Katten - The Inside View

If you’re looking to kick off your BigLaw career in the Windy City, we’re sure you would have caught wind of Katten. “Just being around the legal industry in Chicago, it’s very apparent that Katten’s recognized as a prestigious firm,” said one interviewee, but the firm’s also got its paws in pies across the US. Outside of its Chicago hometown, the firm has set up shop in California, New York, DC, Texas, and North Carolina, with two additional overseas bases in London and Shanghai. It’s safe to say Katten’s kept busy over the last half century since it was founded, and this has earned the firm a sizeable spread of rankings from Chambers USA. In its home state, Katten is recognized as a top player in intellectual property, public finance, and real estate, and earns further top accolades across the country: corporate/M&A in Texas, real estate finance in North Carolina and white-collar litigation in New York. Chambers Global also tips its hat to the firm’s nationwide bankruptcy/restructuring practice. 

“they weren’t putting on a façade when I interviewed. I saw a group of people that really got along well and seemed to enjoy what they do.”

When you come across a firm with such shiny accolades to its name, as one junior articulated, “you hear horror stories about being a cog in a large machine, but people here are invested in my development and success as a learning and practicing attorney.” In fact, a sense of community was something many of our sources gratefully found at Katten, noting how “they weren’t putting on a façade when I interviewed. I saw a group of people that really got along well and seemed to enjoy what they do.” This remains true post-pandemic, as the firm has settled into a hybrid work environment while still allowing even the most junior associates to “feel connected with the people I work with on a day-to-day basis.”  

Strategy & Future 

“The thing about being 50 years young,” says CEO Noah Heller on the firm’s upcoming golden anniversary, “is that it lends itself to a degree of energy and entrepreneurialism that clients and our industry are driving towards.” Specifically, he points to KattenFlex, the firm’s continually evolving work-from-home policy, as an example of this, highlighting how “no matter where we go, increasing the flexibility of where we can do our best work is always going to be paramount to us. It means we can continue to balance top service for our clients with the best substantive, skill-based training for our attorneys.” Moreover, Katten is continuing to roll out its Kattalyst Program, which aims to widen access to sponsorship for associates across the firm. “Historically, people are more comfortable sponsoring people who look like them, but we need to equalize that,” Heller explains. “There are people here who have not had the benefit of sponsors, so we’re making sure they’re getting those relationships. We’re looking to create equal opportunities for all our people, while developing talent that can sit in my chair in the future.”

In terms of practices, the firm is continuing to focus on its core practice areas, which are largely aligned with financial services. “We’re not a law firm that seeks to be everything or everyone,” Heller summarizes. “We’re deepening and broadening the areas of expertise that we have, which are heavily weighted in the US. That’s something that makes sense for our client base.” However, Katten has also been growing out its ESG practice.

The Work 

Private credit took on the largest number of associates on our list, while the rest were spread across a massive range of financial, regulatory, transactional and contentious practices. Most were based in the Chicago HQ, followed by New York and LA. Interviewees across practice groups had differing experiences with work assignment, with associates in groups with assignment coordinators enjoying a variety of formal and informal staffing. As one such source indicated, “I initially reached out to staffing attorneys but, as I grew my internal network, I found myself reaching out to partners and senior associates I’d worked with when I found myself with capacity to take on more.” Meanwhile, others received all their work through a free market system: “There’s no assignment coordinator, so you instead get an email or a call from a partner asking you to join a matter.” While some felt that this led to situations where juniors have to say no to more work, sources appreciated how they’d “never had any pushback. If I’ve said I don’t have capacity, that’s always been respected.” Another source even suggested that the system “weeds out lower performers, so people will probably reach out to you more if you do a good job.” 

The private credit group works on the lender side of private commercial lending deals, with a smaller number of borrower-side matters filtering through the department. As a junior summarized, “the meat and bones of our transactions are credit agreements, and clients bring us in to make sure all the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed.” Associates get the chance to work with colleagues in other offices, too, meaning that “if I happen to be slow, I can reach out to people in other offices to see if they have anything else I can join.” Newbies are face-to-face with clients early on, very quickly getting comfortable interacting with them and coordinating calls, which we heard can “feel very rewarding.” Otherwise, juniors start out compiling documents and signature pages, drafting checklists and creating issues lists. However, associates can take on more responsibility once they’re ready, which can include drafting amendments and opinions. 

