Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Designation: National
- Head Count: 1,735
- Gross Revenues: $2,210,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $1,275,000
- Profits Per Partner: $2,615,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
In its recruitment materials, Skadden describes itself as innovative, inclusive, collaborative, and instructive. It could add behemoth, as well. Based in New York, Skadden has been a perennial chart-topper on The American Lawyer’s Am Law 100 list, ranking second in 2011 and 2010 after more than a decade at number one. It was the first law firm ever to make a billion dollars in annual revenues -- a feat Skadden accomplished in 1999 -- and in 2010 it more than doubled that figure. With nearly 2,000 lawyers (430 of them equity partners) located in 23 offices in 13 countries, Skadden represents nearly one-half of the Fortune 500 companies.
While Skadden practice areas runs the gamut, particular strengths include banking, corporate, litigation, energy, real estate, and tax. The firm is a mergers and acquisitions powerhouse, ranking first in that category on nearly every one of The American Lawyer’s annual Corporate Scorecards. Skadden was one of the first U.S. law firms to make a major push into China, opening a Beijing office in 1991 (today more than 60 lawyers work out of offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong).
For lawyers, Skadden’s culture can be decidedly old-school: long hours for junior attorneys; big rewards for those who stick around. The firm’s 2011 profit per partner was approximately $2.3 million (12th nationwide), yet Skadden ranked just 69th in associate satisfaction that year, down from 51st in 2010. Nor was the firm immune to the financial downturn: Staff layoffs were followed by a voluntary “Sidebar” program that gave associates the option to take a year off for one third of their annual salary.
Skadden’s high rank on The American Lawyer’s A-List -- it was number 7 in 2011 -- has historically received an assist from its commitment to pro bono and public interest work, a focus since the firm’s founding in 1948 (Les Arps served as counsel to the Waterfront Commission and Joe Flom assisted the House Ways and Means Committee). The Skadden Fellowship Foundation provides two-year fellowships to recent law school graduates who agree to practice public interest law full time (since 1988, more than 600 fellowships have been awarded). In The American Lawyer’s 2011 pro bono rankings, the firm recorded more pro bono hours -- nearly 200,000 -- than any other Am Law 200 firm. There may be many words that describe Skadden’s reputation and record, but there is one that certainly doesn’t: half-hearted.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 4 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 4 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 7 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 15 | 8 | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 11 | 1 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 43 | 4 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 69 | 18 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 82 | 39 | Summer programs |
In the News
'Comcast Corp. v. Behrend': Yet More Rigor for Certifying Class Actions
Shepard Goldfein and James Keyte : New York Law Journal : May 21, 2013
In their Antitrust Trade and Practice column, Shepard Goldfein and James Keyte, partners at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, write that it is now clear that Rule 23(b)(3) requires a "rigorous analysis" not only of issues of liability, as was abundantly clear before the opinion, but also issues of causation and damages.
Eversheds Hires Beijing Managing Partner
: The Asian Lawyer : May 20, 2013
The U.K. firm has brought aboard former Dewey & LeBoeuf Beijing office head Ingrid Zhu-Clark.
Yahoo Picks Up Tumblr for $1.1B
Tom Huddleston Jr. : The Am Law Daily : May 20, 2013
INADMISSIBLE: Cool Music Soothes Supreme Court
: The National Law Journal : May 20, 2013
The occasion of the Supreme Court's spring musicale saw Broadway great Barbara Cook belting out jazz and oldtime favorites. Plus: Skadden and News Corp., Arent Fox reps the 49ers, Boasberg clears the way for school closures, a circuit judge runs, and shoe business in this week's column.
MOVERS
: The National Law Journal : May 20, 2013
Amy Beth Dambeck joins Constangy, Brooks & Smith as senior counsel to the Princeton, N.J., office. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
Kirkland Reps S.F.'s Vista on $906M Buy of Software Maker
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 20, 2013
Simpson Helps Yahoo, Tumblr Connect
Tom Huddleston Jr. : The Am Law Daily : May 20, 2013
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is advising Yahoo in connection with its largest acquisition in a decade: the $1.1 billion cash purchase of blogging and social media platform Tumblr. Tumblr, meanwhile, is represented by Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian.
Three Deals Add Up to More M&A Work for Kirkland
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 20, 2013
Kirkland & Ellis is advising longtime private equity client Vista Equity Partners on its nearly $1 billion purchase of cybersecurity software maker Websense, while fellow private equity firm Landmark Partners is relying on the firm to handle a $425 million secondary acquisition of a legacy energy portfolio owned by HM Capital. Kirkland is also advising the world's largest consulting firm, Accenture, on its $316 million buy of digital marketing startup Acquity Group.
Asia Deal Digest: May 16, 2013
Tom Brennan : The Asian Lawyer : May 16, 2013
* Davis Polk on a $4 billion bond offering for China's CNOOC* Allen & Overy advising Sinopec Engineering on its $2.7 billion IPO* Four Wall Street firms take on AsiaInfo-Linkage's $890 million take-private deal
Am Law Firms Aboard as Leagues Sink Kings, Coyotes Deals
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 16, 2013
Lawyers from Covington, Katten Muchin, and Milbank were watching closely Wednesday as owners of the National Basketball Association's 30 teams voted against a $625 million deal that would have sent the Sacramento Kings north to Seattle. Meanwhile, in a move that might result in another major sports team heading to the Pacific Northwest, the National Hockey League and its attorneys from Skadden nixed a $278 million bid for the Phoenix Coyotes.
- Adams and Reese
- Anderson Kill & Olick
- Arent Fox
- Arthur Cox
- Baker & McKenzie
- Buist Moore
- Chadbourne & Parke
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- Covington & Burling
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Dickstein Shapiro
- DLA Piper
- Duane Morris
- Eversheds
- Fish & Richardson
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian
- Heller Ehrman
- Howrey
- Irwin Mitchell
- Jenner & Block
- K&L Gates
- Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- Mallesons Stephen Jaques
- Moore & Van Allen
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
- Perkins Coie
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Ropes & Gray
- Ruden McClosky
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Slaughter and May
- Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Vinson & Elkins
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
