The Work  

Over half of all attorneys work in litigation, with all but one or two new associates joining the practice each year. The team sees a variety of contentious work, ranging from false advertising – a top-ranked nationwide practice in Chambers USA –to IP, highly ranked in New York for patent, trademark and copyright. Securities, antitrust, sports law and media & entertainment fall under the general commercial umbrella.

While many firms allow associates to be generalists for a year or two, “at Patterson Belknap they don’t make you specialize, like, ever.” Associates were impressed that the firm “wants you to be as generalized as possible,” an example set from the top down. “There are some partners that are more specialized – like IP or state law or financial services litigation, but many are very generalized.”

The juniors we spoke to had “a few different cases going – patent, antitrust and a big securities case. They stick pretty true to getting you a variety of work where possible. A lot of people are doing big mortgage-backed securities cases right now because that’s what’s out there right now, but most people have at least one other case that they may be more interested in.”

Litigation partner Lisa Cleary assigns junior-level work, and chairs the associates' and pro bono committees. “She’s also a general mentor and adviser to new starters,” one explained. Cleary will also send out general emails when a case needs staffing.

“It is rare to find even first-years here who do nothing but doc review day in and day out. The teams and cases are often a little smaller,” associates reported. “The staffing here is very different. On a lot of my cases – 60 to 70 percent of them – it’s just a partner and me; sometimes just a senior partner and me. Getting that interaction and working with them so closely, I know it’s great, but I know it especially when I meet up with my friends from law school and see the reaction on their faces.” While many had similar experiences, some also reported being on teams of five to 12 lawyers.

The firm’s “relatively small” corporate, corporate IP, bankruptcy and tax practices operate “fairly separately,” but will sometimes interact with litigators if they’re working with the same client.

Training & Development  

“Development’s something that’s emphasized here more than most places,” associates agreed. “When I get staffed on things, partners are more than happy to sit down with me and go over everything. It’s an amazing resource – the best there is.” Besides the informal mentoring, new starters have a formal associate mentor and there are three class advisers for each class. “I haven’t used them specifically, but it’s nice to know they’re there,” one source reported.

There’s “a full week of orientation which includes legal and administrative matters as well as writing skills, how to be a stellar associate and ethics,” hiring partner Bob Lehrburger tells us. The firm also offers “a bunch of CLE” training and “sponsors a lot of outside consulting – we had a public speaking consultant that came in for one-on-one sessions, and the firm is sending me to a two-week deposition training with the New York City law department,” an associate explained.

When associates meet with two partners for feedback, they receive a checklist of “things they want you to have done” by a certain level within the firm. “I was talking with a senior associate and I mentioned that list, and he said he lateraled here as a fourth-year and was only able to check off a couple of those things,” a second-year told us. The coordinator “tells you to make sure you get experience in x, y and z, asks if there’s a way to get it through your current matters and if not suggests a pro bono matter that will offer it.” First and second-year associates have formal reviews every six months.

Offices  

“The resources and everything are great, it’s just very pleasant” in Patterson Belknap’s Midtown office. Associates share for their first year only and can look forward to views of the Chrysler Building and of Bryant Park. There are “standard ‘K-Cup’ coffee machines on every floor” and the cafeteria “is okay – old, but very cheap.” The firm’s "constantly upgrading stuff,” an associate reported. “I’m a pretty techy person and they always seem caught up. There’s a great IT department always looking out for us, and we have a tech allowance so I bought a better laptop than the standard issue for when I work from home.”

Culture  

“The culture is just very different” compared to your average New York firm. “When I started it wasn’t just the normal orientation; for weeks people would walk in, introduce themselves and ask you out for coffee,” one junior remembered. “I’m still relatively new and I can recognize most people by face, if not by name. You know who you work with, which is nice,” a first-year added. “People are very approachable. Everyone I’ve worked with has been really nice, really smart and really willing to mentor.”

Associates agreed that the firm “does attract a certain sort of cerebral, dorky personality,” and we can add after conducting our interviews, wit and sarcasm are not lost on associates here. The firm’s notoriously intellectual. “It’s a very clerk-like experience. You get a lot of people who take a certain intellectual joy in litigation – people who are happy to discuss the finer points of a case in your office for an hour.”

Associates were “impressed with the extent to which everyone is treated as a colleague; you're not expected to bow down to partners.” A lateral associate was “still adjusting” to being able to talk to partners directly about a case. “If there’s a discussion between a partner and a senior associate about the case usually everyone else is copied in. It probably varies a little bit, but generally hierarchy is few and far between,” associates agreed. Laterals were “amazed at how transparent this place can be. At my old firm the only conversation we got was ‘Don’t worry, we’re not going bankrupt.’ Here, they break out all the numbers, all the financials and tell us all about the business model and strategy at the annual state of the firm address.” Still, others argued that transparency could be improved, adding that although there’s an associates committee, “there’s not much associate input.”

