King & Spalding LLP - The Inside View

As one Atlanta native shared: “It was always the goal; I always saw it as the best firm in Atlanta, so it was where I wanted to be.” Beyond its reputation, King & Spalding is also noted for a culture that encourages juniors to express their ideas. We were told: “This is a firm that’s a really good fit for someone who wants to quickly voice their opinion on matters… it’s a collaborative environment and they want input from associates at all stages.” The firm has 26 global offices, 14 of them in the US, and most of our associates were found in Washington DC, New York, and Atlanta. 

“… it’s a collaborative environment and they want input from associates at all stages.”

The firm's clientele range from Corporate America to Forbes 100, to prove it. So, rest assured that working with industry-known businesses is the norm here. Chambers USA also speaks to the firm’s success, with areas like antitrust, banking and finance, corporate/M&A, healthcare, general commercial litigation, white-collar crime and government investigations litigation, and real estate all scoring top-tier rankings.

King & Spalding is recognized as a Strong Performer for Junior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Strategy and Future 

“We had our best year yet in 2025,” quipped David Willingham, trial and global disputes partner at King & Spalding. He told us that the firm are “already established in the market but have blue skies to grow into.” Willingham explained that in order to achieve this success and growth trajectory, investing in their people is vital: “Our strategy is to invest in the people who are here and hire the right mix of people with the expertise our clients need, who fit into our collaborative culture.” And the key to this? Mentorship. “There is a true focus on mentorship at the firm,” shared Willingham, “we know how important professional development training and real-world opportunities are for the next generation of lawyers.” 

When it comes to changes in the legal industry, Willingham told us: “AI is here; there’s no denying it.” He provided insight into how the firm has integrated AI-related training for their lawyers, to ensure they understand how emerging technologies are shaping legal practice and how to use the right tools in a responsible and thoughtful way. As Willingham said, “the winners will be the ones who go beyond using AI for efficiency purposes,” adding how “we look at it as an opportunity to be part of a transformation of legal practice, to gain new capabilities and to grow even more.” 

Read more from our conversation with David Willingham under the 'Get Hired' tab.

King & Spalding is recognized as an Excellent Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer Program

Associates described the summer program as “the best job you’ll ever have for ten weeks,” praising the substantive work that they handled. This ranged from investigations across different industries to legal research, drafting summaries, attending depositions, and sitting in on client meetings. Many felt that the experience offered a genuine insight into what a typical day at the firm would look like. During the summer program, the firm also offers Connect K&S, a system that allows summers to travel to a different office for a week, which has now been rolled out to their international offices too. Associates’ advice for incoming summers would be to talk to as many people as they can, even those outside of their practice area as “it’s beneficial to connect because when you come back everyone remembers you, and you become part of the culture.”

The Work

Most associates were situated within the special matters and government investigations, business litigation, and corporate practice areas. During their first year, juniors tended to rely on the centralized staffing partner when being assigned matters. “They serve as a liaison between other partners in each practice group,” shared one insider. According to sources, being staffed on matters becomes more organic once relationships are built with the partners, with one explaining: “Now that I’m in my third year, it’s more common for partners to reach out to me.”

King & Spalding is recognized as a Strong Performer for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

“It’s an environment where we are one big team; we have a one firm mentality.”

Associates in the special matters and government investigations practice area described a culture of collaboration and adaptability. “It’s an environment where we are one big team; we have a one-firm mentality” explained one junior. Sources also noted how the work “encompasses a lot of different types of investigations, industries and clients,” including white-collar crime across both internal and external congressional matters for the Department of Justice, US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.  As one insider put it: “I like the experience of getting exposure to all of the different industries.” Juniors are exposed to educational matters, government contract matters and the healthcare life sciences field for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Sources emphasized that success in this group starts with being observant and curious, which means “you need to keep an ear on the ground on what is happening at Capitol Hill”. The firm encourages juniors to develop different interests within the practice group, with one insider explaining that “it’s so diverse they encourage us to gain an area of expertise and then a minor secondary area.” 

Special matters and government investigations clients: Undisclosed

“Whatever kind of IP comes through the door, you get to handle as an associate.”

Associates in the business litigation team noted the variety of work, describing it as “a relatively broad umbrella,” covering everything from large commercial disputes to complex shareholder battles.

