Choate Hall & Stewart LLP - The Inside View

Painting an accurate and well-proportioned picture of BigLaw firms can be quite the feat; our interviewees invariably have differing experiences and interests, and can be drawn to certain firms for (closely related, but) different reasons. It takes careful craft then to accurately represent the lived experience. For Choate, however, our interviewees took much of the hand-wringing out of our editorial process. There was a particular point mentioned by every one of our interviewees: “I’m sure, if you’ve interviewed other Choate associates, you’ve heard about the one-office model.” We nod.

“…the benefits of having only one office while also having the reach of a BigLaw firm.”

“When everyone’s in one office, it’s easier to knock on someone’s door to ask a quick question,” they continued, “you’re never having to email or call a partner you’ve never met in person.” The firm’s one-office model was a source of local pride for our interviewees, who were keen to note: “We’re the only law firm in New England that really has the benefits of having only one office while also having the reach of a BigLaw firm.” It’s a USP that’s undoubtedly served the firm well over its 125-year history.

Choate’s commitment to Boston means the firm wins big when it comes to local clients and industries, like healthcare and life sciences, higher education, and finance. The firm deservedly picks up top Chambers USA accolades for its insurance and white-collar crime and government investigations practices in Massachusetts, with further praise for its antitrust, banking and finance, bankruptcy/restructuring, healthcare, intellectual property, and general commercial litigation work.

Strategy & Future

The firm’s managing partners hold firm-wide meetings a number of times a year. “They take us through everything from the financial health of the firm to strategic initiatives and what to expect in the year ahead,” sources explained. Practice groups also hold regular meetings to keep everyone up to date; these can be monthly, or even weekly, depending on the practice group. All this contributed to the feeling that juniors “get a good insight into the general themes and plans” for the firm going forward.

Aiming to keep up with the latest tech, too, “over past six months to a year, the firm has been rolling out some of the newest AI products for both our litigation and transactional groups,” associates enthused. “I wouldn’t say it’s impacted my day-to-day a whole lot just yet,” but watch this space!

The Work

Summers are able to join the firm’s private equity, litigation, finance and restructuring, and trust and estates groups. The firm also has tax and patent and IP groups which hire associates with advanced degrees. As for work allocation, each group has a dedicated partner who oversees staffing; juniors can speak to the assigning partner to indicate their interests, as well as source work organically through building relationships with seniors.

“There’s something new on every deal…”

The private equity group is the largest at the firm, representing mid-market private equity funds and their M&A activity. Buy-side deals are valued at “tens of millions to up to hundreds of millions,” one junior underlined;in comparison “the sell side tend to be bigger: the hundreds of millions to the billions.” Leveraged buy-outs also form a big part of the department’s business; the group also has a fund formation subset and a subset that works on venture capital side deals with founders and companies. “The pace of the deals tends to move pretty fast – there’s something new on every deal,” one junior noted, “every time I think I’m getting up to speed I learn something new.”

And day-to-day life for juniors? “One of the larger workstreams I have is the legal diligence process: conducting due diligence, owning the process and shepherding the process along,” said one, while another emphasized “coordination is a bigger part of this work than I expected. You become the expert on that company which is cool.” Juniors also draft ancillary documents and customer contracts. Client contact was a highlight so far for our interviewees: “I’m pretty frequently on calls with the clients, communicating directly with the clients, that’s definitely something that’s been a good learning opportunity.”

Private equity clients: Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Sofinnova Ventures. Represented Dundon Capital Partners in PPA Tour’s merger with Major League Pickleball.

The finance and restructuring group has clients across a range of industries but “we’re more well known for working with large banks and other non-lender institutions,” a junior explained.Choate is “particularly active in the retail lending space,” oftenadvising banks that are lending to retailers. “Those are some of our biggest matters,” noted an insider. On the restructuring side, the team handles both out of court restructurings and in court bankruptcy/restructuring financing. Of this, associates noted: “Our group is unique in that it’s integrated” into one team.

For restructuring matters, juniors are responsible for maintaining agendas, reading and drafting motions, drafting pleadings, reviewing documents, attending court (usually to observe), and preparing client emails. There’s also plenty of research tasks, which feeds into producing memos. “I think it’s really great because the firm does challenge you,” said one associate, describing the kind of tasks juniors do as “thesethings are why a lot of people will go into law.”

