Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP - The Inside View

BigLaw doesn’t always have to be high octane, sometimes it can be “familiar,” and feel “like home.” At least that was the case for associates at Midwestern-born Faegre Drinker. Indeed, our sources found comfort in the fact that Faegre Drinker was “a familiar name among the firms on campus… It felt most like home!” Of course, that’s not to say the job is by any means cushy. “The firm represents high profile clients on complicated matters,” one associate made clear, “but they do it all in polo shirts and khakis.” Beyond a more relaxed front, sources were keen to highlight the “respect and autonomy the firm gives to their associates,” as well as Faegre Drinker’s appreciation for “the same values for a work-life balance.” That’s the Midwestern charm for you.

“A familiar name among the firms on campus… It felt most like home!”

On a more serious note, “Faegre Drinker is one of the big preeminent firms in Minneapolis. It’s long been a part of the legal sphere here,” interviewees told us. While Minneapolis is indeed the firm’s largest office, Faegre Drinker’s reach extends far beyond this thanks to a string of mergers since the turn of the millennium. Today, the firm is 18 offices strong across the states; most associates join the firm’s Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, and downtown Indianapolis offices. The rest were spread across Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, Florham Park, Fort Wayne, the other Indianapolis office, Los Angeles, New York, Princeton, San Francisco, DC, and Wilmington. A further two US offices in Fort Myers and Boulder, and two international offices across Shanghai and London make up the firm’s offering. Talk about breadth!

A number of these offices also pick up high praise from our sister guide, Chambers USA. Nationwide, the firm’s food & beverages (regulatory & litigation), government contracts, and Native American finance law practices stand comfortably at the top of the podium. Regionally, Faegre Drinker’s environment, corporate/M&A, intellectual property, general commercial litigation, antitrust, debt & equity capital markets, construction, real estate, employee benefits & executive compensation, bankruptcy, and banking & finance teams all collect top praise across different states (see chambers.com for the full breakdown.)

Strategy & Future

Gina Kastel has just completed her first anniversary as managing partner of Faegre Drinker and it’s certainly been a busy year. “We’re looking at flexibility with our hybrid working, we opened a Fort Myers Florida office, we’re leasing new space in New York, London and Dallas, and we’re relocating our design lab to Scottsdale,” Kastel lists of the past year. Kastel tells us the firm’s design lab is a way of creating new solutions and support for their clients.

More broadly, Kastel describes Faegre Drinker as being “a full-service firm with a well-balanced and nationally recognized litigation, regulatory and transactional practices” with a keen focus on bringing “excellence without arrogance.” Kastel was also eager to highlight representation as a priority for the firm: “Firm leadership is invested in diversity; I added our chief diversity officer to join our executive leadership team and it’s very much part of our core values.”

The Work

Associates on our list were evenly split across business litigation, corporate, product liability & mass torts (PLMT), intellectual property, and insurance with attorneys scattered across the firm’s many US offices. Across practices, associates find work through a hybrid system, with both formal work allocation and free market assignment. This kind of ad hoc approach allows for partners to reach out to associates they’ve worked with before to offer them work, as well as for associates to reach out: “If I express interest in getting into a certain industry, then partners will work to get me that work.” This more informal method doesn’t lead to chaos however, as we heard the firm keeps an eye on the workload for its associates: “There’s a practice group director who makes sure we have the right amount of work – not too much and not too little.”

“They push us to try whatever the next thing is.”

The business litigation group boasts a wide range of different matters with a few exceptions. “We do pretty much every kind of litigation with the exceptions of insurance, product liability, and labor employment which are their own groups,” a junior explained. What remains then is a selection of subgroups that include antitrust, appellate, class action, trade secrets, white collar, commercial disputes, and securities & financial services. Faegre Drinker allows for its associates to dip and dive into whatever areas they prefer. In fact, one source told us how they’re only really doing work for two specific sub-groups: “It’s been a mutual journey to get to that division of work. I didn’t know I’d be interested in them when I started at Faegre Drinker, but now I only want to work in these areas.”

We heard the group was hands-on and fast-moving with one source explaining, “You only learn by doing this stuff and the earlier you get juniors involved in things the better.” Our sources tended to agree, with the amount of responsibility and independence given being a huge benefit to associates: “I’m running a doc review on my own with a hands-off partner. No one is breathing down my neck about it. Theres a sense of ownership and they want you to own what you do.” Typical junior tasks include research, writing briefs, interviewing, drafting, trial prep, and filings with one source highlighting: “At every point I’m being asked to do things I’m uncomfortable with in a positive way. They push us to try whatever the next thing is.”

Business litigation clients: UnitedHealth Services, Xcel Energy, University of Minnesota. Represented Honeywell in a multimillion-dollar verdict against its competitor Vanderlande Industries for hiring former Honeywell employees who had access to trade secrets.

Similar to business litigation, product liability & mass torts is broken down into several sub-groups, including consumer products, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food regulation, agriculture and sports, with one source pointing out, “We cover a lot – we even do inflatable pool toys!” Typical work for junior associates consists of doc review, subpoena work, regulatory work, and depositions. Associates will often try their hand at the specific area they have a background in (engineering, biology, etc.) but no one we spoke with felt pigeonholed in: “I think we’re the second or third biggest group at the firm, but I don’t feel like just a number here.”

PLMT clients: Cook Medical, Product Liability Advisory Council, Boston Scientific Corporation. Represented Nissan in a multidistrict litigation related to the recall of Takata airbags.

