to people at other firms, it's not much different from anywhere else in this regard.

"Too much on your plate" is relative. Obviously for the past year and a half-two years, every single corporate person has been completely slammed--everyone has had too much on their plate--so it's a question of where you are compared to others. That said, when I've needed to, I've turned down work without negative ramifications. It's far, far worse to overextend yourself and do poorly than it is to turn work down.

I can't really say there is a "typical" schedule, because it all depends on where you are on your deal flow on any particular deal. Sometimes it's M-F 8:00-5:00/6:00 with minimal weekend work, sometimes it's every waking moment. Nature of the beast.

I think my original post kind of sums up the perks vs. downside. You'll get better experience here than you will elsewhere, with more responsibility earlier on--that makes the job more interesting, or at least it did for me. But you work longer hours for it. The pay still beats market for most people (because most people are over the 2k threshold that newly came up this past year), but not as much as it used to, for sure, and it's hard to know where that trend will go in the future--Kirkland will never be anything less than market, but it's days of consistently beating market by significant amounts seem like they may be over. Equity partnership is just as (un)likely here as it is in any other biglaw firm.

I guess the one relatively unique perk we have, as far as I know, is the concierge program, which is a pretty comprehensive "errand running/event planning/ticket finding/appointment making/gift suggestions/etc." type of thing that is part of our "wellness" package. Maybe other firms have something similar but I've never heard of it. It's got to be incredibly expensive to run and it is pretty nice if you can actually bring yourself to take advantage of it. A lot of people feel really weird using it though--I was one of those people for a long time but I'm starting to come around a bit. It can't do "emergency" requests though--generally a couple of days turnaround time.

All in all, I've always been happy with my choice to come here and I will have very good exit options when the time comes.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful response!

[Anonymous User]

Don't mean to hijack OP's thread but K&E LA corporate folks, please share your experiences also. Will be joining as a 3L hire this fall. Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Don't mean to hijack OP's thread but K&E LA corporate folks, please share your experiences also. Will be joining as a 3L hire this fall. Thanks!

No prob. I'll change the heading of this thread to make it more inclusive of all Kirkland offices.

[Anonymous User]

Don't mean to hijack OP's thread but K&E LA corporate folks, please share your experiences also. Will be joining as a 3L hire this fall. Thanks!

No prob. I'll change the heading of this thread to make it more inclusive of all Kirkland offices.

Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Thanks for the info. If you wouldn't mind a few more questions, I'm curious about your experience pertaining to the following:

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

And a general question, what level associate are you?

Anyone else in Kirkland Corporate, please feel free to respond! Thank you all.

I'm a corporate junior in a non-Chicago non-NYC office.

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

On deals, I basically never interact with the equity partner directly (NSPs yes). However, I talk to them frequently at firm social events and they have so far been friendly, welcoming, and respectful. I've also met equity partners in other offices socially and they seemed friendly. My feeling is that they operate the firm in a pretty cold, business-like manner but as people most of them are normal and nice enough.

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

Yes. I have never experienced negative ramifications, but I'm also polite and diplomatic about turning down work.

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

Totally all over the place. I've billed 80+ hours in a week and also literally zero in a week. Most weeks I'd say are around 45-50. In my office at least, the mornings are usually really dead but requests coming in the evening aren't uncommon. Weekends and weekdays aren't that different - weekend work is common, but I've also spent entire work days out doing errands or playing video games or even traveling if things are slow. If you're OK with not formally separating the two I think it works out fine.

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

I'm in a busy transactional group.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

I did extensive research (including talking to current associates) so I don't think there's really anything I would have liked to know that I didn't find out. I'd recommend figuring out whether you'd prefer a "free market" staffing system or a central assignment system (or a rotation), since that's one of the main differentiators from most peer firms. Personally, I knew I would excel in a free market system (and I have) so that was a big plus. Others might feel differently though.

