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I'm a rising 2L at a median T14. Before law school, I spent several years working in the federal government Going through "pre-OCI" right now, and I'm focusing on firms that are realistic given my grades would be receptive given my experience.

Right now, that means I'm looking at:

Akin Gump
Steptoe
Crowel & Moring
Wiley Rein
Kelley Dry
Greenberg Traurig

I'm particularly interested in the first three. Can anyone speak to which firm has more cache globally in the practice? I have interviews/offers with at least 3 of these so I understand this is premature, but mostly wondering if Steptoe is the easy choice here?

Why not a real heavy-hitter international firm, like Latham or Cleary?

What sort of trade law do you want to do?

Akin and Steptoe are probably the best of the two and will give you the broadest set of options. If you get offers from both, I would pick based on how you vibe with the firm. Just be aware that both firms represent clients implicated for their role in the Uyghur genocide. But I know The Akin team at least is large enough that you could easily avoid that work. Not sure about Steptoe.

Wiley and Kelley are impressive AD/CVD shops but neither do the really cool trade policy work (beyond cutting edge AD/CVD policy).

There is some great very cool trade work that comes out of Crowell but because they are lower in the AmLaw they need to take more route work to keep the lights on.

Latham and Cleary are not great int’l trade shops. I know Cleary is good at int’l arbitration which is very different.

The above advice is caveated on the fact that you would be looking at DC offices. Trade law in the US is almost exclusively in DC.

Mockingbird42 wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 10, 2022 11:13 pm

What sort of trade law do you want to do?

Akin and Steptoe are probably the best of the two and will give you the broadest set of options. If you get offers from both, I would pick based on how you vibe with the firm. Just be aware that both firms represent clients implicated for their role in the Uyghur genocide. But I know The Akin team at least is large enough that you could easily avoid that work. Not sure about Steptoe.

Wiley and Kelley are impressive AD/CVD shops but neither do the really cool trade policy work (beyond cutting edge AD/CVD policy).

There is some great very cool trade work that comes out of Crowell but because they are lower in the AmLaw they need to take more route work to keep the lights on.

Latham and Cleary are not great int’l trade shops. I know Cleary is good at int’l arbitration which is very different.

The above advice is caveated on the fact that you would be looking at DC offices. Trade law in the US is almost exclusively in DC.

This was incredibly helpful thank you. I'd love to hear more about what you mean by the "broadest set of options" and the rote work. If it's easier, can I message? Thank you again.

To answer the Latham/Cleary question, I don't think I have the grades for either (just want to stay honest with myself) but more importantly, their trade teams seem more limited in scope. My impression is that the practice is sort of there just to be available and provide "full service" to clients.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 11, 2022 12:28 am

Mockingbird42 wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 10, 2022 11:13 pm

What sort of trade law do you want to do?

Akin and Steptoe are probably the best of the two and will give you the broadest set of options. If you get offers from both, I would pick based on how you vibe with the firm. Just be aware that both firms represent clients implicated for their role in the Uyghur genocide. But I know The Akin team at least is large enough that you could easily avoid that work. Not sure about Steptoe.

Wiley and Kelley are impressive AD/CVD shops but neither do the really cool trade policy work (beyond cutting edge AD/CVD policy).

There is some great very cool trade work that comes out of Crowell but because they are lower in the AmLaw they need to take more route work to keep the lights on.

Latham and Cleary are not great int’l trade shops. I know Cleary is good at int’l arbitration which is very different.

The above advice is caveated on the fact that you would be looking at DC offices. Trade law in the US is almost exclusively in DC.

This was incredibly helpful thank you. I'd love to hear more about what you mean by the "broadest set of options" and the rote work. If it's easier, can I message? Thank you again.

To answer the Latham/Cleary question, I don't think I have the grades for either (just want to stay honest with myself) but more importantly, their trade teams seem more limited in scope. My impression is that the practice is sort of there just to be available and provide "full service" to clients.

Trade law is more than one thing. It can be (1) customs (2) trade remedies (3) trade policy (4) wto (but this is on the decline) (5) export controls and sanctions and/or (6) CFIUS. Not every trade group will do all six kinds of trade law and some firms will put (5) and (6) in another group like national security. I would recommend as a junior getting the broadest exposure to all types as possible and then decide how you want to specialize.

I’d also ad White and Case to the list. A respected trade shop although they have a reputation of being a sweatshop by DC standards.

Akin is really good. I know the partners there and they do solid work.

I’d rule out Crowell & Moring - as someone mentioned above, they do a lot of uninteresting work. The quality of some attorneys is questionable.

Why not add Arnold & Porter to the list?

Baker McKenzie is another option.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:28 am

Akin is really good. I know the partners there and they do solid work.

I’d rule out Crowell & Moring - as someone mentioned above, they do a lot of uninteresting work. The quality of some attorneys is questionable.

Why not add Arnold & Porter to the list?

Can you tell me a bit more about why you would rule them out? I hear good things about their export control/sanctions practice. What do you mean about the work/ questionable attorneys in the trade group.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:34 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:28 am

Akin is really good. I know the partners there and they do solid work.

I’d rule out Crowell & Moring - as someone mentioned above, they do a lot of uninteresting work. The quality of some attorneys is questionable.

