Best plaintiffs firms in DC? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'll take what I can get, but comp info at the firms people flag would also be great if available.

[Anonymous User]

What type of plaintiff-side work do you want to practice?

[Anonymous User]

The HLS list is a great place to start - just CTRL-F for "District of Columbia" to filter geographically: https://hls.harvard.edu/bernard-koteen- ... irm-guide/

There are large differences in terms of firm size and compensation. This market takes much, much more work to understand as an associate than the defense/biglaw side.

[PhilHarmonica]

What type of plaintiff-side work do you want to practice?

Ideally class action but also open to other P-side options. Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

The HLS list is a great place to start - just CTRL-F for "District of Columbia" to filter geographically: https://hls.harvard.edu/bernard-koteen- ... irm-guide/

There are large differences in terms of firm size and compensation. This market takes much, much more work to understand as an associate than the defense/biglaw side.

Right. The HLS list is a good resource but says nothing useful about firm quality: hence my original question.

[The Lsat Airbender]

The HLS list is a great place to start - just CTRL-F for "District of Columbia" to filter geographically: https://hls.harvard.edu/bernard-koteen- ... irm-guide/

There are large differences in terms of firm size and compensation. This market takes much, much more work to understand as an associate than the defense/biglaw side.

Right. The HLS list is a good resource but says nothing useful about firm quality: hence my original question.

"Quality" means different things to different people so you really have to do your own homework, as the above-quoted anon implied. This space is harder to objectively rank than traditional biglaw (which is already a fool's errand IMO)

[top_of_the_bellcurve]

Some things I cared about (and maybe things you care about as well) while researching p-side firms:
- area of law;
- sophistication of matters;
- typical defendants; and
- quality of materials submitted to courts.

To learn about these things, I did the following:
- look at the attorney bio pages. If it’s a small (<20) attorney firm, the firm might not be able to handle super sophisticated matters. What background do the attorneys have? If they’re big law alums, the firm might have more of a “big law” vibe.
- look at the news/cases section. Many firms give an overview of recent cases - both cases they’ve one and cases they’ve recently brought. You can get a sense of what cases the firm brings and against whom.
- look at Courtlink or whatever docket search program you use. Read the firms’ papers. Do they tell a compelling, well-written, fact-based story in their complaints? How are their legal writing chops in their MTD responses/class cert motions? Some firms have excellent briefs. Others, not so much.

For the biggest cases (like the realtors’ case for antitrust), even the biggest p-side firms don’t have the capacity to handle these cases alone. So, multiple firms will work together.

If you narrow your interest to a particular practice and care about working on the most sophisticated/biggest/cutting-edge matters, check whether the firm is lead/co-counsel and whether/what leadership positions the firm has in these cases.

Another thing I’ve seen - is the firm a final destination for attorneys? Or more of a stepping stone?

Good luck in your search.

[Anonymous User]

I appreciate all the big picture advice. Does anyone have particular firms responsive to the question that they would single out?

[Anonymous User]

The HLS list is a great place to start - just CTRL-F for "District of Columbia" to filter geographically: https://hls.harvard.edu/bernard-koteen- ... irm-guide/

There are large differences in terms of firm size and compensation. This market takes much, much more work to understand as an associate than the defense/biglaw side.

Right. The HLS list is a good resource but says nothing useful about firm quality: hence my original question.

"Quality" means different things to different people so you really have to do your own homework, as the above-quoted anon implied. This space is harder to objectively rank than traditional biglaw (which is already a fool's errand IMO)

^^
This. Quality is subjective. From the perspective of a DC biglaw senior, Kellogg Hansen has the best professional reputation and I believe it pays more than anyone. It does do defense work, though. Same for MoloLamken, which has a small DC presence. I'm less familiar with pure plaintiffs' firms, although Keller Postman is an interesting up-and-comer.

[Anonymous User]

For plaintiff-side class action work in DC, Cohen Milstein, DiCello Levitt, Tycko & Zavareei, Hausfeld, Sanford Heisler Sharp (I think Berger Montague just opened in DC as well) would be a starting point.