Most V10 firms are pretty similar. I'd say that Kirkland seems much less cost-conscious than peers, which I like. Bigger, more extravagant events, more generous reimbursement policies, nobody nickel & diming or needling you for some expense. They are also very decisive and take calculated risks; less conservative than many old white shoe firms. Lastly, people often focus on how it's "run like a business" in a negative way, meaning that the firm is too focused on money and will make cold calculated decisions. And that's true. But the flipside is, if something makes financial or business sense they will go for it without red tape or hesitation. Laterals often comment on how incredibly fast they were hired, and the firm seems relatively unconstrained by formal policies and procedures when it comes to recruiting, buying things, and so on. If a couple share partners think X is worth the money, or Jane Doe would be a good associate, they'll just fucking do it.

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Thanks for the info. If you wouldn't mind a few more questions, I'm curious about your experience pertaining to the following:

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

And a general question, what level associate are you?

Anyone else in Kirkland Corporate, please feel free to respond! Thank you all.

I'm a corporate junior in a non-Chicago non-NYC office.

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

On deals, I basically never interact with the equity partner directly (NSPs yes). However, I talk to them frequently at firm social events and they have so far been friendly, welcoming, and respectful. I've also met equity partners in other offices socially and they seemed friendly. My feeling is that they operate the firm in a pretty cold, business-like manner but as people most of them are normal and nice enough.

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

Yes. I have never experienced negative ramifications, but I'm also polite and diplomatic about turning down work.

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

Totally all over the place. I've billed 80+ hours in a week and also literally zero in a week. Most weeks I'd say are around 45-50. In my office at least, the mornings are usually really dead but requests coming in the evening aren't uncommon. Weekends and weekdays aren't that different - weekend work is common, but I've also spent entire work days out doing errands or playing video games or even traveling if things are slow. If you're OK with not formally separating the two I think it works out fine.

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

I'm in a busy transactional group.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

I did extensive research (including talking to current associates) so I don't think there's really anything I would have liked to know that I didn't find out. I'd recommend figuring out whether you'd prefer a "free market" staffing system or a central assignment system (or a rotation), since that's one of the main differentiators from most peer firms. Personally, I knew I would excel in a free market system (and I have) so that was a big plus. Others might feel differently though.

Most V10 firms are pretty similar. I'd say that Kirkland seems much less cost-conscious than peers, which I like. Bigger, more extravagant events, more generous reimbursement policies, nobody nickel & diming or needling you for some expense. They are also very decisive and take calculated risks; less conservative than many old white shoe firms. Lastly, people often focus on how it's "run like a business" in a negative way, meaning that the firm is too focused on money and will make cold calculated decisions. And that's true. But the flipside is, if something makes financial or business sense they will go for it without red tape or hesitation. Laterals often comment on how incredibly fast they were hired, and the firm seems relatively unconstrained by formal policies and procedures when it comes to recruiting, buying things, and so on. If a couple share partners think X is worth the money, or Jane Doe would be a good associate, they'll just fucking do it.

This was really informative. Ty! How does one work and bill zero hours during an entire week? Would you be able to expand on the billing?

[Anonymous User]

Very curious. I'm going to be a transactional attorney. I want the good and the bad.

You will learn a lot in a short period of time.

You will be worked very hard.

There's clearly no better place to do corporate in Chicago--not even really debatable. But you're going to feel like a very tiny cog in a giant impersonal machine, because you basically are.

Thanks for the info. If you wouldn't mind a few more questions, I'm curious about your experience pertaining to the following:

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

And a general question, what level associate are you?

Anyone else in Kirkland Corporate, please feel free to respond! Thank you all.

I'm a corporate junior in a non-Chicago non-NYC office.

1. What is your experience with partners? I understand that Kirkland is a huge machine and things can feel impersonal. Have you had any uncomfortable situations with partners thus far?

On deals, I basically never interact with the equity partner directly (NSPs yes). However, I talk to them frequently at firm social events and they have so far been friendly, welcoming, and respectful. I've also met equity partners in other offices socially and they seemed friendly. My feeling is that they operate the firm in a pretty cold, business-like manner but as people most of them are normal and nice enough.

