Isabella’s Career Story

Kirkland’s culture reflects its core values: empowering junior attorneys, collaboration, entrepreneurialism and excellence. I don’t feel restricted by my class year. Instead, my desire to learn and willingness to take on more senior workstreams influences my assignments. Our attorneys are leading practitioners in their field, and they take the opportunity to pass on industry knowledge and experience to associates and integrate them into each deal team. I have yet to encounter a partner who is not willing to discuss new ideas or answer my questions. Kirkland’s culture embraces growth, novel solutions and teamwork.

I am constantly given meaningful responsibilities that make me feel like a valued member of the team. Two months into my first year at Kirkland, I found myself capable of leading a checklist call with the lender’s counsel and interacting weekly with management simply because my team had given me so much exposure to all the workstreams and had taken the time to explain new concepts.

Senior associates are always encouraging and more than willing to let junior attorneys have new experiences, whether that’s drafting, process or exposure. The best part is that individual wins are the team’s wins.

I’m constantly growing and learning from individuals I admire not only as professionals, but also as people. I’ve learned so much about what it means to be a better attorney and overall person from the partners on my deal teams. The work is substantively challenging and interesting, and I appreciate having the opportunity to work on such complex and exciting deals with individuals with whom I’ve formed strong personal and professional relationships.

The open assignment system grants attorneys the autonomy to craft their own careers. Having the ability to choose what I work on allows me to pick the type of experiences that will make me a better, more well-rounded attorney. As a result, my work is dynamic and exciting, and I am constantly challenged.

The open assignment system fosters relationship building, which ultimately exposes us to diverse viewpoints, deals and working styles. I often find myself reaching out to new individuals to learn about their work.

Kirkland provides the perfect balance of granting its attorneys autonomy over their careers, while also offering support and guidance along the way.

Mentorship is an integral and exciting aspect of the Kirkland experience. The Firm assigns formal mentors when we begin, which is a helpful resource and starting point for meeting more associates. As you work on more deals and meet more colleagues, you inevitably start to form informal mentoring relationships that last beyond your deal. I’ve found that senior associates and partners are very open and willing to provide training and professional advice, even if you don’t end up in their specific practice group.

The energy, kindness, interest and mentorship I received from the associates and partners I met during Kirkland’s Summer Associate Program solidified my decision to come here. That support has remained unchanged, as I continue my career with the Firm.