Kirkland Miami Forum

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland is officially opening a Miami office! If you’re in that market, congrats on all the signing bonuses you’re about to be offered (and on the general pressure at competitors to match NYC market going forward).

[Bramwell]

Weren’t they already offering people remote options?

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

[Bramwell]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

Exact opposite experience from those I have talked to and worked with at non-SLC K&E offices. General vibe is that biglaw (and Kirkland) expectations are too different from what the SLC folks were used to and there are serious mismatches to work through. Maybe that got sorted out by now.

I don't expect the same issues in Miami, which has enough biglaw lawyers already, and I imagine the existing firms there are sweating now knowing that KE will come in with massive lateral bonuses - just as they did in Texas and SLC. The KE blueprint is to grow their new offices very quickly by paying out huge signing bonuses. Good luck to the White & Cases of the world to have enough associates when the dust settles.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

K&E's starting a "special situations" offshoot group of their restructuring group in the SLC office. Really curious to see how that goes and where they fit long term. I'm guessing it's just going to be a refuge for partners who want to do out of court deals all day, but who knows.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

Exact opposite experience from those I have talked to and worked with at non-SLC K&E offices. General vibe is that biglaw (and Kirkland) expectations are too different from what the SLC folks were used to and there are serious mismatches to work through. Maybe that got sorted out by now.

I don't expect the same issues in Miami, which has enough biglaw lawyers already, and I imagine the existing firms there are sweating now knowing that KE will come in with massive lateral bonuses - just as they did in Texas and SLC. The KE blueprint is to grow their new offices very quickly by paying out huge signing bonuses. Good luck to the White & Cases of the world to have enough associates when the dust settles.

Will the KE office be in South Beach? Asking for a friend?!

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

Exact opposite experience from those I have talked to and worked with at non-SLC K&E offices. General vibe is that biglaw (and Kirkland) expectations are too different from what the SLC folks were used to and there are serious mismatches to work through. Maybe that got sorted out by now.

I don't expect the same issues in Miami, which has enough biglaw lawyers already, and I imagine the existing firms there are sweating now knowing that KE will come in with massive lateral bonuses - just as they did in Texas and SLC. The KE blueprint is to grow their new offices very quickly by paying out huge signing bonuses. Good luck to the White & Cases of the world to have enough associates when the dust settles.

Will the KE office be in South Beach? Asking for a friend?!

Winston and Strawn also announced today that tbet are opening a Miami office, located in same building as White & Case and King & Spalding (another relatively new entrant to the market that actually took a floor that W&C was hoping to get back).

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

K&E's starting a "special situations" offshoot group of their restructuring group in the SLC office. Really curious to see how that goes and where they fit long term. I'm guessing it's just going to be a refuge for partners who want to do out of court deals all day, but who knows.

For those of us who aren’t RX lawyers, what does this mean?

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

K&E's starting a "special situations" offshoot group of their restructuring group in the SLC office. Really curious to see how that goes and where they fit long term. I'm guessing it's just going to be a refuge for partners who want to do out of court deals all day, but who knows.

For those of us who aren’t RX lawyers, what does this mean?

Anon from the prior quoted post re special situations. K&E's restructuring practice is fundamentally debtor side, meaning its bread and butter clients are giant bankrupt companies that have to go through the chapter 11 process in the US Bankruptcy Courts. The group does have a smaller number of out-of-court restructurings, where the firm helps the client negotiate with its creditors outside of the courts/chapter 11 and figure out its debt without filing for bankruptcy.

This is where the special situations group fits I think - it's going to specialize in out of court negotiations/restructuring for nearly (but not quite) bankruptcy companies. That said, there's no telling what this means for K&E's overall strategy. We don't know if it's going to try to significantly expand its practice in out of court restructurings or if its going to just park a few big-book partners in that group to work out a few extra deals on the side. To be clear this isn't a new or unique type of practice, just relatively new for K&E, a firm that, like Weil, has historically focused on big Debtor representations in court.