Private credit clients: Twin Brook Capital Partners, Ares Capital Corporation, The Carlyle Group. Represented Capital One in its credit agreement with beauty company Coty, with $1.67 billion and €300 million revolving loan facilities.

“Making legal arguments to regulators has been really interesting.” 

In financial markets litigation & enforcement – or FMLE, as it’s dubbed by Katten insiders – associates get to grips with both regulatory and contentious lawyering. As the name suggests, clients work in the financial services sector and can include hedge funds, broker dealers, and banks. The group represents these clients in enforcement proceedings from various regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. “Making legal arguments to regulators has been really interesting,” an interviewee reflected. “It’s a little more policy-driven, so getting the first pen on such complex assignments has been great.” Juniors also get the opportunity to have the first go at drafting letters to regulators, making presentations and preparing witnesses and materials for hearings. Associates highlighted client contact as a key part of the job, with one noting how “I’m the point person” while another explained, “I get on the phone with them to understand how their business works so we can then correspond with the regulators.”  

Financial markets litigation and enforcement clients: 1st Source Bank, Bank of Hawaii, Alliant Credit Union. Defended HSBC’s US and Hong Kong arms in fraud claims in New York and Californian district courts.

Katten’s M&A group works on a range of public and private deals, with sources highlighting private equity as a key theme of its work. Deals can vary in size and focus, with associates relishing the opportunity to work on both the buy- and sell-sides of transactions, representing larger companies and smaller, family-owned businesses. The Chicago office “sees a bit of everything,” according to one associate, though the group is spread across Dallas, New York and LA. Juniors typically start out with due diligence, working on disclosure schedules and drafting any related memos. However, interviewees had noticed (and appreciated) “the easing in and gradual increase of responsibility.” In particular, newer associates on smaller teams can take on a more substantive role, directly interacting with clients and opposing counsel. 

M&A clients: Kore.ai, Argenta Partners, American Guardian Holdings. Advised Vespa Sports in its acquisition of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team.

Pro Bono 

Associates were pleased to say that the firm highly values pro bono, so much so that one junior told us, “A partner went out of his way to call me to say that he was proud of what I’m doing, and happy to see me doing pro bono.” In terms of numbers, attorneys can count 100 hours of pro bono towards their billable target, though sources agreed that “you need to seek approval for anything beyond that. But, from what I hear, that’s almost always granted.” So, as long as associates keep an eye on their hours and let practice group and pro bono coordinators know in advance, they should be able to get an extension on their cap. It may be worth going the extra mile as insiders revealed that “those attorneys who do go above and beyond for pro bono are recognized by the firm.” 

“When more senior associates were tied up with other work or commitments, I could step in…” 

Specific opportunities can range from asylum and immigration to domestic violence and adoption matters. While pro bono is often litigation heavy, one transactional interviewee was able to take on matters that aligned directly with their practice group, noting how “I was doing similar tasks to those I’d do on a billable deal, but with more responsibility. When more senior associates were tied up with other work or commitments, I could step in to lead calls with clients and opposing counsel, do a little bit more drafting and take on more ownership.” 

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 27,195
• Average per US attorney: 42.6

Career Development 

According to one associate, “you get out what you put in” when it comes to career development at Katten. Newbies and laterals start off with formalized training for the first few months, but sources shared that, from then on, “I think the firm leaves associates to seek out the training and experiences that they want.” There are, however, a bunch of optional training sessions hosted internally – often on professional development, new technologies or a hot topic in the industry – and a number of retreats to get associates together for training. For instance, there’s a junior associates’ retreat every two years, and one attendee found it “was helpful. It focused on career development, DE&I, organization, and other soft and hard skills which can help jumpstart your career.” 

“You can see a lot of partners who’ve come in through Katten from year one.” 