2. Do you find that it's relatively easy to be able to say "no" to added work when you have too much on your plate?

Yes. I have never experienced negative ramifications, but I'm also polite and diplomatic about turning down work.

3. What does your typical schedule look like?

Totally all over the place. I've billed 80+ hours in a week and also literally zero in a week. Most weeks I'd say are around 45-50. In my office at least, the mornings are usually really dead but requests coming in the evening aren't uncommon. Weekends and weekdays aren't that different - weekend work is common, but I've also spent entire work days out doing errands or playing video games or even traveling if things are slow. If you're OK with not formally separating the two I think it works out fine.

4. Are you comfortable sharing your practice group? I understand that this might be too specific or might limit the level of detail you provide in answering other questions, so please answer only if you think it makes sense to.

I'm in a busy transactional group.

5. What is something you wish you knew before joining? If you have friends at other offices, what are some of the perks at Kirkland that other firms don't have, and what are maybe some of the down sides?

I did extensive research (including talking to current associates) so I don't think there's really anything I would have liked to know that I didn't find out. I'd recommend figuring out whether you'd prefer a "free market" staffing system or a central assignment system (or a rotation), since that's one of the main differentiators from most peer firms. Personally, I knew I would excel in a free market system (and I have) so that was a big plus. Others might feel differently though.

Most V10 firms are pretty similar. I'd say that Kirkland seems much less cost-conscious than peers, which I like. Bigger, more extravagant events, more generous reimbursement policies, nobody nickel & diming or needling you for some expense. They are also very decisive and take calculated risks; less conservative than many old white shoe firms. Lastly, people often focus on how it's "run like a business" in a negative way, meaning that the firm is too focused on money and will make cold calculated decisions. And that's true. But the flipside is, if something makes financial or business sense they will go for it without red tape or hesitation. Laterals often comment on how incredibly fast they were hired, and the firm seems relatively unconstrained by formal policies and procedures when it comes to recruiting, buying things, and so on. If a couple share partners think X is worth the money, or Jane Doe would be a good associate, they'll just fucking do it.

This was really informative. Ty! How does one work and bill zero hours during an entire week? Would you be able to expand on the billing?

Same anon here. There is sometimes non-billable work, like trainings or whatever. But beyond that, we have nonbillable time codes that can be entered in the time tracking software that are empty bullshit. It basically means "I was technically available and not on vacation but didn't actually do anything specific." So if you did zero billable or non-billable work that week you would just enter 7.5 hours per day of that non-billable generic code and that's that.

These situations usually only happen if you're in between deals, or if all of your deals happen to hit a lull at the same time. As you get busier you'll often have one deal starting while the other finishes so it just rolls along, but sometimes if I'm on a couple things that end around the same time and I have nothing new on the horizon, I'll just disappear for a week and only check my emails enough to make sure something urgent doesn't pop up for something I'm technically still staffed on. Also, around holidays sometimes the timing is bad and you work tons of hours and your holiday is fucked.... but other times, nobody else wants to work that week either and nothing is urgent, so your entire deal goes silent not just on the holiday itself, but also the entire week surrounding it (maybe even two) and you get a nice sneaky vacation.

[Anonymous User]

I no longer work at Kirkland but was a junior in a transactional practice in a major market for a few years. Some things I wish I had known before starting were:

1) It's basically impossible to get fired unless you are an overt racist/sexual harasser so no need to worry about job security every time you make a typo.

2) Use your judgment on this one, but take as much vacation as you can, you might piss off certain senior associates/NSPs who no one likes or wants to work with anyway (and there are many of these people) but no one will care/remember in a few months.

3) Turn down work if you're billing more than ~180 hours a month, some people will try to force you to join their deals but unless it's a share partner you can pretty much always say no with no negative repercussions.

4) Assume all the midlevel associates you work with (the ones that are nice and approachable who you feel comfortable asking questions and relying on) are looking for other jobs so don't get too attached to them.