Don't want to derail the thread too much though, just thought it was interesting.

[Anonymous User]

Based on some recent high profile lateral hires, it seems Sidley is going to be opening a satellite office in Miami too. Interesting that Kirkland, Sidley & Winston (three big players in Chicago) all announce (or at least strongly signal) Miami openings in the same week period.

[Anonymous User]

Based on some recent high profile lateral hires, it seems Sidley is going to be opening a satellite office in Miami too. Interesting that Kirkland, Sidley & Winston (three big players in Chicago) all announce (or at least strongly signal) Miami openings in the same week period.

I assume that if they are close to launching (as KE has been rumored to be doing for at least a year now), the timeline gets accelerated once they have word of a peer firm doing the same thing. So you end up with all of them moving up the announcement dates together so as to prevent anybody from getting a big head start in talent poaching.

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

Exact opposite experience from those I have talked to and worked with at non-SLC K&E offices. General vibe is that biglaw (and Kirkland) expectations are too different from what the SLC folks were used to and there are serious mismatches to work through. Maybe that got sorted out by now.

I don't expect the same issues in Miami, which has enough biglaw lawyers already, and I imagine the existing firms there are sweating now knowing that KE will come in with massive lateral bonuses - just as they did in Texas and SLC. The KE blueprint is to grow their new offices very quickly by paying out huge signing bonuses. Good luck to the White & Cases of the world to have enough associates when the dust settles.

Will the KE office be in South Beach? Asking for a friend?!

They are sending out Kirkland Miami recruiting emails today. My email says the office is in Brickell, they’re recruiting for M&A, debt finance and investment funds, and the relocation package is “extremely generous” and done for you” in a “seamless” way.

[Anonymous User]

Not that they are going to have any problem recruiting for this office, but I can vouch that the relocation package is extremely generous.

[Bramwell]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

Exact opposite experience from those I have talked to and worked with at non-SLC K&E offices. General vibe is that biglaw (and Kirkland) expectations are too different from what the SLC folks were used to and there are serious mismatches to work through. Maybe that got sorted out by now.

I don't expect the same issues in Miami, which has enough biglaw lawyers already, and I imagine the existing firms there are sweating now knowing that KE will come in with massive lateral bonuses - just as they did in Texas and SLC. The KE blueprint is to grow their new offices very quickly by paying out huge signing bonuses. Good luck to the White & Cases of the world to have enough associates when the dust settles.

Will the KE office be in South Beach? Asking for a friend?!

They are sending out Kirkland Miami recruiting emails today. My email says the office is in Brickell, they’re recruiting for M&A, debt finance and investment funds, and the relocation package is “extremely generous” and done for you” in a “seamless” way.

so they’re targeting people in which markets?

[Anonymous User]

Not that they are going to have any problem recruiting for this office, but I can vouch that the relocation package is extremely generous.

Not Miami, but as a person who previously relocated for K&E, I can confirm that relocation is the absolute best part of K&E employment.

[Anonymous User]

1st year D.C. lit associate, and I got a recruiting email. Seems like they're not exactly targeting those.

[Anonymous User]

Not that they are going to have any problem recruiting for this office, but I can vouch that the relocation package is extremely generous.

Hell, it’s extremely generous even for incoming law school grads. Full-service cross-country move (packing and unpacking, assembly and disassembly), shipping a car, flights for the family or mileage if you drive, 5-star hotels, travel meal reimbursement at the usual exorbitant Kirkland rates (for spouse etc too), realtor to find you a new place, and so on. My relocation specialist mentioned that for laterals it’s even better, such as having basically unlimited caps on things like shipping weight (for recent grads it’s 6k lbs, which is still good).

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

Exact opposite experience from those I have talked to and worked with at non-SLC K&E offices. General vibe is that biglaw (and Kirkland) expectations are too different from what the SLC folks were used to and there are serious mismatches to work through. Maybe that got sorted out by now.

