Testimonials: The Evidence

“Following graduation, I had the honor of clerking for two federal judges. When I completed my clerkships, I set out to fill what I perceived to be a gap in my litigation experience. Luckily, I found McKool Smith. During my first year and a half at this law firm, I was involved in all phases of litigation, including pre-suit analysis; written discovery; expert discovery; taking and defending fact and expert depositions; drafting and arguing claim construction briefs; drafting and arguing evidentiary and dispositive motions; and preparing pre- and post-trial briefing. McKool Smith is a unique place that places extraordinary significance on going to trial. If you want to grow as an attorney, and specifically, if you aspire to be a trial attorney, there is no better place.”

“In my opinion, one of the reasons the firm has been and will continue to be successful is that it isn’t afraid to cultivate and nurture talent in its young attorneys. If you’re willing to put in the work, the available opportunities are endless. Since joining the firm, I have taken a dozen depositions, argued substantive hearings, written many motions, and prepared for taking witnesses at trial. McKool Smith prepared me to face every challenge. The firm pairs its incredible opportunities with an open-door policy. The mentorship here is second to none.”

"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."

"I chose McKool Smith knowing that I would work harder and gain more experience than anywhere else, and I was right. Within two months of passing the bar, I was sitting in a courtroom listening to the testimony of a witness I had prepped for trial. Several months later, I was in a different courtroom arguing pre-trial motions and helping select a jury. Though we’re not always in the courtroom, the days spent brainstorming strategy or drafting dispositive motions bring their own satisfaction. Even the most stressful tasks are bearable with the right team, and I’ve been lucky to work with leaders at McKool Smith who value everyone’s input."

I wanted to work on interesting cases with enough at stake to be worth fighting all the way to trial. At McKool Smith, I’m given that opportunity. The principals I work with treat me as a full member of the case team, and they give me just the sort of high-level work that I was hoping to get. They want to know what I think about the case. These are real-deal trial attorneys, and their focus is on preparing the case for trial and getting it tried as soon as possible. There is no busywork here.  I understand how my assignments fit into our case strategy—and I am often involved in developing that strategy. We do great work for great clients who trust us."

“There is a very short list of top-flight firms with a national profile that offer real litigation experience to associates and still take on big, complicated cases. Luckily, I managed to land at one of them, and McKool Smith has delivered. At McKool Smith, I’m learning how to be a lawyer through the only way that it’s possible to learn—by actually doing, not just watching—on my feet, talking to clients and prospective clients, or writing at my desk. But what’s really made the firm stand apart is the approach that people bring to their work. I’ve really come to appreciate how great it is to be at a place that puts so much value in working well on a team, being supportive to colleagues, appreciative of staff, and civil to everyone while still being smart, aggressive, and effective litigators.”

"I came to the McKool Smith Austin office just under a year ago, as a lateral hire. I was (and still am) excited about the patent litigation work the firm does, but was nervous about finding my place as a lateral and forging new working and personal relationships with new colleagues."

“As a first year, I took several depositions, assisted with prepping major witnesses for deposition, participated on the trial team for two major patent cases, and worked one-on-one with an expert witness to prepare his expert report. As a second year, my practice has shifted over to a few White Collar defense matters that have me jet-setting to countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Israel. In most situations, I am given the opportunity to punch above my weight. Work is not simply distributed based on number of years of experience, but instead, it is given to those who show initiative and demonstrate that they have the ability to perform the tasks at hand. Most importantly, the work I do on a daily basis matters.”

"When I started as a litigator, I assumed that working in a big law firm in New York meant never going to trial. What I find so great about McKool Smith is that they regard every case as one that could go to trial. It is that mindset that I find so appealing about the firm."  

"As a lateral from a Big Law firm, I came to McKool Smith for one reason: I wanted to go to trial. Within six weeks of joining the firm, I got my wish. The firm sent me to East Texas to represent a major client in a multimillion dollar patent infringement trial. Despite being a junior member of the team, I assisted with direct and cross examination, oversaw trial briefing, and stood up in court to argue evidentiary disputes. Briefly put, I learned more in those first three months at McKool Smith than I had in the two years before I joined the firm. I have had the privilege of working with many of the greatest lawyers I have ever known—men and women I also count among my friends. I cannot imagine a better place to practice law."