Foley Hoag LLP - The Inside View

There’s no getting past it, when it comes to the international law and investor-state arbitration space, Boston’s Foley Hoag remains “one of only a handful of firms that specializes in these kinds of practices.” Those were the thoughts of our interviewees at least, and it’s clear that it was a significant part of the draw. So too was the fact that the firm has built a reputation for “always being on the cutting edge.” Foley Hoag bags top Chambers USA rankings in environment and energy and natural resources in the firm’s home state of Massachusetts, along with a top insurance nod in Colorado. There is also acknowledgement of the firm’s international arbitration offering nationwide.

Of course, as one associate put it, “it’s really the people” that are the selling point: “The first person I spoke to at the firm was funny, agreeable, and sociable. Everyone was genuine and actually wanted to get to know me.” It was a recurring theme too, that “the conversations seemed natural and easy,” and enabled new juniors to “connect with people at the firm more easily.” As one source summarized: “The pay is of course going to be great, but the deciding factor has to be: would I like working long hours with these people?” The majority of associates are based at the firm’s Boston HQ, with the rest split between New York and Washington DC.

Strategy & Future

The big news at Foley Hoag over the last few years is that the firm has “recently opened the Denver office then brought in a team of corporate lawyers there to launch our presence in the region,” managing partner James Bucking tells us, “we also brought in a new chief operating officer who is focused on running the business side of the law firm.” The growth of the firm isn’t limited to the US either. Foley’s sole international office has also seen changes: “We now have a group in Paris that focuses on international trade and export controls.” All in all, “we’re a high-end, sophisticated firm, and we do it with 350 lawyers rather than 3,000!” Bucking adds.

The Work

Summer associates are able to dip their toes into all types of work across the business, admin, and litigation groups. Sources explained that “we’re expected to be floating around different groups,” as “it’s encouraged that we try work from a range of departments.” After trialing some options, the general expectation is then that associates rank their practice group preferences at the end of the summer, though they start as generalists and it's a few years before associates can expect to focus on anything too specific. We heard that for Foley’s international arbitration and litigation department (ILAD), things were slightly different, as the department runs its own distinct recruitment process. With first year associates understandably more reliant on the staffing manager to find workstreams, interviewees explained the firm’s traffic light system of availability: red for busy, green for available, and amber for in between. Sources highlighted that after gaining a little more experience, partners and senior associates likely start reaching out to associates to bring them on board.

Associates in the international litigation and arbitration (ILAD) department described its growing stature within the firm’s ranks: “One of the most common types of clients is sovereign states,” one associate explained, while adding: “We also work for state-owned entities in commercial cases.” These are often national governments themselves or affiliated state agencies, with the group looking at inner state disputes, on top of investor and commercial arbitration. While much of the industry touches on public international law, juniors will likely find themselves engaging in ICJ cases, public law tribunals, PCA, and ICC matters. Interviewees explained that “we don’t have a strong hierarchical structure” in terms of tasks and responsibilities afforded to juniors, “because the types of clients we work with lead to leaner teams and limited budgets.” As a result, “I think we have a pretty substantive role as a first year,” one associate recalled: “I was drafting sections of a brief, drafting research memos, and helping with legal research projects.” In fact, “you’re encouraged to take ownership on cases,” they added.

ILAD clients: India, Air France, Japan.

“…those opportunities certainly present themselves pretty early on for juniors.”

Litigation was described as a “broad” practice, where new additions to the group act as generalists for their first two years as a litigator. Spanning labor and employment, white-collar investigations, education, and life sciences work, “Foley is definitely at the cutting edge on lots of things.” This included work within the cannabis industry and counselling space, with the variety of work on offer helping those who enter the department without a specialized technical background. Associates noted the provision of space to learn and grow within these fields, as it’s expected that not everyone has first-hand experience of them. While doc review is of course to be expected, sources assured us that “we definitely get early opportunities to engage in substantive work.” This included helping draft deposition outlines and sitting in on strategy calls, with associates also involved in research, brief drafting, and attending interviews. All in all, “those opportunities certainly present themselves pretty early on for juniors.”

