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Hi everyone!

Currently weighing OCI offers in Chicago for a summer associate position next year and am curious if anyone has any advice. The firms: Willkie Farr, Katten Muchin, Perkins Coie, Mayer Brown (corporate position b/c they have filled the litigation side)

My goals and thoughts: Litigation leaning, but hoping for flexibility as I'm a little curious about corporate work. Looking for a firm with good WLB, exciting work (and pro bono), mentorship, and friendly culture. Worried about selecting either Katten or Perkins given the recent lay offs

If typical corporate M&A, I would recommend Katten with these options. If litigation, I would lean more towards Mayer Brown. If you want to mix, I'd go to either of the aforementioned two firms based on who you liked more.

Wilkie is still very much a satellite and does not have any cache in Chicago. Perkins has been around here longer but is also a satellite. Gets traction with niche practice areas but has lost some folks over the last few years.

Mayer Brown and Katten are Chicago stalwarts and are both very highly regarded here.

sawwhetowl81 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 23, 2023 12:08 pm

Hi everyone!

Currently weighing OCI offers in Chicago for a summer associate position next year and am curious if anyone has any advice. The firms: Willkie Farr, Katten Muchin, Perkins Coie, Mayer Brown (corporate position b/c they have filled the litigation side)

My goals and thoughts: Litigation leaning, but hoping for flexibility as I'm a little curious about corporate work. Looking for a firm with good WLB, exciting work (and pro bono), mentorship, and friendly culture. Worried about selecting either Katten or Perkins given the recent lay offs

Have heard serious negatives about Perkins Coie Chicago re: culture, even aside from the layoffs.

Don't count on corporate at Mayer being a way into their lit department, which is very picky. If you're willing to be stuck in corporate, then I'd go Mayer. If not, then Katten.

Agree with above anon; Willkie is a perfectly fine firm but their Chicago office isn't really known for anything and won't help you move in the market as much as the other two.

sawwhetowl81 wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 23, 2023 12:08 pm

Hi everyone!

Currently weighing OCI offers in Chicago for a summer associate position next year and am curious if anyone has any advice. The firms: Willkie Farr, Katten Muchin, Perkins Coie, Mayer Brown (corporate position b/c they have filled the litigation side)

My goals and thoughts: Litigation leaning, but hoping for flexibility as I'm a little curious about corporate work. Looking for a firm with good WLB, exciting work (and pro bono), mentorship, and friendly culture. Worried about selecting either Katten or Perkins given the recent lay offs

Mayer Brown by a mile

There definitely seems to be support for Mayer Brown, but I'm hesitant since the position is strictly "corporate only," and I'm leaning towards litigation. Is it still worth picking this firm despite this caveat?

Agree with others that between the two I'd pick Mayer, but if your offer for Mayer is only corporate and you lean lit, then go to Katten.

Didn't Mayer Brown just lose their managing partner to Willkie Chicago?

I'd say Katten/Willkie here. Lean Willkie since Katten just announced layoffs delays early this month.

Katten hands down. Yes, even over Mayer Brown.

Both pay market. Both are headquartered in Chicago. Both have similar financial stats. They are peer firms more or less. Mayer Brown is ranked higher because it used to be a litigation powerhouse and had a lot of famous cases/lawyers pre-2000. Both have a very good reputation in the region.

Mayer Brown's culture though is much more buttoned up. Be prepared to be in the office most weekdays. Katten is very remote friendly - I don't know if they still have the work from anywhere policy, but the fact it even once existed, is a testament to the firm's more laidback culture. This is a good thing, trust me. Even for training as a first year purposes. You aren't going to learn more by being forced into the office, it's just an extra stressor (plus you can of course still go to the office if you work at Katten, people go in, it's just not as forced).

Willkie is a satellite office. Great brand name nationally, but in Chicago no one will care. It is going to take years for them to gain traction, if they ever do.

If you are absolutely gung-ho on tech/IP, Perkins may be worth considering, but the Chicago office mostly does middle-market PE M&A (it's Chicago after all, that's what most corporate work is comprised of). And that office is known to have a fairly negative culture, Maybe that's unfair/not true, but I've seen it myself, plenty of folks only stay there a year or two before leaving.

For context, Willkie is a very new office (it opened in 2020) and is populated mostly by ex-Jenner people. It's still not a major player in Chicago but its growth trajectory has been pretty impressive.

Willkie's office has been open for 3 years, and they have 80 attorneys. Yeah, that's going to pale in comparison to their NY office, but calling it a satellite doesn't seem appropriate either. When I think of satellite offices, I think of offices with 10-20 attorneys in a market, not one that will probably be 100 attorneys by the end of 2024.

I'd be somewhat weary of Katten, because I know they sometimes place folks who want lit into corporate when they don't have the demand.

No opinion on PC, but I always thought they had a decent presence in the city (and am too lazy to look them up).

Mayer Brown would be great if it was a lit spot. Their corporate work is fine.

Which firm did you end up choosing?

Doesn't Willkie guarantee bonuses? Personally that'd be enough for me. But can't go wrong with any of these really.

This is a very broad question, but are any of the Chicago biglaw firms out of the 2022/23 depression yet? It seems like entry level hiring has picked up on the coasts but not here yet.