Pillsbury - The Inside View

Finding your place in BigLaw is not unlike searching for treasure. You know it's out there somewhere, but knowing where to look is another matter entirely. Never fear – let us at Chambers Associate be your map to some (Pills)buried treasure! “I feel so lucky this is where I’ve landed,” one associate was quick to tell us, “Everything you can ask for is a positive. I have no thoughts of leaving!” This was apparent quite soon for one junior, thanks to some encouragement from fellow peers: “There were a few alumni from my school at the OCIs and I had really positive reviews from that. They said the atmosphere at the firm was great.” Others came to a similar conclusion themselves: “I liked the people I talked with at interview, and that was a big thing because I wanted to like my coworkers. It seemed important right?”  

“Everything you can ask for is a positive. I have no thoughts of leaving!” 

It's not just the warm smiles that keep associates firmly at Pillsbury, and our insiders agreed, showering praise on the vast array of practice areas and the work offered within them; “it really made my search easier and helped me narrow in on the firm.” Chambers USA heaps accolades on over 50 practice areas including energy, outsourcing and aviation regulation US-wide, as well as the likes of corporate M&A, tax and construction in the firm’s home state of California. New York houses the most associates on our list, but the firm also has bases in LA, Houston, Miami, and DC, with 13 total offices across the country.  

Strategy & Future  

Associates told us that management were “very transparent about the direction they expect the firm to go” leaving little room for ambiguity for the future. As with most firms of this size, we heard Pillsbury are looking at expanding their interest in artificial intelligence. That being said, it was the literal expansion of both new offices and office moves that piqued the interest of most of our sources. “We’ve had a recent office move for our Silicon Valley team, and there is a change for our Houston and Austin group too,” one junior relayed, “we’ve also just opened our new office over in Riyadh.”  

Summer Program  

We heard that those on the summer program experience a more centralized system when it comes to work allocation, with juniors reporting that “they try to give you an assignment from each practice group.” Tasks seemed substantive and included memo writing and research to set prospective associates up for what a future at the firm could look like. As for the social side of things, a swath of soirees are on offer such as golfing, pickleball, dinners, sporting events, concerts, and even a white-water rafting trip! “You get to meet everyone during that time which was great,” one insider revealed, “it really prepared me well.”  

The Work 

Practice groups operate using a free-market system which was well received by our interviewees: “It sounds daunting at first, but it gives you a lot of freedom and independence,” reasoned one insider, “and as I’ve progressed, I really like the system.” Juniors were pleased to report that work was not lacking and that “I’m not fighting for work with anyone here.” This is largely due to the firm’s mostly leanly staffed matters and relatively small junior associate cohort; “we’re all very busy so being free market isn’t a problem.” The majority of associates we spoke with hailed from the litigation group, with a good number also coming from the corporate teams.  

“It sounds daunting at first, but it gives you a lot of freedom and independence…” 

Litigation work is primarily divided into commercial litigation, insurance recovery, and construction, with other practices such as international arbitration certainly having a presence as well. That being said, we heard that “as a junior, you don’t really say no to anyone and muck in with all of it with an open mind” although “you can express an interest in particular types of work.” All our interviewees praised “the wide variety of different cases I’ve gotten involved with.” These can range from breach of contract to trade secrets, antitrust, tech work, and patent cases. “If there’s a dispute about something and it’s not criminal, then it’s in litigation general,” one told us, “I really like that because you get to learn something new everyday, there’s no standard.” In terms of tasks, incoming juniors can expect to get stuck in with discovery work, research, memo writing, drafting motions, preparing depositions, making outlines, and doc review. The latter went down a treat for one source who divulged “if you’re nosey, and I am, it’s fun!” Most of all, juniors were quick to highlight the fact that they’re not just given grunt work: “You really feel part of the team here and your role matters.”  