Litigation clients: Represented an internationally recognized women’s rights activist in a pro bono civil litigation case involving the US Supreme Court alleging violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and unlawful electronic surveillance, leading to her detention.

Associates in Foley’s business group explained that the department covers all the fundamentals of corporate sub-groups, including the likes of M&A, venture capital and emerging markets, debt finance, and international trade and security. The international trade wing of the group was described as “mostly transactional sanction counselling, butwe also work with foreign investors and on export controls.” Capital markets on the other hand predominantly consisted of SCC filings, in addition to dealing with numerous codes and regulations. Amidst daily tasks of reviewing and summarizing documents for funds, associates can also expect drafting ancillary documents, managing signature pages, and disclosure schedules as typical newbie work.

Business clients: Form Health, Azolla Ventures, Vaxess Technologies. Represented ArkeaBio over the development of vaccine technology designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Career Development

Interviewees raved about the firm’s attention to detail when it came to career development opportunities. The general consensus was that there were “lots of training sessions from the outset,” spread out across juniors’ first six months at the firm. These consist of practice-group specific sessions on top of professional development training covering “how to market yourself” and “how to leverage connections.” This program – launched by the Business Development team and officially known as the BD Catalyst – is a year-long business development initiative aiming to help associates and counsel develop marketing and client skills often overlooked in traditional legal education. Those we spoke to also noted additional crash courses on AI, ECVC, and M&A, with each session comprising of an open forum to provide associates with “a safe environment” to ask questions without the presence of partners. We heard it was “always comprehensive” and “with great speakers.”

“…the whole set-up is geared towards making partner.”

Associates also noted that “mentorship is an area where Foley really excels,” with juniors assigned a partner mentor in addition to an associate adviser: “It feels like they really want to see me thrive,” they added, “everyone at Foley is really invested in making sure the juniors do well.” In fact, “I think Foley’s a place that’s very careful of the number of associates they bring in,” one interviewee suggested, the reason being that “the goal is for associates to make partner.” Sources described a sense clarity in how to achieve it, with transparency over career progression often the holy grail in BigLaw. One associate explained that “the whole set-up is geared towards making partner. Every year, Foley promotes people to partnership level. If it’s something you’re interested in, you can definitely make that goal known.”

Foley Hoag is recognized as a Strong Performer for Career Development and two other categories in our 2025 survey.

Pro Bono

All pro bono work at Foley is counted as billable, with no limit on how much associates can engage in: “It all counts towards the billable hours target,” one associate explained, “you can do as much as you want – within reason!” The firm expects 1,750 billable hours from associates, with a further 100 made up of pro bono, legal recruiting and foundation hours. Sources told us that there is a general preference for juniors to be involved in standard billable work, with pro bono the best option when the market is slow or if associates would like to dip their feet into non-practice related matters. Associates added the caveat that the firm’s bonus policy dictates that “the more hours you spend on a billable client, the higher your bonus will be.” Perhaps the only gripe with the system, sources recognized that while “it makes sense,” the reality remains “that it may deter someone from taking on an extra pro bono case.” That said, while “the firm has been challenged to re-evaluate how much we’re doing,” it’s nonetheless “a really big thing here.” So much so, that “juniors are definitely encouraged from the outset as pro bono is where you can learn a lot of key skills.” With a pro bono staffing manager on hand to “filter through what we’ll accept as a firm.”  Previous pro bono work included reproductive rights, education, energy, climate change, immigration, disability rights, gender-based violence, civil rights, and cannabis justice initiatives.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 27,297
• Average per US attorney: 80

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,850 target

Foley’s billable hours target was described as “on the more reasonable end” of the BigLaw billing scale, leaving sources relieved that the number was ultimately “attainable.” While at times it can “be a bit of a struggle to find hours” amidst floundering market conditions, associates assured that this only happened for “two or three weeks per year.” Once things pick up however, you won’t be looking back. “The average week ranges from 40-60 hours,” one associate declared, with weekend work an albeit rare reality: “When there is weekend work, you will know prior.” The firm’s home working policy dictates that juniors must show their faces for three days per week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Culture

“I think Foley is special in the New York market for having those Boston-type values…”

