Axinn - The Inside View

If there’s one thing about Axinn that was made clear when interviewing associates, it’s that the firm is focused on quality over quantity. Rather than taking a scattergun approach, Axinn’s expertise lies in its three core areas, antitrust, IP and related litigation: “With antitrust, you can do transactional and litigation work which I didn’t appreciate initially. Law schools claim it has to be one or the other.” Another interviewee explained: “I always wanted to do IP and pharmaceutical. Not many firms offer such niche practices, but Axinn did.”

“You get all the attention and training you could possibly want.” 

Though smaller than other firms in our guide, Axinn is very much part of the BigLaw set: “I’ll be frank. We have the same complexity of work, types of clients, and opportunities as those firms,” declared one source. Case in point, the firm’s earned itself a handful of rankings in Chambers USA and Chambers Global alongside some of the world’s biggest and most prestigious firms. The firm’s boutique size was overwhelmingly seen as a positive by interviewees as one source succinctly laid out: “You get all the attention and training you could possibly want.” Others were more taken in by the people they met during the interview process: “The conversation felt less forced than with other firms. Axinn wanted to see personality, and human connection.”

Strategy and Future 

“We do want to grow, but not for the sake of being larger. We want to be best of breed in our specialized practice areas,” says managing partner Jeny Maier on Axinn’s strategy going forward. Maier references the 2018 opening of the San Francisco office (which moved to a new space in 2023) as a good example of this: “what we take very seriously is the integration component and making sure that in achieving that growth, we remain one firm. We have a group of lawyers that’s integrated with the rest of the firm.” 

Maier clarifies how Axinn’s priority is always the people they have right now, their clients and making sure the work and the environment is as strong as it can be, “ensuring that our next generation of superstars have the support and the infrastructure that they need, which will gear us toward being best positioned to meet our clients’ needs and the needs of the market for our services.”

The Work 

At the time of research, associates were spread across all of the firm’s four offices (DC, San Francisco, Hartford and New York.) The vast majority of newbies joined the antitrust group, with a few heading for IP and litigation. Where the former is concerned, Axinn boasts specialist knowledge in international cartel work and merger compliance. It’s serious business from the get-go -  “I’ve been drafting briefs since the first year” -  but those interested in joining the firm should be reassured when it comes to the allocation of tasks: “Work is assigned to those who have the bandwidth.” Our interviewees had worked on longstanding, multidistrict matters, as well as more routine affairs. Responsibilities included drafting briefs, negotiation with different plaintiffs, and taking part in class certification meetings.

“I’m on twelve deals right now.”

One source explained: “Juniors often take the lead in working with opposing counsel, and there’s lots of client face time.” It’s worth noting that the transactional element is slightly different to the litigious side and juniors are not required to formally split their time between the two, but can try a mixture of matters that interest them. Transactional tasks often see juniors respond to different state agencies and writing letters: “I’m on twelve deals right now. I find it fascinating that I can learn such specific stuff from so many different deals!” On either side of the practice, “if you feel like you’re missing out on some part of the work, people will go out of their way to make sure you get it.”

Antitrust clients: Google, Stanley Black & Decker, Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies. Representing software company VMware in its $69 billion acquisition by fellow software firm Broadcom (pending approval from China).

Putting the firm’s antitrust work aside, its IP offering is certainly a weighty practice in its own right. Around 30 attorneys specialize in the area, (nearly half have advanced technical degrees) covering everything from pharmaceuticals and medical devices to consumer products and biotech. An insider explained that the primary focus is patent litigation; day-to-day, associates play their part in preparing these cases by doing research: “I often look for case law that supports our argument. The team asks for my opinion on certain areas, and how my research fits into the wider case. I’ve never been given menial tasks.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the department features a great deal of crossover with the antitrust practice.

IP clients: Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Samsung. Represented Norwich Pharmaceuticals in an infringement claim brought by Salix Pharmaceuticals, concerning a proposed generic version of Salix’s IBS medicine, Xifaxan.

The litigation department is on the smaller side, with nine attorneys and counting. As with IP, litigation has a great deal of overlap with antitrust, with one high-profile matter in particular being the firm’s successful defense of chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a $100 million lawsuit over cheating allegations. The case was high-profile with coverage across the globe that saw the world witness Axinn’s Craig Reiser achieve a complete antitrust victory for the chess player.

Litigation clients: Reed Smith LLP, New York Community Bank, Align Technology. Defending Tyson Foods against a treble-damage class action alleging an industry-wide conspiracy to increase the price of chicken.

Career Development 

According to associate interviewees, “the firm is incredibly invested in our career development.” Newbies are assigned a partner mentor and an associate mentor, typically from the same practice group, which associates found particularly beneficial. The firm also gives juniors access to training by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy which associates couldn’t have spoken more highly of: “We have mock depositions and mock trials. It was better than anything I received in law school. Partners give you space while that’s taking place and the firm is willing to give up associates’ time to train.” In addition, the firm often sends out firm-wide emails with extensive opportunities available for associates.

Hours & Compensation 

Billable hours: 2,000 target 

Our sources acknowledged the hours can get a little tense at times: “When you’re prepping for trial it’s crazy, but if not then the hours are OK.” In practice, that works out at around 55 hours a week during busier periods; however, a source was quick to point out the firm’s efforts in making things bearable: “You can definitely get support. We’re in the trenches together, so although long hours suck, doing them together makes all the difference.”

“If you do superstar work, they will see you, and you’ll be rewarded.”