Litigation clients: Needham & Company, Osirus Group, MB Sagaponack Realty. Represented the commodities trading company Freepoint Commodities after it filed for breach of contract against Monroe Energy over a failure to deliver certain refined petroleum products. 

Over on the corporate side of things, there is a “broad spectrum” of work on offer, but its prominence may be slightly more office dependent: “The Silicon Valley office tends to track towards EC/VC private company work, whereas public company work is more East Coast and DC.” Though, this work is available across all the offices. Other strands of work consist of classic M&A, funds, and private equity with one junior espousing – “we do it all here!” When it came to the pre-seed investors of EC/VC and the middle market M&A clients, juniors found there was genuine value in the work they were doing; “you’re changing lives in the middle market you know? You’re dealing with real people.” Due to the firm’s tendencies to leanly staff matters, insiders reported responsibility was plentiful and “I’ve done deals where it’s just me and the partner.” Expected tasks can include disclosure schedules, diligence, purchase agreements, checklists, board consents, managing signatures, and client contact. “I have a ton of responsibility, and I know it’s more than my counterparts experience at other firms,” mused one newbie, “I’m constantly being challenged to do new things.” 

Corporate clients: 2 Twelve Solutions, IMB Partners, Meetup. Represented private equity firm ACON Investments in its acquisition in the controlling stake of the lifestyle, apparel and accessories brand True Religion. 

Culture & Inclusion

“High achievers and go-getters go far here,” explained one eager source, “it’s easy to do that if you take pride in your work and seek out the culture.” We heard a friendly disposition was commonplace: “I love to be friends with everyone, but it’s up to the individual really. The general rule is everyone wants to take an interest.” Events hit the usual standard-bearers in the form of Christmas parties and Thanksgiving dinners, and there’s the odd season tickets and musicals to boot. Food was also praised, with the DC office being treated to a hot lunch every Wednesday: “The kitchen staff are not shy about keeping us fed, they’re on it!” And the LA office even has a private chef!

“High achievers and go-getters go far here, it’s easy to do that if you take pride in your work and seek out the culture.” 

Most offices sported a three day in-office policy, but multiple interviewees reported exceeding that, citing “the biggest benefit I’ve found is being in five days a week.” As a result, we heard it is not uncommon for “your name to get around quite quickly, especially if people like you.” This just adds to the positivity of the environment that helps to bring those at Pillsbury closer in a “genuine and authentic” way.  

The diversity of the firm seemed to vary depending on the office, but overall associates pointed out that “we’re fairly diverse at the lower levels at least.” Affinity groups are present and these groups will often throw events throughout the year, we heard “these events are always open to everyone and the firm emphasizes that.” On the whole, juniors noted that their cohort was a diverse bunch with one noting “we have a nice blend of different backgrounds and experiences that make us stronger.”  

Career Development 

“There’s definitely a lot of training opportunities here,” one insider told us, “they’re quite serious about it.” On the more formal front, “you have to seek those things out and schedule them yourself” with online webinars and training videos seeming to be the standard. On the mentorship front, incoming juniors are assigned both an associate and a partner mentor which, although praised, played second fiddle to informal mentors our interviewees had met: “People are kind and thoughtful here, it’s baked into the culture that a lot of people just step up to mentor you.” This was a common sentiment, with insiders pointing to supervisors and colleagues as “critical to our career development” ensuring consistent feedback and passing along interesting opportunities for associates.  

“I’ve been mentored here more than I was taught at law school!” 

Associates explained that the path to partnership was transparent, with one junior pleased to report that “it’s very open door here all the way up to the firm chair.” At Pillsbury, the vibe is definitely one of wanting associates to succeed for the long term, and one junior added that “I’ve been mentored here more than I was taught at law school!” 

Hours & Compensation 

Billable hours: 2,000 target 

For those aiming for the market rate bonus, 2,000 total hours is the target. Within that, 1,700 are client hours and the last 300 have the option of being pro-bono and internal legal work for the firm. “I hit it without necessarily going out of my way to do so,” one source explained. The salary is also lockstep, but for those looking for that extra level of approval, a super bonus is available in a tiered system with big increases coming at 2,200 hours and then again at 2,400 hours.

