Top Washington, D.C. Law Firms
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20004-2505
Phone: (202) 639-7000
Fax: (202) 639-7008
www.friedfrank.com
THE STATS
No. of attorneys:
Firmwide: 667
Washington: 118
No. of offices: 7
Summer associate offers (2007):
Firmwide: 75 out of 76
Washington: 20 out of 21
Chairperson: Valerie Ford Jacob
Managing Partner: Justin
Spendlove
Hiring Partners: Michelle Gold,
Tommy Beaudreau
BASE SALARY (2008)
Washington, DC
1st year: $160, 000
2nd year: $170,000
3rd year: $185,000
4th year: $210,000
5th year: $230,000
6th year: $250,000
7th year: $265,000
8th year: $280,000
Summer associate: $3,100/week
The following is independent Vault research
THE SCOOP
Washington, D.C. was the second office for the
Fried Frank family. The first was in New York
City, originally founded in the 1890s as
Riegelman & Bach. Over 100 years and a
handful of name changes later, Fried Frank
Harris Shriver & Jacobson is well established
on Pennsylvania Avenue and in six other
locations worldwide. With steady growth in its
London, Paris and Frankfurt offices based on a
successful dual-capability strategy, it has
recently focused its energies on expansion
beyond the U.K. and Europe to Asia. In
December 2006, the firm opened an office in
Hong Kong followed by Shanghai less than one
year later. The D.C. office houses 118 lawyers
practicing most of the BigLaw staples and
several interesting subsets.
Don’t let the Beltway location fool you: what
we have here is a Wall Street firm. Fried Frank
has significant corporate, tax, securities
enforcement, M&A, capital markets, asset
management and litigation practices, and has
represented nearly all of the major investment
banking firms and broker-dealers, major
accounting firms and major insurance
companies. Some recent clients include
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Abraxis
BioScience, Hawker Beechcraft, Inc. and
Deltek (a local, Northern Virginia company).
Fried Frank’s intellectual property team briefed,
argued and won one of the most significant
Supreme Court patent rulings in years in KSR
International Co. v. Teleflex, while in the
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals its litigation
partners achieved a victory on behalf of
Medical Assurance of West Virginia, getting a
jury verdict reversed and the case remanded
with instructions to enter judgment for the
firm’s client.
NOTABLE PERKS
GETTING HIRED
• Aeron chairs
• Taxis home when working late
• “Great” free coffee and
Starbucks cards
• Subsidized gym memberships
Fried Frank is after “bright and energetic
associates.” A litigator reveals that “finding the
right ‘fit’ between current attorneys and
candidates is very important in considering
whether applicants receive offers.” In many
ways, this is a “whole package” deal:
Candidates should have the highly valued
“relevant experience,” “law review or moot
court,” “great writing skills” and, of course,
“good grades.” Opinions differ as to whether
there are GPA cutoffs, but regardless, some of
the recruiting committee has a reputation for
being “very grade-conscious.” A corporate
lawyer assures us that his firm’s priorities are
not unduly academic, and “personality can
overcome average grades.” The firm hires from
“the most elite law schools” and “recruits
heavily at D.C. law schools.” Fried Frank is
also not too big for the little guy—it “will
EMPLOYMENT
CONTACT
Niki Kopsidas
Director of Legal Recruitment
Phone: (202)639-7286
Fax: (202)639-7008
E-mail:
[email protected]
recruit out of lower-tier law schools if the
candidate is right.”
OUR SURVEY SAYS
Fried Frank Washington has a come-as-you-are
policy. “I was pleasantly surprised to discover
that this Wall Street law firm was full of lively,
approachable and rather colorful personalities,”
says a corporate lawyer. And you’re free to
keep that personality after hours, too: “Some
socialize outside of work (especially the
younger single people). Others are more
family-oriented … Both types are accepted.”
Everyone is generally happy to be working with
everyone else—“doors are open and folks chat
in the hallways,” and social groups form by
department, class year, group or “proximity”
(who sits near whom).
Props to the Fried Frank partnership for their
attention to associates! According to attorneys,
the firm “did not do well” on associate/partner
relations in the past, and so the partnership
made “a major initiative to improve associate
morale.”
The problem wasn’t that the
individual partners were cruel (quite the
opposite: “everyone is very approachable” and
“accommodating”). Rather, communication
regarding firm decisions was poor, causing
unease. Over the last few years, there has been
a “terrific response” and “the results of those
efforts are starting to show.” Now, “the
partnership is willing to listen to associates
when we make reasonable arguments” in areas
such as the writing program and the need for inhouse CLEs.