“The entire litigation group at K&S encompasses our appellate and intellectual property teams, as well as our financial services and securities litigation,” explained one insider. Put simply, you’ll never go hungry for work here. Associates also gain exposure by handling patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Juniors quickly take on meaningful roles within the array of matters they’re involved with. One insider advised that, here, “you need to be a self-starter as you’re engaging in substantive work as a junior and we’re leanly staffed so there’s a lot of room for juniors to take on responsibility quickly.” And that responsibility covers a wide range of matters too: “I do a variety of work, commercial disputes, security, healthcare and managed care litigation, as well as investigations work, and antitrust.” Sources explained that the group’s main focus was on disputes and litigation, with the department being “a powerhouse when it comes to that”. Flexibility on matters is the norm at King & Spalding, as one junior noted “whatever kind of IP comes through the door you get to handle as an associate,” adding how this framework gives juniors a lot of opportunities and ownership for their work.

Business litigation clients: Madison Square Garden Company, Sephora France and Sephora USA, Delta Air Lines. Currently representing Danone in a trade dress infringement case filed by Nestlé.

In King & Spalding’s corporate practice, a dynamic workload isn’t just reserved for senior associates, with juniors thrown into the deep end from day one. “We have a lot of different matters going on at once, probably 10-15 going on at the same time, especially as a junior,” said one source. So, if deal-making is your calling, this side of the firm offers a dynamic mix: corporate, finance and restructuring, real estate and funds. With clients ranging from global financial institutions to leaders in energy, life sciences and telecommunications. One junior explained the importance of client relationships: “We represent our clients with any kind of regulatory questions they have,” adding how a key skill for associates in this group is attention to detail.

Corporate clients: United Parcel Service, Phillips 66, Roper Technologies, Inc. Advised Under Armour in its acquisition of Unless Collective, Inc.

Career Development

“It’s a conscious decision to hire small… it’s because they don’t hire for attention, so there’s room for everyone to make counsel and partner in the future.”

“We have a robust program of trainings given to us,” said one insider, adding that there’s lots of ways for associates to seek out mentorship and career development at King and Spalding. Another confirmed this: “I’m always getting an invite for training put on my calendar on a weekly basis.” The firm offers programs for associates to help with their career development, including ‘Advance at K&S’ which was highly praised by sources, who explained that associates are given a budget for courses they might want to take with the aim of furthering their own professional development.

Insiders also praised the ‘Link Program’ whereby the firm links a junior with a host at the office, and every month they receive an email invite to that month’s link activity, which could be for something simple like getting a coffee.

While associates appreciated the formal training, they also had a lot of love for the informal training that they receive. “The best form of training is informal training, that’s the type where you can make a connection with a partner, senior or counsel, and they take you under their wing and help you develop while being mindful of your career goals,” highlighted one junior. “I’ve had partners provide very in-depth, specific feedback… which is super helpful,” said another. Partners were described as ‘phenomenal’ when it comes to providing guidance to juniors. Insiders shared that the firm’s deliberately lean hiring strategy reflects a commitment to long-term growth, with one associate stating: “It’s a conscious decision to hire small… it’s because they don’t hire for attention, so there’s room for everyone to make counsel and partner in the future.”

King & Spalding is recognized as a Strong Performer for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Culture

“I enjoy the fact that the culture is rooted in connection.”

Beyond the work, associates point to a culture that blends prestige with a Southern sense of camaraderie. Intellectual curiosity isn’t just encouraged here; it’s considered a core value and with leaner teams juniors often find themselves working with top-tier clients. “You can get interesting work at any firm, but at K&S I’m part of a team where I’m viewed as an equal,” shared one source. Associates spoke about how it’s the culture that really sets the firm apart: “Not only are we interacting with top-notch clients and working on interesting matters, but I enjoy the fact that the culture is rooted in connection.” Senior associates and partners are also said to be easy to confide in: “It’s an open-door policy, I work with some of the busiest partners here and they always make timefor me.” As another put it: “Being in the office is the way you learn from mentorship.”

King & Spalding is recognized as a Strong Performer for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Hours and Compensation

Billable hours: 1,950 target

Associates are required to hit 1,950 billable hours in order to receive their lockstep bonus. Sources shared that 100 of those hours can count towards pro bono. The consensus from associates was that hitting their billable hours was no problem at all. “I would be surprised if any associate in my group didn’t hit it,” remarked a business litigation junior. When matters heat up, juniors described working long days for a week at a time but insisted that this was not a regular occurrence and that the firm was supportive during instances like these. “They told me not to do that much again next week,” said one source, while another added: “Partners are very conscious of the demand of this job, and they try to limit it as best as they can.”

King & Spalding is recognized as a Strong Performer for Benefits & Quality of Life in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Pro Bono

“What I really love is that there’s so many different opportunities that they care about.”

