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Chambers
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Associate
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The Student’s Guide to
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2014 - 2015
CHAMBERS & PARTNERS
legal publishers
Proskauer Rose LLP
www.chambers-associate.com
Proskauer Rose LLP
Lawyers per state
The Facts
Largest US office: New York
US offices: 8
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International offices: 5
First-year salary: $110,000-$160,000
Billable hours: No requirement
Summers 2014: 74 (65 2Ls, 7 1Ls, 2 other)
Revenue 2013: $768.5 million (+4.4%)
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Partners made in 2014: 6
Bringing in the big names and the big bucks across a whole host of practice
areas, Proskauer promises something different from your standard BigLaw firm.
ASSOCIATES SAY...
The Work
Most of Proskauer’s 100-odd juniors were in the New
York HQ when we made our calls, while LA and Bos
Boston both housed between ten and 15 each. The remaining
handful were scattered between Newark, Chicago, DC
and New Orleans. Chances are you’ll either enter cor
coremployporate or litigation, although tax and labor and employ
ment take on about ten associates each and there are a
few spaces in the smaller groups like healthcare and real
estate.
corAnd that’s to say nothing of the core litigation and corporate practices that keep the blood pumping through
Proskauer’s arteries and veins. Chambers USA gives the
firm a slew of rankings – check out www.chambersand
www.chambersandpartners.com for the complete picture. As well as its net
network of US offices, Proskauer has a presence in London, “In the big groups like litigation, corporate and labor,
Paris, Beijing, Hong Kong and São Paulo, with a head our assigning coordinator Dan gave out the work initialcount of more than 700 attorneys worldwide.
ly,” said a source in New York. “They’re very responsive
– if you say you’d like to get involved in a class action,
for example, it’ll land on your desk the next time work
goes round.” The smaller practices operate more of a free
market system but it’s likely that wherever you are the assignment process will get more organic with time: “If a
partner enjoyed working with you, you’ll definitely hear
from him/her again.”
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The Inside View
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LADY Gaga, Madonna, Kanye West, U2... Proskauer’s
all singing, all dancing client list is studded with A-list
names, but that’s not all it’s famous for. The specialist
sports law team works with major organizations like the
NFL, NBA and NHL, while a busy labor and employemployadministrament practice counts the City of New York administration among its clients.
On chambers-associate.com...
• Proskauer's winning sports law team
An associate in litigation said: “Juniors mostly start in
the general practice but they do try and focus you in
a group once you’re comfortable. I’ve worked across
www.chambers-associate.com
Proskauer Rose LLP
Rankings in Chambers USA
Labor & Employment
Latin American Investment
Leisure & Hospitality
Litigation
Media & Entertainment
Privacy & Data Security
Private Equity
Real Estate
REITs
Sports Law
Tax
Technology
Wealth Management
• Acted for Lady Gaga in the copyright infringement claims
•
•
Francesbrought against her by singer-songwriter Rebecca Francescatti relating to Gaga’s single ‘Judas’
Represented American Realty Capital Properties on its $3.1
billion merger with American Realty Capital Trust
sellHelped NFL shut down nearly 2,000 rogue websites selling counterfeit NFL products worldwide in a matter worth
$273 million
Successfully negotiated the resolution of a lawsuit for
Gucci America by a former employee claiming she’d been
sacked unfairly because she was pregnant.
•
bath‘Proskauer Institute’. “They show you where the bathrooms are, how to use your printer, some drafting – it’s
nuts and bolts-type stuff,” but associates were grateful
for the chance to pick up the basics in a safe space. And
you’re not left to sink after those first three days are over
presenta– sources spoke of weekly drafting workshops, presenta
tions and departmental lunches. One source added: “You
learn a lot just on the fly.” Elsewhere we were told: “Seniors are really good at handing down knowledge.”
white-collar, insurance, securities and antitrust, as well
recentas the general commercial practice.” Proskauer recently batted away a case brought against the Yankees by a
woman claiming her uncle designed the team’s famous
worktop hat logo back in the ’30s. Our insiders spoke of working on interview memos, witness statements, trademark
disputes, restraining orders and plenty of legal research.
