Kirkland (Houston) Associate - Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

Former BigTex firm previously. Taking questions on differences between bigTx and Kirkland/Latham, state of TX market, etc.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a rising 3L and have accepted an offer with a V30 in New York for after graduation. If I eventually want to lateral to Texas (Houston or Dallas) and do corporate (specifically M&A), should I try to get on deals that have an energy focus, to the extent that it is possible? Or can people who have never worked on energy related deals still lateral to Texas firms?

Also, what is the M&A practice like at both Kirkland and Latham? Is it small with only a few attorneys, or is it a big part of the corporate groups at each firm?

[Anonymous User]

Former BigTex firm previously. Taking questions on differences between bigTx and Kirkland/Latham, state of TX market, etc.

What are your thoughts on the state of the houston legal market?

[FSK]

Are you on balance in balance?

[Anonymous User]

I'm a rising 3L and have accepted an offer with a V30 in New York for after graduation. If I eventually want to lateral to Texas (Houston or Dallas) and do corporate (specifically M&A), should I try to get on deals that have an energy focus, to the extent that it is possible? Or can people who have never worked on energy related deals still lateral to Texas firms?

Also, what is the M&A practice like at both Kirkland and Latham? Is it small with only a few attorneys, or is it a big part of the corporate groups at each firm?

Definitely can lateral without any experience in energy, but might be a slight hurdle if you make the move year 4/5 or later. Main value to being on a couple energy deals is you can use it as a hook on your deal sheet and when you interview.

2. M&A is very strong at both. I can speak best wrt Kirkland. We have 70 attorneys or so now. 50-60 of them do some type of corporate work. Heavy PE focus at Kirkland. For context on numbers, Latham Houston is about 80 attorneys total. We will be at 100 in another year (only opened in 2014). Our new building has space for over 125 attorneys.

[Anonymous User]

Former BigTex firm previously. Taking questions on differences between bigTx and Kirkland/Latham, state of TX market, etc.

What are your thoughts on the state of the houston legal market?

Feast or famine depending on firm and practice group. Capital markets largely dead. PE very hot. Asset based O&G deals spotty. Restructuring very hot. Litigation more or less steady. Kirkland is very busy and still needs more people, in part because PE and Bankruptcy are premier practices for them. Most Big TX firms are hurting to various degrees. BB/VE will be fine, but others like AK/Bracewell etc will have to radically reinvent themselves to remain competitive long term.

[Anonymous User]

Are you on balance in balance?

on balance *pauses*, marginally in balance.

[Anonymous User]

When will offers go out?

[Anonymous User]

I summered at a different K&E office, may be interested in Houston for personal reasons in near future. What's the lit group like there? How much general commercial lit goes through Kirkland Houston?

[Anonymous User]

How is the Houston office going to reshape its image? It's notorious for being very difficult to work against in transactions, do the attorneys even care?

The office has a lot of bankruptcy in the HOU office, after the ebbs and flows of the market, is it going to have to downsize after the bankruptcy trend?

[Anonymous User]

When will offers go out?

Some already have. Most have not.

[Anonymous User]

I summered at a different K&E office, may be interested in Houston for personal reasons in near future. What's the lit group like there? How much general commercial lit goes through Kirkland Houston?

Lit is a relatively new addition to the office. The office started primarily focused on transactional work but since that has been very successful, we are now transitioning to a full service office. The litigators I know are nice and have good reputations. Lit will be a point of growth in the future. I would encourage you to come visit the office and meet with them once you start in your other office. Visiting attorneys from other Kirkland offices are here all the time.

[Anonymous User]

2L here considering a summer associate position at Kirkland. How easy is it to transfer between domestic offices? Say between NYC and Houston or Chicago and LA? Do you see this commonly happening?

[Anonymous User]

When will offers go out?

Some already have. Most have not.

Did offers go out from today's interviews?

[Anonymous User]

How is the Houston office going to reshape its image? It's notorious for being very difficult to work against in transactions, do the attorneys even care?

The office has a lot of bankruptcy in the HOU office, after the ebbs and flows of the market, is it going to have to downsize after the bankruptcy trend?

Sorry, don't know what you are referring to here. The office has been wildly successful to date (most profitable KE office since inception, PE/Bankruptcy/Finance/Corporate all killing it and have more work than bodies, despite already growing to 70 attorneys in two years). I do understand if opposing counsel doesn't like that, but that's probably in part why clients will pay our premium rates - happy with the results.

We have approximately 5-7 bankruptcy attorneys out of 70 in the office. A cursory search on our website would confirm that. Most of this work gets farmed out to other KE offices, or other KE attorneys who come to Houston. Our biggest problem is finding capable bodies to service all the work.

[Anonymous User]

2L here considering a summer associate position at Kirkland. How easy is it to transfer between domestic offices? Say between NYC and Houston or Chicago and LA? Do you see this commonly happening?

Seems to be fairly common. Have seen HOU --> DC, Hou --> Chicago, Hou --> NY. Have also seen the reverse. Not an automatic thing, but if you prove yourself and are well liked, it is possible.

[Anonymous User]

When will offers go out?

Some already have. Most have not.

Did offers go out from today's interviews?