We’re told that hours are somewhere between
“inconsistent,” “a grind” and “awful.”
Associates disagree whether there is face time
or not, but “you are expected to generally be in
the office during ‘working hours’ (about 9:30 to
7)” with the option to work from home. Despite
the long hours, there is no minimum billable
requirement. The first bonus tier (1,950)
includes 150 hours of “qualified non-billables”
(e.g., pro bono, recruitment). For long-running
matters, one can petition to count more pro
bono hours. Associates say pro bono is “taken
very seriously” and the “firm strives to provide
pro bono work in all areas, including corporate
opportunities” so even contract jockeys can
take part.
Fried Frank associates feel “a lot of love” in the
salary department. Salaries have been raised
“multiple times within the past year,” as “this is
not a firm that waits to see whether
compensation trends will catch on.” A newbie
says “it’s gotten a little ridiculous. First-years
get a fixed bonus of $5,000,” and after that,
bonuses are “tiered based on seniority and
hours” (at 1,950, 2,150 and 2,350). Because
Fried Frank is at the top of the market, “There
should be no basis for complaint,” according to
a midlevel, but some colleagues do have
quibbles.
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Vault 2008-2009 Law Rankings
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver &
Jacobson LLP
One New York Plaza • New York, NY 10004 • Phone: (212) 859-8000 • www.friedfrank.com
PRESTIGE
# 31 - Top 100 Most
Prestigious Firms
BEST IN REGION
#18 - New York
LOCATIONS
BEST IN PRACTICE
#2 - Real Estate
PARTNER PRESTIGE
#22 - Overall Prestige
#1 (tie) - Real Estate
THE SCOOP
New York, NY (HQ)
Washington, DC • Frankfurt • Hong Kong • London
• Paris • Shanghai
MAJOR DEPARTMENTS &
PRACTICES
Antitrust & Competition • Asset Management •
Bankruptcy & Restructuring • Benefits &
Compensation • Capital Markets • Corporate
Governance • Corporate Real Estate Transactions •
Financing • Financial Institutions • Government
Investigations & Regulatory Counseling • Insurance •
Intellectual Property & Technology • International
Trade • Litigation • Mergers & Acquisitions • Private
Equity • Pro Bono • Real Estate • Securities
Enforcement & Regulation • Tax • Trusts & Estates
• White Collar Criminal Defense
THE STATS
No. of attorneys: 667
No. of offices: 7
Summer associate offers (2007): 75 out of 76
Chairperson: Valerie Ford Jacob
Managing Partner: Justin Spendlove
Hiring Partners:
New York: David Hennes, Steven Steinman
Washington, DC: Michelle Gold, Tommy
Beaudreau
Displaying its reach for all to see, Fried Frank is making waves from Brooklyn—where
it represents the developer looking to build a shiny new Frank Gehry-designed home
for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets—to Shanghai—where it opened its second China office
in a year in October 2007. While the firm’s got the BigLaw staples of corporate/M&A,
litigation, bankruptcy and tax law covered, Fried Frank shines in a practice area that
breeds more tangible results—real estate.
Five men are better than one
Like many other U.S. megafirms, Fried Frank was founded under an entirely different
name in New York City about a century ago, and endured a series of mergers and name
metamorphoses to evolve into its present state. The firm remained confined to that lone
office until 1949, when it opened shop in Washington, D.C., and in 1971 matured into
the Fried Frank we know as five men with intriguing pasts etched their names on the
company letterhead. Led in prominence by Peace Corps founder (and nowGovernator-in-law) Sargent Shriver, the new Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
LLP included a name partner (Hans Frank) who fled Germany to avoid Nazi
persecution and another one (Sam Harris) who helped prosecute German war criminals
after the fighting ceased.
Building upon its rep for strong work in practice areas such as securities regulation,
M&A and corporate governance, Fried Frank established itself as a preeminent
financial firm by the end of the 1990s, representing most of the insurance and
investment banking kingpins as well as all Big Four accounting firms over the years.
As the 21st century dawned, the firm reorganized its corporate department,
decentralizing it into seven practices that focused exclusively on one corporate area
such as M&A, private equity, capital markets, financing and asset management. By
2006, based on a successful dual-capability strategy, the firm was seeing steady growth
in its London, Paris and Frankfurt offices, and followed the NBA’s export of its game
to China with the opening of a Hong Kong office, quickly followed by the opening of
the Shanghai office—giving the firm a toehold on the mainland.
