Daniel’s Career Story

The Firm’s culture starts with its people, and Kirkland attracts those who are collaborative by nature and you get to know people very quickly when you’re working on a case together.

Kirkland is very serious about giving junior attorneys substantive work early on. If you’re ready for the opportunity, the Firm will find ways to make it work. 

I’ve had a lot of firsts here. Within three weeks of joining Kirkland, I got a call from a partner asking if I wanted to do an oral argument. I got to argue before a three-judge panel in the New York Supreme Court appellate division when I was a third- or fourth-year associate. Experiences like that engender confidence.

I’ve been proud to be a part of creative solutions to tricky legal issues. There is a willingness here, all the way up to the top, to listen to off-the-beaten-path ideas and do our best to get the right result for the client. Kirkland facilitates creative thinking and problem-solving early on. 

I do a variety of work — that’s the fun part about Kirkland. I do some securities litigation and other shareholder litigation, and plenty of general commercial disputes. Some of the cases are smaller in scope, and some of them are fairly large. Each case brings different challenges.

Kirkland has a formal mentorship program, but the open assignment system is also a great way to develop relationships with mentors. I find that by choosing to work with people again and again, you naturally develop strong relationships. Not only do you get to do some of the most significant work in the industry, but you also get to do so with folks that you’ve gotten to know and become friends with.

Managing associates has been a new, fun experience for me. I was a teacher before becoming an attorney, and I appreciate it when senior attorneys impart wisdom, so I try to help junior attorneys in the same way.

At this stage of my career, I’m looking for new experiences that are challenging and helpful for my professional development. I can’t think of another platform better than Kirkland’s for that.