Arnold & Porter - The Inside View

Interested in a firm with exceptional commitment to pro bono? We’ve got just the place you should AP-ply to.

There is a saying that “integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching,” and if we are to judge law firms by that metric, Arnold & Porter would notably stick out. For juniors, one of the firm’s defining features was its strong pro bono practice. As one source beamed, “the amount of, and the commitment to pro bono at the firm is what makes us different to others.”

“The amount of, and the commitment to pro bono at the firm is what makes us different to others.” 

Of course, it’s not just pro bono work coming out of the ten US offices of A&P. In Chambers USA, the firm's expertise covers over 60 departments, with particular nods going to corporate/M&A, litigation, bankruptcy/restructuring, environment, real estate, false claims and more. But the real clincher for most of our sources was the people: “everyone here is super nice and friendly. I think it goes hand in hand here, people dedicated to pro bono show they’re more selfless and compassionate.”

The Work

Associates were spread evenly across two of the largest practice groups in the firm: litigation and corporate & finance. Most on our list were also based in the New York and DC offices. Sources reported that when they first joined the firm, they relied heavily on a staffing coordinator to provide them with work: “You can be candid with the coordinator about what you like and what you don’t, and they’ll be really respectful of that.” Once they’ve found their feet, associates start to take work from both the centralized staffing and free market system. “As time passes you rely more on networking, I definitely like having more control over what I’m doing now,” shared one junior.

The corporate & finance department “does as the name implies,” covering M&A, funds, capital markets, commercial licensing, life sciences, finance, and more. Clients include pharma companies and private equity firms. Associates got to try their hand at a number of tasks ranging from diligence work, checklists for mergers, drafting different agreements such as funds flow agreements, board consents, ancillary documents, purchase agreements and negotiating NDAs. “They encourage you to try everything, but they hear you if you say you’re only interested in certain things,” noted one associate.

“…Partners are also comfortable with me contacting clients directly which is great!”

There was plenty of praise for the team structure. One junior shared, “Our team is really well structured so it’s very easy for me to get feedback and they’re good at explaining everything. Partners are also comfortable with me contacting clients directly which is great!” This trust within the team was a big plus, one source in particular noted the opportunities they had been given to take the pen: “Honestly, I find the drafting the most intellectually stimulating. It’s a nice long meatier challenge!”

Corporate & finance clients: Avantor, Sterling Bancorp, Strategic Materials. The firm represented Aquila, a subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., in its acquisition of Financial Systems Company, a debt and credit collection technology provider that powers banks and financial institutions across Latin America.

“A&P is great at giving you experiences to develop you, and they give you opportunities when they see you’re ready.”

For their first three years, associates starting off in litigation have the doors to every group open to them, after this they specialize in a certain area. The group handles white collar, commercial disputes, general litigation, appellate, DOJ investigations and matters where associates prepare for “when the government comes knocking.” This means insiders’ work ranged from leanly staffed two-person teams defending individuals to larger seven-person teams representing big corporations. A lot of the work can be heavy, but one source had a bit of sage advice for aspiring applicants: “the most important thing for a junior associate doing white collar is to master the facts, that makes you valuable to the team super quickly and that’s what I’ve done successfully.”

Typical tasks included doc review, drafting witness statements, drafting meeting motions on small cases, quality control, fielding questions, preparing partners for interview with clients, and report writing. “A&P is great at giving you experiences to develop you, and they give you opportunities when they see you’re ready,” reflected one junior.In fact, most sources were pleased with the level of responsibility they were given, noting the firm does not hang them out to dry: “The firm’s helped me gain a lot of confidence as a lawyer at a junior level. They won’t let you get too overwhelmed, and I feel like they’re looking out for me.”

Litigation clients: Sotheby’s, AstraZeneca, Samsung Electronics. A&P represented employees of Cognizant, an IT consulting and outsourcing company, in a DOJ Fraud/FCPA case that went to trial in March 2025.