There’s another retreat for mid-levels focusing on long-term career goals, such as the path to partnership or exit routes into government or in-house. “The firm is supportive of all different options,” an insider shared, “but you can see a lot of partners who’ve come in through Katten from year one.” Other interviewees generally agreed that partnership was achievable for those making it their goal, noting “people who paid their dues as associates have been rewarded with partnership.” What’s more, associates can keep up with their progress as there are core competencies associates should achieve each year to be on track. 

But, before getting to that stage, greener associates have a bunch of formal point people they can reach out to with any questions: a personal development professional, associate mentor, and partner mentor. Despite having so many formalized routes to mentoring, associates found that informal relationships were easy to come by: “A lot of people I work with are more than willing to explain things and help you understand why they do things the way they do.” The firm has now added a shadowing hours category to associates’ creditable hours, meaning juniors can bill time (50 hours for first-years, 40 for second-years and 30 for third-years) spent observing things like meetings and hearings.  

Hours & Compensation 

Billable hours: 2,000 target 

On top of pro bono and shadowing hours, associates can credit firm citizenship hours towards their 2,000-hour target. This includes firm directed activities such as running CLE training and practice group meetings, DEI, recruitment and business development, with 50 hours set aside for it. Meeting your target unlocks a market-rate bonus, with lockstep bonus thresholds for every 100 hours above 2,000. Sources felt that the target was easier to certain groups, with an interviewee in private credit suggesting that “it’s more than achievable, so you’d have to try to not hit it!” Others admitted that meeting their hours became trickier with more volatile market conditions, suggesting that “it’s hard to say exactly how busy a month is going to be so we’re at the mercy of those external factors, especially as junior associates.” However, as the firm’s corporate practice is “generally mid-market, US domestic,” according to Heller, “it’s held up relatively well compared to what you hear about the M&A slow-down across the market. We’re expecting to see more of a pickup this year.”

When it comes to work-life balance, an insider was proud to say that “I think I have it better than all my law school peers at other BigLaw firms.” Around two-thirds of our survey respondents felt the same, with reported weekly hours averaging out to just below the market standard of our research. An associate may work from around 9 to 6 during slower periods, with longer days and weekend work happening when things pick up. “It ebbs and flows that way,” an associate explained. “I’ll probably have four to five 12-15-hour days a month.” However, sources were pleased that evening and weekend work was “the exception more than the rule,” meaning many can enjoy their downtime without constantly keeping an eye on their inboxes. 

Culture 

Even though many are still working from home, sources felt they could get a good sense of the culture, both virtually and in-person. “There seems to be a good camaraderie,” said one source, while another felt that “there sort of is a Katten personality. It’s hard to describe, but people are intelligent, respectful, approachable, and fun to be around.” We even heard there are group chats with partners and associates – “sometimes we just banter in there” – but newbies can also get to know their colleagues at various get-togethers. For example, there are firmwide holiday parties, practice group celebrations and themed lunches around certain events such as Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s, or the Super Bowl. 

“…a sense of niceness and not a lot of egos walking around the building.” 

An associate summarized the firm as “very friendly and very Midwestern” even outside of its Chicago HQ, as there’s “a sense of niceness and not a lot of egos walking around the building.” Some did notice a few differences in culture across offices, with an LA associate reflecting, “We seem to be a little more hands on and talk to each other on the phone every day.” Meanwhile, a junior in New York enjoyed working in a smaller building – a newer space taking up six floors of the Rockefeller Center – where people step out of their offices to hang out and enjoy free lunch in the cafeteria on Wednesdays. Interviewees appreciated efforts from more senior colleagues across the board, recognizing how partners have “reached out to me to make sure that I’m talking to them or, to be perfectly honest, that I wasn’t scared of them! That played a huge part in me getting comfortable with them and realizing they’re just people, not faceless beings behind email blocks.” 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

Overall, sources appreciated Katten’s efforts to improve diversity, highlighting its DEI-related recruitment pipelines and affinity groups as evidence of this. There are groups for Black and Latino attorneys, LGBTQ+ lawyers, women and parents, which host events, mentoring, and networking opportunities. The Women's Leadership Forum (WLF) has also expanded, adding a Women's Inclusion Network which is open to all women at the firm, not just attorneys. One interviewee highlighted a recent chocolate tasting session with the WLF, explaining how it was “fun, and a great way to connect with people firmwide!” Some had noticed greater diversity in certain offices, with an LA source explaining how “our office will attract a few more diverse candidates so I’m surrounded by others with similar backgrounds as me, but I think there is some unevenness across offices.” However, sources did praise the support for women at the firm, with 80% of female survey respondents feeling that partnership is achievable for attorneys with children. As one interviewee explained, “a lot of people in my group have been out on parental leave in the last year, and it looks like there’s a lot of support for that. From my perspective, coming back to work and ramping back up seems seamless.”