“It’s a good mix of regional, national and international
work,” and we heard that “there’s a ton of client contact
– face-to-face, e-mail and phone. I talk to clients most
days.”
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Proskauer’s appraisal process works as follows: seniors
prowho’ve worked with an associate for over 30 hours pro
vide feedback which is read aloud to her/him by a part
partner at a formal review twice a year. “The thing is, you get
reviewed on stuff you did six months ago, so it’s not all
As well as its heavy-hitting M&A, private equity and se
se-- that relevant. I’d rather find out straight away if I made
curities work, Proskauer’s corporate practice operates a a mistake,” said one source. Another told us: “The infor‘multi-tranche’ structured finance group from the Boston mal feedback is way more valuable.”
office, focusing on hedge funds. In corporate the “deals
bilcame in anywhere between $5 million and the low billions.” One corporate insider told us: “They give you Offices
work a couple years ahead of where your contemporar
contemporar- The New York HQ is the heartland for most of Proskauies are at – I worked with senior associates on the other er’s practices. One associate pointed out: “The sports
side.”
law group is a big deal; that’s the first thing anyones
heard of.” New Yorkers also singled out the labor and
The firm’s labor and employment practice is world- employment practice. Up in Boston, they’re known for
renowned and well worth a mention here. Associates their funds work, while the Newark operation divides its
had dabbled in employment law, employment litigation, work solely between immigration and labor and employpublic labor and private labor work, and there’s also a ment: “They feed a lot of New York’s business across to
specialist ERISA litigation practice (that’s ‘pensions’ to us because of the rates.” LA is home to around 80 lawthe rest of us). “We do anything from class action law
law- yers and “we do a bit of everything litigation, employsuits to advising employers on how to draft an employee ment, private client, tax – but corporate takes the lead.”
handbook,” said one source. The work is top-flight and
interviewees proudly recalled drafting deposition out
out- Every year we hear Proskauer’s New York associates
lines, letters, interviewing witnesses and putting together gush about how amazing their office is. On top of the
timelines.
usual boasts about spectacular views of the Hudson
River, a gold LEED rating, floor to ceiling windows and
a wine bar with “top shelf liquor,” this year we heard
Training & Development
more about the food: “When my parents visit town to
When associates first start, they head to New York for see a Broadway show, they don’t bother going to a restwo-and-a-half days of “wall-to-wall” training at the taurant any more. They come to our cafeteria. Last time
The Inside View
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For detail on ranking tiers and ranking locations, visit
www.chambersandpartners.com
Recent Work Highlights
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Advertising
Banking & Finance
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Capital Markets
Corporate/M&A
Employee Benefits &
Executive Compensation
ERISA Litigation
Healthcare
Immigration
Insurance
Intellectual Property
Investment Funds
Proskauer Rose LLP
www.chambers-associate.com
Associates (%)
46.8
79.8
4.1
3.4
12.7
2.8
hour or go for a meal after work: “Partners come too
sometimes.” One source reflected: “Compared to some
of my friends at other firms, you can be a bit quirky here,
as long as you’re doing good work.” The dress code varvaries at office to office, but we heard from a source outside
New York: “If you’re wearing a suit, you’re either gogoing to court, a job interview or a funeral.” Dress-down
Fridays are a staple of LA life and most people rock up
in jeans.
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Diversity
Partners (%)
Women
15.9
White
95.9
Black/African American
2.3
Hispanic/Latin American 1.4
Asian
0.5
Mixed/Other
LGBT
1.8
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they got a real taste for the spicy shrimp guacamole. It’s Hours & Compensation
that good.” Yum! “It’s like the most luxurious place you “They’re not looking for associate drones to sit in the
back room billing nine million hours,” said one source.
could ever work.”
