Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP - The Inside View

“I wasn’t even thinking about doing BigLaw,” began one associate, reflecting on their OCIs. “I wasn’t interested in the big firms at all, for all the usual reasons that make them unappealing.” But then came their interview with Gibson Dunn, and their first thoughts? “Holy crap, these people are nice!”

It may come as a pleasant surprise, especially since the firm is just shy of 2,000 attorneys worldwide. You’d think it would be easy to get lost in such a large firm, but this junior felt the opposite: “It was the only interview I had where I felt like all of the interviewers were people I could actually hang out with.”

“Holy crap, these people are nice!”

There’s no getting round it: Gibson Dunn is a giant of the legal industry. This LA-native-gone-global boasts ten US offices and another eleven overseas. Not only is it a giant by size, but by reputation too. The firm is well known for its litigation and trial work, but in reality it’s tough to find an area where GD doesn’t shine. Our sister guide, Chambers USA, gives the firm top marks nationwide for its work in antitrust, appellate law, corporate crime & investigations, outsourcing, real estate and securities litigation – just to name a few!

No wonder Gibson’s free market system was the cherry on top for many associates, who can experience a bit of everything the firm has to offer without pigeonholing themselves too soon. About a third of the firm’s junior associates are based in the firm's largest office, New York, while the majority of the rest are based in Los Angeles and Washington DC. Smaller cohorts are spread out in Dallas, Denver, Houston, Orange County, Palo Alto, and San Francisco.

Gibson Dunn is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Associate Satisfaction and two other categories in our 2025 survey.

The Work

We often write about juniors at Big Law firms using a free-market system to get work, but Gibson takes the meaning of ‘free market’ to a whole new level, as juniors can take on work across the whole firm.One source explained that, to begin, associates choose from one of four departments as their primary focus – corporate, litigation, real estate, and tax – and then they can take work from the full spectrum of matters the firm handles across groups.

The firm’s work allocation system was described as “entrepreneurial”. One associate explained that on the summer program, getting work was pretty straightforward. “The firm does a great job during the summer of getting you assignments you’re interested in and introducing you to partners and associates that you can connect back with when you join.” But one interviewee cautioned that newbies should be aware that the free-market system isn’t as simple as turning up and getting their dream assignments: “A lot of people come into Gibson in LA wanting to do entertainment work, which is awesome, but you won’t be guaranteed to get that right away.” However, there’s always a lot going on at the firm, so there will be something big and exciting to sink your teeth into!

Indeed, in Gibson’s litigation group, juniors told us that they got experience across the whole breadth of the firm’s litigation work. With such strong litigators and trial lawyers, associates felt that they could get involved in just about anything. Sources told us that they regularly worked with big corporate clients and smaller clients like schools, on cases involving antitrust, trusts and estates, labor and employment, and insurance. Junior tasks were described as “substantive,” with one rookie telling us that their work had involved “pretty much everything you can think of!”

Gibson’s litigation teams are relatively small, meaning junior associates are given a lot of responsibility. Typical junior tasks involved drafting briefings, motions and letters to the court, as well as preparing for oral arguments to support more senior attorneys. While most junior lawyers start with having some responsibility for the document review process, they quickly take on the management of this process as they progress at the firm.

Litigation clients: Meta Platforms, Warner Bros Entertainment, Nestlé USA. Represented The Cartoon Network and Cartoon Network Studios in a privacy class action where the plaintiffs allege that YouTube and other content providers have been tracking the online viewing habits of children illegally.

“It’s work with high-level, sophisticated clients, and you feel like you’re doing the most important real estate work.”

When it comes to the firm’s real estate work, we learned that the West Coast offices focus more on equity and borrower-side deals, while the East Coast leans towards finance work – perhaps not surprising given the strength of New York’s financial market. Juniors felt they had autonomy over what work they got involved in. One associate, who had been doing a lot of debt work recently, told us: “If I decide I want to try some equity work, I’ll just turn down the debt work coming my way and reach out to a partner in equity to be included in a deal.”

Rookies were pleased with the high standard of work they were exposed to: “It’s work with high-level, sophisticated clients, and you feel like you’re doing the most important real estate work.” Responsibilities varied based on deal sizes, though juniors usually write loan abstracts and lease abstracts, email summaries, and coordinate various matters. One interviewee shared that they would “usually take the lead on drafting responses to borrowers’ or the other party’s comments, always with a senior associate looking over my shoulder to make sure they agree with my recommendations.”

