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Arnold & Porter has a long history of antagonizing. The firm has represented an unusual mix of clients, from the Black Panthers to tobacco giant Philip Morris. Today, Arnold has over 500 attorneys in five offices. Besides the Washington, DC headquarters, the firm has operations in New York, Denver, Los Angeles, and London. The firm has an impressive corporate practice and is also well-known for its pro bono work. A Presidential-level history Arnold & Porter was founded in 1946 by three former members of President Franklin Roosevelt's administration. Paul Porter was a former Federal Communications Commission chairman; Thurman Arnold was a U.S. Court of Appeals judge; and Abe Fortas was Roosevelt's Undersecretary of the Interior. Fortas was later appointed to the Supreme Court, and in 1963 argued Gideon v. Wainwright, a landmark case that reaffirmed the right to an attorney for all criminal defendants. The firm is currently led by Managing Partner James Sandman, who works on commercial litigation and product liability from the Washington office. Arnold & Porter University: a school for government commissioners The firm has a history of sending its attorneys on to posts in various government organizations. Robert Pitofsky, formerly of counsel at the firm, is chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. William Baer served under Pitofsky, directing the FTC's Bureau of Competition before returning to Arnold & Porter in January 2000. (The FTC contacts come in handy, as the firm has defended numerous large companies, including Xerox, Intel, and General Electric, in antitrust matters.) In 1996, A&P partner Brooksley Born was named chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, holding the post until returning to the firm in 1999. And in May 1998, Harvey Goldschmid, of counsel at Arnold, was named general counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Goldschmid has since left to become of counsel at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Corporate practice: touching all the bases Arnold & Porter has a large corporate practice with operations in all areas relevant to corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, product liability, taxation, bankruptcy and restructuring, benefits and employment, and securities. Too big? Not if Arnold & Porter has its way In addition to merger cases, Arnold & Porter handles other antitrust matters. The firm represented Xerox in a lawsuit stemming from the company's refusal to sell replacement parts to non-Xerox service providers. As co-counsel, A&P successfully defended GE against charges that it conspired to fix the price of diamonds used for industrial purposes. It represented Continental Airlines in a suit filed by travel agents alleging Continental, along with other airlines, illegally reduced agents' commissions. You're liable to like this practice Product liability has been a particularly lucrative area for the firm. It represents American Home Products in suits surrounding complications arising from fen-phen, a diet drug that caused heart problems along with slimmer thighs. Another Arnold & Porter client, tobacco company Philip Morris, has faced a host of lawsuits from government agencies and private individuals over the dangers of cigarettes. A&P has also represented a blood bank in a number of cases alleging that patients contracted the AIDS virus from blood transfusions at the bank. On the frontlines of intellectual thought Another notable practice area for Arnold & Porter has been intellectual property. The firm published a two-volume treatise on intellectual property in 1988 and three years later opened an information technology practice, in part to deal with copyright and patent issues. It also lobbied on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America for legislation on digital home taping and transmission of recordings over the Internet. The firm handled the copyrightability of a manuscript of the Dead Sea Scrolls in two countries. Additionally, Arnold & Porter has argued trademark cases for the American Red Cross, Bell Atlantic, and the Professional Golfers' Association of America. America Online has tapped the firm to help set up and protect Digital Cities, a network of interactive online content sites centered around local communities.
Beyond the top 20 A&P associates in general rate their firm as fairly selective. Like most firms, Arnold & Porter puts a premium on graduates of top law schools. "I would say that for applicants who have attended top law schools and have decent grades, getting in can be quite easy," notes one contact. "If you did not go to a top school and were not in the top percent or percent of your class, it would be difficult or impossible to get a position here," says another associate, offering little encouragement to law slackers everywhere. According to one associate: "The firm looks for grades and school and then focuses very hard on finding interesting people with varied backgrounds." Despite the emphasis on top-tier law schools, those from less prestigious schools can land a position at the firm. "Arnold has extremely high hiring standards. However, the firm does historically take the top people from second-tier law schools," says an associate. "The firm does NOT limit itself to the top 10 schools," according to one contact. "We have associates from the top schools but also many from the lower-ranked schools." Summer associates: careful who you cc Summer associates are all but assured of getting a full-time offer. "Once you get a summer associate position, you are effectively guaranteed an offer for an associate position." Almost every summer associate has received an offer in the past five years; one who did not "repeatedly harassed his fellow summer associates and cc'ed the entire office on e-mails," says one contact. Laid-back callbacks Invited candidates are brought to the firm for a half-day of callback interviews. "It's very laid-back," says one associate. "Sometimes you talk about the law, sometimes not. I think people just want to get to know the person, share the laid-back atmosphere of the firm, and find new people that everyone can get along with." "It was standard stuff," recalls a recent interviewee. "They were chit-chatty. At that stage, the firm just wants you to meet people, so you know they're not shackled to their desks." Associates report getting an offer "about a week" after the callbacks. Quirky recruitment process A quirk about Arnold & Porter's recruiting process: third-year students who are summer alums will be taken out to a "fancy-schmancy dinner" with candidates from the school and recruiters. "It's kind of like 'Hey, we're in town, let's get together.'" And while the firm in the past was not known for being flexible about some aspects of the hiring process, incoming associates do have some flexibility when it comes to their start date.
