King & Spalding LLP - The Inside View

For those born and raised in the Peach State, there’s really no place like home… so juniors set their sights on King & Spalding: “There’s no better place for corporate law in Atlanta. The brand is unmatched – from the legal excellence to the work and opportunities available to you. This extends nationally: New York, DC, Chicago… wherever you want to go!” insiders raved. Take it from our sister guide Chambers USA, where the firm is awarded the highest accolades for its antitrust, banking & finance, bankruptcy/restructuring, corporate/M&A, environment, healthcare, general commercial & securities litigation, white-collar crime & government investigations, and real estate expertise in Georgia. On the national stage, K&S receives high praise for practices like international trade, product liability & mass torts, international arbitration, and government contracts.

“The brand is unmatched – from the legal excellence to the work and opportunities available to you.”

What’s more, associates were drawn by the culture of care, enticed by the mentorship and growth opportunities available to them. From the get-go during networking receptions, OCIs, and interviews, sources told us that the vibe was clear: “The people are awesome and kind. You could tell they see you as a human being with a life outside of these four walls and will support you through your professional development too.” The added personal touch was a stand-out for some as well, as this insider detailed, “They went above and beyond to interview me with people I could relate to. I did not expect that level of care.” With 15 offices stateside, most of the associates on our list were found in the firm’s Atlanta home base, followed by a large portion in New York and DC. The Los Angeles office was said to be the fastest growing, also taking on associates, and the rest were split between Chicago, Houston, and Northern Virginia, with a handful dotted between Austin, San Francisco, and Denver.

Strategy & Future

“Today, we have 1,400 lawyers and 24 offices around the globe,” Justin King, a partner in the corporate, finance, and investment practice, reminds us, reflecting on King & Spalding’s growth story. Marking the end of the year, he was pleased to report that “our revenue has increased for the 16th consecutive year; we’ve doubled our profitability as a law firm since 2019.” What’s the recipe for success? “From my standpoint, it’s about having the right mix of transactional, litigation, and government practices, and the right culture and talent to make sure we’re all working together in unison to achieve our defined strategy,” King states.

Part of K&S’ mounting success can be attributed to finding strategic development opportunities, which is why “this past year, we opened an office in Dallas – our third in Texas and 24th globally” (joining the Houston and Austin outposts). King explains, “We recognized a lot of good things are happening in the Dallas market, so we’re doubling down on growing some of our key practices including corporate, restructuring, business litigation, and the like.” Achieving yet another record – this time celebrating homegrown talent – King reveals proudly, “We just promoted our largest ever partner class,” promoting 37 partners and five counsel across 14 offices. He emphasizes that while lateral hiring is important, this milestone demonstrates that “organic talent development is critically important to us!”

Read more from Justin King under the ‘Get Hired’ tab.

The Work

Most associates were found in business litigation, corporate, special matters & government investigations, or government matters & regulation. Each group has a partner allocating work, juniors explained, “When you first start, they’re a primary contact. They’re in charge of making sure every associate is staffed sufficiently.” Overtime, “you have certain people you like to work for, so you’re free to go directly to them.” Sources were satisfied with the overall approach, with one noting that “it allows associates to take ownership of their career and the types of matters they want to work on.”

Starting off with special matters & government investigations, the practice encompasses internal investigations, civil and regulatory investigations, and white-collar defense, often facing agencies such as the Attorney General’s Office, DoJ, and SEC. (If you’re looking for government matters & regulation, that’s another practice, made up of antitrust; data privacy and security; environmental; health and safety; FDA & life sciences; global human capital & compliance; healthcare; international trade!) Here, clients range from top higher education institutions, energy companies, banks, and prominent wealth managers across the world to state governments and non-profits – “the range is refreshing!”

Associates recalled working on congressional investigations, False Claims Act matters, foreign corruption cases, monitorships, and compliance investigations. Describing an investigation, juniors outlined doing document review and witness interviews in the lead up to the presentation to the government. “I’ve traveled to different sites for doc analysis and interviews,” one added. Another emphasized while reflecting on their day-to-day: “The fact management requires a lot of time while chronologies are being built.” Other tasks include reviewing and producing policy overviews and risk assessments. Whatever the case, sources praised, “Seniors and partners give you as much as you can take on. You have lots of responsibility with proper supervision,” they reassured, “You’re not left out on a limb!”

