Mintz - The Inside View

The word ‘but’ gets a bad reputation, as it’s all too often followed by bad news. However, for associates describing life at Mintz, ‘but’ was instead a sign of a pleasant surprise. For instance, one junior boasted, “it’s a BigLaw firm but not a factory law firm,” while another gushed, “people take the work really seriously but still prioritize work-life balance and family.” It’s quite rare to have your cake and eat it, too, but Mintz associates seem to get a taste of the whole patisserie. Throw into the mix a generalist introduction to many of Mintz’s practices, and you might call it a recipe for success. In fact, this was a reason why many were initially drawn to the firm, according to one interviewee who “knew I’d be able to try everything before figuring out where I wanted to specialize.” It certainly helps that Mintz has Chambers USA-backed expertise across its departments, earning dozens of rankings from the guide. It’s particularly highly rated in its Massachusetts home state, receiving accolades in healthcare,bankruptcy & restructuring,construction, insurance, energy & natural resources, immigration and public finance. In New York, the firm is also highly regarded in white-collar litigation and government investigations.  

“It has a reputation for being a place where you can do meaningful pro bono work while still having an active billable practice.”  

“Community” was another term that frequently popped up in our research, firstly in the context of pro bono. “The firm is very involved in the Boston area,” said one source. “It has a reputation for being a place where you can do meaningful pro bono work while still having an active billable practice.” However, community was something interviewees felt from the people they worked with, too. Not only did insiders rave about feeling at home with their colleagues, but they also appreciated how “there’s a real opportunity to be an individual here and succeed. You’re not part of a massive class of incoming associates, so you can flourish on a personal level.”  

Strategy & Future  

You’d think 90-year-olds would start to take it easy, but that’s not been the case for Mintz at all. Instead, in 2023, Mintz marked its 90th anniversary by opening its eighth office in Toronto, which is its first base outside of the States. This international venture came shortly after the opening of the firm’s Miami office, and Mike Renaud, chair of Mintz’s Intellectual Property Division, explains how these new bases have allowed the firm to “expand its reach in life sciences and private equity. Those are two principal client areas for our 20+ Canadian colleagues and line up nicely with the firm’s strength in corporate, IP, litigation, regulatory, energy and technology.” Practice area-wise, Renaud highlights IP as a growing practice at the firm, noting how “we’re getting more IP work than we can do. We’re the most active firm at the International Trade Commission for complainant cases and, because our practice is growing so rapidly, we're always looking to hire talented associates.” More generally, however, Renaud is clear that “we’re focusing on disruptive technologies, whether in high tech or life sciences. The firm is driven around those areas, so we’re using our time to learn our clients’ industries and customer needs.” He adds that lawyer-ing is the no longer the extent of the role of a Mintz lawyer, explaining how the firm is investing in providing “off-the-rack” legal services: “Our lawyers don't just pick up the phone and give clients what they ask for. We provide business insight – we are growing by adding other forward-thinking partners who are committed to serving their clients in the same way.”

The Work 

Mintz’s Boston HQ took on the largest number of associates on our list, while the rest were spread across all the other offices except for Miami. Most juniors worked in the corporate and litigation groups, followed by IP prosecution and litigation. When it comes to work assignment, Mintz covers all bases with a “modified free market system,” meaning that associates can take advantage of both centralized staffing and networking. So, there are coordinators who hand out matters when they come in, but insiders shared that “in practice, not many get work through the practice managers.” This was especially true in smaller or specialist teams, where juniors may work closely with a small handful of partners. Those in larger groups, meanwhile, can find people they enjoy working with, ask for interesting assignments or “a partner will say, ‘hey, do you want to jump on this?’ and it’ll turn into something bigger.” 

Corporate associates are generalists at Mintz, meaning “you don’t have to specialize early on and can work on different subject areas depending on what’s interesting to you and where the firm needs staffing.” Opportunities on the junior side include M&A, capital markets, private equity, public company, debt, licensing, venture capital and startup work. When it comes to clientele, the firm makes use of its Boston roots, meaning its “bread and butter is assisting life sciences and biotech clients through their full business cycle.” Meanwhile, we heard that most debt matters come out of the New York office. Though the level of responsibility for newbies depends on the type of matter and general busyness of the team. One corporate associate noted how “for a larger firm, teams are staffed pretty leanly, so even as a second-year I’m directly interfacing with clients and leading calls.” Juniors still get their fair share of due diligence, organizing signatures pages and handling ancillary documents, with opportunities to take on more substantive drafting as they progress. We heard greater responsibility was especially common on matters with start-up clients, as “you’re afforded a lot more autonomy and get to be an advisor to founders. The issues that come up are important decisions for them, but routine for us as lawyers.” 

Corporate clients: Shiseido, eBay, Paypal. Recently advised Standard BioTools on its billion-dollar merger with biotech company SomaLogic.  

