| McDermott, Will & Emery | 227 West Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60606-5096 |
| www.mwe.com | (312) 372-2000 Fax: (312) 984-7500 |
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The Chicago-based firm of McDermott, Will & Emery has a history dating back to its founding by E.H. McDermott in 1934, but in the 1970s, the firm really began making news. Since 1972, McDermott has tripled in size. Today, the firm is home to more than 800 lawyers worldwide.
Large and in charge
Though associates in other branches joke about their "stealth firm" reputation, no discussion of the major players on the Chicago law scene would be complete without mentioning McDermott, Will & Emery. Through its program of mergers and lateral hires, McDermott has become the ninth-largest law firm in the country. McDermott's expansion shows no sign of slowing. From 1993 to 1998, 126 associates made income partner and 120 income partners were elected to capital partner status. Nearly half of Fortune's largest 500 companies in America are McDermott clients. The firm's financial success is commensurate with its size. McDermott ranks among the top law firms in the entire country in terms of gross revenues and profits per partner.
Healthy McDermott
Health law is, aside from tax, McDermott's best-known and most widely respected practice. It is also among the largest health law practices in the country, with more than 100 McDermott lawyers. McDermott health law attorneys serve in a range of functions, such as insuring compliance with government regulations, finding new revenue sources, and preparing employee compensation and benefit plans.
Litigation and corporate catching up?
McDermott has handled some interesting cases. On the litigation side, McDermott's litigation practice grabbed headlines in December 1999, when it helped to clear Castle Rock Entertainment's name in a Florida copyright infringement case. University of Miami student Karen Herzog alleged that John Sayles, author of the movie "Lone Star," had gained access to her copyrighted screenplay, "Concealed," without her permission and had based its movie script on it. The federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that there was insufficient evidence that Sayles gained such access or that the works were substantially similar.
The corporate department has picked up some high-profile deals lately as well. Dutch publishing firm Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeversbedrijven NV announced in August 1999 that it would purchase McDermott's client Nielsen Media Research Inc. (responsible for the Nielsen book, the compilation of program ratings that make or break television programs) for $2.5 billion. The firm is representing Whittman-Hart, Inc. in its $5.9 billion (in stock) acquisition of USWeb/CKS Inc. to create the largest Internet professional services firm in the world, announced in December 1999.
Attempts to be progressive
McDermott has a proud history of progressive policies for women. It was the first firm in the city to elect a woman to partnership (back in the June Cleaver days of 1957) and since then has maintained a "woman-friendly atmosphere." Today, women constitute about 30 percent of the firm's lawyers and almost half of its associates. In line with its commitment to diversity, McDermott offers family-friendly policies such as reduced time commitment arrangements to lawyers with at least two years of service at the firm.
Pro bono de-emphasized
McDermott has a shaky history of encouraging the pursuit of pro bono work. The firm has consistently failed to meet the minimum requested by the ABA's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, a mere three percent of billable hours. However, the firm seems to recognize the situation and is taking steps to increase pro bono billing. In one notable pro bono case, McDermott took on the cause of Vietnam vet George Skypeck, whose poem titled "Soldier" was published in a calendar commemorating the war without his permission. As a token of his thanks, Skypeck gave each member of his litigation team an autographed lithograph of "Soldier," which now hang in McDermott offices.
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Academic performance not the sole factor
Like every other law firm in this book, McDermott "looks for people who have performed well academically." But its lawyers emphasize that "the great thing about McDermott is that it is not solely your grades that matter, although top ten percent [of your law school class] is expected." What really matters is "the prospective candidate's personality and their fit within the overall culture of the firm," stumps a New York corporate associate. "Positive, upbeat, can-do attitudes will go far!"
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Mirror, mirror on the wall, what's the bonus after all?
McDermott "matched the market rate within two weeks" of the salary competitions of 2000, and nearly every associate received a bonus in 1999, ranging from $3,000 to $30,000. Nonetheless, McDermott seemingly seethes with malcontents, mainly due to the "extremely subjective" nature of the bonus system, which makes it "impossible to predict what your bonus will be." The firm "would not commit to a fixed bonus amount," snarls a New York litigator. "Instead, the firm advertises that associates can expect a bonus range of roughly zero to 22 percent of their base salaries."
Turn, turn, turn
"Lately the corporate department in this place has been like a revolving door," complains a New York first-year. Although the level of exodus seems to vary by department - in Boston, "the turnover in litigation is virtually non-existent" - the refrain sounds the same. "McDermott, Will & Emery has no interest in retaining associates," accuses a Chicago lawyer. "McDermott uses them for a few years and then replaces them with laterals at the income partner level." A DC litigator estimates that the firm "has lost 50 percent of its associates in the span of a year. People do not feel that they are valued - in fact, the firm makes it clear that they are easily replaced."
Won't you be my trainer?
Partners aren't the only ones who could use a little training - associates count themselves among the needy as well. There is "no formal and very little informal training. Associates receive information on a 'need to know' basis," states a second-year. A newcomer hates that "there is no structured method of training at MWE. I have no goals or sign posts established by the firm. Instead, I am at the mercy of randomness."
