Kirkland Megathread Forum

[Anonymous User]

What's the dress code in the Chicago office looking like post-pandemic? Shirt/slacks/dress shoes? Blazers? Jeans?

Bump. What should summers at KE Chicago expect in terms of dress? Is the vibe more formal or laid back? Would wearing a suit as a female be too formal? is it only appropriate on the first day?

Higher end business casual. Nice non-suit dress slacks with a blazer and a nice dress shirt. The Blazer is really just for going to events or lunch though and I'm just talking if you want to look "nice" - plenty of people just go dress shirt. Also very common to do the investment banker zip up vest or quarter zip. Arguably more challenging than a suit sans tie, which is common in NY but not at all common in Chicago. You will look out of place if you wear a suit to work every day, but if I remember my summer correctly, it was a fairly common look because law students just don't have that many dress clothes laying around, so it's 100% not something to stress about. Will also say that after my first pay check I did go out and buy like $1000 of nice dress shirts, pants, and some budget blazers though (but that's a me thing and not at all expected).

Seems like a lot of this is geared towards men. How about women's higher end business casual? I was told by a 3L at my school (summered at a different firm) that women who don't wear skirts or dresses stand out during the summer. Found this strange as I'm at a V10 that's not a stuffy NYC firm. I was thinking I'd go in with a nice blazer, slacks, and a blouse on most days.

[Anonymous User]

Can someone from the KE Chicago office shed some light on transactional groups with the best hours/people/culture? I understand every group is going to require brutal big law hours and there is no work-life balance. I keep reading that KE can be worse to work at than other big law firms but that this is very dependent on practice groups (much like anywhere else).

Would really appreciate the opinions of people in corporate at KE Chicago. Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Can someone from the KE Chicago office shed some light on transactional groups with the best hours/people/culture? I understand every group is going to require brutal big law hours and there is no work-life balance. I keep reading that KE can be worse to work at than other big law firms but that this is very dependent on practice groups (much like anywhere else).

Would really appreciate the opinions of people in corporate at KE Chicago. Thanks!

Finance

[Anonymous User]

What's the dress code in the Chicago office looking like post-pandemic? Shirt/slacks/dress shoes? Blazers? Jeans?

Bump. What should summers at KE Chicago expect in terms of dress? Is the vibe more formal or laid back? Would wearing a suit as a female be too formal? is it only appropriate on the first day?

Higher end business casual. Nice non-suit dress slacks with a blazer and a nice dress shirt. The Blazer is really just for going to events or lunch though and I'm just talking if you want to look "nice" - plenty of people just go dress shirt. Also very common to do the investment banker zip up vest or quarter zip. Arguably more challenging than a suit sans tie, which is common in NY but not at all common in Chicago. You will look out of place if you wear a suit to work every day, but if I remember my summer correctly, it was a fairly common look because law students just don't have that many dress clothes laying around, so it's 100% not something to stress about. Will also say that after my first pay check I did go out and buy like $1000 of nice dress shirts, pants, and some budget blazers though (but that's a me thing and not at all expected).

Seems like a lot of this is geared towards men. How about women's higher end business casual? I was told by a 3L at my school (summered at a different firm) that women who don't wear skirts or dresses stand out during the summer. Found this strange as I'm at a V10 that's not a stuffy NYC firm. I was thinking I'd go in with a nice blazer, slacks, and a blouse on most days.

Sounds like you’re a Notre Dame law student.

[Anonymous User]

Can someone from the KE Chicago office shed some light on transactional groups with the best hours/people/culture? I understand every group is going to require brutal big law hours and there is no work-life balance. I keep reading that KE can be worse to work at than other big law firms but that this is very dependent on practice groups (much like anywhere else).

Would really appreciate the opinions of people in corporate at KE Chicago. Thanks!

Finance

Debt Finance hours are rough but many of the Chicago people are great.

[Anonymous User]

Can someone that's been an in person SA at Kirkland in recent years provide detailed insight into what to expect during week 1? Will the lit, corporate, and restructuring associates all go through training together?

