 |
||
|
|
||
| |||||||||||
Hogan & Hartson traces its roots back to 1904 when Frank Hogan, a respected trial attorney, founded a firm in Washington, DC. In 1925, Nelson Hartson, an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service, joined the firm to boost its tax practice. Thirteen years later, Hartson became a full partner and the name Hogan & Hartson was adopted. The firm now has approximately 730 attorneys in 18 offices worldwide. Hogan's hero Hogan is now run by Bob Odle, a University of Texas alum who has been with the firm since 1966 and once served as an aide to former House of Representatives Speaker Sam Rayburn. Odle managed the firm's expansion after his 1989 appointment as managing partner. In 1990 the firm opened its London office and added shops in Brussels, Belgium, Paris, Warsaw, Poland and Prague in 1991. Three years later, H&H opened a Moscow post, followed by a Budapest office in 1996. Surprisingly, it wasn't until 1998 that the firm set up shop in New York. That office handles corporate, litigation, M&A, and health regulatory matters. The firm supplemented the New York practice by merging with local firm Davis Weber & Edwards in April 2000. H&H also absorbed Davis' Miami office. All told, the firm added 35 lawyers as a result of the merger. Despite the rapid expansion, the DC office continues to be the cornerstone of the practice; approximately 440 lawyers, or two-thirds of the firm's total, practice in the capital. Lobby lawyers Considering that the firm has such a large DC presence, it's not surprising that lobbying and legislative issues are one of Hogan's strengths. The firm counts several Washington insiders among the fold. David Skaggs joined the firm as of counsel after serving 12 years in the House of Representatives for Colorado. Robert Michel acts as an advisor to the firm; he served 28 years as a representative from Illinois, including 14 years as House Minority Leader. Firm attorneys have counseled numerous government officials and political endeavors at various levels, including Bob Dole and the 1992 George Bush/Dan Quayle presidential campaign. In fact, Hogan has, with admirable even-handedness, counseled both Republican and Democratic candidates in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Presidential campaigns. M&A proves triumphant Hogan's mergers and acquisitions practice has worked on some formidable deals as well. The firm represented Jacor Communications in its $4.4 billion acquisition by Clear Channel Communications in 1998. In 1999 H&H represented Williams Communications when SBC Communications invested $500 million in the Oklahoma communications company. Additionally, the firm has worked on the antitrust aspect of several deals. Hogan represented General Dynamics in its merger with Gulfstream Aerospace. Hogan lawyers also counseled Mobil on that company's $81 billion union with Exxon - one of the largest mergers ever. The merger was completed in November 1999. ISP enthusiasts should note that Hogan represented MindSpring Enterprises in a "merger of equals" with Earthlink to form the second largest Internet access provider in the United States in 2000. Practiced litigation The firm's litigation team is quite impressive - it argued 12 cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court between 1997 and 2000. The appellate practice is headed by John Roberts, named one of the top 10 civil litigators by The National Law Journal in 1999. Bunny ears Lovers of mildly racy daytime TV will applaud Hogan & Hartson's First Amendment victory before the Supreme Court on behalf of Playboy Entertainment Group, the cable television programming subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises. The Court affirmed, 5 to 4, a permanent injunction against Section 505 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. What this effectively means is that Playboy is free to transmit its fleshy broadcasts 24 hours a day instead of confining them to hours of the day when children are less likely to view them. This is the first Supreme Court decision affirming that even the most trashy cable television is entitled to the highest level of First Amendment protection. So pro bono Hogan & Hartson has a firm commitment to pro bono practice. In 1970 the firm established a Community Services Department responsible for staffing and managing pro bono cases. The firm has worked with a number of public interest groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). One major victory was in Mainstream Loudoun v. Board of Trustees of the Loudon County Public Libraries, a celebrated First Amendment case where the public libraries in Loudon County, Virginia banned certain web sites from library computers. A federal judge banned the ban, equating the practice with book burning. The firm also won the release of Victor Henderson, who was arrested and jailed due to a change in the Maryland law that was enacted after his initial release from prison. In a segregation case that dragged on for 25 years, Hogan (along with the NAACP) secured an agreement from the state of Maryland to build more schools in African-American communities in Prince Georges County.
