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One Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom partner reportedly described the firm as the greatest accumulation of talent in history. Starting from humble roots back in 1948 - when Joe Flom was the firm's only associate - Skadden Arps has grown into one of the biggest and most profitable law firms in the world. Based in New York, it has branch offices everywhere from Sydney to San Francisco, and may be one of the most widely recognized law firms in the world. A distinguished 20th-century history Joseph Flom was Skadden's first associate. A graduate of Harvard Law, he joined the firm in October 1948. According to one Skadden legend, the firm could not afford to pay Flom when he started, so they had a pinochle game every Friday afternoon and gave him the pot. Another story claims the partners paid Flom instead of themselves, making him the highest-paid lawyer in the firm. Flom made partner in 1954, six years after joining Skadden. Today, most partners hold Flom (who is still with the firm) in the highest esteem, and many call him a genius - at the very least, the best lawyer of his generation. He is credited as the major force in establishing the firm's dominance in mergers and acquisitions, and is largely responsible for establishing the firm's intense work ethic. According to Lincoln Caplan's book Skadden: Power, Money and the Rise of a Legal Empire, Flom purchased an engagement ring for his fianc?e from fellow name partner Les Arps, who had bought it for his former fianc?e. Flom had his fianc?e stop by the firm, gave her the ring, and then went back to work. When complimented on the ring, Mrs. Flom replied, "Thanks, Les Arps picked it out for me." The beginning of the legend Skadden first made its name in mergers and acquisitions. The firm was involved in some of the biggest mergers of the fast-paced 1980s, helping to construct elaborate support structures of revolving credit and junk bonds. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Skadden was involved in nearly every major M&A deal in America. Still, at the peak of its success Flom insisted on investing Skadden's huge profits in new practice areas rather than distributing them as partner compensation. The huge law firm hit a speed bump in the early 1990s as a deep recession shrunk partner profits to $620,000 in 1991, almost half of what they had been the year before. In 1990 M&A work represented a full quarter of Skadden's revenue, and the slump in that area hit Skadden like a ton of bricks. Ten dispirited partners fled to other firms. To counteract the loss of earnings and morale, Skadden partners tightened their belts and shrunk the size of entering associate classes. Yet Flom's emphasis on diversification in the 1980s paid dividends. Non-M&A practices, like project finance, product liability, and (not surprisingly) bankruptcy, thrived. By 1994 Skadden had rebounded. Its M&A work returned to 1980s levels, and other categories like REITs, project finance, and corporate high-yield debt proved strong as well. Hey big spender Skadden has always kept up with the market when it comes to pay. Therefore, when California boutique law firm Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian touched off a wave of salary hikes, Skadden was naturally expected to follow suit. But in February 2000, Skadden went one better than the market, offering its first-year associates a $140,000 starting salary - a top-of-market figure that prompted discontented mewlings from associates at less fortunate top-tier law firm rivals. One of the finest for M&A Skadden topped the December 1999 National Law Journal list of "Who Represents Corporate America" for the fourth consecutive time. The firm advised prominent acquisition targets in some of the most important deals of the year. Partners Scott Simpson and Michael Hatchard from the London office became involved in the largest corporate takeover in history, representing Germany's Mannesmann when Britain's Vodafone AirTouch proposed to buy the company. In February 2000, Vodafone, a wireless communications company, offered to pay a whopping $183 billion for Mannesmann, breaking the merger record set the month before by the Time Warner-AOL deal. Record-breaking securities Skadden Arps's corporate prowess is by no means limited to mergers and acquisitions. The firm also offers a top-flight securities practice. Skadden had a hand in the world's largest public offering, advising the Italian government when it sold $18.6 billion worth of shares in the Italian state-owned electricity company Enel. Fellow securities powerhouse Sullivan & Cromwell advised Enel. The parties involved turned to American firms because a large number of shares were sold on the New York Stock Exchange. On the new media front, the firm handled Priceline.com's closely watched $160 million initial public offering in April 1999. Priceline.com went on to rack up an initial market cap of $2 billion, then the largest ever for an Internet company. First firm Fully a third of Skadden's lawyers (about 385) are devoted to litigation. Skadden litigators have crusaded in the Supreme Court, all 13 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and most of the U.S. District Courts. In order to bolster its presence in Northern California, Skadden's San Francisco office stole away star litigator Raoul Kennedy from Morrison & Foerster. One of the factors influencing Kennedy's move was the chance to work with product liability guru Sheila Birnbaum, the so-called "Queen of Toxic Torts." Go for broke Skadden Arps is a leader in the bankruptcy field, and it's no wonder - the L.A. office's Richard Levin has literally written the book on bankruptcy. Skadden partner Levin authored the Bankruptcy Code and the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. Legal publisher Matthew Bender has also selected Levin to be a member of the Collier on Bankruptcy Editorial Board, where he will help the company expand and enhance its bankruptcy treatises. Skadden.com Like many firms these days, Skadden has been seeking to expand its intellectual property practice (which currently boasts 15 lawyers). Skadden brings a unique perspective to Internet law, having been an actual litigant in an Internet case. When the firm tried to find some cyber real estate for the its web page, it found that a cybersquatter had already snatched up Skaddenarps.com. Rather than paying for it, the firm took the cybersquatter to court and won the domain.
