Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

At Gibson, the work is never Dunn with top tier litigation, LA roots and the flexibility to pick your own path.

About the Firm

Our firm is a choose your own adventure! - It’s a phrase that BigLaw associates throw around a lot, yet how true that holds is in reality is another question entirely. For associates at Gibson Dunn, though, there is no question that the adventure is truly out there. Insiders were consistent: “Gibson is as free as advertised” when it comes to its free-market system, with the biggest draw being the “flexibility and ability to try a lot of different things.” Associates are encouraged to be entrepreneurial, which means talking to lots of different people at the firm and following trails of work that seem interesting in the hopes that horizons will be broadened, and all possible work opportunities explored. “This systemallows you to be strategic in terms of the type of work you’re taking on,” explained one insider, “You are truly free to go and ask for anything you want in any area and have as diverse a practice as possible, not just in your junior years, but even in your eighth, ninth or tenth year.”

“…you are truly free to go and ask for anything you want in any area and have as diverse a practice as possible.”

And where does adventure at Gibson take you? Well, as a highly ranked firm (thank you Chambers USA) for all manner of litigation, including within the realms of appellate law, securities, white-collar crime and government investigations, and media and entertainment, juniors are provided the opportunity to play a part at each stage of the journey. Rest assured though that the rankings span further than this, meaning associates are able to tread the path into more transactional areas of law with the same level of prestige, such as antitrust, labor & employment, real estate, and intellectual property.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is recognized as The Elite for Junior Satisfaction and The Elite for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is also recognized as The Elite for Junior Satisfaction in Washington DC, Texas, Northern California, Southern California and New York specifically.

Summer Program

Key to the summer program is “exposing you to interests you wouldn’t otherwise be aware of.” It’s something that assisted associates when they returned too, with one telling us: “I realized that I wanted to work in the areas I had tried as a summer because they were very intellectually stimulating.” Other sources also felt that “doing it as a summer is a low-pressure way to see what the legal practice is like to help you decide.” Work is substantive, with insiders explaining that summer tasks “mimicked a lot of what I do now on a day-to-day basis,” meaning it was less nerve-wracking when summers returned as associates. There are also tons of activities put on for summers, including baseball games, trips to Disneyland, outdoor hikes, winery visits, and even tickets to a Charlie Puth concert.

Strategy & Future

Associates at the firm are well aware that the future of tech is rapidly changing “but it’s how we adapt to it that matters,” shared one insider: “We need to be in the driver’s seat.” It seems that the firm is gearing up to stay ahead of the curve, and with a chief tech officer focused on training and introducing resources to the firm. Juniors are encouraged to utilize the AI resources as part of their initial research to increase efficiency and improve billables, which in turn “frees you up to do more interesting and advanced tasks.” With regards to its practice areas, we also heard that the firm has made a push to grow its transactional groups in particular.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is recognized as The Elite for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

The Work

Following the call of adventure often means leaving your hometown behind, and Gibson Dunn has indeed traveled far beyond its origins in Los Angeles to 22 offices globally, including US bases in California, Colorado, Texas, Washington DC and along the east coast in New York. “Work isn’t really geographically cabined,” explained one insider, “Gibson is good with its cross-office staffing,” meaning associates are provided the luxury of choosing the matters they want to work on, regardless of whether they are available at their home office.

This goes hand-in-hand with the free-market system employed at the firm. “It lets you hear about types of work you didn’t know existed,” shared one source, though not all associates were as sold on this staffing arrangement. “The cons to it are that you’re responsible for your own plate,” said another associate as they considered it, “there is no staffing coordinator to see if you are super over capacity or super slow, or to make sure you’re staffed on new matters which at times, especially initially, was hard to figure out.” However, sources seemed to agree that “once you get used to it it’s not a big deal, there’s just an adjustment in managing your plate.”

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is recognized as The Elite for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Career Development

Mentorship happens organically at Gibson. According to associates, it’s a pleasant side effect of the free market system: “The informal mentorships have been invaluable,” shared one source, “it’s a culture of going out and making those relationships and putting yourself in front of more senior people to solicit advice from them.” It was something the majority felt positive about, though there were a few grumbles from those with a preference for a more formalized mentorship program. That said, sources all felt comfortable enough just walking into a senior associate’s office and asking questions: “There isa willingness from seniors to teach the juniors even if it does take some time to do.”

“…it’s a culture of going out and making those relationships and putting yourself in front of more senior people to solicit advice from them.”

Training is varied, but it all begins with a new lawyer retreat for the first years where they learn the basics about the firm and get the opportunity to meet the whole of their cohort from other offices, as well as network with senior attorneys. Boot camps are also provided to teach juniors the basics of different practice areas, like life in litigation and getting to know corporate. We heard that Gibson also does a good job of continually upskilling its associates beyond those first few years, with career-stage based retreats making partnership feel like an attainable goal.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is recognized as The Elite for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Hours & Compensation

As pro-bono matters count as 1-1 with billable work, associates could take on more of these matters during any slow periods they had. And for those that go above and beyond their target, there is an increased bonus up for grabs. Another perk available to associates from their second year onwards is an office of their own, although you need to average a certain amount of in-person attendance (office-dependent) in order to hang onto it.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is recognized as The Elite both for Culture and for Benefits & Quality of Life in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Culture

Readers rest assured, because at Gibson Dunn “the firm makes a lot of effort, especially early on, to get you integrated” with associates happily sharing that the firm “goes further than people being nice.” Mid-levels are quick to go the extra mile to explain things, “they’ll walk through a redline with you when you take the first try on something, go through the things you missed, and talk about big picture things in terms of the transaction.”

Pro Bono

In the words of Elphaba: Unlimited, together (with Gibson), your pro-bono is unlimited. And yes, 100% of it counts towards your billable target. Joining up to a matter is as simple as reaching out to the pro bono team, and since “the firm broadly supports a wide variety of pro bono matters,” there is no shortage in transactional or litigation-based projects. “We also get email blasts from the pro bono team for opportunities that exist so we can just email back to join one,” explained one junior. Most associates referred to a multitude of immigration opportunities, with one proudly telling us: “I have helped a client through the lifecycle of an asylum claim.”

“The firm has been a long-term leader on LGBTQ rights, including litigating some of the most significant cases and continuing to do pro bono work in that space…”

Other opportunities include clinics helping individuals file for benefits, putting together organizational documents for a small business in a disaffected community, drafting letters for housing disputes on behalf of tenants, and working for reproductive rights. “The firm has been a long-term leader on LGBTQ rights, including litigating some of the most significant cases and continuing to do pro bono work in that space,” shared one associate. Associates were also impressed by the ability to source their own pro bono opportunities and pitch them to partners, and should they support them, juniors are able to “really take ownership of it.”

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is recognized as The Elite for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

When it comes to affinity groups at Gibson Dunn, there are societies aiming to champion every aspect of associates’ backgrounds, whether it be their ethnicity, religion, parental responsibilities, or veteran status. And this filters through the ranks all the way up to management, who make efforts to attend events and speak to their own experiences on what it’s like to be a partner “to give you the confidence to know that it’s achievable and hear their stories and the paths that led there.” Associates also praised the parental policies at the firm, which extend further than encouraging people to take leave, and includes “really good fertility initiatives, not just IVF but adoption and surrogacy programs too.”