“I think Foley is special in the New York market for having those Boston-type values,” one junior associate explained, “when you’re taking tons of mistakes it’s easy to feel lost, overwhelmed, and insecure,” yet at Foley, people are there “to mentor you, make sure you grow, and not put you down.” In fact, “nobody’s going to be a jerk about it!” Foley was also flagged as having mastered the balance between work and home life: “The social aspect is there,” one told us, with Thursday happy hours and seasonal holiday parties. “People go to bars and restaurants together, go get lunch together, but there’s a nice medium level where you don’t feel pressured to be present at every event.” Some did voice concerns over the direction of travel. “I would say the culture has shifted a little bit,” one source highlighted, with a number of associates referencing the “series of layoffs” experienced in recent times. Though while a talking point amongst juniors, those we spoke to remained very positive about the firm’s culture: “I wouldn’t trade my firm for anything,” one said.

Inclusion

Given the nature of the work in the ILAD group, associates acknowledged it's always a good idea “to hire associates from different cultural and language traditions.” As a result, “you walk into the office and you hear people speak different languages, which makes it a cool and comfortable environment to work in.” Associates explained that female representation is bolstered by the work of the Women’s mentorship group, with the Arab-American Middle Eastern group was another example of Foley Hoag’s affinity group offering. Associates are also designated an ELEVATE mentor to help them combat issues within the inclusion space.

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus

OCI applicants interviewed: 238

Interviewees outside OCI:  57

Foley Hoag recruits via OCIs as well as direct applications.

Screening interviews are conducted by attorneys (usually members of the firm’s hiring committee or alumni of the particular school). Hiring partner Meredith Haviland says: “There is truly no one trait that we are looking for during the screening stage; rather, we take a holistic approach to evaluating candidates at this stage and throughout our process.” Interviewers will also aim to assess candidates’ motivation and teamwork skills. They are also interested in candidates’ practice area interests and particular interest in the firm, as well as interests outside the law.

Top tips for this stage:

“Students should come ready to engage in a conversation with the interviewer, rather than expecting a strict Q&A session led by the interviewer. Candidates should not be afraid to engage in a meaningful and substantive legal discussion with the interviewer.” – hiring partner Meredith Haviland

Callbacks

Candidates undertake four 30-minute interviews with four different attorneys and can choose whether to conduct these interviews virtually or in-office. Candidates who elect for in-person interviews are also offered the option of going out to lunch with junior associates. Haviland tells us, “the questions are not significantly different from those at the screening stage, but the interviewers have more time to delve deeper into each candidate’s experience and interests.” Candidates are also asked to submit a writing sample. Haviland tells us that “as part of our ongoing efforts to make the interview process as fair and free of unconscious bias as possible, we remove GPAs from the resumes seen by our interviewers. Writing samples are also reviewed blindly.”

Top tips for this stage:

“We are particularly impressed with students who have done their research and can articulate why practicing at our firm is of special interest to them.” – hiring partner Meredith Haviland

Summer program

Foley Hoag’s ten-week summer program allows summer associates to explore a variety of practices or to focus on a particular area of interest via an open online assignment system. In addition to a partner mentor, summers are given ‘buddies’ (associates) who they can ask questions – “everything from ‘where’s the printer?’ to recommendations on fun places to eat near the office.”

As well as lunches, social events and training throughout the program, summers meet with the firm’s executive committee to hear about the firm’s strategic plans for the future, and to get advice on succeeding as a summer. On that front, Haviland says: “We encourage summer associates to make use of our lunch program to invite attorneys out to lunch to learn more about their practice areas, careers, and life at the firm.”

Near the end of the program, 2L summers are asked to rank their practice area preferences. The firm then matches them to departments based on those choices and business need, and extends department-specific full-time return offers, upon successful completion of the program.

Top tips for this stage:

“Try everything you can! It’s perhaps the last time for at least a couple of years that you’ll have the opportunity to try such a diverse cross-section of different areas of law.” – a first-year junior associate

“We have found that a key component of success for students in the summer program is good communication – particularly around assignments (including communication related to timelines and project status), and also around areas of interest.” – hiring partner Meredith Haviland