Testimonials: The Evidence

I was initially drawn to McKool Smith during the recruiting process because it offered substantive litigation experience to young attorneys and the opportunity to work on patent cases in diverse technological areas. The firm has certainly delivered. I joined as a first year associate, and within a year, I was taking depositions on my own in a high stakes patent litigation matter.

I chose McKool Smith because I wanted substantive opportunities at a junior level, and my first two years at the firm have far exceeded my expectations.  In my first 6 months at McKool Smith, I first chaired a half dozen depositions in three different cases, wrote complicated and interesting briefs from cover to cover, and participated in a handful of court appearances. 

For me, the most significant factors that sets McKool Smith apart from other firms is the immediate exposure to meaningful legal experiences and the colleagues with which one shares these experiences with.  Within days of joining McKool Smith, I was preparing to take depositions and briefing dispositive motions – opportunities not afforded those of similar seniority at peer firms.  Within a few months I was engaging with federal criminal enforcement agencies in my white collar matters and arguing the dispositive motions I briefed weeks earlier.

During clerkship recruiting, two things set McKool Smith apart from the other law firms—the promise of substantive work and the people. I was looking for a firm that would allow me to build off my clerkship experience and I found that at McKool Smith.

McKool Smith offers young lawyers tremendous opportunity and responsibility. As a first year lawyer, I went to trial three times. Despite being a junior member of the team, I oversaw trial briefing, stood up in court to argue evidentiary disputes, and was even given the opportunity to conduct the direct examination of a key fact witness.

The close-knit collaboration between partners and associates at McKool Smith fosters quality training and early opportunities for young attorneys like myself.  Further, McKool Smith’s general “free-market” approach to practice groups allows me the opportunity to get involved in a broad range of practice areas in varying jurisdictions.

McKool Smith is one of the world’s best trial firms, and its entrepreneurial spirit aligns perfectly with my career goals. Since joining the Firm, I have been given vital roles on plaintiff-side litigations and maintained my high-stakes defense-side litigation practice.

"Within days of joining McKool Smith, I joined the litigation team for a multi-billion dollar case; within weeks I was preparing for and attending multiple depositions. The work at McKool Smith is both challenging and rewarding. It is one of the reasons I was drawn to the firm during my job search—at McKool Smith you are not just another associate, you are an integral member of a powerful litigation team."

"McKool Smith is a great place to be a young attorney. I was drawn to the firm’s high-stakes plaintiff-side litigation work. Litigation teams are organized with the idea that everyone will have something to contribute. This structure means I'm responsible for tasks that I find more interesting."