Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Weil-versed in bankruptcy and finance practices, this globe-trotting New Yorker delivers top-notch development for aspiring associates.

About the Firm

Contrary to the commonly held view that rankings, revenue, and locations are the pivotal selling points for a firm, the associates we spoke to chose Weil for one other core reason. Of course, this firm does have all that: last year its revenue surpassed $2 billion; it now has ten US offices and six international locations; and reams of top rankings across our sister guides. Bankruptcy/restructuring, corporate governance, product liability & mass torts, and securities regulation are all marked in the top band nationwide in Chambers USA, and the firm also has two top Chambers Global rankings in private equity and – as expected – restructuring.

“They didn’t just look at you as a resume.”

Accolades aside, though, “what stood out with Weil was that the people I spoke with were really respectful to candidates – they didn’t just look at you as a resume, but they looked at your life before law school,” one source detailed.

With a network of ten offices stateside, the large majority of associates join the New York office, followed by Dallas, Washington DC, Silicon Valley, Boston, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The firm also has an office in Austin, and a further six offices internationally.

Summer Program

In typical fashion, juniors had glowing reviews of the “great” summer program. Socially, sources explained “there are summer events at partners’ homes with fantastic attorneys,” and the summer program itself “is designed well.” Associates rotate through different practice groups across the ten-week program and are able to shadow attorneys and work across different assignments.

After the summer is over, associates rank the four groups they worked across in order of where they’d most like to be placed upon joining the firm.

Strategy & Future

“We’re going through management change because Barry is coming up to retirement,” one associate headlined on the movement of Barry Wolf from the executive partner position at Weil, though sources were keen to couch that they felt “comfortable that whoever comes after will make the same progress.”

On the whole, interviewees felt confident in their understanding of the firm and their practice’s strategy for the future, with particular commentary highlighting the strides made towards integrating AI tools like ChatGPT Enterprise, and it’s hiring of a Chief AI and Innovation Officer.

Insiders also underscored the “big push” the firm is making to develop the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, which opened a few years ago. “We’ve hired a lot of partners in LA, so we’re definitely trying to grow California,” a source noted, particularly with white-collar and complex commercial litigation in the region.

We heard that building a more government-facing litigation practice will be a focus in the coming years as well: “I know we’ve been building up antitrust in DC for a while. One partner also mentioned they’d like to see more Weil attorneys exiting the firm to government and maybe coming back…”

The Work

Juniors are staffed on matters through a centralized staffing system, which was a big draw for interviewees. Associates can reach out to partners to source extra assignments – something which is particularly helpful for finding business development opportunities – but for the most part, the consensus was, “You don’t want to have to be fishing for work alongside all the other things you have to do!” Each department has designated assignment partners who primarily assign work based on availability, though we heard they do try to take associates’ interests into account.

Career Development

Our interviewees were very positive about the firm’s approach to training for juniors, which includes 10-15 CLEs every year – “they cover the basics of what we do on a day-to-day basis” – and restructuring trainings by class year. Other practices also have tailor-made trainings. “We do a good job making sure training covers practical skills and outside content,” one associate told us, explaining that “people come in, advisors we work with, and we do updates to explain what is going on with different deals.”

“You get tons of facetime with partners daily.”

Formal mentoring programs and informal alike play a part in associates’ positive perceptions of career development. Upon joining, newbies are formally assigned an associate mentor and a partner mentor and are placed in a mentorship circle. The firm also allocates a budget for associate mentorship activities. Informal mentoring in particular was given high praise. Once a quarter associates sit down with partners to talk about what kind of work they want, and beyond that “you get tons of facetime with partners daily; they’ll bring you in on calls, give you practical tips, and get you thinking about the future.”

Sources stressed that as a junior “there isn’t an emphasis placed on making you figure out your path early, but there is an understanding that at some point the numbers game happens.” Associates felt that the firm is “excited to place people in places that interest them, which provides a win-win” so “we often have seniors go on secondment, whether to come back or be placed there.” The firm even has an alumni app to help keep people connected, so “there is intent to help people find a good landing.”

Hours & Compensation

The most consistent praise for Weil which every associate we spoke with mentioned was the lack of a billable target. “When you put hours in a threshold, it puts a lot of pressure on associates when hours are down,” a source explained. As a result of the staffing system, juniors told us they never had issues getting on matters – “there is plenty of work to go around” – but similarly, “I’ve never felt totally overwhelmed; I’ve had times I haven’t had an active matter but I’ve never been wanting for work – and if I went out asking for work, I’d probably find it.”

Weil’s compensation also left associates feeling satisfied, with a lockstep model that follows the market rate. “So long as you are performing you get a bonus,” one insider explained, adding, “I’ve never had pushback on vacation, but when it’s busy the expectation is you pick up the phone.” Associates are also expected to be in the office four days a week but have twelve extra days remote working allowance that are typically used around certain periods including the stretch between Christmas and New Year; the end of summer; and around Thanksgiving.

Culture

“Respectful” and “supportive” were the two words most used to describe Weil’s culture, one that’s supported by the fact that “there isn’t that eat-what-you-kill, bill more than your neighbor, hyper-competitive environment; we’re all in the same boat so we try and make the most of it!” It goes without saying that “the expectation is that you are a high-performing individual, so you do have to perform at the pace of a BigLaw office in New York,” but there was the general feeling people like being in the office together.

“We like to celebrate big wins.”

“Work hard, play hard?” one associate mused “… yeah, that’s probably fair – we like to celebrate big wins.” Culture can vary slightly across offices though – as is typical with BigLaw firms. For example, New York was described as “really nice, but probably more corporate.” On the other side of the spectrum, a partner in the Dallas office recently bought a giant Pac-Man machine.

Across the firm offices hold the traditional holiday parties where “they invite everyone from the janitorial staff, to the secretarial staff to the partners, and that stood out to me.” To help build connections “Weil does a good job providing opportunities to talk with partners,” including organizing brown-bag lunches for juniors to talk to partners in an informal setting which “makes it much easier to converse with people when walking along the halls!”

Pro Bono

Associates are required to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono work. Beyond that, there’s no limit to the number of hours they can undertake. As a testament to the firm’s commitment to pro bono work, we spoke to a number of juniors who told us they had done hundreds of hours: “it’s the most fun, most emotional stuff – there are almost too many opportunities to be honest!”

Associates work across both contentious and transactional matters, with the former including things like creating non-profits and selling public benefit companies – “a chance to do M&A without the pressure of a bigshot deal.” On the litigious side we found that immigration matters were quite common, particularly in Texas, and many associates also work on the Innocence Project.