What to expect if you miss orientation week? Is training just one week?

[Anonymous User]

Can someone that's been an in person SA at Kirkland in recent years provide detailed insight into what to expect during week 1? Will the lit, corporate, and restructuring associates all go through training together?

What to expect if you miss orientation week? Is training just one week?

When I did it a few years ago, the first week was literally just training and social events. Looking at our calendar for this summer it seems like maybe training will only be like 3 days but I’m not totally sure. In my office, everyone went through most of the same trainings and then broke off into group-specific trainings for certain sessions.

I would strongly suggest not missing the first week - you’ll have missed all the training, won’t know anybody, and will have missed a bunch of fun events. I mean, it’s not career-ending or anything (and the kids at UChi deal with it every year because of their weird schedule), but I think you would feel a bit lost and annoyed if you skipped. It also wouldn’t be a good look if you didn’t have a great reason for it.

[Anonymous User]

Deleted

[Anonymous User]

Does the Firm pay for home office equipment / tech or provide some other stipend / reimbursement / loaner / etc.? Assuming it matches up with peer firms, but didn’t find anything on the recruiting page.

[Anonymous User]

When I did it a few years ago, the first week was literally just training and social events. Looking at our calendar for this summer it seems like maybe training will only be like 3 days but I’m not totally sure. In my office, everyone went through most of the same trainings and then broke off into group-specific trainings for certain sessions.

Sorry to jump in! Also will be a SA. Would you mind sharing details of social events in terms of dates and what they are? Not sure if you can help with this but if I'm splitting my summer between two groups, how do I know what group specific sessions I'd be attending?

[Anonymous User]

What's the dress code in the Chicago office looking like post-pandemic? Shirt/slacks/dress shoes? Blazers? Jeans?

Bump. What should summers at KE Chicago expect in terms of dress? Is the vibe more formal or laid back? Would wearing a suit as a female be too formal? is it only appropriate on the first day?

Wait, are any K&E summers expecting to wear suits the first day? Genuinely confused about what to expect in NY now.

[Anonymous User]

Does the Firm pay for home office equipment / tech or provide some other stipend / reimbursement / loaner / etc.? Assuming it matches up with peer firms, but didn’t find anything on the recruiting page.

well the firm doesn't give REGULAR associates home office equipment / tech budget / stipend so i doubt they'll give that to summers. and as a summer you'd be expected to work from the office a lot. no idea about "loaners" though.

[Anonymous User]

^ I meant full time attorneys.

[Anonymous User]

Re: the person who didn’t want me to quote reply, I think you should give LRD a heads up and explain the situation. I’m confident they’ll be understanding and accommodating about a serious situation like that. I wouldn’t just ghost them out of nowhere though. If you give them a heads up they can maybe arrange for some alternative approach for you.

[Anonymous User]

When I did it a few years ago, the first week was literally just training and social events. Looking at our calendar for this summer it seems like maybe training will only be like 3 days but I’m not totally sure. In my office, everyone went through most of the same trainings and then broke off into group-specific trainings for certain sessions.

Sorry to jump in! Also will be a SA. Would you mind sharing details of social events in terms of dates and what they are? Not sure if you can help with this but if I'm splitting my summer between two groups, how do I know what group specific sessions I'd be attending?

Same anon. It’s going to vary by office, since they all run independently. In my office, there are events almost every day/night the first week. I don’t believe that there are any practice group differences for social events that early though, only for actual trainings. Throughout the summer, a bunch of different groups will have their own separate fun events, so presumably you would just go to both.

For formal trainings that conflict, I’d just ask LRD. They’ll probably tell to just pick one randomly.

[Anonymous User]

Does the Firm pay for home office equipment / tech or provide some other stipend / reimbursement / loaner / etc.? Assuming it matches up with peer firms, but didn’t find anything on the recruiting page.

They did at the start of COVID, but not after offices reopened.

