Overview
Introduction
With 400 lawyers, Kramer Levin embraces a diversified practice model, with particular strengths in bankruptcy, immigration, litigation, M&A, real estate, and white collar. Matters are staffed leanly, giving lawyers early and frequent opportunities for partner contact and sophisticated work.
Firm Stats
Total No. Attorneys (2024)
No. of Partners Named (2023)
Featured Rankings
No. of 1st Year Associates Hired (2024)
No. of Summer Associates (2024)
Base Salary
Vault Verdict
Kramer Levin may not be as large as other BigLaw firms, but its size is a plus for associates who want to work closely with partners in an enjoyable office environment. Hiring is focused on T14 schools and others near the firm’s base in NYC, and candidate academic achievement, work experience, and pleasant personalities are all considered. A pleasant personality is crucial for fitting in well with kind, supportive, and collaborative coworkers. Partners are accessible and generous with their time and feedback. Partners and senior associates serve as great mentors, and more training comes from hands-on work than from formal programs. Lateral hires generally feel positive about Kramer Levin’s integration efforts. Assignments are challenging and level-appropriate, and a staffing coord...
About the Firm
Rooted in New York, with offices in Silicon Valley, Washington, DC, and Paris, Kramer Levin is a full-service shop with 400 lawyers. The firm practices across dozens of areas with particular strengths in bankruptcy, immigration, litigation, M&A, real estate, and white collar.
Many Eggs, Many Baskets
Fourteen New York attorneys teamed up to start Kramer Levin in 1968. From the start, Kramer Levin was positioned as a full-service firm that didn’t rely on a single hallmark practice or long-standing relationship with one major client. This approach, combined with the firm’s small size, meant that some practice areas were run by only one or two lawyers, but it also meant that Kramer Levin was able to accept litigation, real estate, transactional, tax, and trust and estate assignment...
2025 Vault Rankings
Associate Reviews
- “Social, friendly, and polite. People are friendly with one another in the hallways, but there are not a lot of outside work events (which is preferable to most). It is an open-minded and collegial culture focused on attorney development.”
- “Kramer Levin has a wonderful culture. Lawyers and staff are, on the whole, very kind and generous in interactions. Most lawyers work with their office doors open. There are frequent firm-sponsored lunches—for each department as well as firmwide events. I know that I genuinely like and enjoy working with my colleagues, and I believe that sentiment is widespread. I also think that Kramer Levin is far less hierarchical than many other firms. Even junior associates are eligible for very substantive and interesting work.”
- “Incredibly friendly and collegial atmosphere, among attorneys and between attorneys and staff, but not incredibly social, though there is an effort ongoing to change that.”
- “It's a very collaborative environment. I often socialize in the hallways and at events/lunches the firm sporadically organizes. Lawyers rely on staff often.”
Why Work Here
Working at Kramer Levin
• You’ll get real work, not make work. We’re not a mega-firm, and we don’t staff like one. You’ll be an important and valued member of our team.
• As a Kramer Levin Summer Associate, you have a say in what type of work you do. There are no department assignments. No rotations. We want to know what interests you and how we can help you play to your strengths.
• If pro bono interests you, then we have a lot in common. Our commitment to pro bono is well-known. What is less well-known is that there are no limits on the number of pro bono hours you can count as “billable” toward bonus requirements. In pro bono as in life, we encourage you to follow your interests.
• Training is second-to-none, due in large part to our robust “shadowing” program, which provides junior attorneys with hands-on learning opportunities by encouraging them to accompany more experienced lawyers to depositions, negotiations, strategy sessions, corporate board meetings, conference calls and the like. As with pro bono, hours spent shadowing count as “billable” toward bonus requirements.
Diversity at Kramer Levin
Getting Hired Here
- “Like many large law firms, the firm seems to focus on T14 schools, but there are also many associates from other NY schools. I believe the firm is very selective and puts a lot of thought not only into the candidate's credentials, but because it is a smaller firm, whether the candidate would fit the culture.”
- “It's a NYC law firm, so I think they hire a lot from NYC schools, but they also hire from T14s across the country. I think the firm is overwhelmingly looking for kind and friendly people that have shown the required level of aptitude.”
- “The firm is looking for candidates with good grades, journal experience, and work experience. Making an effort to look for personality and diversity as well. No particular feeder schools, but most are from the NY area.”
- “I think the firm does a great job of not just hiring from the top five law schools. The firm is open to hiring from different schools and just selects the top candidates from those schools.”
Perks & Benefits