Mintz litigators are also generalists and can get their teeth into a range of commercial, white-collar, securities and breach of contract matters. That’s certainly not an exhaustive list, however, as one interviewee noted that “we work with other sections, so we help corporate, bankruptcy, real estate, employment or whoever on their client litigation matters.” Interviewees were very pleased at their level of responsibility, one mentioned how “sometimes it’s just a partner and me on matters.” So, while doc review is still to be expected, juniors can also help prepare for depositions, interview witnesses and draft various motions, memos and briefs. “It’s exciting to take the first stab at something, thinking about how to organize arguments while incorporating the team’s strategy,” an interviewee shared. “I get to see how my drafts evolve over time based on everyone’s feedback.”    

Litigation clients: Yelp, Boston University, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Represented former directors and officers of Toys “R” Us in claiming more than $1 billion in damages from various creditors and global toy vendors following the company’s bankruptcy.  

“I’ve really enjoyed learning about the different scientific concepts on each matter.” 

There is a separate group that deals with IP litigation, which works more closely with the IP prosecution team. Associates in this group spend most of their time on patent prosecutions with a range of clients across industries, such as biotech and mechanical engineering. There is some crossover with the litigation side of the practice, but associates were clear that the extent of their involvement was up to them: “I just want to do prosecution, so I’ve been able to stick to it, but others in the group prefer to treat the overlap as more of a gray area.” Assisting IP litigators may include some patent comparisons, but junior prosecutors otherwise spend their time drafting applications and responses to patent examiners. “I’ve really enjoyed learning about the different scientific concepts on each matter,” an associate explained. “It’s fun working with others to come up with strategies on how to advance a prosecution, analyzing the different angles of a matter.” 

IP clients: City of Hope, Sierra Space, Princeton CarbonWorks. Advised Breakout Ventures on the IP aspects of investments while assisting on the patent strategy for its portfolio companies.  

Pro Bono 

“It’d be strange for someone at Mintz to not do pro bono,” a junior reflected, while another explained how “it’s a firm for people who are more public service oriented.” Attorneys can (and do) bring their own matters to the firm with approval, but plenty of opportunities are available through the firm thanks to its connections with various pro bono organizations. For one interviewee, this meant that “when one pro bono case fizzled out, they immediately offered to get me on another one.” Sources highlighted immigration and asylum matters as more common, though they had also worked on clinics related to domestic violence, sex trafficking, veterans’ issues and sealing criminal records.  Juniors get the chance to go to trial on pro bono matters – “I got a favorable outcome in court for one client and it was one of my favorite legal experiences I’ve had so far,” said one litigator – but transactional attorneys can flex their corporate muscles helping small businesses. What’s more, Mintz attorneys can credit all hours spent on pro bono!

“I just wrote a blog article and billed hours from it!” 

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 20,317
• Average per US attorney: 27

Hours & Compensation 

Billable hours: 2,000 target 

Associates have to hit 2,000 hours to receive their bonus, which has recently increased in line with the market rate. Only 1,900 hours of this requirement must come from billable matters, and associates can use the remaining 100 hours on recruitment, training and other extracurriculars: “I just wrote a blog article and billed hours from it!” We heard mixed responses on how achievable the target is, but this can ultimately vary depending on the practice group. Transactional associates felt the impact of macroeconomic factors: “I don’t think anybody in my class is going to hit the requirement,” said one corporate junior. Though they added that “I haven’t noticed any hard-handed actions from the firm in trying to enforce hours. People are understanding of the ebbs and flows of the economy.”  

“I can enjoy weekends, even as a junior.” 

Mintz’s flexibility on hours applies to day-to-day working, so much so that associates felt that “the firm does a good job at prioritizing work-life balance.” Though some variation and longer days are unavoidable in BigLaw, associates could still enjoy stretches of more steady hours. While our interviewees generally tried to keep to 8-9am starts and 6-8pm finishes, they were clear that “as long as the work’s done by a certain point, I can choose to work on it whenever I want.” So, when there are no urgent deadlines, sources appreciated how “I can enjoy weekends, even as a junior. It’s not school, so no one’s checking if you’re at your desk. We’re all adults and know to be responsible and available when necessary.”  

Culture 

“Humor and humility” were the qualities one survey respondent used to describe Mintz attorneys. Indeed, one interviewee may have proved the former when explaining how, “people really prioritize family life over assignments to the extent possible, but if a client’s about to go under, maybe you’ll give up your son’s baseball game to pull together a financing!” Others praised the firm for attracting “nice, friendly, collaborative” people, and enjoyed any opportunity to catch up with their colleagues. We heard the positive vibes were consistent across levels, with one junior telling us how “I can joke around with the partners, but I’m also taken seriously. I can wear jeans to the office, and no one bats an eye.” 

