Dear Hiring Partner,
I'm applying for the Senior Associate position in your Commercial Litigation group at Skadden's Chicago office. I'm admitted in California (2019, #329847) and New York (2022, #5581203), and for the last three years I've been a Senior Associate at Latham & Watkins' Chicago office — 2,180 billable hours in 2024 across 8 active matters including a $240M breach-of-contract dispute carried through summary judgment.
Beyond the $240M matter, I've been lead associate on 6 M&A transactions in the $12-180M range in 2024 (APAs drafted and negotiated, reverse-diligence coordinated on 2 cross-border deals), drafted 14 complaints and 40+ subpoenas in a multi-district commercial dispute, and briefed 3 motions to compel with 2 favorable orders. My practice skews litigation-with-transactional-overlap, which I understand is exactly the profile your group is actively hiring. I stamp and submit Westlaw research weekly, work in iManage and Relativity daily, and handle productions across Concordance.
Skadden's M&A litigation reputation and the public docket of your Chicago partners — particularly the Delaware Chancery work — are the specific reasons I'm making this move. I'd bring a clean docket (no trailing matters) and a willingness to take the bar exam in a third state if the firm's caseload requires it.
Could we schedule a 30-minute conversation about your current caseload and the practice group's 2026 hiring plan? I'd be happy to share a redacted deal sheet ahead of the call.
Respectfully, Morgan Chen, Esq. California (2019) | New York (2022)