Pro bono factors in, allowing 100 hours to be credited towards the billing target. 50 hours of DEI activity also counts, as does time spent on professional development, such as client pitches and article writing. Sources felt satisfied with the salary, which is lockstep with the firm’s BigLaw counterparts. The yearly bonus is dependent on reaching the billable hours goal: “If you work a great deal, there’s no ceiling for how high the bonus can be. If you do superstar work, they will see you, and you’ll be rewarded." 

Pro Bono  

Seeing as 100 hours of pro bono are billable, it’s no surprise that our sources thought the work was highly encouraged by the firm: “The firm’s goal is to have 100% participation. Axinn is invested in building up your skills however possible.” Our interviewees reckoned it was possible to bring in their own pro bono matters, though there’s also“a massive spreadsheet of all the cases so you can see if the team needs more help.” A lot of the work centers on asylum matters, “but there are also long-running matters.” To give you a sense of the scale of the firm's pro bono output, nearly 50 attorneys worked on just two of Axinn's federal pro bono matters over the past couple of years.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 6,262
• Average per US attorney: 75

Culture  

A small firm can cast a large shadow when it comes to the culture: “Because we’re a smaller firm, there are more chances to be seen and heard. It’s feasible to get to know every single person at Axinn. There's a real emphasis on being a human here.” Sources warned thatif you’d rather be an unseen cog in a machine, Axinn isn’t the place for you: “Some associates ended up leaving because you can’t do that here.” That said, the feeling of togetherness was only seen as a positive by our interviewees. Sources were pleased to report that the firm encourages working relations to grow into friendships. HR organizes many events and one associate even mentioned they have playdates with other associates’ dogs: “It’s hard not to develop strong friendships when you have an atmosphere of respect.” 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

Sources praised the amount of representation at the associate level, with one interviewee pointing out, “Axinn is doing a very good job at supporting, uplifting and hiring people from under-represented minorities. Around half of the associates are women.” Of course, systemic issues do not escape Axinn at the higher levels. The good news is “unconscious bias is talked about openly. They’re open to letting people at the junior end level start the conversation.” There were differing opinions amongst sources about whether the firm’s diversity initiatives and events were more like corporate lip service than active change, but those from diverse backgrounds felt supported themselves – “I feel like I can go out and talk to anyone.”

“A third of the firm is part of the DEI Committee.” 

We were also told about gender-neutral bathrooms and a consciousness of others’ pronouns. As part of Axinn’s push for awareness and inclusivity, the firm has been busy putting together DEI sessions and events, such as women's coffee mornings and a name pronunciation workshop. Associates are very much involved, as “a third of the firm is part of the DEI Committee.”

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus

OCI applicants interviewed: 148 (OCI only)

Interviewees outside OCI: 39 (fairs, candidate outreach/referrals)

Axinn conducts OCI at 17 schools, attends four job fairs and participates in resume drops at several additional schools each season. At each location, interviewers meet with up to 22 students. The firm attends the following job fairs: NEBLSA, Bay Area Diversity, Lavender Law and the Loyola Patent Fair. Additionally, Axinn participates in Google’s Legal Summer Institute, a unique in-house and law firm experience where under-represented 2L law school students are invited to spend the first week of the program at Google followed by a full summer internship with an outside counsel law firm.

Interviews are conducted by partners or associates who are typically alumni of those schools. Hiring partners at the firm tell us interviewers look for “bright, motivated and team-oriented” individuals who have a demonstrated interest in the firm’s practice areas: IP, antitrust and litigation. Candidates will be asked behavioral-type questions, such as describing a situation where they proved to be a reliable teammate.

Top tips for this stage:

“Having a summer internship at the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, or the state equivalent of those goes a long way to demonstrating an interest in antitrust.” – a junior associate

“We look for someone who’s interested in what we’re interested in. When big decisions come out of the DC Circuit, people here are tracking it. Not just because our work is in it, but because we’re interested in it and love it.” – a junior associate

Callbacks

Applicants invited to second-stage interview: 77

Successful candidates are invited to five half-hour interviews with partners and associates. Here, interviewers will be gauging “candidates’ ability to think analytically, their interest in our practice areas, and their fit within a team-oriented work environment.” Hiring sources continue, saying that “candidates should be prepared to discuss one of their writing samples in detail, examine legal issues they have studied or analyzed from all angles, and provide examples of how they embody the attributes we value.”

Top tips for this stage:

“They like to see there’s some real intellectual interest in antitrust. My interview was a lot like that – they were making sure I had the chops!” – a junior associate

“Be knowledgeable, be passionate, be engaged, be yourself.” – hiring partners Ted Mathias, Leslie Overton, Dan Oakes, Jeannine Sano and Craig Reiser

Summer program

Offers: 31

Acceptances: 7

Successful candidates are hired directly into their desired practice group in the firm’s summer program, which will run for ten weeks from mid-May to mid-July. Summer associates typically get work assignments within their respective groups, but there can be opportunities to work on projects outside of their group as well. Work is assigned by the recruitment staff, but attorneys at the firm can also assign tasks directly.

Summer associates are assigned two mentors and get regular training programs. Social events range from virtual smaller team-building events to larger office-wide programs. The firm’s summer associates can expect to travel to other offices and have ample opportunities to attend depositions, court hearings and trials. Summer associates receive offers directly from their chosen practice group, and they tend to stay in that group throughout their career at Axinn.

Top tips for this stage:

“We encourage summer associates to seek out opportunities of interest, such as working on particular matters of interest (including pro bono opportunities) and sitting in on depositions.” – hiring partners Ted Mathias, Leslie Overton, Dan Oakes, Jeannine Sano and Craig Reiser