Special matters & government investigations clients: USA Swimming, Genentech, Silicon Power Corporation. Represented Albemarle, a global chemicals company, in a multi-jurisdictional, cross-border FCPA/anti-corruption investigation of the company’s use of, and relationships with, third party agents and distributors.

King & Spalding’s disputes offering is comprised of business litigation, product liability & mass torts, and international disputes. For associates in business litigation, the work is centered around securities and commercial focused disputes, such as purchase and sale agreement, security interests, and loans. So, whether it’s from financial services, energy, life sciences, technology, or media & entertainment, “there are a lot of different industries,” an insider pointed out, highlighting that “the firm has represented some cool clients, like Madison Square Garden in New York!” Besides the headline-catching disputes, 92% of surveyed juniors were satisfied with their roles in matters. Associate duties typically include document review and lots of research and drafting, building up to client correspondence and deposition work. “Early on, I was doing substantive tasks and drafting,” one recalled, continuing to say that there’s room to step up to the plate with depositions even “as a second chair – that was a great experience.” Also, with the firm’s numerous offices, associates are far from siloed: “You’re constantly working with people from other offices.”

Business litigation clients: Delta Airlines, The Home Depot, Heartland Payment Systems. Representing Capital One Bank in multiple class actions, with plaintiffs seeking millions in alleged losses.

“You’re immediately working on million, if not billion, dollar deals out of law school… it’s crazy.”

On the transactional side of the coin, you’ll find corporate, finance & restructuring, and real estate & funds. Financial institutions as well as energy, life sciences, industrial, real estate, and telecommunications clients make up the books. In corporate, we heard that the work is split between “corporate governance and more deal-driven work,” assisting buyers through each stage of public and private purchase. Another aspect is capital markets, representing issuers, sellers, and underwriters in offering debt and equity securities. An insider detailed, “When it comes to raising money through debt offerings, a lot of time is spent researching for disclosure agreements with the SEC.” But also, for transactional associates, “the primary role is drafting ancillaries and managing diligence. There’s a lot of pushing things forward and making sure not to drop any balls,” an interviewee noted. “For better or worse, they throw you into the fire. You’re immediately working on million, if not billion, dollar deals out of law school… it’s crazy,” a finance junior mused, “the opportunities are endless; it just gets better and better.”

Corporate clients: United Parcel Service, Kodiak Gas Services, Quantum Capital Group. Advised Cox Enterprises in its $1.8 billion acquisition of OpenGov, a cloud-based software for budgeting, planning, licensing, and asset management in the public sector.

Career Development

As for professional development, sources praised, “There are lots of opportunities to step forward and take on responsibility” with the right support in place to do so… AKA: the ‘ABC’s of Development.’ Starting with ‘Advance at K&S,’ associates have a dedicated budget to attend conferences, Bar Association events, and career coaching. Next is ‘Build,’ encouraging associates to get involved in community service and pro bono initiatives. Then, ‘Connect’ provides associates (and summers!) with the funds to visit another K&S office to build relationships in new jurisdictions. Each newbie is paired with a talent partner who supports them in their career development and progression at the firm. They also are enrolled into the 'Link Program' which supports new lawyers throughout their first year at the firm. Insiders also spoke highly of organic mentorship, commending that “those I work with closely provide advice about career development, skills, and tips to best position my practice.”

“No windows close by being at King & Spalding – they only open.”

Contemplating the future, interviewees observed the elevation of homegrown talent; “those who started out as summers have been promoted to counsel or partner. It’s comforting to see, especially since it’s a goal!” one grinned. As for transparency, some explained that the evaluation process provides some insight into what it takes to make partner, as “each year, there’s a self-evaluation form tailored based on seniority with well-defined metrics.”  Even interviewees with their sights set outside of partnership were confident about their options. In fact, one proclaimed, “No windows close by being at King & Spalding – they only open,” highlighting that “some of the current partners and alumni have prestigious government positions.” As the saying goes, the world is your oyster!

Moreover, the firm has 26 affinity groups to get involved in, and our interviewees highlighted First Generation Lawyers and the Women’s Forum among others; “they’re very well supported and attended.” There’s also an Inclusion Retreat where K&S flies people out from across offices to connect over talks and networking.  Every firm affinity group, retreat, resource, and initiative is open to all attorneys regardless of protected characteristic.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,950 target

Associates are expected to hit the 1,950 billable target to receive their lockstep bonus. Juniors recalled a ramp-up period as newbies settle in, so there’s a bit of a learning curve with the hours but “pro bono is used to push that over the top.” That said, insiders reassured from that point onwards, “it’s attainable as you’re trained and plugged in” to how the firm functions. Outside of pro bono, we heard that “writing articles and attending conferences don’t count” towards the target, but that’s no matter since “there is enough work to go around!”

