Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian - The Inside View

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to work for Apple during the release of the first iPhone? Or perhaps for Microsoft when commercially sold home computers were just getting off the ground? It must not be an entirely dissimilar feeling for associates at West-Coast born Gunderson, on the front lines of innovative technology and the dawn of a new age: AI.

The firm has been a go-to advisor for venture capital and equity for decades. Add to that its strong relationships with tech firms, and the current market, and you have all the ingredients for quite the busy few years. As one attorney buzzed: “If we’re supporting startups and there’s this AI boom, of course we’re going to be super busy!” As the industry has taken off, so has demand for legal counsel that can help startups with the legal side of their business.

“If we’re supporting startups and there’s this AI boom, of course we’re going to be super busy!”

The firm’s exclusive focus on transactional matters for its clients was certainly a plus for our insiders who really knew what they wanted. “I really appreciated that the firm as a whole has intentionally centered on the venture capital market,” one junior shared, “they don’t do litigation and other things where they might be chasing. I was really drawn to the fact they were dedicated to one kind of customer.”

Naturally, this focus lends itself to the firm having bases in California and the East Coast hubs. The Silicon Valley-San Francisco HQ takes the largest cohort of new associates. The firm has further offices across Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Diego, in addition to three international hubs. Our colleagues over at Chambers USA also feel the hype giving the firm its flowers in such groups as technology and venture capital in California, private equity in Massachusetts and startups & emerging companies nationwide.

Strategy & Future

Rather than diversifying like many peer firms, Gunderson remains committed to its core areas of venture capital and equity funds. Global managing partner Jeffrey Higgins explains that this specialized approach is a huge calling card for the firm. “With our competitors, representing founders and investors is a part of their practice, but nobody has the singular focus that we do,” Higgins elaborates, “so if you want to do this kind of work, this is the place to be.” Unsurprisingly given its tech-heavy clientele, Gunderson is keen to adopt the latest innovations in legal tech, whether that’s AI or other programs to streamline workflow and increase efficiency. It was one of the first US-based firm to develop an internal tool using Gen AI back in 2023 – talk about ahead of the game. No one is resting on their laurels however, as the game is now afoot. “This is not in the future. The moment's now,” Higgins assures.

While the firm is famous for its California roots, it has branched out beyond its home state. In the last decade, Gunderson has opened offices in Austin, São Paulo and, mostly recently, Atlanta, giving it an on-the-ground presence in additional regions.

Gunderson’s strategy includes staffing leanly. There’s an “expectation that you’re learning to be an attorney and can talk to people – this firm values that more than others,” shared one associate. Higgins agrees, showcasing a consistency in what they value in their attorneys; “our best recruits have business sense, communication skills, interpersonal skills, the ability to talk to clients immediately and instill confidence in that client.”

Read more from Jeffrey Higgins under the ‘Get Hired’ tab.

Gunderson Dettmer is recognized as an Excellent Performer for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Summer Program

Insiders reported that Gunderson put its best foot forward from the outset of the summer program as “everybody was really excited to be at work and enjoyed being together.” In particular, juniors highlighted that the staff were looking out for them, telling us: “people want to help you perform and do better. I felt really well supported.” It’s not just ten weeks of good vibes though, summers will get the chance to request work from an assortment of different groups and may even get some client interaction by its end.

The Work

Most practice groups at the firm operate a centralized staffing system with a dedicated staffer monitoring associates’ availability. “I like that system, it relieves the added stress of having to go out and find your own work,” pondered one rookie, “they do a good job of making sure the group is balanced and people are getting proper staffing assignments based on how busy they are.” It’s not uncommon for juniors to approach associates and ask to get involved as well, but as a firm exception, the tax/fund formation group exclusively uses a free market system.

Juniors in the firm’s tech group known as strategic transactions & licensing focus on IP protection, licensing and commercialization, and company contracts. Privacy work also forms part of the picture. As one insider quipped, “we’re the in-house counsel for companies that don’t have in-house counsel, so to speak.”

