WilmerHale - The Inside View

There’s an old adage that goes, It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. In the case of WilmerHale, we’d like to take some artistic license and suggest it’s about both. “It’s a firm that’s built its brand on helping clients navigate multifaceted regulatory inquiries,” one associate headlined. What you know: check. Another highlighted, “The main selling point was the firm’s strong connections to government services.”Who you know: check.

“…strong connections to government services.”

Indeed, our colleagues over at Chambers USA can testify to both, placing the firm among the best-of-class nationwide in a multitude of regulatory-adjacent practices, including FCPA, financial services regulation, government relations, Native American law, and securities regulation (advisory and enforcement). Further afield, the firm scores top marks for its intellectual property and life sciences know-how.

If it’s not yet obvious, the firm opens a bit of a “revolving door between BigLaw, government, and non-profit work,” so it’s not uncommon to see attorneys depart the firm to take up roles in government. Vice versa, the firm is a surefire landing ground for ex-government officials looking to make a return to private practice. Similarly, an associate highlighted the firm’s interest in public interest experience and was particularly drawn to the prospect of “getting mentorship from people who had prior public interest experience.”

The firm has an eight-office network across the states, spanning Boston, Washington DC, New York, Dayton, Denver, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, and San Francisco. These are joined by a further four international offices across Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, and London.

Strategy & Future

AI is top of mind for many, including associates at WilmerHale: “We are building a strong AI practice at the firm to prepare for the next stage of what the legal industry will look like.” The firm has recently implemented training sessions for all its associates related to the “meaningful use of AI in a way that is a tool and not a replacement for our responsibilities,” a source detailed.

Outside of AI, the firm also continues to expand its transactional practice by bringing in more corporate lawyers. A new managing partner also saw the introduction of a ‘state of the firm address’ where associates can receive firm-wide updates. Overall, the WH’s future looks bright, as “this firm isn’t one to rest on its laurels, it sees opportunity and embraces it.”

Summer Program

The firm’s summer program provides “a lot of substantive work,” while still managing to be “the most fun ten weeks” insiders reported having at a job. “Ever.”  Examples of what associates had been able to get up to during their summer include drafting mock questions for a congressional hearing and drafting a summary of facts. Sources also reported being involved in research projects, sitting in on client calls, and attending an appellate court case. Importantly, you are able to “express the different areas that you’re interested in trying out and they’re often honored,” insiders explained, with the firm also “challenging you to try something new” to ensure that “you try different types of work.”

This is all balanced against a variety of social activities, with notable mention of concert tickets. Associates shared that “there wasn’t a lot of pressure” to attend all events, and activities are catered to all interests, including book-shopping followed by a book-club-esque dinner. Other events consisted of baseball games, crazy golf, sushi-making, and a casino night. Over in DC, summers attended dinners at a historic landmark, citing it as a great “opportunity for partners and summers to connect.”

The Work

As a renowned litigation powerhouse, most associates join the firm’s litigation department as generalists before specializing when they elevate to fourth year.

Transactional teams have a central staffing system for work allocation, overseen by practice managers, while the litigation and regulatory & government affairs teams utilize a blend of the central staffing system with a free-market one. Work can also be picked up by looking through the “daily new business report” which provides “an update on the new pieces of work the firm is taking on,” an insider explained.

Within the litigation department, work consists of criminal, commercial, and government & regulatory affairs in “any given jurisdiction,” including DC, Georgia, Texas, and California. “You’re handling cases at every stage of litigation, whether that’s answering a complaint, filing a motion to dismiss, or working through discovery,” an associate explained. With the influence of the free-market work allocation system, “you have a lot of autonomy over what matters you join,” reported one junior.

As is the case at most firms, associates are able to take more of a leading role on smaller matters, while larger matters will mean more discrete tasks including writing motions to dismiss and responding to requests for production and discovery.

The group also takes on anti-discrimination work, which sees the team provide “counseling to clients based on the changing dynamics in the enforcement sphere.” On such cases, typical junior tasks include database review and searches, legal research and fact gathering, preparing strategies, drafting briefs and deposition outlines, witness interview prep, and writing motions to dismiss. “By and large when there is a research question that needs answering, junior associates are typically the first called on to look into that,” explained one source, and this means figuring out “what the case law says on it, regulations in the area, and what can be used for contention in the brief.”

Litigation clients: Meta, Walmart, University of Pittsburgh. Represented Boston Children’s Hospital in relation to a subpoena issued by the Consumer Protection Branch of the DOJ’s Civil Division relating to the provision of gender-affirming care to minors.