Bringing pro basketball to BK
Fried Frank has been representing Forest City Ratner Companies in the $4 billion
development of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn—a large-scale, mixed-use
development project that includes a basketball arena for the NBA’s Nets and thousands
of units of housing and office space. Serving as principal outside counsel for the
development, the firm has represented Forest City throughout the initial planning and
RANKING METHODOLOGY
In spring 2008, Vault surveyed over 18,800 associates at 164 law firms and asked them to rank the top law firms. We
took these scores to calculate our prestige rankings. For our quality of life rankings, we asked associates to rate their own
firms on issues such as treatment by partners, training, selectivity, etc., and then scored the firms against each other.
© Copyright 2008 Vault.com Inc. Photocopying is illegal and expressly forbidden.
Excerpted from the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms. Reprinted with permission.
Top 100 Law Firms
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
public
approval
process,
including
environmental reviews and litigation, and
also represents Forest City on the real estate
transactional and financing aspects of the
development. The firm was successful in
obtaining New York Board approval from the
Public Authorities Control Board, with
former Governor George Pataki and New
York State Senate and Assembly leaders
giving the green light for the project to move
ahead. Fried Frank has also achieved major
victories in the courts on behalf of Forest
City; in February 2008, the U.S. Appeals
Court affirmed the U.S. District Court’s
dismissal of an eminent domain lawsuit
stemming from opponent claims that their
constitutional rights were violated by the
planned condemnation of their property. The
courts have found that the Atlantic Yards
project meets the public use standard for
eminent domain.
This isn’t Fried Frank’s first foray into
billion-dollar New York City developments,
sports-related or otherwise: In another
proposal involving a basketball arena
surrounded by towering, mixed-use edifices,
Fried Frank is representing Vornado Realty
Trust and The Related Companies LP in the
$3 billion development of a new Madison
Square
Garden
sports
arena
and
redevelopment of the existing site. And the
firm is working on yet another sports-related
construction project that survived the
approval and funding gantlet (this is New
York City real estate, lest you forget): The
new, $1 billion Yankee Stadium is nearing
completion in the South Bronx, thanks in part
to real estate development and financing
work by Fried Frank attorneys. The Evil
Empire is now working on a fresh set of
pennants to hang in its new digs—located
next door to its current ballpark—in the 2009
season.
Fried Frank’s representation of the senior
management of Reckson Associates Realty
Corp. and Marathon Asset Management in
their $2.1 billion joint acquisition of Reckson
assets spanned several offices. Further
proving its intention to cement a footprint
around the globe, Fried Frank’s real estate
“all-star” team now extends beyond New
York to Washington, London and Hong
Kong.
Shake-ups and takeovers
Fried Frank reorganized its corporate
department to allow attorneys to focus on
areas where they’d be most effective for their
clients and for where the financial markets
were heading. The atomized approach now
appears to have been a sage move in several
areas, most notably the asset management,
private equity, capital markets and M&A ($1
trillion from roughly 610 deals since 2004)
practices. Among the firm’s recent dealings:
In addition to finalizing two projects
involving client Goldman Sachs—the
formation of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners
VI, a private equity fund with $20 billion of
committed capital and one of the largest
funds ever, and for Goldman Sachs Capital
Partners in its $45 billion acquisition, as part
of the private equity consortium of investors,
of electricity producer TXU Corp.—the firm
represented the underwriters of the $2.9
billion MF Global IPO, helped Citadel
Investment Group invest $2.5 billion in
E*Trade Financial Corp., and represented
longtime client Dow Jones in its buyout by
News Corp. for $5.6 billion.
Shanghai express
Fried Frank marked the Year of the Pig by
opening its doors in Shanghai, adding to a
stream of Western firms and financial
institutions—including a number of Fried
Frank clients—putting down roots in the Far
East. With partners in Shanghai whose
experience in Chinese law spans practice
areas from intellectual property to dispute
resolution and from capital markets to M&A,
this office complements the firm’s other 40lawyer Asian office in Hong Kong. Since
opening at the end of 2006, the Hong Kong
office has attracted clients looking for
expertise in U.S. and European matters.
Fried Frank’s expansion in the continent
mirrors a trend followed by several other
BigLaw firms: As major corporate clients
become enamored of the promising Chinese
market, which they hope will continue
trending toward free-market capitalism, so do
law firms like Fried Frank. After all, the
sharks (to succumb to using ye olde tired
lawyer comparison) do tend to follow the
fish.
