Vinson & Elkins LLP - The Inside View

Despite hailing from the Lone Star State, there’s nothing lonely about this cowboy  - who now boasts an eleven office network worldwide. Founded during the midst of the Texas oil boom, it should come as no surprise that Vinson & Elkins remains a top choice for legal representation within the energy industry, recognized as being the best of the best in areas such as energy transition, offshore energy, and oil and gas projects across the country. But don’t be fooled – this firm is no one hit wonder, as its strengths are also recognized in areas like banking & finance, real estate, and capital markets in its home state of Texas. Still, these are just a selection of the departments ranked within our sister guides, Chambers USA and Chambers Global – but you’ll have to visit those guides for a more in-depth information on that (we have a word count over here, after all!)

“It’s become an extremely modern firm with all kinds of clients from all kinds of industries.”

With far-reaching client offerings and numerous locations – eight US and three international offices – V&E has no problem providing its associates with a range of work, too. “There is maybe a traditional misconception that V&E is this old school oil and gas law firm that only works for major oil companies and that’s all we do – that couldn’t be further from the truth,” one source assured us. “It’s become an extremely modern firm with all kinds of clients from all kinds of industries.”

And just like our favorite Houston-born Texan, Patrick Swayze, associates can have the time of their lives at the firm, with interviewees telling us that “V&E lawyers are hard-working, but don’t take themselves too seriously.” This held true, as we heard that beyond the firm’s reputation as “one of the most well-known Texas law firms,” the people at V&E were a big reason why juniors chose the firm, as the recruitment process “felt less like an interview and more like I was just chatting with folks.” Of the associates on our list, the firm’s Houston home base housed the largest number, followed by Dallas with similar numbers in Austin, DC, and New York. The remaining few were found in the firm’s Richmond and San Francisco offices.

Strategy & Future

“We’ve invested heavily in all areas of energy transition and continued to add projects lawyers and experts in tax equity financing,” firm chair Keith Fullenweider tells us, “and that is all aimed at meeting the growing demand here for transactional work around renewable energy, decarbonization, and technology in that space.” He adds that the firm has “a very strong connection with both the energy industry and the energy transition, as well as a number of important financial markets, such as private equity, and that really helped us to grow our work last year at a pace that was strong than some of our peer firms.” Fullenwider also shares that the firm is “very focused on investing in the associate experience,” having opened a brand-new data lab for associates and introduced a new system for first years to get immediate feedback on their work.

The Work

Associates were spread across eleven practice groups, though M&A/capital markets, complex commercial litigation (CCL), and energy transactions/projects (ETP) boasted the most significant numbers, closely followed by finance, tax, and environmental and natural resources. Staffing on matters comes from a combination of centralized work allocation and free market systems depending on your practice, with all juniors regularly providing an estimate of their availability. Litigation associates told us that staff has both “a formal and free market element too,” as “a lot of matters have been assigned pretty organically, and a lot of them are longer term.” Juniors in M&A/capital markets shared that they “have a very direct work allocation system with an availability report,” as first year associates, “but it becomes more organic” as they build relationships with partners at the firm.

“V&E’s definitely an energy firm, but not limited to oil and gas.”

M&A/capital markets is “the biggest group at the firm,” and one associate told us that they were drawn to the group because they knew that “a lot of other firms would split the work between M&A and capital markets. It was appealing that I would be able to work on both M&A and capital markets transactions, as well as private equity and fund formation – such a broad range of work in the group.” In this same vein, a junior affirmed that in terms of subject matter, “V&E’s definitely an energy firm, but not limited to oil and gas,” as it also works across industries such as manufacturing, technology, and consumer goods to aid them with their energy transitions.

When it comes to responsibility, sources explained that “starting off, you’re typically given discrete tasks” like updating checklists, confirming documents, making a precedent document apply to the current transaction, and “then obviously, admin things” like scheduling calls, taking notes, and keeping everything organized. Interviewees were also pleased to share that “even if you’re more junior, if you’ve proven yourself in your work and put yourself out there, people are definitely receptive to that as well – but that also happens more organically as you get more senior.”

Corporate/M&A clients: Goldman Sachs, Fortress Investment Group, Talos Energy. Representing Focus Financial Partners in connection with a definitive agreement in which Clayton, Dubilier & Rice will acquire Focus in an all-cash transaction valued at over $7 billion.

Associates in complex commercial litigation told us that they get to work with “an incredible mix of clients,” including “the major private equity funds, major banks, Fortune 500 companies – clients of that nature who will retain us for various types of commercial litigation matters.” An interviewee also relayed that they’ve had “the opportunity to dive into practice areas that haven’t always been big focuses of the firm,” working on securities, bankruptcy, and enforcement matters as well as simple breach of contract disputes and legal malpractice cases. While “every junior associate is going to be involved in the discovery and doc review process,” as well as “a ton of research,” we also heard of associates being able to draft interview outlines, take depositions and argue hearings, and “draft things in the first instance.”

