The Work
When allocating incoming associates to groups, McDermott “compares your interests with the firm’s needs.” Work assignment systems vary between groups, with the largest having assignment coordinators. Recent restructuring and re-branding of certain teams “was an attempt by the firm to improve interaction between offices and groups.” Associates said they regularly work with colleagues from other offices and practice groups on cross-platform assignments.
Associates in the health and energy & commodities groups are able to work on both transactions and disputes. “I didn’t want to do just corporate or litigation,” a junior in the energy group said. Assignments in the health practice involve “a lot of regulatory work,” and tasks typically include drafting memos for clients summarizing the implications of new changes. In the energy group, which also serves investment banks and clients who invest in energy, “we’ve brought in some additional transactional people from elsewhere in the firm who are now officially in our group.”
Energy juniors “do a good amount of regulatory advisory – a client might call a partner and describe a transaction, asking how it would be regulated, whether government approval would be needed and so on. I’d research the regulations, write up a short memo or call the client and tell them what I found.” This type of work requires fast turnaround times. A junior said, “We might also advise on the effects of proposed legislation on their business, then lobby and advocate at the agency level. We might write letters on behalf of clients making proposals to a government agency. I’m responsible for the initial draft, then partners would tweak it.”
Two senior partners in this group are work coordinators. Associates email them once a week to let them know what they're up to and the system “works fairly well, though you can get overwhelmed if projects become busy at the same time.”
The corporate advisory group covers M&A, securities and private equity. “The majority of what I do is M&A,” one junior explained, “and the rest is split between general corporate counseling and securities. It’s nice not to be pigeonholed and to work with different types of clients.” Assignments are staffed leanly so associates take on responsibility early. Tasks include extensive due diligence on bigger matters, and on smaller transactions “most of the drafting.” The group laid off several associates and a couple of income partners, a corporate source revealed.
Firmwide, IP is one of the biggest groups. “My practice is mostly litigation, then prosecution,” a junior explained. Day-to-day tasks include legal research and analyzing the validity of patents, and one said, “I just received the expert reports in one case and now I’m starting to outline our reply.” Associates correspond regularly with patent and trademark offices – and the clients – and there are opportunities to go to court. Allocation tends to be more free-market than formal, meaning that associates will “walk around asking for work; sometimes a partner comes in your office and asks you to help out.”
Junior white-collar litigators spend their time preparing deposition outlines, conducting legal research, drafting motions, and even arguing in court. During discovery periods, contract attorneys do the majority of the document review, with junior associates conducting a secondary review –“it’s bottom-rung work, but I’m happy with my responsibility levels,” a junior said.
Work allocation is typically relationship-based and “there is no formal work coordinator.” New starters establish relationships during the summer program and that usually sources their initial workload. They can also email a partner indicating their interest in something on the team’s new-business database. “I emailed a partner when I saw an SEC case,” an associate said.
McDermott’s private client practice has a base of wealthy clients and is a good source of work. Juniors’ workloads are nicely varied and include estate planning, document review, transactional drafting assignments, research and memo writing. “I interact with clients or their representatives at least once a day,” a junior said. An entrepreneurial work allocation system means that “for the first couple of months you ask senior associates or partners for work. If you produce a good work product, partners will use you again."
Training & Development
McDermott launched a new training program in 2010. The Career Progression and Professional Development System is, as the name suggests, designed to focus on developing associates’ competencies and help them rise up through the new tier-system. It's intended to reward the most talented associates, according to Karla Palmer, co-partner-in-charge of the firm's nationwide recruiting program. “The more associates know, the more valuable they are to clients and the more they earn.” The McDermott University provides more than 200 seminars, other training, mentors and personalized career plans for associates. Each fall, first-years receive an orientation providing practical information about the basics of life at a large law firm.
Associates receive regular CLE classes, “one or two a month, if not more,” and there are monthly practice group meetings both at a local and national level. Offices take it in turns to present these, with the others conferenced in. In the health group, the head of department leads a monthly session for associates. “Training has become more formal this year,” an associate said, while another added, “there’s almost too much training!”
Associates receive mid-year and end-of-year reviews. Most practice groups conduct the first in June, which is an informal “time to touch base in case there is something wrong.” The end-of-year review is more formal and is conducted “face to face with the head of department and a member of the review committee who doesn’t know you." The year-end review determines compensation.
Offices
Chicago associates have their own recently refurbished offices towards the top of a 60-story skyscraper at 227 West Monroe Street. Recession-induced cuts affected a dinner program that fed attorneys every night; however, there is a Starbucks downstairs and plenty of places to eat nearby. A business-casual dress code encourages “cordial” relations.
The 90-attorney LA office is “very conveniently” located in a large business and leisure complex in Century City. Amenities include a large mall, movie theater, “tons of restaurants and a dry cleaners in the basement.” There are also ocean views in the far distance, and attorneys are only “30 minutes” from the water. The DC office – two blocks from the White House – “has been here a while and there are rumors that we’ll move when the lease is up.” Associates have their own offices.