”We assist so many clients in formation, so you’re on that client from formation to exit.”

“What’s really different about Gunderson is you get assigned to a client and then you’re on that client,” revealed one associate, ”we assist so many clients in formation, so you’re on that client from formation to exit.” Occasionally, they will also be brought in mid cycle but that’s much rarer. One associate broke the work down into 40% M&A (where the firm is usually on the sell side), 30% commercial agreements, and 30% venture financing.

Juniors manage communications with the client, so they’re often on the phone trying to better understand a company and its goals. “There’s not a day where I don’t have a call and I’m drafting something,” recalled one insider, ”it’s definitely a healthy mix.” There’s a lot of drafting on the commercial side. On the investor side, juniors carry out diligence on the IP and commercial agreement aspects of deal financings.

Teams are leanly staffed, usually only one associate and one partner, so newbies are thrown straight into the business, being expected to communicate with clients right from the start. This experience early on, “was cool but also scary to be working so closely with our clients.” Yes, that’s clients plural, we heard variety is the spice of life at Gunderson as juniors typically juggle many clients at once. 

Strategic transactions & licensing clients: Hallow, Hims & Hers Health, Commure. Represented Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, on its Series C investment in ElevenLabs, a leader in computer-generated speech AI technology in a matter worth $180 million.

The tax/fund formation group assists clients in fund formation and provides tax support. Clients include venture capital and growth equity funds and range from first funds to some of the largest in the market, with many of the firm’s clients in the healthcare space. On the tax side, the department provides assistance for structuring transactions as well as acting as ongoing counsel for tax planning and compliance issues.

So, what does the day-to-day look like in the group? Pick up your pen, because there’s a lot of drafting in store. Juniors work on documents such as limited partnership agreements for funds and side letters for those agreements and assist partners with employment elements and equity grants. They’ll also spend a fair bit of time talking to fund managers about the issues they’re encountering while running their funds. Our interviewees didn’t exactly hide their enthusiasm for the very limited amount of doc review and due diligence required in this department, nor were they shy about their relatively stable work schedule. “You’re able to predict where your month is going to be before it comes up,” one insider noted.

Tax/fund formation clients: Curie.Bio, OrbiMed, Vensana Capital. Represented the venture capital firm Benchstrength based out of New York City in its debut fund worth $62 million.

Career Development

As practice groups err on the smaller side, associates get a boost from being able to work on a wide range of matters at various stages. “At least from my perspective, I feel like I’m professionally really well developed,” beamed one source, “I talk with people pretty frankly about the level I’m at and how I can progress from here.”

Due to the firm’s close connections with the sectors it serves, associates can take advantage of in-house openings for clients. “I don’t know if anyone in my group has left Gunderson to go to another firm, if they’ve left it’s to go in house,” admitted one interviewee, “you have these personal relationships with your clients because you know them from formation. They want to work with someone who knows their business.”

Partners work closely with associates during their performance reviews to identify career development goals, but “the onus is on associates to reach out to their partner mentor or associate mentor within the firm to pursue other types of work” and get the experience they need to progress. For those interested in partnership, we heard the path towards that goal is discussed openly. Regardless of where associates want to take their careers, the firm is willing to help them make it happen. Besides, it benefits everyone as “they want you to bring the business back to Gunderson.”

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,950 target

Associates’ yearly target of 1,950 hours seemed more than manageable with all the work that’s flowing into our sources’ inboxes. That’s right, the firm is booked and busy with one insider musing that “it can be a bit of a challenge because we have a lot going on – that’s a good thing for our hours though.” Gunderson also offers 100 investment hours that include recruiting efforts, leading training and other such activities, in addition to an unlimited bucket of pro bono.