“People are proactive about pro bono at the firm,” underlined one insider. And with an expansive list of matters to cover, there’s more than enough pro bono to go around. Associates discussed working on cases related to immigration, veteran causes, criminal defense, fair housing, religious liberty, family law and domestic matters. “What I really love is that there’s so many different opportunities that they care about,” reflected one source. The firm encourages  juniors to take on pro bono opportunities, and this meant that some could get substantive court experience as a junior. As one insider mused: “it feels like a safe way to get more exposure.” The pro bono team at King & Spalding send out weekly emails containing pro bono matters that associates can jump into and will also match juniors up to a specific matter or partner they want to work with.

Pro bono hours

• For all (US) attorneys: 42,173
• Average per (US) attorney: 36

Inclusion

“There’s a benefit of getting people from different walks of life, as they can examine a problem from a different perspective!”

At K&S, inclusion is “something that is very important to the firm.” King & Spalding provides formal training for associates on inclusivity within the workplace as the firm houses “people from a wide array of backgrounds and experiences.” As one source said: “The firm is innovative in a lot of different ways, and a lot comes from the people within the firm.” The firm offers a number of affinity groups which are open to all lawyers, examples of which include the African American Attorneys, LGBTQ+ Attorneys, First Generation Professionals, Latinx Attorneys, Women’s Alliance, Asian Attorneys, and the Armed Forces Attorney Coalition. As one insider proclaimed, “there’s a benefit of getting people from different walks of life, as they can examine a problem from a different perspective!” All firm programs and resources are open to all lawyers. 

Get Hired 

OCIs 

K&S participates in a number of campus events throughout the school year. Screener and callback interviews are typically conducted by a mix of partners and associates. “We don’t want to over hire at the firm. 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 firm's US recruiting partners. 

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. “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 “… 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 screeners 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 proactive, not just as a summer but as a future associate too.”- Recruiting partner Amy Peters.

Interview with LA partner Dave Willingham

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?

Dave Willingham: We have seen so much growth over the years, from  a top regional firm in the southeast into a global law firm at the top of the market with 1,400 lawyers and 26 offices around the world. We have done that by growing the top line and bottom line in terms of our numbers, practices, and revenue for 17 straight years. To me, it’s an amazing growth trajectory, and we had our best year yet in 2025. This has been accomplished through a written, well-articulated and well-executed strategy. We are now in the fourth iteration of our strategy, which emphasizes our culture of collaboration and teamwork, doubling down on our strengths.  This is key to how we will grow and continue to rise in the market. What attracted me to the firm and what attracts laterals from equity partners to junior associates, is having this growth and platform all in the same place. For those who are hard-working and entrepreneurial, there’s so much that we can do. We’re already established in the market but have blue skies to grow into, which is a great attraction for people who join the firm.

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

Willingham: In 2025, we celebrated our 140th anniversary, which gave us an opportunity to reflect not only on how far the firm has come, but also on what we want to continue building going forward. Firmwide, we marked the anniversary through community service initiatives across our offices, including work with Camp Ronald McDonald in Los Angeles. Beyond that milestone, we also expanded our global footprint with the launch of our Sydney office and by becoming one of the few chartered premier law firms in Saudi Arabia, building on a strong history in the region. At the same time, we’ve continued to invest meaningfully in our people, particularly in the development of our associates and future lawyers. One example is the evolution of our talent partner model, which gives associates a dedicated partner focused on mentorship, feedback, and long-term career development. For law students and summer associates, we’ve also enhanced our enrichment programming through initiatives like our Summer Summit and Connect K&S, which are designed to help summers build relationships across offices, gain exposure to the breadth of the firm’s practices, and better understand how their work fits into the firm as a whole. All of this happened alongside another year of strong performance for the firm, driven by our distinctive mix of litigation, transactional, regulatory, and investigations work. Taken together, these developments made 2025 a standout year for the firm and reinforced our focus on growth that is intentional, people-driven, and sustainable.

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?

Willingham: Yes, and the firm has been able to adapt quickly to what’s in front of it. For example, our government facing practices include former high ranking government officials from both sides of the aisle, so we are uniquely situated and agile in that realm. We have one of the top international trade teams in the world, and they’ve been at the forefront of advising clients around the globe on tariffs. Another trend is the focus on AI. AI has been a hot topic worldwide, and data centers are needed to support its expansion. We have been at the forefront of working with clients on data center issues and can quickly mobilize and integrate capabilities across tech, energy, and data privacy and security around the globe to support clients.