Why not add Arnold & Porter to the list?

Can you tell me a bit more about why you would rule them out? I hear good things about their export control/sanctions practice. What do you mean about the work/ questionable attorneys in the trade group.

My impression is that they aren’t who you call if you need the really sophisticated analysis done. They are who you call if you need a reliable but cost effective expert to do diligence of on the ec/sanctions risk of a deal.

Varies based on practice, but Kelley Drye would be my last choice of the bunch. I worked across from one of their main partners on a CFIUS deal and was underwhelmed. If import matters are their specialty then that is even more reason to steer clear, that work is very compliance-based and uninteresting.

Wiley’s attorneys are a step up from Kelley’s, but they are a pretty small firm and practice seems to be limited in focus. I only came across them on FCC work, like Team Telecom reviews, which are very niche. Attorneys seem pleasant though.

If you want to do export controls, Kevin Wolf is at Akin and is one of the very best. They also have a decent CFIUS practice.

I haven’t worked much with Steptoe but worked closely with someone who came from there, they are well-regarded but their practice seems more limited in scope. I think they focus on export controls and sanctions, never came across them in CFIUS.

In general for trade, Akin > Steptoe > Wiley Rein > Kelley Drye.

Even if you don’t have grades to get into a very top firm right away, you can lateral to one after a few years if you want. At my old firm we hired numerous laterals who never would have made the cut at OCI.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 10, 2022 12:58 pm

I'm a rising 2L at a median T14. Before law school, I spent several years working in the federal government Going through "pre-OCI" right now, and I'm focusing on firms that are realistic given my grades would be receptive given my experience.

Right now, that means I'm looking at:

Akin Gump
Steptoe
Crowel & Moring
Wiley Rein
Kelley Dry
Greenberg Traurig

I'm particularly interested in the first three. Can anyone speak to which firm has more cache globally in the practice? I have interviews/offers with at least 3 of these so I understand this is premature, but mostly wondering if Steptoe is the easy choice here?

Out of those Steptoe is clearly the best brand for trade remedies, WTO, trade policy and export controls and sanctions. Except for Akin Gump there is probably no reason to go to another firm if you have a Steptoe offer. If you have offers from both I suggest you look more closely into the two firms and other elements apart from reputation in a given field.

Agree with the other posters that unless you have a strong preference of what area of trade law you want, Steptoe is the best choice for 90% of people in your position. Akin also very good, as is W&C. Kelley Drye does a ton of AD/CVD work and is strong at it.

Another thing to consider is whether you care to represent foreign or domestic clients. For example, Wiley Rein represents virtually only US companies, W&C and most other big firms represent foreign companies.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 10, 2022 12:58 pm

I'm a rising 2L at a median T14. Before law school, I spent several years working in the federal government Going through "pre-OCI" right now, and I'm focusing on firms that are realistic given my grades would be receptive given my experience.

Right now, that means I'm looking at:

Akin Gump
Steptoe
Crowel & Moring
Wiley Rein
Kelley Dry
Greenberg Traurig

I'm particularly interested in the first three. Can anyone speak to which firm has more cache globally in the practice? I have interviews/offers with at least 3 of these so I understand this is premature, but mostly wondering if Steptoe is the easy choice here?

I think you're underselling your potential to land at a more competitive firm. Yes, the DC market tends to be ultra grades competitive for many firms, but many firms take several folks in their summer classes who have (1) relevant experience and ties, and (2) a good sense of a specific and profitable practice they'd like to join. You have both of those things, so you'll get some looks hitting above your grades profile. I do think that firms like Cleary would absolutely look at you (they're not super grades selective in DC anyways) as well as some other firms like Skadden or W&C or A&P which do significant trade work (again, it depends on what you want to do within the broad trade bucket). I wouldn't rule out Hogan either, which has a solid trade group. Probably Covington, Wilmer, and Sidley are the top three elite trade group firms where grades will most likely be an auto ding.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 11, 2022 3:34 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:28 am

Akin is really good. I know the partners there and they do solid work.

I’d rule out Crowell & Moring - as someone mentioned above, they do a lot of uninteresting work. The quality of some attorneys is questionable.

Why not add Arnold & Porter to the list?

Can you tell me a bit more about why you would rule them out? I hear good things about their export control/sanctions practice. What do you mean about the work/ questionable attorneys in the trade group.

My impression is that they aren’t who you call if you need the really sophisticated analysis done. They are who you call if you need a reliable but cost effective expert to do diligence of on the ec/sanctions risk of a deal.

This is incorrect. There is very little sanctions/ec deal diligence work coming out of Crowell, in large part because they don't have a big corporate shop feeding them that work. Among folks in the know, they have a very strong trade reputation, particularly in Customs, Forced Labor, Economic Sanctions + Export Controls and to a large extent trade remedies. Unsure about CFIUS and trade policy work. As of recently, they have or used to have the former Chief Counsel of OFAC and FinCEN in the trade group. There is sophisticated work for high profile clients coming out of there and it's one of the few firms with a deep and wide trade bench. For sanctions/EC, Covington, Akin, Steptoe are a tier above and maybe Hogan, but Crowell and White & Case are probably next with others a cut below.