Survey respondents reported working an average of 52 hours per week, slightly higher than the market average of 48.7 with a couple interviewees mentioning that they logged back online after dinner. Transactional associates noted, similarly to disputes, that with pressing deadlines, “it can be all hands-on deck.” Day-to-day, a source highlighted being “pleasantly surprised how I’m able to have a life outside of work.” Another divulged, “The firm isn’t expecting you to work every weekend. There’s an emphasis that you need your personal time for this to be sustainable – it’s a realistic expectation.” With a flexible approach to working, we heard that “some groups are more remote than others. I go in three, four times a week,” a junior shared.

Culture

Speaking to our sources, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what makes the culture at K&S – whether it’s the Southern charm or just good vibes, the message was the same: “It’s certainly very friendly!” Another gushed, “Everyone is so kind and generous with their time. That’s been my experience with 99% of the people – it bleeds through the culture.” So, when it comes to keeping the good vibes going, insiders said one thing’s for sure: “Everyone here’s a go-getter, but also the kind of person you want to work with and be around.”  This creates a close-knit “culture of teamwork” where associates “hang out and grab lunch together.” One added gleefully, “I’ve made some good friends here!”

“Everyone here’s a go-getter, but also the kind of person you want to work with and be around.” 

As for the social calendar, there has been an uptick in events “to make more opportunities to interact as people come back to the office after the pandemic,” and juniors were keen to praise the recently established ‘dinner series’ hosted by partners in Atlanta as a chance to connect and learn more about other practices. This goes together with weekly coffee breaks (with cookies!), regular happy hours, and the summer events that associates look forward to each year – such as cheering on the Mets.

Pro Bono

“Pro bono is absolutely viewed in high regard,” juniors agreed unanimously, highlighting the 100 creditable hours of pro bono available to them with the potential for more to be approved. With a dedicated pro bono team, the offering was described as “robust” with weekly communications about potential opportunities; “there’s lots of different things – you can pick whatever you’re passionate about!”

From short-term commitments, to months-long cases, sources described an array of matters: assisting veterans with benefit applications, criminal justice, family law, and wills & trusts. “We do a lot of work with Habitat for Humanity, ensuring that houses stay within the families they’re built for,” an interviewee stated. Opportunities also arise through relationships with non-profits, like Volunteers of Legal Service.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 47, 601
• Average per US attorney: 47

Get Hired 

OCIs 

K&S participates in a number of OCIs, job fairs, and resume drops. The firm meets between 20 and 100 students at each campus, depending on the size of the school. Interviews are typically conducted by two attorneys (ideally at least one partner, and an alumnus if applicable). “We don’t want to over hire here. Instead, we focus on an individual's intellectual power and how they will fit into our culture. We ask questions which focus on the candidate’s experience and specific practice interest and how their law school experience supports this. We are looking for lawyers who are authentic and thrive in a collaborative environment,” stated Amy Peters, one of the firms’ US recruiting partners. 

In addition to on-campus interviews and job fairs during the summer recruitment season, King & Spalding accepts direct applications on a rolling basis throughout the school year, in a bid to meet talent where they are, when they are ready. 

Top tips for this stage: 

"Be your authentic self. Do your research and know who you are meeting to show a high level of interest." – Recruiting partner Amy Peters. 

Callbacks 

Successful interviewees are invited back for a session that generally consists of four to five interviews and either a lunch or a reception afterwards. Since COVID has moved into the rearview, “we encourage people to interview in person. … there is nothing better than coming into the office and meeting people.” confirmed Peters. What does this mean for candidates? “We want to curate a candidate experience to highlight our strong interest in them. This is why, after offers are extended, we typically invite candidates to dinner to secure the yes.” 

Peters tells us that “The questions are similar to the OCI, except this time, we will dive deeper into candidates’ practice group interest.” This is the time for candidates to really show off, as “we want to see relevant experience come out. We expect candidates to tell a story.” At this stage, the recruiting lawyers are looking for practical skills and a genuine and well-articulated interest in King & Spalding. 

Top tips for this stage: 

"Candidates should come prepared with questions about the firm. As we shift from the OCIs to callbacks, the questions should be thoughtful."— Recruiting partner, Amy Peters. 