Finance and restructuring clients: Wells Fargo Bank, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, JPMorgan Chase Bank. Represented Bank of America in an amendment and restatement of an asset-based loan facility with Barnes & Noble Education.

The litigation department can be divided into government enforcement; business and financial litigation (“which does a combination of bankruptcy and SEC litigation”); general commercial litigation; IP litigation (which “does predominantly patent work and trade secrets work”); and insurance and reinsurance. Among other industries, healthcare is an example of a significant industry the group serves. This includes those in the biotech industry and hospitals, due to the nature of the Boston market. Juniors’ tasks depend on the stage of their cases: they might be doing research assignments, sight checking, and doc review (“of course, it’s inescapable as a junior associate”) or going through discovery and taking depositions. Those working in the government enforcement team might prepare presentations for and meet with representatives from the government. Across all groups, there are “a lot of client-facing opportunities because we have a lot of clients that have been with us for decades.”

Litigation clients: Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Cape Cod Healthcare, Harvard University. Represented GE Aerospace in a DOJ investigation in relation to its contracts with US military agencies.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 2,000 target

Associates can count up to 150 hours of pro bono, DEI activities, wellness, knowledge management, marketing, recruitment, and OJT (on the job training – more on this later…) towards their 2,000-hour target. Although one source explained this target can be “a little challenging especially as a first- or second-year associate when a lot of it is out of your control,” on the whole, the majority of our interviewees felt that it was manageable once they’d settled into the firm. One junior in particular reassured us that the professional development team and partners also lend a helping hand to associates close to meeting their targets: “they definitely shifted around work to help people meet it.”

And compensation? “I think the compensation here is great,” said one junior. “They always go at least in line with the market or above it. We work really hard, but the salary more than compensates for that.” Choate also matches market bonuses.

The firm’s official hybrid policy is for everyone to be in the office four days a week (with flexibility for doctor’s appointments, etc).

Career Development

Upon joining the firm, newbies are enrolled in a two-week bootcamp program. The content of the program is then revisited in associates’ second and third-years once they’ve had the chance to take on substantial work. Departments also host a few training sessions a month. “These are a great way to gain practice area knowledge, even if you haven’t worked on that issue, so when it does come up, you’ll be well prepared,” praised one associate.

Associates were keen to note the firm’s emphasis on training, development, and feedback. In fact, “it’s one of the things that drew me to the firm,” said an associate. On the job training (OJT), in particular, is an initiative where associates can count hours “that you might not want to bill to a client, like shadowing a call” towards the billable hours target as part of the 150 ‘firm hours’ bucket. Our sources also used this initiative to have a go at drafting more advanced documents or to attend court to observe their seniors in action.

“They’re not just checking a box, they invest in you.”

Each new associate gets three mentors: one in the class year above them, one senior associate, and one partner. Juniors were fans of having mentors at different levels: “You have different types of questions for different types of people, one question you’d ask a peer and not a partner and vice versa.” Mentors also often arrange weekly catchups with their mentees. “They all spend significant time with you,” we heard, “they’re not just checking a box, they invest in you.”

Each associate is also assigned a contact in the professional development team, too, who can help develop particular skills as well as go through the annual review process. “They’ll consider feedback from pretty much everyone you’ve worked with throughout the year, and you’ll talk about what you did well and set goals for future years,” explained an insider.Associates have an additional half-year review during their first year. Overall, insiders had nothing but glowing reviews for training and development at the firm; “I feel like I’m progressing and can still progress,” said one, “it’s been really helpful and I haven’t had thoughts of going anywhere else or looking at other careers.”

Pro Bono

Pro bono at Choate is mostly centered on giving back to the Boston community. The firm partners with several local organizations on a range of matters, such as housing, immigration, asylum, and education. Many associates are involved with work for the Corey project to clear non-violent criminal records for ex-offenders. Similarly, the firm also works with the Innocence Project. There’s a “small group that does startup type work for women-backed companies” at the firm and some attorneys work on gun safety legislation.

“I personally love pro bono work and it’s really important to me as a human, a person and an attorney. I’ve done a bunch!” gushed one attorney, representing the consensus across our interviews. Juniors particularly appreciated opportunities to take a larger lead and hone their skills on pro bono matters.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 6,000
• Average per US attorney: undisclosed

Culture

“The big thing you hear about Choate is the one office thing,” led one associate. “People have a sense of pride in it and responsibility in fostering that because, ultimately, it’s a big part of the firm’s culture.” Not only did our sources feel that this model lent itself to closer working relationships between colleagues, but, “because everyone knows everyone, it makes the work/life balance better here,” as people are willing to accommodate each other’s schedules and personal lives.

