Your Career at McKee Nelson LLP

The little boutique firm that could

In less than a decade, McKee Nelson has grown from a two-lawyer boutique to a specialist heavyhitter. Today the firm employs over 200 attorneys, and in 2006 it was one of only four Am Law Second Hundred firms to post revenues per lawyer in excess of $1 million. The firm's success can be attributed to a sharp focus on key practice areas, particularly tax, capital markets and litigation/enforcement. From its two offices in New York City and Washington, D.C., McKee Nelson serves a spectrum of industries, including financial services, pharmaceutical, energy and consumer products, counting among its clients General Mills, JPMorgan Chase, SLM Corp, Lehman Brothers and Dow Chemical.

All in a day's work

Major matters include assisting JPMorgan Chase in aspects of its Bear Stearns acquisition, the greatest financial shakeup of 2008. Credit Suisse Securities called on McKee Nelson's business litigation team to defend it in multi-district litigation arising from the collapse of National Century Financial Enterprises (NCFE) and its affiliates. Pharmaceutical leader GlaxoSmithKline retained the firm's tax litigation crew to represent it in what is considered to be the largest single tax case in U.S. history. The case, which the firm successfully settled, involved alleged tax deficiencies in excess of $4.5 billion relating to transfer pricing adjustments by the IRS. Working on behalf of GE, the firm won back tax deposits from the IRS totaling more than $62 million. In 2006 the firm helped pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline reach a $3.4 billion tax settlement with the IRS, the largest in U.S. tax law history.

Learning is lifelong

Nurturing the careers of associates is an integral part of McKee Nelson firm culture. From an associate's earliest days, they work in a close-knit environment that fosters teamwork and puts them in constant contact with attorneys of a variety of experiences and backgrounds. The firm's professional development programs include both formal and informal components, tailored to associates' specific interests and goals. Many tax associates are enrolled in firm-funded classes in their area of interest, while others work towards an LL.M. in Taxation. Litigation, structured finance and corporate associates attend programs sponsored by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), the Practicing Law Institute, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, and other continuing legal education conferences. The Structured Finance Group conducts training sessions throughout the year on a variety of topics. In addition, associates and partners get together to discuss recent developments in the practice as well as firm administration issues and other topics at a weekly attorney lunch.

Making the diversity honor roll

McKee Nelson is committed to excellence in everything it does, and recognizes that diversity is essential to achieving that excellence. The firm's formal diversity committee meets regularly with firm leadership, and serves as a forum for the generation of new ideas and the discussion of diversity issues throughout the firm. Such commitment has been recognized by the 2008 Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms, where the firm earned several top rankings, including #4 in Overall Diversity.

Examples of the firm's diversity commitment are: participation in the SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity) Corporate Law Career Program, through which entering law students of color work as paid legal interns; inclusion in several minority student job fairs, including the Vault Diversity Fair; formal mentoring and diversity training programs for all associates and counsel; domestic partner benefits; sponsorship of the AnBryce Scholarship Program, providing law school funding for economically disadvantaged students at New York University School of Law; participation in Legal Outreach, which encourages high school students from underserved New York City communities to become lawyers.

Building better communities

In the summer of 2005, McKee Nelson established a formal pro bono program to increase opportunities for firm lawyers to give back. A pro bono committee funnels pro bono opportunities to lawyers, and seeks out opportunities in areas where McKee Nelson lawyers express an interest to serve. Recent representations include: acting as volunteer general counsel for a school for autistic children, providing advice in a small business clinic, helping to secure COBRA coverage for a person with AIDS, and representing a criminal defendant in a federal appeal. Since its founding, McKee Nelson has facilitated and participated in a growing number of charitable activities, including Habitat for Humanity's Buildable Hours programs in Washington and New York, the annual New York Cares Day and the annual Metro TeenAIDS Art and Articles Auction in Washington. McKee Nelson is also a pro bono sponsor of inMotion, an organization providing legal services to under-served and abused women, and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, which offers legal services to artists unable to afford legal counsel.

In August 2008 The American Lawyer ranked the firm No. 15 in Washington, DC for pro bono work. In June 2008, the D.C. Bar honored McKee Nelson with the 2008 Frederick B. Abramson award, for outstanding pro bono service in the drafting of educational materials on IRS Form 990 compliance.

Contact Info

Carrie Marker
Director of Legal Recruiting & Professional Development
McKee Nelson LLP
One Battery Park Plaza
34th Floor
New York, New York 10004
ph (917) 777-4200
fax (917) 777-4299
cmarker@mckeenelson.com
http://www.mckeenelson.com