Firm Overview
• Kramer Levin is one of the most prestigious firms in New York City. We boast nationally-known litigators and transactional attorneys, but New York City is our hometown, and the vast majority of our lawyers work here. That means, if you join us, you’ll be at the center of virtually everything we do as a firm. And your interactions with colleagues will be face-to-face, not via videoconference.
• Our clients are sophisticated market leaders across global industries, and their transactions are routinely featured in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Crain’s New York Business. That means our work is as good as it gets.
• Kramer Levin prides itself on ‘personality’ fit. We have an open-door, collegial environment, and hire smart, creative people who make our firm more personable than other law firms. And around here, success is how YOU define it.
• Individuality makes us better. Kramer Levin is committed to creating and fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. We have several affinity groups and the firm is committed to programs and initiatives designed to increase the pipeline of diverse law professionals.
• Good news for the risk-averse. Economic conditions have had a muted impact on our firm’s performance due to excellent management and a balanced mix of cyclical and counter-cyclical practices. (We are particularly well-known for litigation and bankruptcy, for example, two classic counter-cyclical practices.) Kramer Levin is also one of the most profitable firms (i.e., we are in the top one-third of Am Law 100 firms in terms of profits per partner).
Working at Kramer Levin
• You’ll get real work, not make work. We’re not a mega-firm, and we don’t staff like one. You’ll be an important and valued member of our team.
• As a Kramer Levin Summer Associate, you have a say in what type of work you do. There are no department assignments. No rotations. We want to know what interests you and how we can help you play to your strengths.
• If pro bono interests you, then we have a lot in common. Our commitment to pro bono is well-known. What is less well-known is that there are no limits on the number of pro bono hours you can count as “billable” toward bonus requirements. In pro bono as in life, we encourage you to follow your interests.
• Training is second-to-none, due in large part to our robust “shadowing” program, which provides junior attorneys with hands-on learning opportunities by encouraging them to accompany more experienced lawyers to depositions, negotiations, strategy sessions, corporate board meetings, conference calls and the like. As with pro bono, hours spent shadowing count as “billable” toward bonus requirements.
What 2017 Summer Associates Told Us
“Kramer Levin feels like a place where people actually do enjoy the people that they work with. People don’t feel like they are stepping over each other to try and move up the ladder or like they are being burned out, chewed up and spit out by the firm. It feels like a long term work place. At the same time, the work is challenging and people work hard.”
“Welcoming and well-balanced. The people here are great. People are committed to their work but also have lives outside of the office.”
“Work hard, play hard. Entrepreneurial. Down-to-earth.”
“Hardworking environment with extremely smart and talented people, minus the negative stereotypes of big law snobby, pretentious, gunners, etc. Kramer’s culture makes it enjoyable to be at work.”