“… it’s lived up to the pitch!”

“I’ve loved my first year, I feel like it’s lived up to the pitch,” enthused one interviewee. And the reasons for this high praise? The office atmosphere is “not competitive between associates, people get along and want people to excel,” they explained, “I’ve never felt uncomfortable to knock on a partner’s door or go bother a senior associate I’ve never worked with.”

Ultimately, insiders echoed, “We’re worked pretty hard – I don’t think there’s any hiding that, but your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s recognized and celebrated, especially when you have a difficult matter.” Sources spoke of the firm hosting meals and events to mark closing a deal, for example.

Inclusion

At Choate, “it seems like in recent years it’s continuously a priority.” A few years ago, the firm set up a DEI committee headed by a partner at the firm who also assumes the role of Chief Advancement and Inclusion Officer. “A large part of her role is soliciting feedback and figuring out what programs are best to put in place to continue growing inclusion,” insiders explained.

“They do try to celebrate and make you feel welcome if you’re from different backgrounds,” sources noted. Events are organized at the firm for heritage months and cultural holidays, and the firm hosts speakers who give talks on various topics of interest with respect to people’s different backgrounds. Choate’s active employee resource groups put on events like lunches and dinners, and we even heard that the Latino group had a day out to Six Flags! These employee resource groups are open for all at the firm to join, regardless of background or identification.

The firm encourages that all attorneys put 25 hours a year towards DEI initiatives. This can include attending events put on by the firm or external events in the wider legal community of Boston.These hours can count towards the billable target as part of the 150-hour bucket.

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus 

OCI applicants interviewed: 63 

Interviewees outside OCI: 98 

Choate offers various ways for students to apply to the firm.  It posts a link on its website for students across the country to apply directly to the firm. In addition, it participates in school run programs, such as on-campus interviews (OCI) at select top law schools across the country, including Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Michigan, NYU, and the University of Virginia, as well as Boston-based schools including Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, Northeastern, and Suffolk. 

“We also participate in various resume collects or early interest programs from many top schools like Cornell, Notre Dame, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Chicago, and the University of Connecticut,” says Chief of Legal Recruiting and Talent Development Elaine Bortman. Choate also participates in the Boston Lawyers Group Job Fair and the New England Resume Collect Program. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“My advice would be to get to know the firm before the interviews.” – a third-year junior associate 

Callbacks 

Applicants invited to second-stage interview: undisclosed 

Those who advance beyond the initial screen are typically invited for a callback interview, during which candidates meet with attorneys ranging from partners to associates. In all interviews, Choate's goal is to identify prospective candidates who possess qualities that will enable them to be successful at the firm. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“We are looking for people who have intellectual horsepower, drive, demonstrated leadership, and who will embrace a firm dedicated to community.” – J.P. Jaillet, hiring partner 

“Let the conversation evolve organically rather than sticking to your resume.” – a third-year junior associate 

Summer program 

Offers: undisclosed 

Acceptances: 16 2Ls 

Choate’s ten-week summer program is comprised of between 15 and 20 2L students each year. This number also includes a small number of 2Ls hired through two competitive fellowships. Summer associates have the opportunity to work on a broad range of matters within their designated department. Hiring partner J.P. Jaillet gave us an example of what summers can expect to do: “I gave one summer an assignment on an upcoming trial where I asked them to find some background information about an expert witness that may be helpful for the cross-examination, which is the type of work I would give to a first-year associate. The summer found gold to impeach the witness. I used it at trial with good effect and we won the case.” 

Top tips: 

“Take full advantage of everything the firm has to offer. Learn about the work but also spend time getting to know the firm’s culture and begin to develop relationships with the people. Our goal is that by the end of the summer, you go back to school feeling like you know the firm well and are a part of the team.” - Elaine Bortman, Chief of Legal Recruiting and Talent Development 

And finally… 

Associates hinted that the firm is also interested in a candidate’s commitment to building a career doing sophisticated legal work in Boston: “Choate looks for people who want to work at a top national firm that isn’t a mega-firm, and want to do so based in Boston.”