“…a tremendous amount of trust…”

The intellectual property department is no less sizable in choice as business litigation or PLMT. “We have a big presence in trademark litigation,” an insider explained. “We also have patent prosecution, and then we have a smaller litigation group which we’re growing.” The group also works on IP litigation, tech transactions, copyright and media. A great sense of pride imbued from our sources, and that’s all from the top down: “We’re told our associates win cases – that’s how we win.” This idea that partners have complete confidence in their juniors permeated through our sources and really had a basis in reality for them: “We’re given so much responsibility early on and getting to lead the charge on these efforts and interfacing with the clients. There’s a tremendous amount of trust here.”

Sources found themselves working on cease-and-desist letters, online monitoring, diligence, trademark searches, researching, and drafting in a variety of sectors. “It’s a good balance of various things I get to work on here, and I get to increase my knowledge of the whole process which helps when talking to clients,” a junior explained. The passion really shone through for the associates we spoke with who were all incredibly invested in their work: “It’s really awesome to get to work on these high-end matters which are fascinating. I’m one of those people who just loves their work. I love research and reading cases – it can be a tricky business and I love working it out.”

IP clients: Ground Transportation Systems USA, Vital Pharmaceuticals, Temple University. Represented Ground Transportation Systems in a patent infringement case related to the use of ultra-wideband wireless technology in potential upgrades to the New York subway system.

Pro Bono

At Faegre Drinker, your first 100 hours of pro bono work count towards your billable target, but the incentives to get involved extended beyond that for most associates we spoke to. “The firm has very cool pro bono opportunities; most people I know use those 100 hours and go a little beyond,” said one interviewee. That’s not all though. “Folks that reach 50 hours are formally recognized at the end of the year and awarded for their work,” another added, and we heard this comes with a gift and a commemorative sign for their door! Keeping in line with the firm’s ‘full service’ title, the types of matters taken on for pro bono work cover all sides of the law from asylum work, prisoner rights, landlord/tenant disputes and more: “There’s something on offer for everyone!” A dedicated pro bono team ensures all associates are aware of the opportunities.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 41,663
• Average per US attorney: 35

Career Development

“…that person is an advocate for me.”

Newbies are assigned a partner and an associate mentor upon starting at the firm. “I have a great partner advisor I was paired with when I started. I feel like that person is an advocate for me,” one insider told us. Associate mentors were a little more informal, we heard: “Mine was critical to helping me meet folks at the firm and answer questions I was too embarrassed to ask.”

Turning to the question of partnership, sources explained, “There’s a lot of upside here and no cutthroat nature to making partner either.” That’s not to say it’s a piece of cake, however. Our interviewees spoke of the “moving goal posts of partnership. It seems the requirements change every year.” Associates explained that when you’re considered for partnership at the firm, you’re “in the window,” which can be a long undefinable waiting period. Regardless, of our survey respondents, 77% indicated their desire to make partner at Faegre Drinker and agreed that it was an achievable feat at the firm. Our interviewees advised that if you want to find more about the steps required, your mentor is the best place to go with any questions: “My mentor has told me a lot of the nitty gritty of how partner decisions will be made.”

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,900 target

Faegre Drinker currently asks that associates are in the office twice a week. As for salaries, interviewees noted the firm pays “slightly below market for the first few years after an increase – but we do follow eventually!” And follow they do! As of July 1, 2024, the salary range for first year associates sits at $160,000 - $225,000.

Turning to bonuses, upon hitting the 1,900 target, associates can unlock higher bonuses in 50 hour increments. There’s also a discretionary bonus awarded by the practice group manager which – as the name may suggest – is “far less transparent than the productivity bonuses.” Sources weren’t overly bothered however stating, “The discretionary bonus is subjective, and I think it might be fading away slightly. Most of us focus on just getting our billable targets.”

Culture

Sources told us that socializing had taken a (understandable) hit since Covid, but things are starting to ramp back up now: “There’s a concerted effort to get people together and interacting in person. We had a business litigation retreat in the fall and there was also a mid-level associate retreat in May.” On a smaller scale, associates mentioned regular happy hours, free lunches on Wednesdays, and once-a-month birthday celebrations!

Associates described the culture in the Philly office as having more of an academic vibe with “everyone taking a lot of pride in the quality of their work,” while the Minneapolis office was larger, which presented lots of opportunities for social engagement. Across the board though, the caliber of people at Faegre Drinker was put quite simply by our sources: “We don’t hire bad people. If you’re bad, we don’t want you here.” Interviewees also emphasized the fact that “everyone is genuinely interested in making sure you’re happy, you’re getting the work that you want, and that you have some semblance of work/life balance.” This picture of camaraderie was effectively painted by our sources who stated, “We get a lot of recruiters trying to poach us, but why would we want to leave when we have a dedicated team who want to see us grow here?”

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Sources agreed that Faegre Drinker cared about the representation of its attorneys stating, “I think it’s a sincere dedication. The firm is ahead of the curb even if it’s not perfect.” Sources pointed to various affinity groups and committees, events, and the billable 50 DEI hours as key examples of the firm’s commitment: “There’s a lot of really good programming at the firm, tracking whatever is going on like Black History Month, different religions cultures, and trainings on all those things.” The firm also has a huge conference held every year for the DE&I group which we heard was well attended.

“The firm does a great job of bringing in diverse talent,” one source praised. “There’s a clear emphasis on DE&I hiring every year.” Sources explained, “It doesn’t just diversify the practice, it helps get our name to communities where it may not be there. It’s the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do.”

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