Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Founded in New York, NY in 1948, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has approximately 1,756 attorneys across 21 offices worldwide.
Not reported: Partnership Track.
Openings
1L Summer 2027 · Class of 2029Open
Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Chicago, Houston
Opens
Opened Nov 2Deadline
Not announced
Checked 21h ago
Open to 1Ls in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Palo Alto through Skadden's combined 2027 1L and 2028 2L posting.
Materials: Law School TranscriptFirst semester transcript and Suited assessment required; form requires sign in.
2L Summer 2028 · Class of 2029Open
New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Wilmington
Opens
Opened Nov 2Deadline
Not announced
Checked 21h ago
Open in all eight U.S. offices. Current 1Ls may apply.
Materials: Undergrad TranscriptResume and undergraduate transcript; fall grades to be provided later; online assessment (Suited) for U.S. offices.
3L / Entry-LevelOpen
2027 Entry Level Associate General Application (+7 more roles)
New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Wilmington
Opens
Opened Aug 1Deadline
Not announced
Checked Oct 18
Materials: Cover Letter · Law School TranscriptApplicants should note preferred office and practice area.
About Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden was founded in New York in 1948 by Marshall Skadden, Les Arps, and John Slate. Joe Flom joined as its first associate that year, and Bill Meagher joined in 1959. The firm's history connects its growth to proxy contests and the development of the modern mergers and acquisitions market.
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Its willingness to handle proxy fights in the 1950s and 1960s helped position the firm for the hostile takeover activity that followed in the 1970s. Alongside that work, Skadden developed complementary litigation, tax, and antitrust practices. Expansion into additional cities began in 1973 as client needs and transaction activity grew.
For students, this history explains the relationship between the firm's corporate identity and its broader services. A contested transaction can require deal counsel, courtroom advocacy, and tax or competition analysis at the same time. Skadden's development illustrates how those disciplines became connected within a firm serving clients on complex business problems.
Practice Strength by Market
Every band below appears on this firm’s Chambers USA 2026 profile, checked September 26, 2026. Where Chambers splits a table into The Elite and Highly Regarded, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm.
| Practice | Market | Recognition, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
Antitrust | Nationwide | Band 1 |
Antitrust | New York | Band 1 |
Asset Management M&A | Nationwide | Band 1 |
Capital Markets: Debt & Equity | California | Band 1 |
Chancery | Delaware | Band 1 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | California: Los Angeles & Surrounds | Band 1 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrounds | Band 1 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | Nationwide | Band 1 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | New York | Band 1 |
Corporate/M&A & Private Equity | District of Columbia | Band 1 |
112 reported ranking rows
Rankings
Request a CorrectionLatest published editions. Each links to its source.
Size and Standing
- $4.1B gross revenueAm Law 100, $4.1B gross revenue: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- Lawyers in 12 countriesGlobal 200, Lawyers in 12 countries: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- 1,756 attorneysNLJ 500, 1,756 attorneys: #16 (opens in a new tab)
- PrestigeVault Law 100, Prestige: #3 (opens in a new tab)
Associate Life
Vault Practice Rankings
- Tax Law: #1 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities Litigation: #2 (opens in a new tab)
- Mergers & Acquisitions: #3 (opens in a new tab)
- Project Finance: #3 (opens in a new tab)
- Antitrust: #4 (opens in a new tab)
- Private Equity: #4 (opens in a new tab)
- Products Liability: #4 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities/Capital Markets: #4 (opens in a new tab)
Show All 20
- General Corporate Practice: #5 (opens in a new tab)
- Banking & Financial Services: #6 (opens in a new tab)
- Real Estate Law: #6 (opens in a new tab)
- Media, Entertainment, & Sports: #7 (opens in a new tab)
- White Collar Defense & Internal Investigations: #7 (opens in a new tab)
- Energy, Oil, & Gas Law: #9 (opens in a new tab)
- General Commercial Litigation: #10 (opens in a new tab)
- International Practice: #10 (opens in a new tab)
- Bankruptcy/Restructuring: #12 (opens in a new tab)
- Labor & Employment Law: #12 (opens in a new tab)
- Appellate Litigation: #16 (opens in a new tab)
- Intellectual Property: #24 (opens in a new tab)
Practice Areas
Applications indicate the preferred office and practice area(s) of interest. Over the summer, Skadden says, "summer associates work in different areas of law, strengthening lawyering skills and gaining insight into the firm in general." New associates attend the firm's Associates' Comprehensive Education program in New York and, at its conclusion, "join their practice areas."
Pro Bono
- Summers Can Take Pro Bono
- YesSource
- Counts as Billable
- YesUncapped; every pro bono hour counts toward billablesSource
- Average Hours Per Attorney
- 90.8 hoursAm Law pro bono rank #19
How pro bono work is assigned
Skadden gives billable hour credit for pro bono work and is a charter signatory of the Pro Bono Institute's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge. The firm encourages lawyers from day one to find a cause that interests them and match it to legal needs in their communities.
More about Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Skadden says it typically accommodates requests to split a summer between two of its 21 offices. The summer associate position pays at an annual rate of $225,000, semi-monthly. Summer associates receive informal feedback on everyday work, formal mid-summer and exit reviews, and may complete self-assessments and optional upward reviews.