Summer Program 

Summer associates indicate their practice area preferences before the summer and are then assigned a variety of work across their chosen areas. “Because we don’t over hire, we make the summer experience as curated as possible. We fully expect to give offers at the end, so we get summers staffed on high profile matters to showcase what we do. We have dedicated summer staffing partners too, who support summers alongside allocated mentors who act as a liaison and help integrate them into the firm” explains Peters. And good news, over the last couple of years, King & Spalding has given 100% offers to their summers! 

A unique factor of the King & Spalding summer program is ”Connect K&S.” Peters told us “This program allows our summers to visit other offices and network with attorneys. We’ve received really positive feedback.” In fact, 90-100% of participants snap up this opportunity every year! 

Top tips for this stage: 

“I encourage summers to seek feedback constantly. When you complete an assignment, reach out and ask what you could have done better. You will look pro-active, not just as a summer but as a future associate too.”- Recruiting partner Amy Peters. 

Interview with partner Justin King

Commercial strategy, market position and trends 

Chambers Associate: How would you define your firm’s current position and identity in the legal market? What differentiates your firm from your peer firms in the market?  

Justin King, partner: We’re among the elite law firms. Today, we have 1,400 lawyers and 24 offices around the globe. I started at King & Spalding right out of law school in 2007; it was very much a different law firm then, a growing regional/national US firm at the time. Since then, through our strategy it has grown into a global powerhouse, and it’s continuing that momentum, exponentially increasing over the past several years. From a metrics standpoint, our revenue has increased for the 16th consecutive year; we’ve doubled our profitability as a law firm since 2019. There continue to be very few firms that have increased revenue and profitability at the same rate and climbed the ranks like we have over the years. 

It’s been an incredible growth story, and we’re now focusing on continuing that story. Our identity goes beyond the rankings and metrics. The fundamental question is: how do you do it? We do it firstly by focusing on our strategy and secondly, being very focused on collaboration and teamwork. That is the environment I thrive in, and a lot of our people thrive in that collaborative and team-oriented framework too. We’re rewarded as lawyers for collaborating, and that attracts some of the best lawyers by putting them on complex, high value matters. That’s a really important factor that has contributed to our success.  

CA: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you’d like law students to know about?  

King: There are a few things. We’ve continued year-over-year revenue and profitability growth that continues to put us in step with elite law firms. From a financial and merits standpoint, we’ve continued to excel which is important for associates and incoming folks to know.  

But also, if I’m in the shoes of someone picking a law firm, one of the key questions I would ask myself is, ‘What do my growth opportunities look like inside?’ One illustration of that is we’ve just promoted our largest ever partner class, 37 partners across 14 of our offices, as well as five new counsel. We’re in the talent business, so while we are proud of our lateral talent and very much focus on it, organic talent development is critically important to us! 

Also, we’re always looking for strategic opportunities to grow our footprint, and so, this past year we opened an office in Dallas, our third in Texas and 24th globally. We recognized that a lot of good things are happening in the Dallas market, so we’re doubling down on growing some of our key practice areas including corporate, restructuring, business litigation, and the like.  

Another key piece of the puzzle this year was our pro bono and community work. In all markets we recognize that we are key members of our local communities, and our local communities don’t hum unless lawyers like us at King & Spalding are contributing, devoting our time, effort and dollars to making them a better place. And we also recognize pro bono work offers a great opportunity for our associates to receive mentoring from our partners and hone their legal skills while contributing to our communities. And so, we’ve done a lot of great pro bono work this year. This has included everything from work on behalf of the homeless and disabled veterans to helping non-profits with important legal needs to international matters such as providing training to the judges of the Rwanda Superior Commercial Court. 

Moreover, we have done a lot of pro bono work in cities like Atlanta, around major sporting events like the World Cup and the Super Bowl, amongst other things. Often times those are done by cities on a shoestring budget, so we’ve contributed to those events as well, donating our time and effort to showcase our cities.  

To summarize, the financial metrics, organic growth, the office in Dallas and pro bono work are some of the key developments for us this last year.  

CA: Are there any domestic or international events/trends that are affecting any of the firm’s practices at the moment? Are there any trends that you think are affecting the business of law firms more generally, and how is that playing out with your firm? 

King: We’ve intentionally built King & Spalding to be dynamic and flexible, so that in this fast moving and changing environment we can help our clients see around corners and quickly adjust to events and trends that may impact their businesses. We are very nimble when it comes to both domestic and international trends, being able to pivot and give advice on a moments notice. An example is energy, which we’re very focused on as a key practice for us, including energy transition work t in the Middle East and elsewhere.  