[Anonymous User]

What's the dress code in the Chicago office looking like post-pandemic? Shirt/slacks/dress shoes? Blazers? Jeans?

Bump. What should summers at KE Chicago expect in terms of dress? Is the vibe more formal or laid back? Would wearing a suit as a female be too formal? is it only appropriate on the first day?

Wait, are any K&E summers expecting to wear suits the first day? Genuinely confused about what to expect in NY now.

Bump. This is two days away!!!

[Anonymous User]

What's the dress code in the Chicago office looking like post-pandemic? Shirt/slacks/dress shoes? Blazers? Jeans?

Bump. What should summers at KE Chicago expect in terms of dress? Is the vibe more formal or laid back? Would wearing a suit as a female be too formal? is it only appropriate on the first day?

Wait, are any K&E summers expecting to wear suits the first day? Genuinely confused about what to expect in NY now.

Bump. This is two days away!!!

I'm a 6th year in NY. Just wear a suit. Yes some folks will chuckle re "summers are here" but only the tools say it with derision. It's endearing to most of us and always better to be too formal. Especially on the first day. That said, lose the jacket for the summer social on Tuesday

[Anonymous User]

Agree, wear suit on first day. Ditch the jacket early in the day if you want but show up in a suit. Don't wear a suit for the rest of the summer though (absent going to court or something special - I mean it will be overkill if you're just around the office for a normal day for the rest of the summer).

[Anonymous User]

I wouldn't sweat it AT ALL if you'd like to wear a suit beyond the first day for whatever reason. There are people in the office who are going to court later in the day, or just came back from court, or had a Zoom meeting that called for a jacket/tie, or there's a client around. It's a big office; lots of things are always going around; associates and partners may be wearing a suit for a variety of reasons any given day. You won't stand out if people see you in an office or the cafeteria wearing a tie.

The people who'd chuckle and say "must be summers" or whatever are probably just oblivious to what Kirkland is beyond their little sand box.

[Anonymous User]

I wouldn't sweat it AT ALL if you'd like to wear a suit beyond the first day for whatever reason. There are people in the office who are going to court later in the day, or just came back from court, or had a Zoom meeting that called for a jacket/tie, or there's a client around. It's a big office; lots of things are always going around; associates and partners may be wearing a suit for a variety of reasons any given day. You won't stand out if people see you in an office or the cafeteria wearing a tie.

The people who'd chuckle and say "must be summers" or whatever are probably just oblivious to what Kirkland is beyond their little sand box.

I think this may vary by office. In mine, suits are extremely rare (even among share partners).

[Anonymous User]

I'll be an SA in the Chicago office tomorrow. I reached out to an associate at the firm and they mentioned that business casual is truly what people are expecting from SAs. They told me to look at the instagram page for K&E to look at the photos from networking events and firm life. Honestly, some associates wear dress pants and button ups (men and women). I saw a lot of women wearing dress pants and nice cardigans. The associate said no one will think twice about it.

I would dress most formally on day one. Not advocating wearing the above on the first day. Just saying in general, business casual in the Chicago office at least, seems only as formal as what my most gunner classmates wore to class.

[Anonymous User]

Also a Chicago SA. I will not be wearing a suit—if you're on the fence, you won't be alone!

[Anonymous User]

The bottom line is that we’ve all been in your shoes and it’s really hot outside. No one will care or remember so don’t agonize over it

[Anonymous User]

If any Chicago RX associates (or partners) are reading this.

Please consider additional protocols for the NY trip SAs will take in about a week. The covid numbers are spiking everywhere but especially in NYC. 90% of NY is at high covid risk. https://www.fox5ny.com/news/cdc-ny-high-covid-risk

A lot of the summers, myself included, have either not had covid yet or have family members that we stay with that are immunocompromised.

Is anything going to be done to mitigate the chances of getting sick? In addition to the potential of not being asymptomatic, it would be unfortunate to have to miss days this summer due to being sick. Is there any way to ask everyone to wear masks during the event?

None of the SAs want to bring this up so I'm doing it anonymously. Thank you.