To that end, there’s no billing requirement. Most associassociaddiDon’t worry if you’re not in New York – things aren’t too ates we spoke to aimed for about 1,800, with an addishabby elsewhere. An associate in Boston told us: “We tional 200 in pro bono, but nobody was worried about
get all the perks of a giant firm, like 24-hour document missing their bonus if they fell below that figure. Day
corpoand secretarial support in a modern, full-service buildbuild- to day you’ll see way more peaks and troughs in corpo
ing, without actually being inside the mother ship.” Over rate than you would in, say, labor and employment, but
in LA, “you can see the Hollywood sign and the ocean, 12-hour days become the norm in any practice when the
and the kitchens are always fully stocked.” As an associassoci- pace picks up. Weekend work “comes in waves,” so don’t
ate at Proskauer, you’ll have your own office from day go planning too many trips out of town unless you like
do
one, unless you’re in New York where you may end up living on the edge. “When a client wants something dosharing until your third year.
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Wee want to keep clients on our
books from the cradle to the
grave – to be the one-stop shop
for everything and everyone.”
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Culture
ing they want it doing right away,” surmised one source.
Salaries are weighted according to location, so as a firstyear in New York you’ll bring in $50,000 a year more
than you would in New Orleans, but our insiders had
no complaints about this or the lockstep bonus system:
“It’s the standard rate – whatever the top-ten firms are
doing, we’re doing.” Do associates have time to spend
their cash? We asked if they felt comfortable taking a
What we did hear, though, was a whole lot of praise for vacation: “I take it and I love it! There’s not that BigLaw
the ‘Friday Focus’ newsletter which goes round every attitude to vacation, Proskauer sees it like normal people
promo- do.”
week announcing news of births, engagements, promo
tions, personal triumphs and other such jollity. A couple
of associates warmly recalled their co-workers reaching
out to congratulate them after hearing their good news: Pro Bono
“We’re all really tight.” Another source agreed: “We “If you have free time, they get you on it,” we heard when
hang out with each other away from work.” An addition- we asked about Proskauer’s commitment to pro bono.
al perk, if you’re in the New York office, is seeing Lady Some of our insiders had done as many as 200 hours’
understand- worth, and more. New Yorkers mentioned partnering
Gaga stop by, which one source described, understand
ably, as “electrifying.”
with the Criminal Justice Act Panel to represent impoverished defendants, as well as advising small businesses
If the top shelf office liquor isn’t enough for you, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Elsewhere, associates
Proskauer’s associates often grab a drink at a local happy
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The Inside View
“One of my favorite things about working here is that
when you’re just walking around talking to people you
can only tell who’s partner because their office is bigbigger,” said one source. Another agreed: “It never feels like
you’re just a fungible flunky.” Regular chats with a partpartner about the fate of the New York Rangers was a feature
of Proskauer life for another associate we spoke to. But
don’t go getting any wild ideas – this is still BigLaw:
“The partners expect a lot from us and people are very
eager to deliver.” Still, it was nice to know that “there
aren’t any insane partners or yellers” and we didn’t hear
any stories about seniors dumping work on associates’
desks at 5pm on a Friday.
www.chambers-associate.com
Proskauer Rose LLP
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“It never feels like you’re just a fungible flunky.”
The Inside View
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had worked on a mix of charity, corporate and Legal Aid ates cited their social side as the one thing they all had
cases.
in common and we’ll vouch for that – we found them
bright and engaging during our interviews, and pretty
Pro bono hours
darn witty in some cases. If you find conversation hard,
maybe look somewhere else. Should you be called to inin•For all attorneys across all US offices: 39,462
terview, “take a deep breath and don’t freak out. No-one
•Average per US attorney: 46.3
has ever done well by being on edge.” Another associate
Diversity
warned: “If you don’t make eye contact and don’t seem
Proskauer has a whole host of affinity groups where humble, it’ll hurt you.”
Asian, African-American, Hispanic, women and LGBT
lawyers and even flexitime employees can meet and mingle. Once a year the firm brings its diverse associates Strategy & Future
together in New York for the two-day ‘Diversity Re- With 13 offices in four continents, Proskauer holds a
treat’. “There were discussions and presentations; it was pretty strong position around the world. Chairman Joe
a pretty sociable occasion and a great chance to meet Leccese tells us: “We don’t feel the strategic need to add
enothers,” one attendee reported. As much as anything, di- another outpost to our network just yet. We’re still enpracversity events sound like a great chance to get people hancing the offices we have.” In terms of specific practogether for a cocktail party, usually preceded by a talk tice areas, Leccese says: “We’re continuing to focus on
or presentation. “Management tries to recruit and, cru- expanding our core corporate and litigation practices.