Hours & Compensation  

Associates have two targets: one of 1,850 billable hours and another of 2,100 ‘all-in’ hours, which can include time spent on pro bono, training, recruiting and client development. Last year “on average people were between 2,000 and 2,200 for just billable – but that was one of the firm’s busiest years.” Luckily, “there’s not a huge pressure to just sit in your office and bill. We’re not just told to come up with so many hours – they really keep an eye on what we’ve spent those hours doing – efficiency is extremely valued here.” Salaries are lockstep at New York market rates. Bonuses depend wholly on hours. Should associates fail to reach either target, they only get half of the discretionary bonus, which is usually market rate as well.

“There’s no face time really. I never feel like I need to be in the office if I don’t have anything to do. The office itself clears out pretty early anyway,” one associate explained. “We will generally have a good understanding of when we’ll have to stay late or do a weekend here or there; because you have so much responsibility it gives you much more control over your schedule,” another added. We spoke to two associates who “had not canceled any plans” due to work, although they counted themselves lucky.

Pro Bono  

“The firm has a very strong pro bono culture,” associates agreed. “You’re required to do it – it’s an expectation just the way hitting the 1,850 target is,” one explained. “You’re strongly encouraged to do pro bono to meet the 2,100 target, rather than more billables.” The firm says that for several years now 100 percent of its attorneys have participated in pro bono projects each year. The average per lawyer is 104.3 hours. “My pro bono matter took me out of the office for a few hours and there was a billable meeting I missed, but I just let the partner know ahead of time and it wasn’t a problem,” one source explained.

“There are plenty of opportunities” provided by the firm, and associates can also find their own matters and get them approved. Interviewees were impressed by the pro bono coordinator: “You can mention an interest in a certain type of pro bono work and she’ll just spout out all these organizations and people at the firm who’ve worked with them before.” Patterson Belknap has received a plethora of awards for its pro bono efforts and has plenty of tie-ups with organizations throughout New York City.

Diversity  

“It’s pretty visible that the firm could be more diverse in terms of both women and minorities,” one associate reported, “but the firm does have a diversity committee and diversity training every year. I think the firm is committed, it’s just one of those things.” Although it was agreed “there are more efforts to be made,” the firm does acknowledge its “numbers have not been as high as they would want” and is set to rectify the situation.

Hiring partner Bob Lehrburger admits: “We have implemented varied diversity initiatives over the years, but we’re never complacent with the state of diversity in the firm. For instance, we've even gotten involved in pipeline projects, such as mentoring in high schools, to get students interested in the legal profession.” The firm’s affinity groups try to reach out to minorities, and recruiters make sure to “visit diversity and minority job fairs” where possible.

Get Hired  

The firm certainly looks for “academic and professional excellence,” but that’s “not the be-all and end-all,” according to Lehrburger. “We also look for leadership, maturity, diligence and what I call fire in the belly. We try to find grown-ups who can and want to take responsibility.”

“Ideally we’re looking for top performers," he continues, “but we don't have a hard and fast percentage that applies.” The firm visits eight schools – including Harvard, Yale, NYU, Penn and Michigan – and receives applications from another 12 or so. The summer associateship is “all but a guarantee of a job,” according to one junior. Lehrburger explains how clerkships are “certainly valued for the perspective they offer, and that's why you'll find a high percentage of our attorneys who have clerked.”

For every 20 interviewees, about seven are called back. The fortunate few can expect to become litigators, with other departments recruiting at entry level “only on an ad hoc basis.” And if they do join, Lehrburger is confident the firm can offer “the best professional home in NYC.”

Strategy & Future  

The firm’s “somewhat contrarian business model has been very helpful through the economic crisis,” co-chair and managing partner Bob LoBue says, “because we weren’t over-extended.” As a result, the firm “actually did quite well through the recession. We made astute strategic decisions in 2007 before the economic crisis, to build a credit crisis practice. And for the last two years we’ve been very busy litigating cases related to credit crisis and mortgage issues, principally representing financial guarantee insurers.”

Going forward Patterson Belknap will continue to focus on its traditionally successful areas such as IP, copyright and trademark, as well as honing its attention, with respect to the credit crisis, on “investors and financial guarantee companies against institutions that issued loans and mortgage-backed securities.”

“We’ve been very fortunate to get very high-quality associates at the firm. I admire them greatly – some are light-years beyond where my generation was,” he adds. The carefully selected associates are then encouraged to advance quickly at Patterson. “Entry-level candidates will ask me, ‘Will I get experience?’ Yes, but be careful what you wish for. When you find yourself as a junior associate arguing a case or taking a deposition, make sure that is what you want to do as that is what we like.”