Tysan’s Career Story

Early in my Kirkland career, I had the opportunity to draft the plan of reorganization in Klöckner Pentaplast’s Chapter 11 case. This allowed me to work closely with the partners and other associates on the case and develop a deep understanding of the transaction. As a new associate, you’re often focused on a single piece of a deal, but working on this plan gave me a broader, more strategic perspective on the entire restructuring. I think I grew more professionally on this case than any other so far in my career.

In my experience, partners and associates are always open to you coming into their office, asking questions or sitting in on calls and meetings. They’re also great at anticipating which aspects of a case some associates may be unfamiliar with and taking the time to explain them. Because of that, I’m comfortable reaching out to partners I work with whenever I have questions.

The open assignment system allows me to seek out opportunities I’m interested in and helps me push myself to take on new and exciting challenges. When I hear of a new case I’m interested in, I can reach out to one of the partners or associates on it and ask to join the team. When I’m on a new case, I always make an effort to take on workstreams I haven’t had the opportunity to take on before, so I am able to get a better understanding of it as a whole.

As a Kirkland summer associate, I had the opportunity to attend the Restructuring Practice Group’s mock board summer training event. At the time, I didn’t know much about restructuring, and I was impressed by how knowledgeable and prepared the associates were in designing their proposed transactions and presenting them to the “board.”

This was one of the most valuable experiences I had over the summer, and it allowed me to see how much effort the group puts into the development of its associates at an early stage. I felt confident that coming to Kirkland would allow me to develop into a great attorney.

On one of the first cases I worked on after joining the Firm, I was staffed with a small team and had the opportunity to take on real responsibilities. While I was nervous at first, I knew that I chose Kirkland because I wanted to be given substantive opportunities early in my career.