Duane Morris LLP - The Inside View

How does that Rocky quote go? “It ain’t about how hard you hit...” Ok, you’ll have to excuse us on Chambers Associate for our very British take on all things Philly. But there’s something about the fighting spirit of the city that Duane Morris has embraced: “Everyone seems a bit more entrepreneurial here, there is more exposure for an associate.” As another junior explained, “rather than being a cog in the factory like many New York firms, I felt at Duane Morris I’d have a bit more control of my desk.”

“Everyone seems a bit more entrepreneurial here, there is more exposure for an associate.”

Now, we’re not here to stir up the age-old NYC v Philadelphia rivalry, but while the Big Apple has its own influential BigLaw firms, Philly’s is clearly Duane Morris. Chambers USA confirms this, as the firm picks up top billing in over 30 areas, including insurance, construction, healthcare, IP, labor and employment, and litigation.With 24 offices across the US, and a number in Asia, Duane Morris is proudly flying the flag for the City of Brotherly Love on the BigLaw stage.

But beneath the tough exterior lies a nurturing environment for junior associates to make their base. “People are kind, collaborative, welcoming and just generally good people,” mused one junior. Another summed it up perfectly: “Duane Morris has a good balance between being BigLaw, but with the flexibility to go home and see my family and have different hobbies.”

Strategy & Future

One insider was optimistic about the firm’s growing corporate work, particularly in New York. Firm CEO and chairman Matt Taylor shares some more insight: "According to many economists, it’s expected that that interest rates will decline, and that you’ll see a fairly good run for corporate lawyers coming up.” Speaking of New York, one associate reflected that “I think they’re trying to make the New York office more prominent.” They elaborated, “While Duane Morris was always traditionally a Philly firm, I wouldn’t be surprised if New York eventually became the nucleus.”

Taylor also predicts some other shifts in regulatory work: “Under the former administration, regulatory - specifically on the antitrust side - was hot. But I think the new administration will bring their own folks and a DOJ, and I think we’ll see a fair amount of activity from white-collar government investigations too.” Beyond corporate work, Taylor confirms that DM has been expanding its trial group in healthcare and environmental litigation. There has also been a rise in international disputes, so Taylor explains that “we’ve also added lawyers that are doing international arbitration all around the world.”

The Work

We spoke to associates across the trial, corporate, employment, labor, benefits and immigration groups. Sources explained that newbies select their top three practice group preferences at the end of the summer program. There is a portal and a central staffer on hand to pick and choose assignments. interviewees highlighted that things become a little more free-market once the summer is over. While some groups may continue with the centralized system, associates noted that workflow is “mostly built on relationships with partners.” For example, “if there’s a partner you’ve enjoyed working with and they like you – you’ll be on their radar,” one added.

The trial group at Duane Morris had the greatest number of juniors, as it’s the biggest practice in the firm. Naturally, this meant juniors got exposed to a variety of work, from transport, and white-collar, to education, construction and commercial litigation. Daily tasks included demand letters, discoveries, requests, responses, statements of claim, mediations, summary judgments, reviewing contracts and general case research. “A lot of the time, the projects I’ll be working on involve disputes between owners, architects, contractors and sub-contractors” one associate explained. Overall, one interviewee has happy with how much they had learned since “it covers so many different aspects of law.”

Trial clients: New York Review of Books, The Tara Group, and Qiwi PLC. Represented a number of individuals on tax, criminal and cryptocurrency matters.

In Duane Morris’ corporate group, matters touch on M&A, private equity, and capital markets. The team work across a number of industries like energy, sport, and higher education so we heard clients range from Fortune 500 companies to startups, investment banks and private equity firms. “You can really choose your niche, we are honestly a jack of all trades!” quipped one junior.

Common tasks include drafting purchase agreements and ancillaries, handling loan agreements, conducting diligence and engaging in buyer and seller’s counsel. “Your role as a junior is to be available to help out wherever needs,” explained one source.As such, “you really have to prioritize and keep track of different lines of communication to make sure you’re not missing anyone out – it’s a lot of managing and streamlining, and just generally staying organized whilst taking in everything on the legal side of things.”