5) This may seem counter-intuitive, but try to seek out the senior associates/NSPs who aren't actively looking for staffing, because this probably means they have a consistent group of associates who like working with them and are relatively content, and beware of the senior associates/NSPs who reach out to you out of the blue to join their deals, because this probably means the people who used to work for them quit or that they have bad reputations in the group and need to resort to tricking juniors into working for them.

6) The reality is 80% of your summer class is going to be gone soon after 2nd year bonuses are paid out.

[Anonymous User]

Is the 80% attrition after 2 years pretty standard for firms at this level?

For the folks who leave after 2 years, where do you see then going? Is the narrative more along the lines of relocation to a different city because a S/O has a job there or more like “screw big law, I’m going to a mid size firm or in-house” or something like “screw K&E specifically, I’m going to Latham, Ropes, etc.”

Thanks for sharing all these insights!

[Anonymous User]

I no longer work at Kirkland but was a junior in a transactional practice in a major market for a few years. Some things I wish I had known before starting were:

1) It's basically impossible to get fired unless you are an overt racist/sexual harasser so no need to worry about job security every time you make a typo.

2) Use your judgment on this one, but take as much vacation as you can, you might piss off certain senior associates/NSPs who no one likes or wants to work with anyway (and there are many of these people) but no one will care/remember in a few months.

3) Turn down work if you're billing more than ~180 hours a month, some people will try to force you to join their deals but unless it's a share partner you can pretty much always say no with no negative repercussions.

4) Assume all the midlevel associates you work with (the ones that are nice and approachable who you feel comfortable asking questions and relying on) are looking for other jobs so don't get too attached to them.

5) This may seem counter-intuitive, but try to seek out the senior associates/NSPs who aren't actively looking for staffing, because this probably means they have a consistent group of associates who like working with them and are relatively content, and beware of the senior associates/NSPs who reach out to you out of the blue to join their deals, because this probably means the people who used to work for them quit or that they have bad reputations in the group and need to resort to tricking juniors into working for them.

6) The reality is 80% of your summer class is going to be gone soon after 2nd year bonuses are paid out.

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

Is NSP to SP up or out? Are there a bunch of 15-20 yr NSPs who are just gonna stay that way until the end of time

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

Is NSP to SP up or out? Are there a bunch of 15-20 yr NSPs who are just gonna stay that way until the end of time

It’s now 3+ years from NSP to SP (reduced from 4+). Most associate-to-NSPs leave by their own volition or keep trying for shares for more than 4 years. At some point if you’re like 12-15 years into your career without shares, then they may say it’s not gonna happen and maybe you should look elsewhere.

Other NSPs are permanent NSPs because their practice isn’t lucrative enough to warrant shares, but their expertise is unique or otherwise valued. They’re paid better than senior associates or counsels at other firms.

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

So if I'm understanding this correctly. Having applied the RX-->partner--> and looking for P.C. at the end of the names

There is only ONE female SP in Chicago's restructuring group????

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

So if I'm understanding this correctly. Having applied the RX-->partner--> and looking for P.C. at the end of the names

There is only ONE female SP in Chicago's restructuring group????

That would not surprise me. I’ve always perceived it as one of the most male-dominated practices.

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

A better way is to click on their email address and look at their "Memberships". It will say SP or NSP as one of their email lists. Not all SPs have PCs - and with recent tax law changes, a lot of the existing PCs will be dissolved and newer SPs arent getting one at all.

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

This is not exhaustive

[Anonymous User]

This is stupid but how do we know who the SPs are vs. the NSPs? Do I just look at their seniority and how long they've been at the firm? With laterals it seems like that's probably not the case.

Generally, SPs’ names are followed by “P.C.” Every other partner you can assume doesn’t matter, er I mean, is an NSP.

This is not exhaustive

Yeah P.C. is a tax thing that *many* SPs find valuable but not *all.* So if someone has P.C. they are an SP, but if someone lacks P.C., it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re NOT an SP.