Commercial litigation clients: National Football League, Oaktree Capital Management, Apollo Global Management. Obtained a victory on behalf of David Barstow in a breach of confidentiality lawsuit regarding the New York Times’ publication of a report on former President Donald Trump’s tax returns and financial records.

“It’s a very broad ranging group,” an insider in energy transactions/projects praised: “we cover everything from project finance to tax equity work, to upstream oil and gas work.” We heard of associates working on renewable projects, like solar and wind, and M&A related to traditional oil and gas. There is also some more traditional project finance, “so debt financing of infrastructure, energy projects – really, any sort of projects.” While day-to-day tasks include preparing signature pages, compiling documents, editing minor documents, and keeping a deal on track, “it’s really hard to say what’s typical because we’ll give people what they can handle, which is great to get comfortable with running deliverables early on.” One associate stated that they had often been “the point of communication for clients,” particularly when they were “working directly with a partner, even though I was a junior associate.”

Energy clients: TotalEnergies, Wells Fargo Bank, Morgan Stanley. Advising Chevron Phillips Chemical Company on two transformative transactions worth over $8.5 billion.

Career Development

“The partners do a really good job of trying to give opportunities and development to the associates they work with.”

Alongside the firm’s formal mentoring program which sees each junior assigned a senior associate and a partner or counsel mentor, interviewees supplemented that “there are lots of opportunities for organic mentorship too!” Demonstrating this, one source felt like they had “quite a few people in my corner who I can go to with questions about immediate work, and longer-term questions about what my career could look like,” and another was happy to share that “the partners do a really good job of trying to give opportunities and development to the associates they work with.”

Mentorship aside, junior litigators sang the praises of their annual “academy for skills development,” – called V&E Academy. We heard that “the first one is motion practice, the second year is a deposition one, and in third year, they do a trial one,” and that for some of these workshops, V&E even “flew out every junior associate across the firm.” This year's destination was Houston!Another highlight for our interviewees was the firm’s strong “alumni program and network. They keep up with where people go and are very happy to connect associates who are looking to move in-house to the alumni.”

Culture

The inclusive atmosphere at V&E was a high point for insiders, with one describing their colleagues as “friends who commiserate with you when you have to work long nights and celebrate with you too!” Another echoed this, telling us that they “really do feel like a valued member of the teams I’m on, even when I’m usually the most, or one of the most, junior people on the team.” The firm was described as a place where people “appreciate your efforts and understand that you are a person – your sole purpose is not to bill hours.” Everyone is “working hard, but it does feel like everyone who’s there is trying to build up other people on their team,” as the environment is far from the BigLaw stereotype of being “super competitive or cutthroat.”

An associate in M&A/capital markets told us that their group’s social committee organizes “monthly happy hours” and “monthly lunch meetings where someone presents on a topic,” and a junior in Austin was excited to mention the office’s weekly breakfasts too. While “summer is probably the busiest time for social events,” don’t despair – sources tell us that there are socials “around holidays, like luncheons and practice group specific events.” And although insiders acknowledged that the firm may be “a little out of practice because of the pandemic,” we did hear about “a cornhole tournament a couple of months ago that was a big success!” (Admittedly, we had to look up what cornhole is, but it sure sounds exciting!)

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,900 target

With firms now requiring associates to come into the office more frequently, associates at V&E are expected to work from the office four days a week. Doing some work from home after a day in the office isn’t irregular, though, as one junior told us that when they get home, they “typically log on for an hour or two more, but that can definitely range. Yesterday, I had maybe five minutes of work – if that – and sometimes I’ve had five hours when I get home.” Long hours sure are a drag, but we heard that there was respect for weekends and that weekend work doesn’t happen unless absolutely necessary. “People in general try to be good about letting you know what’s coming down the pipeline,” an interviewee reassured us: You’re not getting surprised with things on a Saturday evening.”

“The firm is always the first Texas firm to match any pay raise.”

Associates are paid in line with the market standard and the firm has aligned with the most recent salary increases, with one source happily telling us that “the firm is always the first Texas firm to match any pay raise.” The firm lowered its billable hour target to 1,900 halfway through last year, still allowing 100 legal development hours for activities such as recruitment, summer program activities, and pro bono. Juniors appreciated that the firm was so “responsive to market fluctuation” and felt that their targets were “definitely achievable,” even as the nature of BigLaw means that the level of work “ebbs and flows throughout the years.”

Pro Bono

Although our interviewees varied in their enthusiasm for pro bono work, they could all agree that it is “viewed very positively. But at the same time, there wouldn’t be any partner saying it should take priority over the billable work, since we couldn’t do pro bono without the billable work.” Those who had been involved in pro bono told us of “a handful of really strong pro bono programs that have been set up in recent years,” including “a really close relationship” with the eviction clinic in Dallas and helping advise a local, non-profit radio station on various business and governance matters. Opportunities are regularly circulated by the firm’s global head of pro bono, Ellyn Josef, and we heard that “people celebrate your victories too, like we won a settlement and got congratulated in a firm-wide email!”