Corporate clients: Adhezion Biomedical, American Racing and Entertainment, Bridgepointe Technologies. Represented IQVIA Inc, a global provider of advanced analytics technology solutions and clinical research services to the life sciences industry, in its acquisition of a medical communications agency.

Juniors joining the employment, labor, benefits, and immigration (ELBI) team can expect to be put on a wide variety of matters like guidance, litigation, ULPs, class actions, and client management. Labor is a major bucket within the group, involving work with unions. Associate’s day-to-day activities depended on the team and the partner they were working for. Though typical tasks include motions to dismiss, drafting, discreet research, writing memos, research, presenting what you find and writing emails to employers for client counselling. Client contact was praised to as many juniors had the change to attend client meetings. Some got to go to hearings too as there is “quite a bit of arbitration in the employment space.”

Employment, labor, benefits, and immigration clients: Apple Bank, Fresenius Medical Care, Chevron USA. Represented The Regents of the University of California in a gender, pay equity, and disability discrimination case.

Career Development

Associates felt that DM takes career development seriously. “I think they really do care. We just had our retreat this weekend and they really emphasized that associate development is so important,” shared one junior.When associates join, they are paired up with a partner and associate mentor to guide them through their journey at the firm. On top of this, first-year associates get a whole year of extended business development training, which coincides with the life cycle of a junior associate and so includes work and task-related sessions as well, plustwo days of initial basic training in Philadelphia.

“Partners are hands-on – there’s no Wizard of Oz sitting behind the curtain!”

Practice-specific training sessions are a big deal at the firm. We heard of seminars run by senior attorneys covering topics like occupational safety, class actions, and motions for summary judgments. I’ve found many partners to be so gracious, on time and helpful by pointing out how to do things,” shared one interviewee. Another joked: “Partners are hands-on – there’s no Wizard of Oz sitting behind the curtain!”

While partnership may not be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, sources felt the firm does make an effort to understand your goals: “If you do want to make partner, they’re really receptive to helping you. Making partner at this firm is more realistic than at others.”

Hours & Compensation

Billable target: 1,950 hours

Insiders felt Duane Morris’ annual billable target of 1,950 was fair and achievable. Although certain groups like corporate may find the number easier to hit, associates appreciated that the firm is understanding if you don’t quite make it. “Of course, they definitely want you to hit it!” one interviewee acknowledged, but added: “it’s not a huge issue if you don’t.” In fact, we heard there were those who didn’t. However, hitting target is required to receive a bonus, which varies depending on how much you go over the target.

The workflow was generally said to be consistent, though it does depend on the practice group. Most associates typically log in around 9am and finish at 6pm, but the cyclical nature of the work can lead to eight to eleven hour days. “There is occasional evening and weekend work too,” which interviewees felt was an important thing to be aware of. Associates are expected to make an office appearance at least three days per week, but this varied across different offices: “You’re allowed to work remotely two days a week, but it also depends on the office culture and partner you work under.”

Pro Bono

“If the firm’s willing to take care of others then they will take care of their own employees!”

At Duane Morris, associates can bank up to 100 hours of billable pro bono credit, and there’s a huge push to do so. One associate recalled discussing pro bono during their interview, which they took as a sign of the firm’s altruistic culture: “If the firm’s willing to take care of others, then they will take care of their own employees!” Associates are encouraged to complete at least 20 hours of pro bono per year, but many easily exceed this. “If you’re short of the number late in the year, you’ll be pinged an email about being given something; it’s great that you’re getting to do something meaningful,” mused one source.

Associates can also tailor their pro bono work to their practice group, which helps them build relevant skills. Though, “if there’s something you’re passionate about and it’s not in your field, you’re still able to engage in that kind of work,” noted one junior. The firm sends out a list of different projects that might interest those in different local offices. Overall, the pro bono culture was described as “amazing,” and the firm even dishes out stickers for the top-performing pro bono associates to put on their office doors. There were a wide range of issues that our interviewees had worked on, including housing, women’s protection issues, immigration and asylum, and veterans’ rights.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 38,636
• Average per US attorney: 43

Culture

“They take care of attorneys here from a human perspective.”

The culture was summed up as collaborative, supportive, understanding and kind. Associates highlighted that the firm has a "people first" approach.“They take care of attorneys here from a human perspective. It’s obviously important because working someone to a point of mental devastation is not going to allow them to continue doing good work for you.”