Real estate clients: Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Messa West Capital. Advised MSD Partners in relation to its joint venture with BDT on its minority investment in Auberge Resorts Collection.

In the firm’s corporate department, most juniors could be found working in mergers & acquisitions. Those we spoke typically worked on deals for private equity firms or sovereign wealth funds, so had been involved in pretty high value matters. Although there were some opportunities to work on the seller’s side, most of the work involved representing buyers. Junior tasks often included handling checklists, coordinating with members of the broader team, conducting due diligence, and working on all kinds of agreements with vendors, suppliers or customers.

Associates felt they were given a good amount of responsibility, crediting this largely to the free-market system: “You get to choose who you work with – if you do good work with people you like and can continue in those teams and with those people, they might trust you with more responsibility than you might otherwise get as a second or third year.”

M&A clients: Pine Gate Renewables, Visa, Universal Pictures. Advised Lewis Hamilton and his agency on its partnership with Casa Lumbre to launch Amave, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic blue agave spirit.

Career Development

Gibson associates gave their stamp of approval for informal mentorship opportunities. “Everyone I’ve worked with has been very willing to engage in organic career development, which has been super helpful in my career so far,” noted one source. While some felt that more dedicated formal mentorship would be beneficial, they found that partners were easy to talk to and even heads of department were approachable, thanks to the firm’s relatively flat hierarchical structure.

Ultimately, sources felt that the onus was on them to make the most of their career development: “There’s always a development aspect trying to make you a better lawyer, but it comes down to you as the individual. If you’re not going to be invested in yourself, there’s only so much the firm can do for you.” This system seems to be working though, as over half of the associates in this year’s survey felt that partnership was a realistic aspiration at the firm.

Culture

“Partners and senior associates really go to bat for us.”

As you may expect, juniors said the West Coast offices of the firm have a more relaxed vibe compared to the East Coast. However, associates across the board were pleased with the firm’s culture, hailing it one of Gibson’s strongest qualities. “In the summer program I was thinking, there’s no way they’re as nice as this!” one junior joked. They added, “Though everybody is busy as hell, everybody is genuinely pleasant and understanding too, no one does anything to make your life harder.”

It’s always hard to put culture into words, but another interviewee summed it up neatly: “The culture feels like a lot of buzzwords, but it’s genuinely collegial, collaborative, and people are very understanding. Everyone here has a life outside the firm, which is a good sign for work/life balance.” One enthused associate went so far as to say, “I would never leave Gibson Dunn to work at another Big Law firm! I would only leave to do something different than Big Law. The people here are great, respectful, really intelligent and kind. Partners and senior associates really go to bat for us.”

Gibson Dunn is recognized as a Strong Performer for Quality of Life in our 2025 survey.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,950 target

“If I’m slow on billable work, I’m confident I’ll find pro bono work because the firm has such an active pro bono practice.”

Sources felt the billable target was achievable, especially as all pro bono hours count equally towards billable hours. It also helped that pro bono work was aplenty. “If I’m slow on billable work, I’m confident I’ll find pro bono work because the firm has such an active pro bono practice,” shared one junior.

As we often hear in Big Law, working hours varied a lot depending on how busy associates were. Weekends were generally protected, with associates only working if they chose to prepare for the Monday coming. Our interviewees were certainly no strangers to some late nights though: “Around a closing I try to be online by 8.30am and I’m not usually offline until super late – that can be 2am or 3am!”

Fortunately, these busy periods were balanced out by quieter stretches, where “I’m working 10am until 5pm and that’s it.” Juniors also appreciated the flexibility in their schedules: “We’re expected to be reasonable available during the workday, but I have total control over my schedule. If I want to start earlier or work later, that’s entirely up to me.”

Pro Bono

Getting involved in pro bono at the firm is straightforward, thanks to Gibson’s dedicated pro bono partner and associates who organize opportunities and get all attorneys involved. Interviewees felt they could take on as much pro bono work as they wanted and mentioned that everybody is encouraged to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono annually.

Associates we spoke to worked on a variety of cases, including immigration matters, death penalty cases, and housing cases. There are also community-related pro bono projects. For example, one New York junior told us that a group from the firm has been working with a high school in Queens, helping coach students for moot court and mock trials.

Pro bono hours

• For all (US) attorneys: 206,000
• Average per (US) attorney: 96

Gibson Dunn is recognized as The Elite for Pro Bono in our 2025 survey.