Not sure. We usually move very quickly for consensus picks. But most people aren't consensus picks, so I wouldn't be worried if you don't hear right away.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a junior corporate guy looking to lateral. Multiple recruiters have called me about Kirkland. I've always told them no because I've heard awful things about the culture. Rumor was that HR had to step in between associates and partners because things got out of hand. Can you confirm/deny the existence of psycho partners?

[Anonymous User]

I have heard from multiple sources horrific things about Kirkland Houston's culture. Rumor was that HR had to step in between associates and partners because things got out of hand. Can you confirm/deny the existence of psycho partners?

Yeah, I heard the same things when I went through my process. Gave me pause. Was actually quite surprised to find that is not the case. According to an associate who I trust, it was an issue during the first year but was acknowledged as a problem and was fixed. Have not seen any of it and I would given the size of the office. Apparently 3-4 people involved (mainly partners), none of whom work at KE houston anymore. Has been no different than my previous BigTX firm in terms of pleasantness. And if you like a work hard/play hard atmosphere, it is better because it is less hierarchical.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a junior corporate guy looking to lateral. Multiple recruiters have called me about Kirkland. I've always told them no because I've heard awful things about the culture. Rumor was that HR had to step in between associates and partners because things got out of hand. Can you confirm/deny the existence of psycho partners?

Responded above, but would be happy to talk offline if you have a throwaway. Had similar concerns but the decision would be much easier now (Kirkland).

[Anonymous User]

I'm a junior corporate guy looking to lateral. Multiple recruiters have called me about Kirkland. I've always told them no because I've heard awful things about the culture. Rumor was that HR had to step in between associates and partners because things got out of hand. Can you confirm/deny the existence of psycho partners?

Responded above, but would be happy to talk offline if you have a throwaway. Had similar concerns but the decision would be much easier now (Kirkland).

Previous anon here. That's very good to know. I have also heard about the matter being resolved as some of the troublesome partners left. Now I'm intrigued and am tempted to ask my recruiter to reach out. How would you characterize the personalities of the corporate associates? I know a handful of them personally, and several of them have (what I would call) "strong" personalities. I'm not saying I wouldn't be able to work with them, but if everyone there were like them it would probably be a no-go. Nor am I saying I have godlike personality or anything, it's just that I'm currently at a firm where everyone is nice to the point of adorableness and I don't want something crazy different.

[Anonymous User]

I know that you guys have been growing like crazy, but I also know that firms rarely take laterals after only 1-2 years. Have you guys taken many people early on ?

[Anonymous User]

I'm a junior corporate guy looking to lateral. Multiple recruiters have called me about Kirkland. I've always told them no because I've heard awful things about the culture. Rumor was that HR had to step in between associates and partners because things got out of hand. Can you confirm/deny the existence of psycho partners?

Responded above, but would be happy to talk offline if you have a throwaway. Had similar concerns but the decision would be much easier now (Kirkland).

Previous anon here. That's very good to know. I have also heard about the matter being resolved as some of the troublesome partners left. Now I'm intrigued and am tempted to ask my recruiter to reach out. How would you characterize the personalities of the corporate associates? I know a handful of them personally, and several of them have (what I would call) "strong" personalities. I'm not saying I wouldn't be able to work with them, but if everyone there were like them it would probably be a no-go. Nor am I saying I have godlike personality or anything, it's just that I'm currently at a firm where everyone is nice to the point of adorableness and I don't want something crazy different.

We are a young group that works hard and plays hard. We joke a lot around the office. It's a pretty young office, oldest partner is in his early 40's and that impacts our culture. Being willing to grind is important. Beyond that, we have some strong personalities, but not universal. If very meek might not be the best fit. Happy to discuss in more detail about this or the firm, just post a throw-away.

[Anonymous User]

I know that you guys have been growing like crazy, but I also know that firms rarely take laterals after only 1-2 years. Have you guys taken many people early on ?

We have taken some people before year 1, but our first summer class will be started full-time next month. So for a while we needed everyone. I think the focus now is more on rising mid-levels and above, but still see incoming JD 2015's coming on board so don't rule it out.

[Anonymous User]

I summered at a different K&E office, may be interested in Houston for personal reasons in near future. What's the lit group like there? How much general commercial lit goes through Kirkland Houston?

Lit is a relatively new addition to the office. The office started primarily focused on transactional work but since that has been very successful, we are now transitioning to a full service office. The litigators I know are nice and have good reputations. Lit will be a point of growth in the future. I would encourage you to come visit the office and meet with them once you start in your other office. Visiting attorneys from other Kirkland offices are here all the time.

Different K&E anon here. K&E litigators have been super busy since the practice opened. The head of the Lit group is a rockstar and the other partners are K&E trained from other offices and have been great about bringing the K&E litigation culture/training/experience to Houston. As a K&E summer, you probably already know that Kirkland is consistently rated by independent sources (i.e. AmLaw; BTI Consulting) one of the best, if not the absolute best, litigation practices in the country and K&E Houston lit is absolutely included in that mix. Lots of general commercial lit and white collar being done in Houston. I don't disagree that they are still growing, since they just started and need to hire more people given how much work has come their way already, but they have already been tremendously successful in the marketplace.