Bankruptcy blues
In bankruptcy news, Fried Frank represented
the official Committee of Equity Security
Holders of Calpine Corporation during the
California energy company’s reorganization
under Chapter 11, from which it emerged in
January 2008.
One of the largest
bankruptcies in U.S. history, Calpine first
filed for Chapter 11 protection in late 2005
with over $18 billion of debt. Fried Frank is
currently serving in a similar capacity to
Delphi Corp.’s Official Committee of Equity
Security Holders in the bankruptcy
proceedings of the Detroit-based car parts
manufacturer and the Ad Hoc Committee of
Noteholders of Pope & Talbot, Inc. in
connection with their restructuring.
On the docks and in court dockets
The firm’s litigators also won a stunning
victory for client International Longshoremen’s Association in a civil RICO
lawsuit, while the intellectual property team
briefed, argued and won one of the most
significant Supreme Court patent rulings in
years—KSR International Co. v. Teleflex.
Another major victory was won for former
and current directors and officers of Glenayre
Technologies, obtaining motions to dismiss
and dismissals of all claims for their clients,
who were embroiled in the wave of derivative
actions linked to so-called “options
backdating.”
GETTING HIRED
Wanted: legal scholars with
personality
Yes, your grades and academic pedigree
matter, and water is wet. But Fried Frank
likes its intangibles, too, says an associate in
New York: “They’re not elitist about schools,
but they generally hire from the top of the
class at lower-ranked schools. Aside from the
focus on standard resume credentials, the
firm seems to look for people who are
sufficiently articulate and interesting to hold
up a 20-minute conversation. They also seem
to reject arrogant and overly self-assured
people.” In the firm’s Hong Kong office,
“top-notch candidates” with “bilingual
abilities” are “strongly preferred” for obvious
reasons, while a corporate vet back in the
States believes that “team-oriented
individuals are key,” and a junior in D.C.
mentions that “the firm is looking for bright,
articulate individuals.” Still, candidates must
pack impressive measurables before passing
“Go,” says an East Coast old-timer: “If you
go or went to Harvard, Penn, NYU or some
other ‘desirable’ school, it is easy to be hired,
while if you go or went to St. John’s, Rutgers
or Seton Hall (all of which I consider
excellent schools), you must be in the top 10
percent to even be considered.” A note of
contention from the firm: It is only relatively
easy to be hired from Harvard, et. al.—Fried
Frank “rejects a large percentage of students
from these schools, too.”
OUR SURVEY SAYS
Most say they’re happy
A few of the more popular descriptors Fried
Frankers employ to define their firm’s office
culture: “Easygoing.” “Collegial.” “Leftleaning.” In D.C., an energetic newcomer
asserts that “the younger lawyers socialize on
a regular basis.” A tax lawyer explains that
the level of socialization “differs by
department … on the plus side, the firm is
very much not cookie cutter, and there are a
lot of different personalities here, all of which
are welcomed.” A New York associate finds
that “the vast majority of people are
easygoing and likeable,” and a colleague is
glad for “a cocktail party every Friday” in the
dining room and a roster full of lawyers who
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Law Firm Highlights
(cont’d)
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
“are very friendly and approachable.”
Meanwhile, one corporate midlevel may
have missed that people-skills development
seminar: “Ours is a culture of work. If you
perform well, you will be well liked. If you
do not perform well, you will be in a state of
limbo, professionally speaking.” Another
New York litigator stresses the firm’s
embrace of individuality, stating that “there
is no mold to fit into at this firm. Lawyers
don’t hang out all the time, but we socialize
every so often.”
Fried Frank associates of all legal stripes
appear content with their work for a variety
of reasons.
“I have found my job
intellectually challenging and personally
fulfilling—more than I ever could have
imagined at a law firm,” confides a D.C.
midlevel. A New York tax attorney gets to
“think a lot” and make good coin, justifying
the commitment to a position that’s “not
exactly the world’s most exciting job.” A
corporate rookie admits that “a few partners
are a little grouchy, but all have been
respectful and reasonable,” and “the work is
varied and, for the most part, interesting.”
Across the pond, meanwhile, a Fried Frank
Frankfurter (three times fast, go!) has a
simpler gripe, complaining that it’s
“sometimes difficult to get quick IT service
in Germany,” though “the rest of the work is
perfect.”
