Thinking through the way the relative lack of trial work is shaping the practice of law, one of the issues I keep chewing on is how junior lawyers interested in handling sophisticated, high-stakes cases are supposed to get a foot in the door.

Here's where I think elite, smaller trial firms such as Wilkinson Stekloff, Kaplan Hecker & Fink, Hollingsworth, and Selendy Gay Elsberg have some advantages. Put yourself in the shoes of a young lawyer wanting to be where the action is and actually get some courtroom reps. It would be easy to see where a firm like those listed above would be attractive. A steady flow of cases actually going to trial and a relatively low partner-to-associate ratio would be appealing to an ambitious, newly minted attorney focused on becoming a trial attorney, right?