The private investment funds group is now active across
cially, retain diverse candidates,” said one associate.
the US, Europe and Asia, and we’d like to emulate the
success of that global model elsewhere.” One savvy asas
sociate shared his own modest ideas of Proskauer’s plans
Get Hired
“The firm wants to make money. To do that it needs clicli- for the future: “We want to keep clients on our books
ents, so associates must be able to keep clients sweet. from the cradle to the grave – to be the one-stop shop for
You need to be the kind of person clients like.” In other everything and everyone.”
words, soft skills have real value at Proskauer. AssociAssoci-
Proskauer Rose LLP
www.chambers-associate.com
Proskauer
Main areas of work
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Eleven Times Square, New York, NY 10036-8299
Tel: 212 969 3000 Fax: 212 969 2900
www.proskauer.com
Private equity; corporate finance and securities; mergers and acquisitions; capital
markets; litigation and dispute resolution; corporate defense and investigations; intellectual property; healthcare; labor and employment; employee benefits and executive
compensation; real estate; environmental law; technology; media and communications; privacy and data protection; bankruptcy and restructuring; insurance coverage
and recovery; and personal planning. The firm also has significant industry-focused
experience across many fields, including financial services, life sciences, sports, media and entertainment, lodging and gaming, and technology.
Head Office: New York
Firm profile
Caroline K Menes
Number of domestic offices: 8
Number of international offices: 5
Worldwide revenue: $768.5 million
Partners (US): 205
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Associates (US): 393
Main Recruitment Contact:
Hiring Partner: Michael T Mervis
Recruitment website:
Recruitment details
Summer Salary 2014
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Proskauer is a global firm with more than 700 lawyers who are players in the world’s
major business and financial hubs. The firm’s lawyers provide a full range of corporate,
litigation, labor and employment, intellectual property, healthcare, personal planning, real
estate and tax services to businesses, not-for-profit institutions and individuals.
•Number of 1st year associates: 45
•Number of 2nd year associates: 35
•Associate salaries: 1st year: $160,000 (except Boca Raton, New Orleans and
Newark)
•2nd year: $170,000 (except Boca Raton, New Orleans and Newark)
•Clerking policy: Yes
Law Schools attending for OCIs in 2014:
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FIRM PROFILES
Boston College, Boston University, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Fordham,
George Washington University, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, McGill University,
Northeastern, Northwestern, New York University, Rutgers, Stanford, Suffolk, Tulane, University of California (Berkeley, Los Angeles), University of Chicago, University of Connecticut, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of
Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas, University of
Toronto, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt, Washington University in St. Louis, Yale.
Summer details
Summer associate profile:
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We look for well-rounded students who have demonstrated academic excellence, leadership, community service, intellectual curiosity, maturity and strong motivation to succeed.
Summer program components:
Summer associates are assigned projects, receive guidance and are promptly evaluated with a focus on skill enhancement and exposure to sophisticated legal practice.
They are exposed to different departments via substantive assignments and shadowing
opportunities with senior lawyers. Our program features a systematic procedure for
review and feedback on all assignments. We offer seminars and activities to develop
practice skills, provide insights into substantive legal issues and the basics of various
practice areas. Cultural, recreational and social events include the Tony Awards and
the NBA Draft, highlighting the firm’s unique clients.
www.proskauer.com/careers
Diversity officer: Peter Wilson
1Ls: $3,077/week (except Boca Raton,
New Orleans and Newark)
2Ls: $3,077/week (except Boca Raton,
New Orleans and Newark)
Post 3Ls: $3,077/week
1Ls hired? Yes
Split summers offered? Case by case
Can summers spend time in
overseas office? No
Summers 2014: 73
Offers/acceptances 2013:
46 offers, 44 acceptances
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