What’s
in
a
Biglaw
name?
A
lot,
actually.
Mix
up
your
K
names
and
you
could
end
up
working
for
a
spineless
firm
that
puts
profits
over
principles
(Kirkland)
instead
of
getting
free
Coca-Cola
in
the
break
room
(King
&
Spalding).
And
before
you
say
that
worrying
about
names
is
making
a
mountain
out
of
a
molehill,
at
least
one
Biglaw
name
actually
comes
with
mountains:
Quinn
Emanuel.
For
decades,
Quinn
has
offered
optional
hikes
as
team
building
exercises.
That
tradition
continues
to
today.
Forbes
has
coverage:
“It’s
intense,”
says
Tigran
Guledjian,
partner
at
Quinn
Emanuel
and
co-chair
of
the
firm’s
national
intellectual
property
litigation
practice.
He
helps
run
the
hikes,
and
has
been
attending
them
for
more
than
20
years.
“You
carry
your
own
backpack
with
your
own
tent,
and
your
own
sleeping
bag,
and
your
own
food,
and
you
are
responsible
for
yourself.
There’s
nobody
out
there
who
is
going
to
do
anything
for
you,
other
than
your
colleagues.”The
firm’s
hiking
tradition
began
in
1993,
when
founder
John
B.
Quinn
led
15
legal
analysts
through
Coyote
Gulch
in
Utah.
Since
then,
the
outing
has
grown
significantly,
and
the
firm
started
travelling
internationally
in
2008.
Now
hundreds
of
employees
flock
each
year
to
iconic
trails
like
Switzerland’s
Faulhornweg,
Japan’s
Mount
Fuji,
and
Greece’s
Mount
Olympus,
to
name
a
few.
I
guess
some
people
will
do
anything
for
an
excuse
to
not
respond
to
their
work
emails.
Firm-sponsored
touching
grass
is
a
great
opportunity
to
get
to
know
your
co-workers
better.
And
while
there
is
still
some
risk
of
biting
at
these
work
events,
chances
are
the
mouth
belongs
to
a
bear
and
not
a
quirky
Sidley
Austin
associate.
One
thing’s
for
sure,
hiking
up
a
mountain
is
one
of
those
work
events
that
definitely
couldn’t
have
been
an
email.
It
isn’t
all
fun
and
photo-ops,
though.
Prior
associates
have
accidentally
stepped
off
the
beaten
path
and
needed
rescue,
not
to
mention
that
if
you
sign
up
and
back
out
before
the
big
day
you
might
have
to
reimburse
the
firm
for
spending
on
your
seat.
This
is
definitely
one
of
those
read
the
waiver
before
you
sign
deals.
Their
last
trip
had
hundreds
of
associates
hiking
the
Andes
Mountains
in
Peru.
If
you
were
a
part
of
the
trip,
how
was
it?
Feel
free
to
brag
about
the
mountain
air
and
tell
us
via
[email protected]!
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.