Corporate culture: "mavericks and visionaries" Most Arnold insiders describe the corporate culture as "laid-back" or "collegial." "The standard firm bullshit line is 'mavericks and visionaries,'" says one associate. "But like all standard firm bullshit lines, there's actually some truth to it. What matters here is doing great work and not being a jerk. Any other personality quirks really don't matter much." That's a good thing, as another associate described the firm as "very smart, but nerdy." NACHO man In addition to informal social activities, the firm makes an effort to structure activities for the partners and associates to get to know each other. "I was the 'Lunch Czar' this past fall, whereby I set up new associates with more senior attorneys for lunch," says one enterprising attorney. "The firm has a dedicated New Associates Committee (NACHO) that is given a very substantial budget to plan both formal and impromptu social events." Paying on par Most Arnold insiders are satisfied with their pay, saying it is as good or better than industry average. "The pay is comparable to other places," says an associate. "If you can get away with working less, or have a lot of pro bono work, it is clearly better than other places; if you work a ton, it is comparable or better than other places; if you have a little pro bono and work hard but are not killing yourself - in the 1,950 hours to 2,350 hours range. The pay is not as good as elsewhere." Peripherals: great offices, so-so support Associates rave about Arnold's offices, calling them "large, sunny, and light." Science fiction is a common theme. "The atrium reminds me of Gattaca," says one insider. "We have our own modern building that is very space-age - it was in the movie Contact with Jodie Foster," says another. Attorneys were more critical of the support staff. "Support staff varies a great deal," says one associate. "I've found most secretaries here to be really good at what they do and always professional," says an insider. Another rips into the staff, saying, "My secretary has yet to make accurate document edits and has problems following simple instructions. Also, they hire 'legal assistants' straight out of college rather than more experienced 'paralegals,' which tends to burden new associates with training and oversight." "The computer system is a nightmare and secretarial support is hit-or-miss, but the library is great and numerous legal assistants are available to help out with projects," says one contact. Retention: "bleeding like crazy?" "We've had a lot of departures recently, including to other firms, but in the past few years retention has been very good," reports one associate. Another insider disagrees: "We're bleeding at the mid-level range like crazy." That kind of turnover may be inherent in the kind of attorneys the firm attracts. "A lot of people come to Arnold because of its commitment to public service and they will leave after two to three years to pursue public service," according to one source. "Associates don't typically leave Arnold for other law firms," claims another associate. "Decisions to leave Arnold usually mean the individual wants to do something quite different." Pro bono powerhouse Associates echo the firm's commitment to pro bono work. "Arnold encourages all attorneys who have been with the firm for at least six months to spend at least 15 percent of their time on pro bono." However, some say pro bono work is meant to be in addition to regular duties. "The firm is very positive toward pro bono work, but the reality seems to be that in many instances the work is not in place of your other work, but in addition to that work," reports one contact. "The only caveat is that partners are very receptive when you say that you can't get to their matter immediately [because of a pro bono case]." Satisfied attorneys Arnold associates generally have good things to say about their firm. Most believe the firm is one of the best in many practice areas and that Arnold has a great reputation in the legal community. "I heard about the firm even before going to law school," says one contact. "The firm has an excellent reputation for delivering the highest quality legal services," says another. "As big law firms go, I think it is the best," gushes one associate. Another gives the firm the highest possible score: "For a firm, Arnold is a 10." Attorneys report that they chose the firm because of the culture and atmosphere, the pro bono opportunities, or the compensation. "I liked the people here; I liked the pro bono commitment," says an associate. The list goes on: "I liked the work atmosphere. I liked the managing partner."
Elizabeth Respess Legal Recruiting Manager More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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