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus

OCI applicants interviewed: 501 

Interviewees outside OCI: 11 

In 2023 Katten attended OCIs at 25 schools and participated in four job fairs and recruiting programs, including Lavender Law Career Fair, the Southeastern Minority Job Fair, the Bay Area Diversity Fair, and the Cook County Bar Association Minority Law Student Job Fair. OCI locations include a mix of top schools such as Northwestern, Columbia and NYU, as well as regional schools such as University of Texas School of Law, Wake Forest University School of Law, and Loyola Law School.   

Partner/associate pairs typically conduct interviews, and the firm sees roughly 20 students at each campus, although that number increases to more than 40 for the University of Michigan Law School, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and The University of Chicago Law School. According to hiring sources at the firm, questions are open-ended and allow the interviewers “to assess, among other things, each candidate’s interpersonal skills, motivation, applied intelligence and entrepreneurial qualities.”   

Top tips for this stage:   

“We hire outgoing people because it means they are likely to build business at some point. I do think that the firm does tend to look for people who can have a normal conversation.” – a third-year junior associate   

“I would advise students to prepare, but not be over-rehearsed, as we appreciate authenticity. It is beneficial to present yourself honestly to the interviewer, in a way that communicates enthusiasm for legal studies/the practice of law, motivation to achieve success, and a strong intellect.”

Callbacks

Applicants invited to second-stage interview: 180 

Four interviews with a mixture of partners and associates await those who get to the callback stage, though this can vary by office. According to hiring sources at the firm, “our interviewers tend to ask more behavioral questions than we ask at the OCI stage. Interviewers will continue to assess the candidate’s interpersonal skills, motivation, applied intelligence and entrepreneurial qualities. Additionally, interviewers will try to determine the candidate’s interest in the firm and the particular office.” Those we spoke to didn't find the experience too taxing: “For the most part you just have a conversation – they’re thinking about how you would work with this person or this group.”   

Top tips for this stage:   

“I would advise candidates to research the firm, our practice areas, and the attorneys that they will meet, and candidates should be prepared to discuss why they are particularly interested in Katten.”

Summer program

Offers: 85 

Acceptances: 37 

The summer program runs for ten weeks. Summer associates can try work assignments in different practice areas, and an assignment coordinator is on hand to help them with the assignment process. Summers are also assigned mentors as an extra layer of support. Hiring sources at the firm encourage summers to “work on assignments with a variety of partners and associates across various practice areas, particularly during the first half of the summer,” as this gives them a chance to “experience the different practice areas at the firm and then hone in on what truly interests them for the latter part of the program.”   

Depending on who summers end up working with, they may get to tag along to client meetings, closings or court hearings. The firm also offers learning and development programs that have included topics such as legal writing, communication, wellbeing, and diversity, equity and inclusion, in addition to presentations introducing the firm’s practice areas. “Almost all of our summers return as junior associates,” the firm tells us. “When a summer associate receives an offer to return as a first-year associate, the offer is typically for a specific department, based on their department preferences and the hiring needs of our departments.”   

Notable summer events: a day trip to Disneyland, a boat cruise and baseball games (Cubs, Mets or Yankees, Rangers, Dodgers, Nationals).   

Top tips for this stage:   

“If you show great communication and organizational skills, that goes a long way. Bring all the documents you need for a call and keep up to date with all the calendar invites. Those small things are the main things that will impress.”– a third year junior associate   

And finally...   

The firm encourages interested students to connect with Katten attorneys at events hosted through their law schools and by the firm: “They should also follow up with students who participated in our summer program. Our recruiting staff and attorneys are happy to speak with law students to share information on Katten.”