Keker Van Nest? Forum

[Anonymous User]

HYS grad with one year experience at a top NY big law firm + 2/9/DC + EDNY/SDNY/DDC clerkship. Am coming off my second clerkship soon and looking to switch into a lit. boutique either in NY or in the Bay Area to be closer to my partner's family.

I'm interested in KVN, but haven't been able to find as much discussion on this forum about KVN compared to other leading lit. boutiques. I'm specifically curious about the partner track (consideration in years post-clerkship, clerkship year credit, % of associates elevated), partnership pay structure (modified lockstep?), and average billables. Also interested in average billables--my understanding is that billables tend to be lower than NY biglaw (associates are averaging ~2800 at my current firm), and more flexible with hybrid work.

Thanks so much!

[Anonymous User]

Bumping. I am a junior IP LIT associate at a V10 w/one year district court clerkship working in SF and recently met some attorneys from Keker who I was really impressed by.

I like my current firm a lot but don't love IP LIT an am considering sending in a lateral application for Keker whenever they open up. I think it would be interesting to experience being at a boutique and to potentially get a wider range of lit experience.

But I worry I have a grass is greener mentality now and will regret leaving my firm. Current billable hours in my group is about 2300 a year and I wouldn't want to go higher than this. Remote work policy is also great at my firm, I know Keker at least on their website seems potentially less flexible. Also want to know about partnership track, average billable hours, associate pay and bonus structure.

[hangtime813]

Bumping. I am a junior IP LIT associate at a V10 w/one year district court clerkship working in SF and recently met some attorneys from Keker who I was really impressed by.

I like my current firm a lot but don't love IP LIT an am considering sending in a lateral application for Keker whenever they open up. I think it would be interesting to experience being at a boutique and to potentially get a wider range of lit experience.

But I worry I have a grass is greener mentality now and will regret leaving my firm. Current billable hours in my group is about 2300 a year and I wouldn't want to go higher than this. Remote work policy is also great at my firm, I know Keker at least on their website seems potentially less flexible. Also want to know about partnership track, average billable hours, associate pay and bonus structure.

Keker is a great boutique especially if you plan on staying in SF long term. The lawyers there are top notch and from memory, comp is at least the same as market biglaw. FWIW their office is really nice and they are very involved in the SF bar association, fundraisers, etc. It's a tough firm to get into though, best of luck if you can land a spot.

[Anonymous User]

Bumping. I am a junior IP LIT associate at a V10 w/one year district court clerkship working in SF and recently met some attorneys from Keker who I was really impressed by.

I like my current firm a lot but don't love IP LIT an am considering sending in a lateral application for Keker whenever they open up. I think it would be interesting to experience being at a boutique and to potentially get a wider range of lit experience.

But I worry I have a grass is greener mentality now and will regret leaving my firm. Current billable hours in my group is about 2300 a year and I wouldn't want to go higher than this. Remote work policy is also great at my firm, I know Keker at least on their website seems potentially less flexible. Also want to know about partnership track, average billable hours, associate pay and bonus structure.

Keker is a great boutique especially if you plan on staying in SF long term. The lawyers there are top notch and from memory, comp is at least the same as market biglaw. FWIW their office is really nice and they are very involved in the SF bar association, fundraisers, etc. It's a tough firm to get into though, best of luck if you can land a spot.

Agreed. I considered Keker and thought it was by far the best landing spot in SF if I wanted to stay there long term (I ultimately decided that I didn't). I'm a few years removed from my interview experience, but I'll give you what insight I gleaned then.

From what I gathered during the interview process, the average billable hours were definitely less than big law but not enough that I'd consider it a lifestyle firm (if that's what you ultimately want). Work seemed much more substantive (drafting whole briefs, taking/defending depos, attending court conferences, oral advocacy opportunities) than big law. Partnership track seemed realistic: they elevated around the same number of partners each year as my old v10 despite their smaller size. Generally, an 8-year partnership track based on your grad year. Associate salary matched big law. Bonuses were "discretionary," but I was told generally matched big law unless you deviated far above/below avg billables (i.e. you could get paid more or less if you worked materially more or less, respectively). More remote friendly than big law.

Culture seemed like the biggest selling point, at least for me. It's super laid back and focuses more on you getting the work done. Everyone seemed to have an actual personal life and passions outside of work, despite being great litigators. And for the most part, everyone was super down to Earth and easy to get along with, including the partners. They were starting to encourage more social gatherings, but it wasn't required. Their office is gorgeous: think industrial-chic art gallery. If you're familiar with the SF-lit scene, Keker has a reputation for being amazing to work with and against. It's well-deserved.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone interviewed for Fall 2025? Their website says they start considering applications in February.

[Anonymous User]

New poster here. I'd appreciate any comparisons between Munger SF vs Keker. From what I can gather, both places have around the same WLB and both have interesting work.

Long term, I'm interested in government service FWIW.

[Anonymous User]

New poster here. I'd appreciate any comparisons between Munger SF vs Keker. From what I can gather, both places have around the same WLB and both have interesting work.

Long term, I'm interested in government service FWIW.

What are you interested in? Other than being smaller than big law and preſtigious they are fairly different. Keker is more trial focused, less formal, and a larger share of its cases are IP (which is not to say that's all they do). Munger has more of a general litigation practice (including more appeals), has a more variegated practice (less of a northern California tech focus), and has a more reserved/intellectual culture.

So it depends what kind of government service you mean. If you want to be an ND Cal AUSA, probably Keker. If you want to work in DC, probably Munger.