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

Willingham: We had a great year in 2025, and we expect another strong year in 2026. Our strategy is to invest in the people who are here and hire the right mix of people with the expertise our clients need, who fit into our collaborative culture. This includes candidates at the entry level. Then, to double down on our unique mix of practice and industry strengths. We make a strong effort to build interconnected teams because we are one firm: it’s the real motto of the firm and what has made us so successful. It’s exciting for us because no firm is like us in this growth trajectory with the platform that’s already built in.

CA: In last year’s senior source interview K&S announced that they promoted the largest ever partner class, which shows a commitment to homegrown talent. How do you balance organic growth with strategic lateral hires, and what does it mean for associates aiming for partnership?

Willingham: By being very thoughtful and strategic about who we are and how we are going to grow. We don’t hire for attrition purposes at the firm, we hire to develop you by working together to build the best team on the field. It’s no different with our lateral hires when we’re looking at partners and others.  In our LA office , we are deliberate in our hiring of summer associates because we expect them to not just join us but to grow their careers with us.

Inside the Firm

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

Willingham: There is a true focus on mentorship at the firm, and the growth of the younger lawyers within the firm. We know how important professional development training and real-world opportunities are for the next generation of lawyers. Our associates work with and for industry leading lawyers on sophisticated, high value work, but we do so in a way that is more entrepreneurial and provides early opportunities to associates – we don’t have layers and layers of people above them. To support this, we offer extensive training and mentorship programs that help advance them in their careers. For example, we offer firm-wide associate academies, where we gather the associates, to give them training. We have link programs, where new associates are linked with current associates and partners, to acclimate them to the firm and to learn how to thrive in our environment. It’s particularly important for the first-year associates to have people who have been through it and to understand what they do. We have a host of people who focus on information mentoring. For example, I offer informal consulting, where I work on five-year career plans with the associates. We also offer a program we call the ABCs of development. “Advance” gives lawyers a budget towards professional development activities. “Build” provides opportunities to develop networks both within and outside the firm, for example, community involvement and pro bono. The C is for “Connect”, which gives associates (and even summer associates) a budget to visit another office, to connect face-to-face with people they may be working with, or just to visit an office that they want to get to know a bit better. We’ve integrated AI-related training for our lawyers, ensuring they understand how emerging technologies are shaping the legal practice and how to use these tools thoughtfully and responsibly in their practices. We are really proud of the formalized program, but it also really contributes to the culture of informal mentoring, in terms of how important that is as well. We’re proud of both.

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?

Willingham: I think adapting to AI is one of those challenges; making sure that you incorporate AI into your strategy, and view it as a necessity to keep up with the rapid evolution of the legal market. The winners will be the ones who go beyond using AI for efficiency purposes -- I think that’s important for candidates to understand when considering law firms. Firms will have to develop new capabilities and take advantage of those opportunities. We are doing just that.

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?

Willingham: AI is here; there’s no denying that. It’s exciting to think of how AI can empower our lawyers and give us strategic advantages going forward. That’s how we view it: How we can streamline our workload, improve our accuracy and make our work for our clients even better. We look at it as an opportunity to be part of a transformation of legal practice, to gain new capabilities and to grow even more, both from a people standpoint and a work capability perspective. And it will enable us to do the best legal work possible, and to do it even more efficiently and to grow our presence even further.   

The Fun Bit

CA: Throwing it back to law school: it's been a long day of classes and studying. What's your go-to easy meal to have before you crash?

Willingham: Back in the day I wasn’t such a great cook and so I used to make a lot of omelets with some form of protein, usually some kind of sausage, or frankly the cheap and easy way to do it with some chili and some cheese on top. Thankfully, I am much better now…

CA: What was the first concert you attended?

Willingham: I’m a musician so the first ever concert I attended was when I was a baby. My mother was a music teacher, and I went to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but that doesn’t count. The first concert that I went to was a Morrissey concert a long time ago. I like all sorts of music but Morrissey was fantastic, and it was on the UCLA campus, where I went to undergrad.

CA: Thinking about the ways in which the legal profession is developing, what is the one skill you have learnt in your career that you think is key for young attorneys to learn?

Willingham: Something really crucial for young attorneys, and the thing I lucked into, was figuring out the kind of work that I loved to do and focusing on that. If you want to work in BigLaw, you work hard no matter where you are, even at a boutique firm. Figure out the work you love to do, do that work, and do it with people who you love to do it with. If you can do these three things you’re going to have a blast in your career. I’ve been blessed and lucky that I’ve done that my entire career, to this day. I work today with people who I love to see at the office, and I’ve been working with many of them for almost 20 years. When you get that combination of the work you love along with the people you love to do it with, it’s a pretty magical ride.