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Rising Star
Hi,
Can ibm pay 28.5 ctc under 7B band?
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Bowl Leader
Who feels this way sometimes? Haha
Bowl Leader
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Coach
Quit quit quitttttyyyy time!
Coach
Leaving after one year to another biglaw firm?
Subject Expert
Anonymous User
When did you receive your signing bonus?
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Enthusiast
Work here and absolutely adore it. Everyone is incredible nice, supportive, kind and helpful.
What office
If you want to be a great litigator, QE is a place that will make you exactly that. I’ve generally enjoyed the work and the people. Of course there have been late nights, but it is what it is. Also, you’ll definitely go to trial.
I quit after a week.
I'd like to hear this story.
My friend worked at Quinn in NYC and say it was way better than Quinn in LA. Nicer partners, still a sweatshop.
I absolutely love it. I get to choose the cases I work on. I can work from home whenever I want. Everyone I’ve met and worked with is incredibly nice, supportive, and invested in developing me as a lawyer, including partners. I corresponded with opposing counsel, drafted substantive sections of a brief, and started second chairing depositions within my first 3 months. The early substantive training is unique and invaluable. I’m given as much responsibility as I ask for. My teammates respect my time and encourage me to have healthy boundaries. Truly could not imagine a better big law firm to work for.
Let us know if your tune changes a year from now lol
Mentor
I’m curious - how many of the people who have enjoyed their time at Quinn are men? When I was against them, their entirely male team once had a female partner on a call and they explained she was added to the case “for discovery.” And she proceeded not to have a speaking role on the call. It was pretty wild.
I’m currently on a case that emulates this structure. Not great.
Enthusiast
I lateraled to QE after working at another biglaw firm, and I'm far happier at QE. Obviously teams/partners vary - I'm in DC so can speak to that.
I like almost all the partners I work with. They're substantively excellent lawyers, and they've made real efforts to develop and mentor associates. None of them are psychopaths. The "early responsibility" point is true; I've seen associates get to do substantive tasks earlier at QE than at other firms we're working alongside (depositions, oral arguments for motions, etc.).
As for hours, I can't say that nowhere in the firm is bad, but my piece isn't terrible. I work slightly more than I did at my previous firm, but that's partially a result of choosing to take on opportunities for early responsibility to develop.
I also like that we're litigation-only. My previous firm was focused on transactional and litigation was an after thought. Not so at QE.
I love it. I love the freedom. I can do whatever I want, work with whomever I want, no dress code, face time, practice group meetings, or any expectations to do social work in addition to actual work.
I latered from another firm several years ago and love it way more.
Yeah people are overworked and it can get spicy and busy but I think that's true of all big law.
The people are smart, there are lots of opportunities to succeed and do what you like and get on the ground mentorship.
The people who flail typically need a lot of handholding, lack flexibility and creativity, or have unrealistic expectations about what this job is.
It’s a sweatshop but the nicest one.
Quinn is an ironic firm.
You expect it to be more genial because they have no dress code, the London office has bean bags to sit and work on, fairly loose hours targets, very generous work from home policies and very charismatic and genial sounding founding partners.
At the same time, it ranks second or first on revenue and profits. That doesn’t happen without associate hours that are at or better than the competition.
They’re also 100% litigation which is less profitable than transactional work. That, in my view, requires a turn and burn strategy which is usual in, say, insurance defence or personal injury, but not when the firm is taking on $50million plus lawsuits. It also must mean that they treat the multi-million suit against Mastercard in the way of a lower value insurance/injury claim. Run it hard, force a settlement and move on to the next.
Edit: I was at a time considering Quinn as my end goal. That was before I spoke to others who had left and before I had interviews and got answers which revealed a Kirkland culture with happy paint on it.
Enthusiast
Its very much a mixed bag. High billables and most people end up going above that based on case/partner demands. Some partners are good people, some are assholes. Ive found the ratio to not terrible to terrible to be around 3 to 1, so entirely possible to avoid the assholes.
Organizationally, it's a mess. Free market docketing means no one is responsible for getting you work or making sure you're not drowning. No formal mentoring, you might get someone more senior try to help you along but again, mixed bag as to if they're any good at it.
They have no interest in being market leaders but can be relied on to join with whatever is top of the market (ignoring the hours are above market).
As for litigation style, it's heavily dependent on the partner and client. Not every team litigates like the Musk teams. So not always the hyper aggressive no holds barred kind of trial stuff all litigators like to pretend they can do.
It may be too early for me to have the right judgment.
I started at QE this year, and so far I've been happy. I'm on really cool cases, treated like a grownup with a brain. The lack of structure and organization could leave one adrift, but there is plenty of work to go around, and so long as your first case is a good one, you'll have opportunities to build relationships with seniors/partners you think you want to continue working for and can forge a path from there.
My biggest criticism so far is that working conditions can feel ungracious - the administrators seem to exist to keep associates from perks and reimbursements. Life at other firms is much luster around the edges. Like, I doubt anyone will ever give me swag. And I assume if my shitty computer falls apart, I'll have to beg for a new one.
Your hunch is right - my keyboard broke this year and they refused to replace it. Had someone come to fix it 4 weeks later, who broke it further. I spent six months carrying around a portable keyboard until I got someone to fix mine correctly.
Subject Expert
Why would you possibly work there? 2100 hours req for bonus is the highest in Biglaw and to aggravate things they don't allow billable credit for travel. No thanks.
Love all the Quinn responses - do you think the terrible experiences are in LA for the most part?
Is there a way to avoid the massive overwork? Like there’s no one reviewing your hours or staffing , can’t you just get by not asking for work? 250 for 10 months is inhumane - can’t you just say no at a reasonable point? I’m at a V5 and 250 would be considered time to say no.
I have never asked for work and find myself perpetually too busy. After about 4 months of telling every team I’m on that I’m underwater, we got one additional team member on two cases. It hasn’t impacted my workload a ton.
Some of this could be my own fault for not saying no to joining cases when I hit a lull (for a week) a year and a half ago.