No telling when you can go home
“Unpredictable” seems an inadequate
description for inconsistent work hours at
the firm, judging from insider comments. A
Frankfurt midlevel describes consistent
weekend assignments and “long working
hours each day”—“long” meaning routine
14-hour shifts—while a corporate newcomer
is “begging for work.”
A veteran
transactional attorney says the practice
“tends to have its ups and downs in terms of
intensity of hours,” and a New Yorker
working in a different area reports the same:
“Hours go in waves—you’ll have some slow
weeks and some busy weeks. But, at least in
litigation, it’s fairly predictable; you can
anticipate when you’ll be busy and plan
accordingly.” A veteran litigator says “the
hours can be brutal, but there are slower
times when I can go home by 8 p.m. most
days.” A midlevel in D.C. characterizes
work demands as “‘lumpy’ of late, so I can
work a 45-hour week followed by an 80hour week. Starting and stopping is hard.”
A corporate vet has “gotten killed over the
last three years, while others skate through.”
A junior lawyer calls the hours “probably
typical for a large NYC firm. When there’s
work to be done, it has to be done, but I feel
no need for face time when I’m finished and,
with a family at home, I feel very
comfortable leaving early if I am finished
with work.” A corporate rookie, on the other
hand, complains about “working like a dog,”
but deems it “a mixed blessing,” explaining
that in this “down market, lots of people
aren’t working or are losing jobs, and I’m
gaining valuable experience and exposure to
a wide variety of deals.”
“Special bonus” surprise
As 2007 drew to a close, Fried Frank
apparently decided to make a discretionary
allotment of “special” bonuses—based on
each attorney’s performance, according to
insiders. One fully compensated lawyer
expresses displeasure over the policy
revision, fearing that “it will negatively
affect teamwork dynamics. [Fried Frank]
also won’t commit to what the policy will be
going forward … so no one is sure what to
expect.”
On the other hand, an experienced corporate
associate steps back from the fray to point
out that BigLaw lawyers will never starve:
“We work hard, and they pay us for it.
Enough said.”
Easier said than done
Fried Frank’s efforts to hire and retain
female associates, by almost all accounts,
are anything but superficial. However, in a
pattern seen across much of BigLaw—even
among the most diversity-conscious firms—
Fried Frank’s healthy balance among
relative newcomers reportedly skews male
in some practice areas as attorneys reach the
partner threshold. “I’m sure there are a
variety of reasons, but I think it’s our biggest
weakness,” says a corporate midlevel. As is
typically the case, the ratio differs among
practice areas, and New York’s litigation
division is a perfect example: “Women are
plentiful here, and many of the big-name
partners in my department are women,” says
a newbie there.
Another fresh-faced
attorney, this time in the corporate practice,
marvels at “how many female associates are
in the corporate group in both the D.C. and
N.Y. offices. The firm seems to … be
working on bringing up-and-coming women
into the partner fold.” A New York frosh
points out that Fried Frank “just hired a new
diversity coordinator this year, which led to
a whole host of new initiatives.” Associates
see room for improvement, however, in the
firm’s maternity leave policy; one insider
opines that “the firm should match the
market leaders” in the area. Ask and thou
shall receive: In April 2008, Fried Frank
increased maternity leave from 14 to 18
weeks, and paternity/adoption leave from six
to 10 weeks.
Similarly, sources say, Fried Frank
endeavors to include minorities and GLBT
candidates in its ranks. “The firm is very
welcoming, but, like all firms, obviously has
some recruiting and retention issues,”
explains a junior litigator. “I don’t doubt the
desire to have a more diverse workplace, but
the firm can still take more concrete steps to
ensure that we get more associates of color.”
Again, the firm responds: Fried Frank “has
always taken steps to ensure … a diverse and
inclusive workplace. Toward that end, the
firm brought on a new director of diversity
and inclusion mid-year 2007, charged with
ensuring this and continuing and/or
expanding a broad array of initiatives
including affinity groups, special training
programs, pipeline programs, high-level
sponsorships, etc.”
A corporate associate deems the percentage
of ethnic minorities within its partnership
“woeful,” and a junior real estate lawyer
says the department’s inclusion of GLBT
colleagues “needs improvement.” On the
other hand, a midlevel believes that “the firm
is a welcoming place, and no one here makes
an issue” of sexual orientation, while a
rookie litigator refers to the firm’s
moderately liberal reputation in asserting
that “it’s probably easier to be gay at FF than
it is to be Republican.”
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