The Silicon Valley office specializes in IP litigation. It is “as casual as you'd imagine in a tech area.” There is a nearby cafeteria and, like other McDermott offices, the place is “social, but socializing is not forced on you.” Miami was the first office to open outside Chicago, in 1977, with DC following in 1978, and since then McDermott has added offices in Boston, LA, Orange County, New York, Silicon Valley, San Diego and, in 2008, Houston.
Culture
Naturally, layoffs, compensation reductions and cost-cutting caused some anxiety among associates, and discontent in the case of the 2008 class, which had its salaries reduced as part of the restructuring. Apart from this issue, associates are busy again, and praise the friendly relations among associates and partners.
In terms of social life, the firm has “get-togethers in our group, and on Friday evenings we go for couple of cocktails,” a source reported. Another said, “I was impressed by how many people have stayed here their whole careers. People are very smart but nice and down to earth.” Overall, McDermott’s culture is “quite conservative, but not in a political way – financially well run, we monitor expenses, and are very hard working.”
Hours & Compensation
The firm's decision to move to a competency based system of remuneration was “reached after an internal review, which concluded that this would best serve our clients and provide a clear roadmap for associate development and career advancement,” co-chairman Peter Sacripanti said.
The firm places associates into one of three pay scales based on skills achieved and performance. Bonuses will be discretionary, and have the potential to boost the lower base salaries. “The new system is in effect now, for bonuses which will be paid in 2011,” an associate explained.
The annual billable hours target is 2,000, and associates become bonus eligible at 1,800 hours. “The firm assured us that total compensation will be above market, so I think a merit-based system is a good thing,” a junior said, but it was clear that some people are skeptical. “It really sucks,” one said.
Pro Bono
There are comprehensive firmwide and summer pro bono programs, and associates confirmed that participation is high. The first 60 hours count towards billables, and approval must be sought before exceeding this level. “I’ve never heard of people being denied,” an interviewee confirmed. Projects include landlord and tenant disputes, asylum cases and the AARP, which provides legal advice to the elderly. Tax and financial advice is provided through the Ladder Up organization, and there’s an alliance with Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a community organization in Chicago. The firm regularly emails lists of opportunities to associates.
Diversity
Numerous initiatives have improved McDermott’s diversity, and 2010 NALP statistics show that firmwide 32 percent of attorneys are women and 13 percent are minorities. In 2009, 56 percent of summer associates were female. Initiatives overseen by the diversity committee include participation at minority job fairs such as Lavender Law, and a $15,000 scholarship for two minority 2Ls from ABA-accredited law schools. The firm also tries to build relationships with affinity group leaders at law schools.
Associates are generally positive about the firm’s diversity efforts, although one source did say they thought McDermott was “no better or worse than other large law firms.” On the subject of gender, a female associate said, “The women’s law mentoring group provides good opportunities to network with female clients.” In 2009, McDermott was named one of the 'Best Places to Work' in the US for LGBT individuals by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Get Hired
Historically, McDermott has taken 70 to 80 summers. The pinnacle came in 2008 when it had 89. In 2009 there were 79 and in 2010 there were 33. In 2009, 60 out of 79 accepted offers.
The firm values judicial clerkship experience and runs a clerkship mentoring program for summers. In fact, one junior said that prior work experience of other types should also help applicants.
The ideal candidate is someone who seeks a challenge and early client responsibility, works well with others and is also a motivated self-starter, according to recruitment sources. “Because we represent the biggest companies on the biggest cases, we’re looking for people who are aggressive but value teamwork and collegiality,” they said.
Strategy & Future
It’s been a big year for McDermott. It has ditched lockstep, introduced a new training program, shaken up management, and restructured and rebranded certain practice groups. The firm's aim is to achieve “an integrated firm structure to strengthen our brands in areas where we're already market leaders – such as energy, tax, health, IP and private client – and refocus efforts for growth in other areas where we show strength," co-chairman Peter Sacripanti said.
McDermott’s new structure is comprised of four business units: controversies (including civil, IP transactions and litigation, international, white-collar); regulatory (antitrust, government strategies, environmental, products); tax (benefits, private clients, domestic/international); and transactions (corporate, energy, financial institutions, health).
Sacripanti explained the firm's new approach, “We also created affinity groups, which unite talent from across the firm to ensure the best mix of experience and resources are brought to projects, regardless of the home office.” Finally, “We implemented the joint leadership initiative in which I chair the firm’s executive committee and Jeffrey Stone chairs the management committee. These combined steps will increase our efficiency and accessibility, encourage teamwork and collaboration, improve client service and communication, and position us to stay on top of emerging issues across the globe. Beyond this, planning at McDermott is an ongoing process and is not defined by arbitrary one-, five- or ten-year periods.”