Inclusion

Another thing Gibson is not short of is affinity groups! The firm hosts around 15 of them open to everybody, offering meetings, lunches and talks, as well as hosting social events. Juniors were especially pleased that whenever an event is proposed, “Gibson have no hesitation about putting it on. They’re always like ‘how can the firm support it?’”

Associates felt that this was a space where the firm’s support really shone. “Anybody who wants to open an affinity group can, which makes it nicer in a way. It’s not only for the Black lawyers or the LGBTQ+ lawyers; anyone who feels they want to carve out some space for them can do that.”

Strategy & Future

Associates at Gibson were confident about the firm’s future. One said: “The firm is consistently doing well, and I trust that they’re monitoring market trends, new changes in tech, the rise of generative AI, and how that might impact the legal landscape.” Another added that they feel secure because “the current leadership is well-positioned to handle whatever the future might hold.”

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus

OCI applicants interviewed for 2025 summer program: 1,169

Gibson Dunn conducts interviews directly at more than two dozen law schools and participates in formal resume collections at many more. The summer programs routinely draw from more than 30 law schools. Hiring partner Perlette Michèle Jura tells us: "Our 'feeder schools' are exactly what you would expect – the Top 25 law schools provide the majority of our incoming summer and new associates." The firm does recruit substantially outside this group, however, "especially for offices located in the same cities as those schools."

The interviews themselves are conducted by a team of partners and associates, and Jura tells us that they’re looking for candidates who display “strong critical thinking skills, have impeccable professional judgment, and exhibit a strong work ethic.” She also flags the firm’s free-market system, explaining that candidates have the ability to chart their own path and seek out their own work. Associate sources agreed: “They want someone who has a go-getter type of attitude, but you also have to be personable and willing to take on work so people will want to work with you.” Another revealed: “When they’re recruiting at schools they’ll put on an initial screener and then you may be invited to a reception (usually virtual) It’s essentially an extended second interview but also a chance to meet more attorneys.”

Top tips for this stage:

"Come into the interview prepared, show enthusiasm for legal issues and work, and exhibit a level of energy and conviction that signals to us that the candidate would thrive in our free-market system and ultimately contribute to the firm as a whole." – hiring partner Perlette Michèle Jura

Callbacks

Callbacks conducted for 2025 summer program: 509

Those invited back to Gibson Dunn’s callback stage will experience firsthand the firm's respectful, social culture. Callbacks vary by office but typically consist of one-on-one interviews with a mix of partners and associates. Callbacks may be in-person but are often virtual and can be followed by a chance to visit the office and meet interviewers and other attorneys face-to-face, often for meals.

Jura explains: “These visits offer candidates another more informal setting to demonstrate why they would be successful at our firm and likewise give our lawyers the opportunity to interact with the candidate in a less structured environment.” She adds that at this stage: “More questions might be asked about a candidate’s specific experiences or a candidate’s particular connection to and/or interest in the city in which their selected office is located.” An associate told us: “By the time their resume reaches my desk I’m confident they’re qualified, so from that point we’re looking for someone who’s going to perpetuate the Gibson Dunn culture and understand our work environment.”

Top tips for this stage:

"Researching Gibson Dunn interviewers with whom the candidate will be meeting as well as the firm generally and the select office ahead of time enables the candidate to offer specific questions and more relevant topics of conversation." – hiring partner Perlette Michèle Jura

Summer program

Offers for 2025 summer program: 272

Acceptances for 2025 summer program: 201

Gibson Dunn’s summer program, according to Jura, “is designed to help facilitate a smooth transition from law school to legal practice and provides training in areas such as legal writing, depositions, and corporate transactions.” Summer associates can work with multiple partners and practice groups and get feedback on each assignment. They also get embedded in pro bono matters, as well as a busy social calendar which ranges “from sporting events (a Mets baseball day in New York is a perennial inclusion), to small-group dinners at partners’ houses, to legal networking events (like a tour of the Ninth Circuit courthouse in Pasadena, led by a Circuit Judge), to hearing directly from firm management during a U.S.-wide discussion.” Jura tells us: “The vast majority of our summer associates return and join us as associates after they finish law school or, if applicable, their clerkship.”

Top tips for this stage:

"Summers should take every opportunity (whether in the office or at external events) to connect with as many of our attorneys as possible. Not only will this give them more exposure across their office, it also creates more opportunities to develop the mentoring relationships that are so essential to success in the law." – hiring partner Perlette Michèle Jura

And finally… 

An associate told us: “You have to be willing to make an effort on small projects and be collegial because you have to be pleasant to work with in a free-market system.”