Focused search Like all top firms, Hogan tries to focus their search on top law schools and outstanding performers at lower-tier schools. The firm's web site (www.hhlaw.com) says H&H interviewed students at 29 law schools in the fall of 1999. "Top law schools are significant but not a prerequisite," one insider says. One litigation associate feels the firm has its favorites, even among top schools. "The firm is unfortunately too selective with respect to certain schools that have not historically sent enough associates here (such as NYU or Columbia) and takes too many, too easily from schools that are represented highly here - Georgetown, for example." "Hogan hires not just on pure academic and professional achievement (although those two areas are critical), but also on personality, interest and character," says one lawyer. Selectivity seems to vary by department. "Corporate associates seem to have an easier time gaining employment," says one source, "while litigation associates seem to have a tougher row to hoe." Interview process: know your cases Those campus interviewees who make the cut can expect half-day interviews at the firm's offices with about five or six lawyers, including one from the recruiting committee. Questions, naturally, vary by interviewer. "At one extreme, there are people who will ask substantive questions about recent Supreme Court cases," warns one lawyer. "Personally, I don't like to ask about someone's activities at school. I want to hear about their personal interests, why they are interested in Hogan and why they are interested in Washington. I want to see how serious they are about staying."
Arrogant not appreciated, but friendly is When describing the firm's corporate culture, many associates resort to the word "friendly." One Washington associate says that "Hogan places heavy emphasis on personality in hiring decisions - arrogance is definitely not appreciated." Despite the firm's size, don't worry about getting lost in the shuffle. "Hogan is truly a big firm, but it does its very best to make sure associates are not simply cogs in the wheel," says one lawyer. "The overall atmosphere is serious yet collegial." "Hogan's focus is on quality work, which means having people who are honest, smart, friendly and willing to go the extra mile when necessary to meet a client's needs," reports one attorney. Hours appropriate to human beings Hogan & Hartson seems to allow for hours that are slightly more tolerable than at most other firms. Most associates report the usual 50 to 60 hours per week billed, with five to 10 extra hours on occasion. "I have not worked too hard, but my schedule is sporadic," says one new associate. "There does not seem to be any extensive oversight of my billable hours at this point. The firm stresses that billable hours are not a concern during a new associate's first year at the firm, though I do not know if that will prove true at the end of the year." Insiders report that the firm sets a target of 1,950 billable hours a year. Two-tier salary In keeping with their commitment to reduced hours, Hogan "just instituted a two-tiered salary for associates based on different levels of billable hours: $120,000 for 1,800 minimum and $135,000 for 1,950 minimum." That policy allows associates "to decide whether to go for the extra compensation or take a reasonable trade-off of lower required billables for a lower salary. It is, I think, the best way to handle the escalating salary pressures in the current market," says one lawyer. Reportedly, those who opt for the 1,800 hour plan but wind up hitting 1,950 get a hefty bonus; exact bonuses in general have not yet been hammered out. I need air The aspect of Hogan life that draws the most criticism is the "dank," "overcrowded," "windowless" offices. One DC associate complains that there are "not enough window offices. Some fourth-year associates still don't have windows." There is a "serious office space shortage. First-year associates are really mad about their office conditions," says another contact. "Junior associates have internal, windowless offices, if they are lucky," says another source who reports that those young lawyers are often "stuck in legal assistant offices." Insiders say the wait for a window office is at least two years. Gone to government, every one "A fair number of litigation and regulatory associates leave for jobs with the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney's office, and various House and Senate committees and subcommittees," reports one DC contact. "The opportunity to move into interesting government jobs - legal or non-legal - was a factor that influenced my decision to come here." Most at Hogan seem to share the opinion that turnover is on par with other large firms, with few lateral departures. "The Baltimore office has unusually high turnover of associates," says one lawyer in that city, though the firm begs to differ. Another associate complains that "there does not seem to be a good level of cooperation at the firm in allocating our workload evenly among associates," leading to burned-out and ultimately ex-Hogan & Hartson associates. To curb associate burnout, the firm says that it has hired a number of new attorneys, enabling it to reduce the number of hours required. Who could ask for anything more? Hogan & Hartson seems to breed contentment. "My work is interesting, my colleagues are nice to me, my hours are manageable and I'm grossly overpaid. What more could I want?" asks one associate. One lawyer is looking to the future. "I'm not yet doing exactly what I came here to do but I'm still optimistic that I will be able to at some point," says that litigation attorney. "The only reason I do not find working at Hogan entirely fulfilling is that I do not want to be a lawyer," says one who appears to have wasted three years in law school. "As firms go, however, I think Hogan is a wonderful place to work."
Ellen Swank Associate Recruitment Director (202) 637-8601
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld;Arnold & Porter;Covington & Burling;Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering;Williams & Connolly More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