Look – we know law is inherently a high-stress profession, but associates at DM made an effort to share the love across the office: “We’re busy a lot of the time and people have things to do. Butpeople make the effort to be warm, friendly and helpful. It’s why the culture here feels so comfortable. It’s all about people’s mindset.” Ultimately, at Duane Morris, “it’s not at all harsh, combative or cutthroat,” reassured one insider.

The welcoming culture naturally extends into a thriving social scene and there are plenty of opportunities for associates to get to know each other. The social calendar was full of Halloween parties, happy hours and birthday and work anniversary celebrations. “We do informal happy hours – this gives us the opportunity to socialize, have a drink and take some time to relax within the firm,” one junior smiled. Each team has its own social set-up with events like attorney meetings and lunches. A number of sources made sure to shout out DM’s famous retreat, where associates can network and befriend those they wouldn’t typically work with.

Inclusion

Associates felt DM had made a strong commitment to inclusion, and they were pleased with the firm’s efforts in this space. “It’s valuable to have a diverse collection of minds. It helps both culturally and it’s a good business model anyway,” one newbie commented.

The firm has a range of employee resource groups, including Asian Americans, Black/African Americans, Foreign Born, Hispanic/Latinos, DM Pride (LGBTQ), and People with Disabilities and Neurodiversity, which host regular events and guest speakers. These groups are open to all at the firm to join, regardless of background or identification.

Get Hired 

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus

OCI applicants interviewed: 240

Interviewees outside OCI: 52

Duane Morris conducts interviews across the breadth of the country, with OCI locations ranging from Pennsylvania through Illinois, to Texas, and far beyond. Coupled with this, the firm also collects resumes from a similarly varied offering: be it Notre Dame, UCLA, Columbia and more, the firm has an eye cast over a wide net. From 1,419 applications in 2024, the firm interviewed 292 students. Much to be expected, the firm utilizes the OCIs to get a reading on each candidate. Academic achievement, an array of school and extracurricular activities, plus relevant and beneficial work experience are all sought after by the attorneys – predominantly alumni from the respective schools – who conduct the interviews.   

Top tips for this stage:   

“Research the firm, provide specific examples of your abilities and accomplishments, and explain your connection to the city where you hope to spend the summer.” – a member of the hiring committee   

Callbacks 

Applicants invited to second stage interview: 162 

With OCIs under the proverbial belt, callbacks are the next stage for successful candidates who will meet with several attorneys in half-hour time slots. Attorneys – usually members from the Recruitment and Retention Committee – ask a series of behavioral interview questions focusing on a number of things: judgment, analytical ability, motivation/work ethic and teamwork, communication skills, professionalism, time management and leadership potential. Alongside this, Duane Morris stresses the importance of flexibility. “Be able to think on your feet,” notes the firm, “and provide specific examples personal to you, as opposed to offering generic responses.”   

Top tips for this stage:   

“Demonstrate polished and coherent oral communication skills, appropriate interview attire, critical thinking and problem solving.”   

Summer program

Offers: 32

Acceptances: 17 (anticipated 2025)   

Duane’s summer program gives students a chance to “embrace opportunities and to demonstrate an ability to succeed.” Opportunity-wise, there are many experiences to be gained in “assisting lawyers in matters of importance to the firm, clients and the community.” Be it observing depositions, hearings, trials, client and board of directors’ meetings, or negotiating sessions and closings, the program asks summer associates to “demonstrate genuine curiosity to learn about the firm and the different practice areas,” as well as showcasing “a desire to grow professionally by embracing new challenges.” With training in abundance – orientation programs, courses on legal theory skills, writing and negotiation workshops, and more – summers are encouraged to throw themselves into it all. Coupled with this, the social side of the program is also a good opportunity to demonstrate one’s character. Whether at a sporting event, a museum visit, a bowling night, or a dinner hosted by a member of firm management, the firm and associates alike stress the importance of being committed. Offers of summer employment aren’t department-specific.   

Top tips for this stage:   

"Duane Morris is a vibrant firm with a great history, and we look forward to bringing in stellar candidates from diverse backgrounds who can contribute from day one," the firm told us. "While a high percentage of summers return as entry-level associates, offers are made based on the performance over the course of the program."