Pro bono hours

• For all US offices: 19,992
• Average per US attorney: 29

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

As is the case with most BigLaw firms, V&E, according to juniors, “is doing a really good job of trying to recruit diverse attorneys,” but “retention seems to be more of an issue.” Generally, though, associates were “very happy with the amount of diversity we have, especially in the junior ranks, and as we get older, that’s kind of moving up as well.”

Interviewees across practice groups and offices were pleased to tell us about the firm-wide Women’s Initiative, and “each office has its own sub-Women’s Initiative, which I really, really like. I think it’s been very helpful as a way to bring all of the women in the office together.” In additional to the Women’s Initiative, there are also affinity groups Latinx, Black, and LGBTQ+ lawyers, and these groups are “definitely encouraged.” This source continued, “If you want to take a leadership role, you can do that and plan more events for sure. The firm definitely fosters that.” A number of insiders also told us about the recent “big diversity conference at the Houston office that lasts three days.” An interviewee enthused, “It was a big deal – everyone from across the firm came to the Houston office and there was lots of networking, dinners, things like that.”

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus 

OCI applicants interviewed:  659

Vinson & Elkins visits roughly 34 law schools and job fairs, plus diversity-focused events each year. The firm also collects resumes from numerous other schools. V&E Lead Partner for Recruiting, Lande Spottswood, tells us: “We select schools primarily based on their rankings, and beyond the top 20, we look at other great law schools where we have historical relationships, such as the University of Houston, SMU in Dallas, and Fordham in New York.”  She notes the firm interviews between 20 and 60 students at each OCI, but she says: “The number of total interviews we conduct during formal OCI programs continues to decrease over the last few years as the number of students we meet and interview outside of OCI increases.” 

Partners, counsel, and associates who represent a variety of offices and practice groups conduct the interviews, and the firm aims to make sure the interviewers have diverse backgrounds. Spottswood tells us: “All of our attorneys are prepared to interview students for any of our offices and practices.” 

“We ask behavioral and personalized questions in our interviews, to help us get to know students beyond what we see on their resumes. We look for students who are driven and have been active and/or served in leadership roles in on-campus activities, both in undergrad and in law school.  We also value previous work experience, especially where students have had the opportunity to develop team-oriented skills and demonstrate problem-solving qualities,” says Spottswood. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“We want to hear why students are interested in Vinson & Elkins and their city of interest. It is also helpful for us to know their practice area(s) of interest, which can help direct the conversation, and assist us when making decisions regarding callback interviews.”  – Lande Spottswood, Lead Partner for Recruiting

Callbacks

Applicants invited to second-stage interviews (OCI & Pre-OCI): 426

Most offices have two or three 30-minute interview slots and a lunch (if the interview is in person). Interviews are hosted by partners, counsel, and associates from a student’s practice area(s) of interest. 

“At this stage, students are meeting more attorneys from their practice areas of interest, so we are expecting candidates to be able to give more insight into how they became interested in a specific practice area,” explained Spottswood.  “We’re also interested in learning how their prior background and life experiences will translate to the practice of law at a firm like ours,” explained Spottswood. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“Be yourself, come prepared, be genuine and respectful, and take the opportunity to ask good, thoughtful questions.”  – Spottswood

“I was really impressed with the recruitment process – the Attorney Recruitment team was very invested in each individual candidate that made it to the callback and offer phases, and that was apparent through their outreach and the connections they facilitated with their lawyers.”  – a second-year associate

Summer Program 

Offers: 135

Acceptances: 45 (plus 46 returners from 2023 SAP)

V&E’s summer program allows students to “do substantive work from a variety of practice areas, have direct client contact, and work side-by-side with attorneys who are leaders in their fields on a variety of client matters.” 

Summer associates are assigned mentors who meet with them throughout the program, plus a work coordinator “who is responsible for gathering meaningful work projects for the students.” It’s worth noting that a couple of offices have a formal rotation system. The numerous training sessions include a writing workshop, programs for building relationships and developing a professional presence, and several inclusion and wellness programs.  Spottswood added: “There also are many social and community activities that give students the chance to get to know their colleagues – both fellow summer associates and attorneys –outside the office. We take our work seriously, but also enjoy relaxing and getting to know each other on a personal level.” 

Students receive an offer to join the firm at the end of the program.  Spottswood explained that “in the spring of their 3L year, we send out our Practice Group Preference Survey, which each incoming new lawyer will complete.”  The firm uses those responses to determine practice group assignments based on client and practice group needs. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“Remember that the summer program is a multi-week job interview. We want our summer associates to take their projects seriously, do their best work, and meet deadlines. It’s also important that they take advantage of opportunities to get to know our lawyers by joining as many activities and networking events as possible.”  – Spottswood

“We look for leaders who are problem-solvers, have a business mindset, and are good team players: you cannot be arrogant or condescending.”– a third-year associate