In the regulatory & government affairs department, work is split into areas including congressional hearings and investigations, criminal investigations, and civil regulatory work. Congressional investigations work often “starts out with Congress writing a letter to a company and asking for information on certain things,” which can either end with a letter in response, or “culminates in an interview between a representative from the company and a member of Congress which sometimes blooms into a full-out congressional hearing,” an associate detailed.

“We take pride in having a whole room modeled after congressional hearing rooms…”

“We take pride in having a whole room modeled after congressional hearing rooms,” reported one insider, where juniors assist with preparing “a whole list of questions” and “play the members of congress so the client is ready on game day.”

Junior tasks are wide-ranging and include document review, drafting motions, memorandum and depositions, maintaining close contact with clients, finalizing letters to regulators, and “analyzing the client’s regulatory position and advising them on how best to respond which is especially important given changing government guidelines.”

Key traits for succeeding in this group? “Attention to detail and curiosity as a lot of regulatory issues involve thorny, tricky questions of interpreting laws or regulations,” which means juniors need “the patience to sit down and dig into those issues.”

Regulatory & government affairs clients: NFL Players Association, New Jersey Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, Gilead Sciences. Represented Meta in relation to an investigation into the company’s handling of Covid-19 vaccine information on Facebook, led by the DC Office of the Attorney General.

Over on the transactional side, the team works on real estate, M&A, venture capital, tech transactions, licensing work, debt financing, credit facilities, public offerings, and Securities and Exchange Commission reporting.

Within the real estate subgroup work consists of buying and selling commercial properties, commercial leasing, financing, and supporting on M&A deals. Juniors often draft ancillary documents, coordinate checklists, and take the first pass at lease agreements on main deals, while more diligence and memorandums are required when supporting on M&A matters. Other workstreams provide juniors with the opportunity to draft board resolutions and consents, review filings against Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations, conductdisclosure reviews for public company clients, and pen main finance and escrow agreements.

On the licensing side “there is more drafting exposure” as well as review of redlines. “I think the firm’s strength lies in the intersection of different areas of laws,” explained one junior, reflecting on a matter where multiple teams had to collaborate to deliver. “It was a memorable matter with smaller challenges along the way, like scheduling a meeting with 10 different clients,” laughed an insider, “We used to joke that this was like scheduling a meeting for the UN.”

Transactional clients: BNP Paribas, Alcresta Therapeutics, UBS. Represented Navient Corporation, an education financing company, in its $365 million sale of Xtend Healthcare.

Career Development

Upon joining the firm, newbies are paired with peer mentor and a partner mentor. “As a mentor, the partner’s primary role is to go over evaluations,” a source shared. Evaluations are opportunities for associates to discuss what experience they’re hoping to gain and whether they are getting that experience from the firm.

Praise was showered on the “invaluable” informal mentorships associates made along the way. According to insiders, the firm emphasizes an open-door policy, and as one source explained, “You just naturally develop relationships with the people you work with.”

All new associates undergo an intensive week of training when they join. Following this, there are lots of training opportunities scattered throughout the year covering department-specific bootcamps as well as soft-skill talks on how to give a presentation, how to draft persuasive arguments, as well as how to network and engage with people in the industry. One insider reflected on how “the initial training upfront is the foundation, but it’s the commitment of 1-1 conversations from senior attorneys and feedback which has helped me more over time.”

When it comes to questions of partnership, associates were unsure of the specific route required to get there. This wasn’t a large point of contention though, as sources were reassured by the firm’s “reputation in DC for being the best firm to go to if you want the opportunity to move in and out of government positions.” As one insider explained, “The firm wants you to get the experience you’re interested in and then come back.”

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 2,000 target

To be eligible for a performance bonus, as a part of the overall 2000-hour requirement, attorneys must work at least 1,750 client billable hours. The remaining hours are made up of at least 250 hours of any of the following: additional client billable time, pro bono time, non-billable substantive work, and/or firm citizenship activities. Hitting the 2,000 hour target unlocks market bonuses for associates; there are also additional bonuses available to those whose performance and productivity go above and beyond.

In terms of support, those in transactional teams praised practice managers who “can go to bat for you if you’re seeking more work or can turn down work on your behalf if you’re at capacity.” All sources confirmed they have “the ability to reach out, reach up, reach across,” to practice managers and senior associates in their teams whenever help was needed. “I’ve had a lot of partners and seniors reach out and check up on me and reiterate that if I need a break they can get coverage for matters,” shared one junior, “There is a good focus on wellbeing here.”