Another great example is our government facing practice that gives real time and on point to our clients. Our practice includes key former high ranking government officials from both sides of the aisle, sowe’re very well positioned to provide timely advice.  

CA: What is your firm’s commercial strategy focusing on, and how do you expect the next year to unfold? 

King: We have a well-defined and articulated strategy, which is important no matter what business you are in, and for the people to see it over and over again –people know the themes and what the defined goals are. One goal is continuing to grow our scale and profitability, and that’s a difficult combination to achieve! But it’s one that we’ve achieved over and over again. the key question is, ‘How do you hit those defined goals?’ From my standpoint, it’s about having the right mix of transactional, litigation and government practices, and the right culture and talent to make sure we’re all working together in unison to achieve our defined strategy. 

Inside the Firm 

CA: How is the firm evolving to accommodate the needs/expectations of the next generation of lawyers? 

King: Training is critically important for the next generation of lawyers, and I see that in two ways. First is on the job training. If I had to give myself advice way back when, it would be to look for a law firm where you are going to get real on-the-job training from the get-go. What that means is you’re being put on a mix of matters, that you’re getting real work to contribute to the team and understand the broader picture, all while knowing somewhat fearfully that you’re going to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes to grow. It is critical to have that real world, on-the-job matter training as that is what we do!  

Another aspect of it is formal training, including the development and mentoring programs which we have plenty of (and more than I have ever seen before at K&S). We have frequent lunch & learns where partners are presenting a set of facts and walking through how we’d deal with them in a case or deal. It is important to us that our partners are involved in teaching people. This is alongside the associate academies and formal career consulting. Each associate has an assigned Talent Partner, and we also have a Link program where we link associates with hosts to guide them in their first year. When you combine all these formal programs with on-the-job training, you get a really good mix that sets up the next generation of lawyers to succeed.  

CA: What’s the firm’s approach to bolstering inclusion?  

King: We are committed to drawing the best lawyers with diverse talents, background, and perspectives – this is important to our culture – and to providing all our lawyers programs resources that enhance inclusion, create connections, and provide opportunities for development. So, for example, we have a formal program for associates to visit other offices to build their internal networks, self-directed budgets for professional development, and training around legal topics and business and professional development, among others. 

The Legal Profession 

CA: How do you predict the legal profession will change in the next five years? Are there any particular challenges the industry is facing? 

King: We’re in the people business. In order to give the best advice to clients, retain our existing clients, and attract new clients, we need to provide top-notch legal advice and services, and the way to do that is through our talent, our people. One of the greatest challenges is talent: both retaining and attracting new top talent from law schools and laterals but also retaining our existing talent to make sure they are happy, learning, growing, and given the opportunity to move up the ladder at King & Spalding. I wake up in the morning thinking about our people; I go to bed thinking about our people and how we use our skills to collectively, and in a team-oriented way, service our clients.  

CA: How do you predict the rise in AI will affect the ways in which lawyers work? How will it affect the services law firms provide?  

King: It’s a fast-changing landscape. AI tools are going to make the profession much more efficient. We’re somewhat in the early innings on this, but there are tools which we’re employing to make matters much more efficient for our clients and cut down on lawyer labor. A great example of this is the due diligence process in transactions and reviewing contracts. I think that it is going to continue to grow; we have teams of lawyers and tech professionals parsing the tools to say if it’s worth employing a trial run or not. We’ve got a team developing tools for clients as well. S  

The Fun Bit 

CA: What was the first car you owned? 

King: A Saturn SL2 – I don’t even think they make them anymore. My father was a painting contractor; he painted someone’s house and bartered for it, and I got a Saturn in exchange. Eventually, it broke down driving up a mountain and left me stranded.  

CA: What memory/moment has stuck with you from law school? 

King: It’s the relationships that I’ve made – some of my best relationships from that time are clients today! I’m still in contact with my closest friends from law school; it just goes to show the power of friendship and networking inside this profession. It starts in law school; in fact, I wished one of my buddies from law school a ‘happy birthday’ this morning who was inside the Department of Justice and is now a partner elsewhere. It’s not the classes I remember, but the people I connected with and the friends I made.  

CA: Which actor/actress would you want to play you in a biopic about your life? 

King: That’s a tough one! Not that we have any similarities, but it has to be Matthew McConaughey. He has a cool factor I aspire to and I like his blue-collar story as well; with his background, he would play mine pretty well.