That HLS link posted above lists some very good firms as being in DC but they have like 3 people there (e.g. Edelson). The firms I mentioned, plus more excellent ones that I'm sure I forgot, vary dramatically in size and subject-matter focus and vary on compensation and hours (and work from home/remote practice, and other less important but still notable things), too. You just have to do your homework, reach out cold to alumni of your schools that you find on the firm website and do some coffees, and try to learn. Unfortunately, OP, I am not so confident in your plan here as you have asked a few times for more information about "best" and "quality" without seemingly comprehending the good replies you have received that those words are meaningless in a vacuum in this context.

(I do plaintiff-side class action work in DC.)

[Anonymous User]

I work at Keller Postman DC, and it's pretty great, depending on what you care about.

Our law-and-briefing is, I think, among the best of any plaintiff-side firm (four partners clerked for the Supreme Court, which is unusual for plaintiff-side firms). A few example cases:
Mallory v. Norfolk Southern (SCOTUS)
B.F. v. Amazon (9th Circuit)
McClenon v. Postmates (7th Circuit) & Postmates v. 10,356 Individuals (both settled)
Texas v. Google (2d Circuit and ED Tex.)
3M v. Baker; 3M v. Estes (11th Circuit) (bellwether appeals; a global settlement was reached before the court ruled)
Razak v. Uber (3d Circuit)
Heckman v. Live Nation (9th Circuit) (pending)

We are on leadership for a lot of fairly large cases, and have a bunch of trials coming up this year (we won the first infant formula case, with co-counsel; state court Zantac cases are scheduled; Texas v. Meta is set for trial; and others).

That said, we aren't the best at everything. We don't do securities work. We are doing more and more trials, but have no top-level first-chair trial lawyers (yet). We have several class actions (Amazon, for example), but aren't specialists in class action work. And it's not a lifestyle firm.

Comp is higher than other plaintiff-side firms I'm aware of, but pay is performance-based and blackbox. People from biglaw can get around market (above for some, below for some). People from other plaintiff-side firms generally get a raise.

[Anonymous User]

I work at Keller Postman DC, and it's pretty great, depending on what you care about.

Our law-and-briefing is, I think, among the best of any plaintiff-side firm (four partners clerked for the Supreme Court, which is unusual for plaintiff-side firms). A few example cases:
Mallory v. Norfolk Southern (SCOTUS)
B.F. v. Amazon (9th Circuit)
McClenon v. Postmates (7th Circuit) & Postmates v. 10,356 Individuals (both settled)
Texas v. Google (2d Circuit and ED Tex.)
3M v. Baker; 3M v. Estes (11th Circuit) (bellwether appeals; a global settlement was reached before the court ruled)
Razak v. Uber (3d Circuit)
Heckman v. Live Nation (9th Circuit) (pending)

We are on leadership for a lot of fairly large cases, and have a bunch of trials coming up this year (we won the first infant formula case, with co-counsel; state court Zantac cases are scheduled; Texas v. Meta is set for trial; and others).

That said, we aren't the best at everything. We don't do securities work. We are doing more and more trials, but have no top-level first-chair trial lawyers (yet). We have several class actions (Amazon, for example), but aren't specialists in class action work. And it's not a lifestyle firm.

Comp is higher than other plaintiff-side firms I'm aware of, but pay is performance-based and blackbox. People from biglaw can get around market (above for some, below for some). People from other plaintiff-side firms generally get a raise.

Could you elaborate on "not a lifestyle firm"? What are hours expectations and/or average hours?

[Anonymous User]

Could you elaborate on "not a lifestyle firm"? What are hours expectations and/or average hours?

Comparable to biglaw. The people who get the best work and opportunities are working at a 2300 or more pace. Not everyone, of course.

[Anonymous User]

What is the in-office/work from home culture like at these places, including Keller Postman? I know this varies widely across P-side firms. Some firms have a true work from anywhere policy, some have soft office encouragement with no enforcement, and some actually expect people in the office at least 2-3 days a week.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know how bonuses are structured at these firms? Do you have any insight into what to expect as an associate?

[Anonymous User]

What is the in-office/work from home culture like at these places, including Keller Postman? I know this varies widely across P-side firms. Some firms have a true work from anywhere policy, some have soft office encouragement with no enforcement, and some actually expect people in the office at least 2-3 days a week.

Maybe the wrong thread for this question, but also curious which of the top P-side firms are most remote flexible.