Beyond Ivy Although Skadden remains an extremely selective firm, don't completely count yourself out if you're not from a top-tier law school. One New York associate explains, "To its credit, Skadden is willing to look past US News' idea of the top six law schools. While this may hurt its selectivity rating, it's a boon in terms of the diversity of viewpoints and geographic identities we get here. As a graduate of an Ivy League college and law school, I can tell you with certainty that too many Ivy Leaguers in one place really spoils the soup." But one source opines that those from second-tier schools only have a hope of getting in the door if they have a GPA of 3.6 or higher. A corporate lawyer says, "If you have the grades to pass the screening process, getting hired is just a matter of getting along with the people that interview you." A source in the Los Angeles office tells Vault.com that nearly all Skadden summer associates receive offers. A Chicago associate recommends candidates target themselves to a rapidly growing area such as banking, restructuring, or litigation. According to insiders in the Washington litigation department, that office prefers former judicial clerks. Those in smaller Skadden outposts such as Houston emphasized that more than a stellar resume is needed to get hired - a little personality helps, too. The Skadden interview Typically, the firm likes to send alumni interviewers from the schools where it conducts the first round of screening interviews. Candidates invited back after the initial meeting interview at the branch where they wish to work. While scheduling the second round, candidates are asked about their department of interest. During callbacks, at least half of their interviewers will be members of their preferred department or related departments. Candidates typically have four interviews, either in the morning or in the afternoon, and are taken out to lunch by two first-year associates. "They want you to have someone to relate to," say insiders. Some recent interviewees say they have interviewed with one junior associate, one mid-level or senior associate, and two partners. Different offices will dispatch different recruiting teams to schools, mostly from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and DC, though the little Wilmington office does some in-field recruitment as well. The firm's hiring committee meets once a every Friday, so candidates may hear the good (or bad) news from a member of the hiring committee anywhere from two to five days after interviewing.
Social Skadden Skadden offers a booming social scene in its bigger offices. "Obviously, there is no pressure to spend time with your colleagues outside of work. But most associates have many friends at the firm and we go out a lot," a New York associate reports. "Many of my best friends are co-workers," another lawyers reports. The word from the Windy City is that "associates are more friendly to each other than at other large law firms in Chicago. The environment is collegial and supportive, not cutthroat or competitive." But Chicago insiders stress that the firm does not strong-arm them into making friends. "It is in no way expected or demanded that one hang out with fellow Skadden attorneys," says one mildly antisocial type.
Round-the-clock support services Insiders give Skadden high marks in the support services department. "The firm's biggest strength is its support services. You can get help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year," according to another source. A New York lawyer reports that each department has "its own cadre of dedicated legal assistants just for that department." Our Skadden insiders say the computer services and library are praiseworthy as well. Pushing pro bono Despite its high-billing lawyers, Skadden has found time to sponsor pro bono work. Those in public interest circles are most likely familiar with the Skadden Fellowship, the pro bono lawyer's brass ring. Skadden puts up about $25 million to fund a two-year fellowship program for 25 new lawyers who wish to better society. The firm also lends its associates to nonprofit organizations on a temporary (but full-time) basis. During the hiatus Skadden retains the associates on the payroll. These externships help the poor and also help the firm recruit, train, and retain the associates. In addition, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts presented Skadden with an Award for Excellence for the firm's pro bono work at its 1999 benefit and pro bono awards ceremony. Multi-culti Skadden "The firm is a true melting pot," according to sources in the Chicago office. That seems to be the sentiment at most of Skadden offices. Skaddenites in New York have "gotten a real sense that hiring here is done on a race-blind basis." But others claim that "the firm tries - but there are not all that many minorities, especially African-Americans." Sources tell Vault.com that Skadden does have some minority partners but the numbers are still pretty low. The myths of Skadden - and the reality Skadden associates acknowledge that their firm is often rumored to be a "sweatshop" with "screamers," but the truth is much more complex. "I think the sweatshop label comes from the 1980s," contends one New York associate. Most of the associates tell Vault.com that because Skadden is such a large law firm with so many different practices, personal experience varies by office and department. "My department is like a small law firm or even a judge's chambers. We are very close and have lunch together several times a week," says a Skaddenite who works in intellectual property. A DC associate terms that office "relaxed" and adds that "people take their work, not themselves, seriously." An M&A associate in New York, on the other hand, terms that practice "intense" and "macho - very confident and very inspiring of confidence."
Carol Lee H. Sprague Director of Legal Hiring (212) 735-3815
Cravath, Swaine & Moore;Latham & Watkins;Paul Weiss,Rifkind,Wharton & Garrison;Sullivan & Cromwell;Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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