With business booming recently, some interviewees did note “it’s generally difficult to maintain a work/life balance and even though I feel like people in my group are pretty supportive there’s still an expectation that when things are busy, we prioritize work.” Of course, this isn’t unique to Gunderson (“pretty typical Big Law”) and we heard the firm tries its best to support its staff through those hectic times. Part of this picture is attorneys stepping in to help their colleagues where they can. “It’s a very supportive environment where we’re looking out for each other,” one newbie exclaimed, “we pick things off our plates when it’s busy and encourage each other to take a break.”

Compensation is on the Cravath scale and bonuses are market rate. Those who don’t make the hours target are eligible for a prorated bonus. All in all, the feeling among associates was “I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything in terms of salary.”

Gunderson Dettmer is recognized as a Strong Performer for Benefits & Quality of Life in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Culture & Inclusion

“…People really know you here, and I don’t feel like I’m just billing for the sake of it.”

“The culture has definitely lived up to everything I was hoping it would be,” gushed one insider, reflecting the consensus among interviewees. The warm and supportive nature of the firm has created an environment perfect for our interviewees to thrive. Having meaningful relationships with their colleagues, including partners, made all the difference to our sources: “It’s such a key thing as to why people stay at the firm. People really know you here, and I don’t feel like I’m just billing for the sake of it.”

This all harks back to how the firm finds its people. “The type of person that Gunderson likes to hire is someone that has prior work experience and is good at talking to folks,” reckoned one insider, “you will be put in that position really early on. If that’s something law graduates want, then this is definitely the firm to go to.” In other words, much like the start-up clients Gunderson serves, associates need to be willing to put themselves forward and seek out opportunities with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Community was also found elsewhere at the firm, with a special shoutout reserved for the firm’s women’s affinity group which seemed especially active. Other affinity groups include the Black affinity group, those identifying as LGBTQIA+, and veterans. “People generally make an effort and are generally supportive of each other in those groups,” explained one associate, admitting that “it can also be a nice way to vent or figure out strategies for dealing with difficult situations.”

Pro Bono

With an unlimited number of pro bono hours on offer, sources told us they’d do more if they could, but “the challenge is finding the time and a partner supervisor!” A better problem to have than a lack of opportunities, which is not the case here. Juniors can put themselves forward via the portal or speaking with partners, but equally there’s no pressure on associates if their schedules are packed with billable matters.

Gunderson’s pro bono cases tend to mirror its client work with a focus on transactional matters, so the offerings look a bit different to the average firm where litigation reigns supreme. Projects include partnering with law school clinics, as well as helping non-profits and small business owners from underrepresented groups with their contracts. “That’s definitely fun, working with those small business owners,” relayed one insider.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 1,298
• Average per US attorney: 4

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus 

OCI applicants interviewed: 25

Interviewees outside OCI: 92

Gunderson Dettmer engages in on-campus recruiting activities and OCI recruitment at a variety of law schools, including those with robust business law societies or entrepreneurship clinics, as well as those that are geographically close to the firm's offices. For 2026, these include Boston College, Boston University, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UC Law SF.  Gunderson also typically makes an appearance at the Bay Area Law Student Career Fair, Boston Lawyers Group Annual 2L Job Fair, and Lavender Law.

Interviews are conducted by attorneys with varying levels of experience. Hiring sources at the firm explain that candidates “do not need to have prior work experience with startups or in venture capital, but it is best when they’re able to articulate why they think working with startups would be exciting and why they want to speak to us.” Specifically, candidates will probably be quizzed about what they did in the previous summer. Hiring sources explain that interviewers will be looking to see if interviewees “can express themselves clearly in a professional setting and also have a conversational feel while doing so, especially when taking a legal concept and relating it to someone who may not have the background.”  

Top tips for this stage: 

“Demonstrate interest in working with startups and knowing what we do. Our firm is very focused so when someone comes in saying they’re interested in a practice that we don’t have, it doesn’t work.” – hiring sources at the firm  

“They don’t need to know our full history of the firm, but at least have a sense of what we do and why they want to do it too.” – hiring sources at the firm  

Callbacks  

Applicants invited to second-stage interview: 68

Candidates who make it to the callback stage will meet with six attorneys. If the interview is in the morning it is often followed by a lunch with junior associates, while afternoon interviews may finish up with a coffee. At this stage, interviewers are looking to confirm the impression the candidate made at the screening stage and expect them “to have done more research and have thoughtful questions for us about the practice.”  