Sources noted some slight differences across offices, largely due to the size of each location. An interviewee in New York, for example, explained how “we’re a smaller office, so it’s the type of place where you can get to know everyone very well.” Meanwhile, in Boston, sources noted how practice areas are separated across floors, meaning there are fewer opportunities for water cooler chats between associates from different groups. That said, there are breakfasts, lunches and formal events on the calendar here and there to combat this, and sources emphasized how most socializing happens during the workday. “There’s not much of a post-work hanging out sort of atmosphere, and that works well for a lot of people,” said one interviewee based in Mintz’s HQ. “We might not go out for drinks that often, but we’ll go for lunches, chat, laugh and have fun.” 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

Mintz’s affinity groups provide additional opportunities for people to get to know each other, whether that’s through its Women’s Initiative, Pride group, or MIATTY network for minority attorneys. Interviewees had taken part in a bunch of these, highlighting women’s lunches as an especially useful opportunity to sit down with other female lawyers to discuss the difficulties of being women in the workplace. “There are plenty of initiatives led by HR like retreats and things like that,” said one associate, “but associates can introduce things as well. For example, we have a monthly Pride book club which is led by an associate!” As is typically the case across the industry, diverse representation was strongest in the junior classes. When it comes to the more senior ranks, however, a corporate associate was keen to see a higher proportion of female partners and mothers, while a junior litigator exclaimed, “I’ve seen some of the women that I work with get elevated to partner in recent years. It seems like there’s a shift there which I’m really excited about.”  

“… you’re exposed to different folks across the firm and in different practice groups.” 

Career Development 

Incoming associates certainly get their fair share of mentoring at Mintz, with assigned associate and writing mentors for first-years, and an additional partner mentor for summers. “Your mentor changes year by year, so you’re exposed to different folks across the firm and in different practice groups,” an interviewee explained. What’s more, the firm offers a monthly stipend to cover lunches and coffees with mentors, and associates can bill this time as well. Despite having so many formal systems in place, interviewees found that mentorship also came naturally, with offers for guidance coming from senior members of deal and case teams. Training functions in a similar way, with a mixture of formal sessions and on-the-job learning.  

Though we heard mixed opinions about how achievable partnership might be, interviewees felt they were already starting to get a good sense of the path to it: “it seems difficult, but attainable if you do a variety of things and bring in business.” Another junior shared, “I think the biggest emphasis is doing really good work and being able to work well with a lot of people. Taking accountability for your work is important, too.”

Get Hired

LATERAL RECRUITMENT: Find out more about lateral opportunities with Mintz here.

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus 

OCI applicants interviewed: 46 

Interviewees outside OCI: 193 

Mintz attends OCIs at five universities, including a mix of top national law schools such as Harvard, Georgetown, and UVA, and regionals such as Boston College Law School and Boston University School of Law. Outside of this, the firm participates in resume drops, and hopefuls can also send in applications directly to the firm.

Hiring sources tell us that interviewers “look for curious, collaborative, collegial students.” Questions vary by interviewer, but overall, “we aim to find prospective associates who share the same passion for the law as our lawyers do.”

Top tips for this stage: 

“Someone who gave the sense that they were out for themselves would have a hard time getting a good rating!” – a junior associate 

“Think about what you want to convey to an interviewer without scripting the answers. Take the time to learn about the firm – including our people and practice areas.” 

Callbacks 

Applicants invited to second stage interview: 90 

Candidates invited to callbacks will interview with four lawyers – again, questions vary person to person. But hiring sources said that interviewers will be interested in a candidate’s interest in the law, their other interests, accomplishments and “how would you like to be challenged!” 

A junior associated went into more detail: “At the end of each interview, there is an evaluation process with about five or six questions like, ‘Is the candidate a team leader? Would you feel comfortable having them meet with clients?’ Naturally, the questions we ask in interview help candidates provide answers to those questions.” 

Top tips for this stage: 

“Focus on being able to make a personal connection. Go beyond just answering questions on what’s on or not on your resume.” – a second-year junior associate 

“Similarly to OCI, students should be prepared. We aim to have an interactive discussion on your future at our firm.” 

Summer program 

Offers: 32 

Acceptances: 23 

In Mintz’s nine-week program, summers choose a practice area of interest (Corporate, Litigation, or Intellectual Property) and are immersed in that practice area for the duration of the program. Training sessions throughout the summer include a Corporate “Nuts and Bolts” training, a moot court for Litigation Summers, and writing seminars and mentors for the full class. Social events are dotted throughout the program “so our lawyers and students have an opportunity to get to know each other outside of the office.”  The firm tells us summers typically return as first-year associates in the practice area in which they worked during the summer. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“Be enthusiastic; do great work; get to know people; always carry a pen and notepad!”