In terms of daily hours, we heard that “standard BigLaw” was in store for associates. Late finishes were not unheard of but were also not the norm: “I’ve had busy months where I’ve had to log off at 2am but those are rare, I usually log off by 7pm.” What this largely came down to was the fact that associates were booked and busy, touting “I’ve got a significant amount of work recently, there’s plenty to go around.”  

Pro Bono 

“It’s been really rewarding actually to give back to the community, people can learn their craft in not such a cost-sensitive way.” 

At Pillsbury, up to 300 hours of pro bono work are billable for associates, not that most of our interviewees were hitting that target: “It’s quite underutilized I think, unless you want your bonus.” That being said, the firm is “always encouraging people to get involved” and there’s “a lot of good experience on offer” in areas including access to justice, civil rights, housing, refugee, domestic violence, veterans and work for non profit and community organizations. “It’s been really rewarding actually to give back to the community,” one junior gushed, “people can learn their craft in not such a cost-sensitive way.”  

Pro bono hours 

• For all (US) attorneys: 37,437
• Average per (US) attorney: 56

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus  

OCI applicants interviewed: undisclosed  

Pillsbury conducts OCIs at 19 law schools, which are mostly ranked in the top 20. Pillsbury also attends a few speciality fairs, like the IP law fair at Loyola in Chicago, plus the resume drops at additional schools.  

A mix of partners and associates are involved in the process: “We have recruiting committees in each office, and generally attorneys from those committees are the ones who go on campus to conduct interviews for the firm.”  

The firm styles the interview in a conversational way, “so that we get to know the candidate.” This means there aren’t any set questions, but the interviewers typically ask candidates competency-based questions: “For example, we would  look at a candidate’s resume and ask questions about an activity or a job they listed to determine if the candidate has exhibited leadership skills, entrepreneurial spirit, and the ability to take initiative,” says Colleen Lamarre, Firmwide Law Student Recruiting Chair.  

Top tips for this stage: “First, be yourself. It always comes across better to be your genuine self rather than trying to be who you think an interviewer wants you to be. Second, be prepared. Have examples ready to share of your past experiences that demonstrate you take initiative, are a leader, can accomplish goals you set or overcome challenges. Third, show you are interested in Pillsbury. Know about the firm and show you are interested in working there in particular as opposed to just wanting any job” 

Callbacks  

The callback process varies by office, but usually the candidate will meet with three to five partners or associates for half-hour interviews. The questions here tend to be similar to the OCI questions, meaning more competency-revealing conversations. Some callbacks also include lunch or coffee with attorneys.  

 “If a candidate gets to the callback stage, the firm has determined that their resume meets our criteria and the attorney who interviewed them on campus thought they would be a good fit for the firm.”  - Colleen Lamarre

Top tips for this stage: “A callback is the opportunity for the candidate to meet with other attorneys to give them a feel for who the candidate is and whether they would fit in and succeed at Pillsbury” 

Summer program  

Each office runs the summer program slightly differently, but all offices ensure that summers are getting exposure to different practice areas and have an appropriate amount of assignments: “Every year we tailor the number of summers in our summer classes so that there is room for and the expectation that each summer can get an offer.” Most summers return as junior associates: “Offers to join Pillsbury are not specific as to any particular practice area, but we make every effort to assign junior attorneys to the practice section of their choice."  - Colleen Lamarre

Top tips for this stage: “Try to get as broad an exposure over the summer as possible. This is the time to get to know your future colleagues, as well as figure out who they work with best and what practice areas they would like to work in”

And finally… 

“So much of applying to BigLaw is making sure you find a firm that, when you’re stuck working late nights, are the people you’re working with making it better?” – second-year associate