Pro Bono

When it comes to pro bono, “it’s totally equal to billable so the firm respects the time you spend on those cases,” one insider reported. Many sources cited the firm’s strong pro bono efforts as a reason for joining A&P, and 200 hours count to associates’ yearly target. The causes associates worked ranged from wrongful incarcerations, immigration and working with the homeless. We also heard that the firm is working on voting rights and women’s healthcare, which one associate astutely observed will “become even more pressing in the next couple of years.”

Associates felt comfortable taking on as much pro bono as they’d like. In particular, they felt the firm allowed them to pursue pro bono cases that interest them the most: “They encourage you to do the work you want to do, I’ve helped someone get asylum and that was incredibly impactful, and the partners let me take the reins with it.”

Pro bono hours

  • For all (US) attorneys: 102,000
  • Average per (US) attorney: undisclosed

Career Development

Associates benefit from both formal and informal mentorship. “I have my own mentee in the year below me now,” one insider proudly shared, showing the willingness to pass down the value of mentorship they received. Other sources observed that “people stick around here a long time,” attributing this to the personal connection they felt to the firm: “I don’t feel like a nameless number here.”

“I don’t feel like a nameless number here.”

Seniors at the firm were good at making themselves available and willing to make time to talk about goals and future aspirations. One source surmised that “the firm is really transparent about how to get partnership, no one is afraid to talk about anything.” For example, if associates felt that they wanted to switch up their careers and head into government, then the firm also provides anonymous resume reviews.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 2,000 target

Arnold & Porter has a 2,000-hour billable target, 200 of which can be made up of pro bono and professional development, mentoring, wellbeing, and recruiting. All in all, sources told us the target was quite attainable: “It doesn’t seem unreasonable in any sense, and there are always periods where things get really busy.” Hitting the 2,000-hour target allows associates to achieve the market rate bonus along with a market rate salary.

Associates are required to be in the office 50% of the time each month, with anchor days on Wednesday. This proved particularly attractive to our sources, with one reflecting that, “I think the policy is amazing compared to other firms, and I love the chance to do a lot of work at home. I think it’s a great policy and I hope they never change it!” Though weekend work wasn’t unheard of, it wasn’t an overbearing factor on our insiders either.

Culture

“Everyone is smart and hard working but also genuinely kind, and I don’t think you get that everywhere.” 

“I think our culture is the best you can get in BigLaw,” summed up one happy associate, “everyone is smart and hard working but also genuinely kind, and I don’t think you get that everywhere.”  Associates tend to want to spend time together, which encouraged a positive working culture. Of course, there is no obligation to be friends with people outside of work, but juniors felt A&P is overall a pretty social firm which, “favors both introverts and extroverts.”

On the social front, sources told us about happy hours, garden room parties, holiday events, lunches and more. The firm even hosted some creative Olympics events this past year.  “We had baguette fencing going on which was fun! We don’t always take ourselves too seriously here,” laughed one source.

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Arnold & Porter

601 Massachusetts Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC,
20001-3743
Website www.arnoldporter.com

Main areas of work
Our nearly 1,000 attorneys in 14 offices practice across more than 40 areas, including antitrust, corporate and finance, intellectual property, life sciences and healthcare regulatory, litigation, real estate, and tax, providing clients a multi-disciplinary approach to their most complex legal issues.  

Firm profile
Arnold & Porter is recognized for its regulatory experience, sophisticated litigation and transactional practitioners, and leading multi-disciplinary practices. We are the firm of choice for 121 Fortune 250 companies. The firm’s core values of excellence in the practice of law, maintaining the highest standards of ethics and professionalism, respecting and promoting diversity and individuality among our colleagues, and maintaining a deep commitment to public service and pro bono work, keep us grounded, focused, and evolving to meet new opportunities and challenges.