Hours are 'livable'
In contrast to most associates at big law firms, McDermott lawyers think they work "generally reasonable hours." Or at least they did. An L.A. litigator says that "prior to January 1, this office had the reputation of offering competitive salaries at livable billing hours. In the last few months, however, this has changed dramatically. Time will tell if this is just because the office is extremely busy and we are understaffed or if it is a sea change in firm mentality. Still, a Chicago sixth-year continues "to be amazed that associates are not here on weekends. Generally speaking, this is not a tough place in terms of hours and expectations." Perhaps "the hours expectation is unreasonable in terms of bonuses," but "you do have a choice of whether you want to work the outrageous hours or not."
How progressive are we?
While associates recognize the policy efforts (if not results) regarding the recruitment, retention and promotion of women at McDermott, the same cannot necessarily be said for minority recruitment and retention. "From outward appearances the firm has done a good job of recruiting minority attorneys," judges a New York litigator. "There is no formal mentoring, and very few partner role models, but there is a fair amount of informal mentoring by more senior minority lawyers to more junior ones." But in that same office, a colleague points out, "there are no black partners. Additionally, there has been for the last few years only one black male attorney." A government regulation associate in Chicago suggests part of the problem may be that "the firm is not attractive enough to hire minority candidates with the type of educational background they consider necessary. It may be unfair to criticize efforts to diversify, which I don't know much about, but the results are startlingly homogenous."
Great view, lousy furniture
Every McDermott office is a different world - at least as far as the decor is concerned. The Chicago branch attracts the most praise for its "great view of Lake Michigan" and "beautiful reception area," but still, the "offices could use painting - they look tired." More specifically, "the furniture is reminiscent of the public sector," gripes one associate. "The general issue attorney chair is extremely uncomfortable and fits few. There's no clear process for requesting a chair that fits."
A New York litigator announces approvingly that "fashionable office design is one of McDermott's strengths. We could use more war-rooms and file storage space, but overall, the offices are well-appointed." Well, when you've got good-looking offices, who needs file storage? Last year, DC firm leaders signed a 15-year lease in a brand-new building downtown. The building was designed as another lure in the ongoing battle to attract new associates in a fiercely competitive hiring market. The new site features ergonomically advanced furniture, special compressed shelving for greater accessibility and a large conference center with high-tech audio/visual capabilities. Other perks include coffee stations and a roof terrace with seating for daily use and social events.
Understaffed support services
A number of associates are vociferous in their denigration of support services available to them. While the "library staff is outstanding," the "mail room/copy center is competent, but barely so" and secretarial help "is the single worst thing about working at McDermott." "The biggest problem at McDermott is that your secretary believes that she works for the firm and not for the lawyers," laments one third-year in Chicago. "If you complain about a secretary at McDermott there is a good chance you will get black-balled and you will end up with an even more worthless secretary." Associates should "be prepared to do [their] own photocopying, faxing, word processing, and so on. And that of the income partner. And that of the capital partner," warns a Los Angeles litigator.
'Generally non-existent' social life
"McDermott does not do 'social,'" declares an unsocialized Chicago bankruptcy associate. Another associate in the same office says that "lawyers tend to eat lunch alone in their offices with the door shut" and in DC "it is rare to see attorneys from the same floor, much less other floors." People seem "to value their life away from the office more than socializing with their co-workers." Exactly, says a sixth-year from Chicago. "Do you really want to spend any more time with the people you spend ten hours a day with?"
Efforts are still made, however. "There is definitely an 'us vs. them' mentality between partners and associates, but among associates, the social interactions are invariably pleasant and enjoyable," argues a fourth-year litigator in New York. "For example, the Associates Committee at the firm has recently revived the monthly cocktail party (the so-called 'Booze & Schmooze'), and the attendance is always good." In addition, "many attorneys (mostly male) are involved with McDermott sports teams" in Chicago and "small groups (primarily associates) tend to go out for drinks after work every now and then."
Things to keep in mind
McDermott can be "a great place to get an education working on genuinely interesting projects with very talented attorneys," cheers a DC sixth-year. A New York associate agrees that the firm "is a good place to come to if you did not get an offer from another national firm," but thinks you should "stay for two years and then lateral to another firm. If you stay for more than two years, you will learn that associates at other firms might be more advanced than you are, and they will have a significant advantage not only negotiating transactions but interviewing for in-house positions as well."
Another thing to consider is the firm's two-tier partnership. "The first-tier income partner is viewed by most to be simply another way in which the firm saves money," assesses a DC litigator. "The income partner has no equity in the firm, yet is self-employed for tax purposes. Hence, they actually make less money than they did as an associate. The benefits to the firm far outweigh any benefit realized by the income partner.
Despite intermittent bitching, incoming associates still choose McDermott for quality-of-life factors. For laterals, it can offer "the opportunity for junior associates to be on the front lines, and to get basic litigation skills" in the "small offices of a large firm" where "cases are staffed leanly." In the Big Apple, some chose it because "it was supposed to be a lifestyle firm." While "that doesn't really seem to have turned out to be quite accurate, it does seem to be a little more life-friendly than some other New York firms."
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Karen K. Mortell
Legal Recruiting & Developing Manager
(312) 984-7784
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Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue;Kirkland & Ellis;Mayer, Brown & Platt;Sidley & Austin;Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
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