Culture

There was agreement across the board that “people are generally friendly” at WH; while some sounded like they were straight out of a coming-of-age movie (“no matter where we end up in life, I’ve made some lifelong friends here”), others were content to “spend a lot of time together at the office but not really outside.” Whatever your preference, insiders confirmed that “the kind of ethos is we’re all in the trenches together” when it comes to work, with colleagues “willing to answer questions” and “open to giving and receiving feedback.”

The four day in-office policy received mixed reviews from insiders, though they did appreciate the flexibility around office hours. “You don’t have to be in the office for a specific number of hours,” explained one source. When in office, associates benefit from the likes of subsidized lunches, free coffee, and frequent happy hours (depending on the office).

Pro Bono

According to associates, when it comes to pro bono, “the firm definitely puts its money where its mouth is.” Renowned for its commitment to its communities, “the firm is very supportive of pro bono work,” one source explained, “It’s been a big part of the history of the firm and we’re very proud of that.”

“…all contributes towards total billable hours, and nobody bats an eye.”

Associates can find pro bono work through the centralized staffing system, with new starters automatically assigned to one or two matters to get started. There’s ample opportunity to get involved, both in terms of the range of work and the time spent working on matters, as the firm allows associates to count all their time spent on pro bono towards their billable targets. Multiple sources confirmed doing 100 hours of pro bono “which all contributes towards total billable hours, and nobody bats an eye.”

Whether you’re leaning towards litigation or trying for more transactional experience, opportunities include asylum applications, criminal record expungements, reproductive justice, veterans’ clinics, corporate counseling for non-profits, housing clinics, voting rights, family clinics, and “a commitment to organizations in the community that support the children in education, youth housing and youth sports.”

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 151,490
• Average per US attorney: 141

Get Hired 

Recruitment Process

WilmerHale encourages students to apply directly to its recruiting programs through the firm’s website or through their law school’s OCI or resume collection process, where applicable. The firm seeks to hire students and associates whose academic and personal achievements demonstrate a commitment to excellence. Beyond strong academics and relevant experience, the firm looks for candidates who understand what draws them to WilmerHale and can see themselves contributing to the broader firm culture. Successful candidates are collaborative team players with strong leadership, problem‑solving, and analytical skills, as well as excellent written and oral communication abilities, and should be prepared to discuss all aspects of their resume with confidence.

Callbacks

Call‑back interviews vary by office but typically include a two‑ to two‑and‑a‑half‑hour meeting held either in person or virtually with a broad cross‑section of partners and associates across seniority levels and practice areas aligned with the candidate’s interests. Applicants receive an interview schedule in advance, allowing time to research interviewers and their practices, and are encouraged to stay informed about recent firm developments. Throughout the process, WilmerHale emphasizes authenticity and fit, recognizing that the best interviews reflect not only strong credentials but also genuine enthusiasm for the firm and its collaborative culture.  WilmerHale advises that candidates review firm news and look at recent press releases as interviewers expect applicants to be reasonably well educated about the firm’s basics. Aside from that, it’s always a good idea to be yourself during the interview process as finding the right fit is as important as finding top talent.

Summer program

The structured summer program at WilmerHale will not only allow summer associates to undertake intellectually stimulating assignments from a range of practice areas, but they will also accompany lawyers to depositions, hearings, trials, client meetings, negotiations and closings. Case teams will split the summers up to witness various litigation, investigations and deals, as well as encourage them to participate in existing pro bono opportunities. The firm treats its summers as fully fledged junior associates by having a training program in place to assist in their professional development and to give them a sample of the training and development provided to attorneys.  

The training topics include artificial intelligence, legal research, legal writing, mock negotiations and moot courts, leadership, and departmental panels and meetings.

Formal mid-summer reviews with co-chairs are in place to account for the progress.  Work aside, a partner/counsel and an associate will be assigned as advisers to each summer to mentor them through the firm. There’ll also be plenty of opportunities for summers to join in at office-wide meetings and lunches. The firm also advises summers to treat the experience as a real job, show enthusiasm, demonstrate attention to detail, ask for feedback and understand how to solicit and incorporate that feedback into their work.  

Top tips:     

“It would be helpful to understand the kind of work Wilmer does, but also read into the public interest work and figure out the spirit of the place.” –a third-year associate.    

Lateral Hiring

Lateralling to WilmerHale is a possibility if there’s a practice need. The firm generally hires attorneys laterally each year, from a variety of firms and employers. Lateral hires are chosen based on specific practice area expertise or geographic location, so WilmerHale routinely considers candidates from government agencies for its regulatory and contested matters practices.