Recruitment
Law Schools attending for OCIs in 2023: Arnold & Porter interviews students from over 40 law schools across the country. Please visit our website for a complete list of job fairs and on campus interview programs. https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/careers/law-students-trainee-solicitors/careers-recruiting-events

Recruitment outside OCIs: Please visit our website for interviewing and application options outside of OCIs. https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/careers/law-students-trainee-solicitors/current-opportunities

Summer associate profile: Our firm is a collection of independent, diverse personalities who share a common devotion to first-class legal work and client service. We seek candidates with outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements, relevant work experience, as well as strong interpersonal skills and references.

Summer program components: Our summer associates experience the firm’s strong commitment to excellence, diversity, pro bono work, and professional development, working side-by-side with our attorneys on actual client matters. We endeavour to match work assignments to each summer associate’s practice area and pro bono interests. Our summer associates participate in the firm’s extensive training programs, including a attending a firmwide orientation in the firm’s Washington, DC office and a retreat summer associate training forum in the New York office. All summer associates have mentors and receive feedback on each assignment. Our summer program features a mix of social events and programming designed to appeal to a broad range of interests.

Social media
Recruitment website: www.arnoldporter.com/en/careers
Instagram: arnoldandporter
LinkedIn: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Twitter: @arnoldporter
Facebook: Arnold-Porter-Kaye-Scholer-LLP

This Firm's Rankings in
USA Guide, 2024

Ranked Departments

    • Environment (Band 3)
    • Life Sciences (Band 4)
    • Litigation: Appellate (Band 2)
    • Outsourcing (Band 2)
    • Technology (Band 4)
    • Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded (Band 1)
    • Litigation: General Commercial (Band 1)
    • Antitrust (Band 2)
    • Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Band 1)
    • Corporate/M&A & Private Equity (Band 3)
    • Environment (Band 1)
    • Healthcare (Band 2)
    • Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory (Band 2)
    • Intellectual Property: Litigation (Band 3)
    • Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution (Band 3)
    • Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets (Band 2)
    • Litigation: General Commercial: The Elite (Band 3)
    • Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Band 2)
    • Real Estate (Band 1)
    • Tax (Band 4)
    • Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite (Band 3)
    • Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Band 3)
    • Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets (Band 3)
    • Litigation: General Commercial (Band 4)
    • Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Band 3)
    • Antitrust (Band 3)
    • Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded (Band 4)
    • Environment (Band 3)
    • Intellectual Property: Patent (Band 5)
    • Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets (Band 4)
    • Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded (Band 2)
    • Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations: The Elite (Band 4)
    • Real Estate: Mainly Corporate & Finance (Band 4)
    • Litigation: General Commercial (Band 5)
    • Advertising: Litigation (Band 4)
    • Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory (Band 4)
    • Antitrust (Band 2)
    • Appellate Law (Band 4)
    • Bankruptcy/Restructuring: Highly Regarded (Band 1)
    • Capital Markets: Securitization: ABS (Band 3)
    • Climate Change (Band 2)
    • Corporate Crime & Investigations: The Elite (Band 4)
    • Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded (Band 5)
    • Environment (Band 2)
    • False Claims Act (Band 1)
    • Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance) (Band 4)
    • Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Enforcement & Investigations) (Band 3)
    • Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation (Band 3)
    • Government Contracts: The Elite (Band 1)
    • Government Relations: Federal (Band 2)
    • Healthcare: Highly Regarded (Band 1)
    • Intellectual Property (Band 4)
    • Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets (Band 3)
    • International Arbitration: The Elite (Band 2)
    • International Trade: Export Controls & Economic Sanctions: The Elite (Band 3)
    • International Trade: Trade Remedies & Trade Policy (Band 4)
    • Leisure & Hospitality (Band 4)
    • Life Sciences (Band 3)
    • Life Sciences: Regulatory/Compliance (Band 1)
    • Privacy & Data Security: Highly Regarded (Band 1)
    • Product Liability & Mass Torts: The Elite (Band 1)
    • Product Liability: Regulatory (Band 1)
    • Retail (Band 4)
    • Sports Law (Band 4)
    • Transportation: Aviation: Litigation (Band 4)

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