I don't expect the same issues in Miami, which has enough biglaw lawyers already, and I imagine the existing firms there are sweating now knowing that KE will come in with massive lateral bonuses - just as they did in Texas and SLC. The KE blueprint is to grow their new offices very quickly by paying out huge signing bonuses. Good luck to the White & Cases of the world to have enough associates when the dust settles.

Will the KE office be in South Beach? Asking for a friend?!

They are sending out Kirkland Miami recruiting emails today. My email says the office is in Brickell, they’re recruiting for M&A, debt finance and investment funds, and the relocation package is “extremely generous” and done for you” in a “seamless” way.

so they’re targeting people in which markets?

I am in NY. My email is tailored for NYC and says NYC quality work for NYC level comp. I am not sure what other markets got emailed.

[Anonymous User]

Not that they are going to have any problem recruiting for this office, but I can vouch that the relocation package is extremely generous.

Hell, it’s extremely generous even for incoming law school grads. Full-service cross-country move (packing and unpacking, assembly and disassembly), shipping a car, flights for the family or mileage if you drive, 5-star hotels, travel meal reimbursement at the usual exorbitant Kirkland rates (for spouse etc too), realtor to find you a new place, and so on. My relocation specialist mentioned that for laterals it’s even better, such as having basically unlimited caps on things like shipping weight (for recent grads it’s 6k lbs, which is still good).

I joined KE off a clerkship so I wasn't sure what was "market" and what was specific to KE, but yes, it was awesome. Didn't lift a finger for the movers either time - when they showed up at Clerkship Apartment or when they arrived at New KE City Apartment. Ubers to and from the airports, flight, meal along the way all paid for by the firm, as well as a hotel night in New KE City before taking possession of the unit. And the realtor they hooked me up with was really good too (although they would have been more useful had I been looking for a house rather than an apartment). Dedicated phone number/email to contact the firm if you have any trouble so their people can deal with the movers, or with Delta, or whatever piece of the puzzle that has a blip.

I assumed all biglaw firms did this. In any event, it is probably as streamlined and seamless of a relocation process as possible.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland SLC associates on suicide watch

I heard from a source at K&E NY that everyone loves staffing people in the SLC because there’s a strong “Mormon work ethic” there. I suspect Miami would be the opposite culturally.

Exact opposite experience from those I have talked to and worked with at non-SLC K&E offices. General vibe is that biglaw (and Kirkland) expectations are too different from what the SLC folks were used to and there are serious mismatches to work through. Maybe that got sorted out by now.

I don't expect the same issues in Miami, which has enough biglaw lawyers already, and I imagine the existing firms there are sweating now knowing that KE will come in with massive lateral bonuses - just as they did in Texas and SLC. The KE blueprint is to grow their new offices very quickly by paying out huge signing bonuses. Good luck to the White & Cases of the world to have enough associates when the dust settles.

Will the KE office be in South Beach? Asking for a friend?!

They are sending out Kirkland Miami recruiting emails today. My email says the office is in Brickell, they’re recruiting for M&A, debt finance and investment funds, and the relocation package is “extremely generous” and done for you” in a “seamless” way.

so they’re targeting people in which markets?

I am in NY. My email is tailored for NYC and says NYC quality work for NYC level comp. I am not sure what other markets got emailed.

In DC, and had the same "NYC-quality" phrasing.

[Bramwell]

I wonder if the attorneys already working in South Florida are getting the similar “NYC style work” pitch

[Anonymous User]

Have 1st year litigation friends in SF getting these same NY quality emails for the Miami office

[Anonymous User]

Whats the comp like in miami? Tiered I imagine

[Anonymous User]

Whats the comp like in miami? Tiered I imagine

McDermott, Weil, W&C, Morgan Lewis, and all the market paying firms coming in pay full market in Miami.

Holland & Knight and GT pay market salary.

Akerman, Bilzin and other FL based firms pay below market salary (although, I was talking to a former coworker and she got an offer at Akerman that was market (for corporate)).