Kirkland Houston - Still a Shitshow? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Title says it all. Wondering if anyone has intel on the current status of Kirkland Houston. Thinking about lateraling there. Heard it was hell on earth the first couple years, with all kinds of drama and craziness. Has this settled down now? Both Kirkland and ex-Kirkland sources as well as non-Kirkland hearsay welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous User]

As part of OCI due diligence, I found a thread that said that it's calmed down since then. Here are some highlights:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10346777
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10089383

When I was interviewing, people seemed awesome. That has also been the experience of other people interviewing that I know of. The reputation for more hours + yellers still lingers among VE/LW partners, who were pretty open about their opinions on KE. I suppose that another way to look at it is that they've picked up so many people so quickly that there's no way they're as busy as they used to be, but then again, they just took on almost 50 SAs, which either suggests super aggressive expansion or that things are still hectic.

[Anonymous User]

The time to lateral to Kirkland was definitely a few years ago. From what I’ve heard, they bit off a little more than they can chew in terms of expansion, and as a result, it’s a bit cutthroat over there.

[Anonymous User]

What about their funds group?

[Anonymous User]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/busine ... 064400.php

https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2019/03 ... ency-fees/

https://www.kirkland.com/-/media/news/p ... ominat.pdf

[Anonymous User]

What about their funds group?

Avoid like the plague. Crazy hours, crazy partner, crazy expectations.

[Anonymous User]

What about their funds group?

Avoid like the plague. Crazy hours, crazy partner, crazy expectations.

Nadworny? Stories?

[Anonymous User]

A good friend of mine is a junior there. As an attorney at a local competitor, we joke about KE being this horrible place to work but most of it is in jest. My KE friend, however, has told me some horror stories from his experience. Partners and seniors throwing him under the bus to clients, screamers, no one goes to bat for you internally and is only concerned with covering their own ass (the worst of them all IMO). Apparently the culture is lacking or toxic at best.

[Anonymous User]

If I could do it again, I’d do it somewhere else, but I don’t think it’s fair to really attack the people. People should realize 1) having a business model that is driven almost entirely by private equity creates an extremely stressful environment and 2) KE is in general an aggressive place.

[Anonymous User]

If I could do it again, I’d do it somewhere else, but I don’t think it’s fair to really attack the people. People should realize 1) having a business model that is driven almost entirely by private equity creates an extremely stressful environment and 2) KE is in general an aggressive place.

Does this extremely stressful environment spill over outside of the PE group? Like even to litigation?

[Anonymous User]

If I could do it again, I’d do it somewhere else, but I don’t think it’s fair to really attack the people. People should realize 1) having a business model that is driven almost entirely by private equity creates an extremely stressful environment and 2) KE is in general an aggressive place.

Does this extremely stressful environment spill over outside of the PE group? Like even to litigation?

I posted a couple above. My buddy is not in the PE group.

[Anonymous User]

Thought of applying but it seems it would be a waste of time

[Anonymous User]

If I could do it again, I’d do it somewhere else, but I don’t think it’s fair to really attack the people. People should realize 1) having a business model that is driven almost entirely by private equity creates an extremely stressful environment and 2) KE is in general an aggressive place.

Agree. my interactions with ppl have been generally positive.

Regarding the posts above about expansion: ppl are still quite busy, but the 50 summer associate class definetly has many of us scratching our heads - definetly some potential for negative, unhealthy competition.

[Anonymous User]

If I could do it again, I’d do it somewhere else, but I don’t think it’s fair to really attack the people. People should realize 1) having a business model that is driven almost entirely by private equity creates an extremely stressful environment and 2) KE is in general an aggressive place.

Does this extremely stressful environment spill over outside of the PE group? Like even to litigation?

Are you referring to Houston? I didn't even think K&E had litigators in Houston. In Chicago, New York, and DC (where the vast majority of K&E's litigators are) it sounds much different than the wild west. I'm a lit associate in one of those three offices and there's a decent amount of work but it's nothing like what's been discussed here (or what I've heard through the grapevine about K&E Houston in particular).

[Anonymous User]

A CapM associate told me flat out that even s/he wouldn't work in the M&A group b/c of the personalities.

[Anonymous User]

None of the things I hear about Kirkland here and elsewhere are true. I am a corporate associate in Houston and I haven't seen this shitshow y'all are talking about. If you are interested in the firm, you should come and interview and make up your own mind. I think you'll find that it's no worse than any other big firm. In fact, it may be a little better in some ways.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland is the greatest firm in the world to work at, and the culture of the office embodies the motto of the great state of Texas: friendship. Most of the negative gossip is V&E’s doing. #hateuscausetheyanus

[Tenzen]

Kirkland is the greatest firm in the world to work at, and the culture of the office embodies the motto of the great state of Texas: friendship. Most of the negative gossip is V&E’s doing. #hateuscausetheyanus

Shared this post with my buddy at Kirkland. Much laughs were had.

[Anonymous User]

Can confirm that the CapM group is good

A CapM associate told me flat out that even s/he wouldn't work in the M&A group b/c of the personalities.

[Right2BearArms]

"Shitshow" is a bit hyperbolic.

That said, KE Houston (or anywhere) is not a place I would want to work, and I have told them that. At a "peer" competitor in Houston, work across from them a lot and know a good amount of people who went over. Some are still there and seem to like it, others hated it and have already moved on. I wont go so far as to shit on them the way others like to here, but I would be as equally wary of the posters who play the place up like its the greatest thing on earth.

I do not think KE is appreciably better or worse than any other biglaw office, though I will say their clients seem awful in general and I usually hate being across from them. Office is still plenty busy it seems, and they are diversifying to add more litigation (not sure if bankruptcy heavy or not, have not really dealt with them).

[Anonymous User]

I used to work at a KE competitor in town and have many friends over there. From what I have heard it is probably a bit more cut throat and has slightly worse hours but it also pays more. When I was debating going I was wondering if I should give up a year of my life for a 6 figure signing bonus and slightly higher bonus. I decided no (went in-house), but I can see why some people do it. Based on conversations with friends the clients push a little harder there and the culture is a bit more competitive. What you get in return is a potentially higher bonus and PPP that is out of this world if you make equity partner.

[Anonymous User]

I used to work at a KE competitor in town and have many friends over there. From what I have heard it is probably a bit more cut throat and has slightly worse hours but it also pays more. When I was debating going I was wondering if I should give up a year of my life for a 6 figure signing bonus and slightly higher bonus. I decided no (went in-house), but I can see why some people do it. Based on conversations with friends the clients push a little harder there and the culture is a bit more competitive. What you get in return is a potentially higher bonus and PPP that is out of this world if you make equity partner.

What year are you? Are there signing bonuses for juniors? I'd lateral as a third year and suck it up for a year if there was a signing bonus that made it worth it.

[Throwaway19877]

What about their funds group?

Avoid like the plague. Crazy hours, crazy partner, crazy expectations.

curious about this comment

[Throwaway19877]

What about their funds group?

Avoid like the plague. Crazy hours, crazy partner, crazy expectations.

Can you explain?

[Anonymous User]

What about their funds group?

Avoid like the plague. Crazy hours, crazy partner, crazy expectations.

Can you explain?

K&E already has a rep for being a difficult place to work - the funds group in Houston exemplifies every bit of that negative reputation. Share partner that'll throw associates under the bus/yell at them, an endless amount of work (emails routinely going back and forth into the early hours of the morning; ppl routinely billing 250+ hr months) and a pretty toxic culture. K&E certainly is doing a lot of noteworthy things in the PE fund space, but I can't imagine being in the group in the Houston office would be anything but miserable.