Pratik’s Career Story

Kirkland’s culture is defined by its entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative environment. I value how the Firm empowers attorneys to take initiative and drive their own growth from day one, while still providing ample support and strong mentorship so we can succeed as both individuals and a team.

The New York office epitomizes Kirkland’s global outlook. We have attorneys from all over the U.S., as well as many other countries, and our clients and work span multiple jurisdictions. The Firm is truly special on account of these transnational characteristics with experiences from every corner of the globe readily available whenever we need it.

Kirkland’s approach to the legal profession and client service is something I take a lot of pride in. We strive to be trusted advisers to our clients, not just in terms of providing sound legal advice, but also providing business guidance, industry outlooks and strategic analysis to help their businesses flourish.

The key factor that keeps me at Kirkland is the variety of opportunities on offer. We work with some of the largest players across multiple industries, as well as work on innovative, cutting-edge legal transactions, which means each problem we’re called in to solve is always different from the last. There is never a dull moment!

In 2023, we represented WeWork at a pivotal moment in its history. The company was in need of new financing within a short timeframe. I worked with a large team of Kirkland attorneys spanning almost every transactional practice group on a unique financing solution for the client. The complicated nature of the transaction and WeWork’s business structure gave me the opportunity to gain significant experience across a range of legal disciplines.

As a professional, I have grown in several ways. Kirkland offers early exposure to a wide variety of career opportunities, and I’ve been able to build better technical skills as a lawyer. I’ve also learned how to manage and run a deal team, build client relationships and retain client trust, and think innovatively in order to help solve complex business and legal problems for our clients.

The constant drive to provide innovative legal solutions to clients across a wide range of jurisdictions and industries is most fulfilling for me. It ensures that no two days at work look alike and means that there is always an interesting challenge to look forward to.

I think the open assignment system is the key to a successful career as a Kirkland attorney. It helps us take control of the narrative of our professional careers from day one and define what professional excellence means for each of us individually. Having freedom to build my own experience as an attorney, shape my work to match my interests, take on transactions and clients that I find challenging and interesting, and set the pace of my own deal flow (and as a result, the steepness of my learning curve) has been pivotal to my experience at the Firm.

We’re a large Firm and busy across a wide range of practices, so there are always more opportunities than one could ever wish for. Kirkland also provides a large amount of support to new attorneys to make sure the open assignment system works for them. The general attitude at the Firm is one where existing teams reach out to newcomers on a regular basis in order to provide new assignments. New attorneys are assigned mentors who act as sounding boards as they begin navigating the open assignment system.

Kirkland’s formal training programs were very useful to me when I started at the Firm. I found each training to be focused not just on building technical excellence, but also on providing practical guidance that is useful in solving day-to-day legal problems for clients.

Kirkland has a strong open-door policy that creates an atmosphere where there is plenty of informal training and mentoring. I have been encouraged from early on to join or listen in on meetings with opposing counsel and clients in order to see how others negotiate transaction terms or discuss issues. I also find that more senior attorneys are very willing to take time to explain the thinking behind our work products, review draft documentation in detail after the fact, or simply answer questions if you pick up the phone or drop by their offices to discuss an issue that you want to learn more about.