Top tips for this stage:  

“If you get your interview schedule in advance, look at their firm profile and LinkedIn page. You don’t need anecdotes, but it will help you demonstrate that you’re interested in speaking to those attorneys about our firm, clients, or their practice.” – hiring sources at the firm  

“Expect some of the standard questions: Why Gunderson? Why startups? Why tech? The work is specialized so they want to make sure you’re interested.”– a second-year associate  

Summer program  

Offers: 23

Acceptances: 14

During Gunderson’s summer program, work assignment coordinators in each office keep in touch with summers throughout the program and keep in mind their areas of interest for work. Although there is no formal rotation process, summers are encouraged to try their hand at assignments across the board. Social events differ office to office, but associates informed us of weekly happy hours and the occasional dinner hosted by partners.  

Gunderson tells us most summers return to the firm as first-year associates. “We begin having discussions about practice area interest throughout the summer program,” hiring sources explain, “so we generally know who will be in which practice by the end of the summer.”  

Top tips for this stage:  

“Act as though you’re a first-year associate and already an associate at the firm. We don’t expect the work quality and knowledge to be the same, but we expect you to act in regard to your peers, associates, partners, non-attorneys, and clients as though you’re a professional in the firm.” – hiring sources at the firm. 

And finally….  

Hiring sources say it’s a good idea for students to connect with the firm sooner rather than later, whether through law school outreach events or pre-OCI: “It makes a difference if you’re on our radar before you walk into the interview room.” 

Interview with Jeffrey P. Higgins, global managing partner

Commercial strategy, market position and trends

Chambers Associate: How would you define your firm’s current position and identity in the legal market? What differentiates your firm from your peer firms in the market?

Jeffrey P. Higgins: We've had a pretty clear strategy for 30 years and we're not deviating from that. For law students,recruits and emerging talent, we're the destination platform. We work with entrepreneurs and innovators across tech and life sciences, whose companies drive the innovation economy – and the investors that fund them. Broadly speaking, we're the best in the world at doing that and year after year, it's proven to be a successful strategy for us, so we're not deviating from that. There really isn't another firm that operates this way. With our competitors, representing founders and investors is a part of their practice, but nobody has the singular focus that we do, so if you want to do this kind of work, this is the place to be.

CA: Have there been any developments at the firm over the past year that you’d like law students to know about?

Higgins: We had a very successful year financially, becoming a true destination platform, and we're set up very well for 2026. Our message is that the strategy that we've had for 30 years is one that we will continue with for the next 30 – evolving to meet the needs of our clients and the everchanging landscape, while maintaining our identity as the go-to firm for the innovation economy.

We formally opened an Atlanta office with a number of partners to better serve our clients across the venture capital ecosystem in Georgia and the southeast. The office is performing extremely well. 

CA: Are there any domestic or international events/trends that are affecting any of the firm’s practices at the moment? Are there any trends that you think are affecting the business of law firms more generally, and how is that playing out with your firm?

Higgins: There were a couple of years that were a little bit slower, and last year was very busy. We see the tailwinds continuing this year. With all the things that are affecting all of us, we're looking at tools, automation, and AI and how that's going to change a lot of professional services firms. It’s certainly impacting the legal services. Because of the technology space that we're in, a lot of the companies building these kinds of solutions and tools, especially for the legal market, are our clients. Before ChatGPT was even released, we've been working with Gen AI tools, so thisis our sweet spot. We continue to look at that in ways to make the delivery of client services as efficient as we can. That trend is something that we feel like we're in front of. We've had an innovation group for many, many, many years. We will continue to focus efforts there.

CA: What is your firm’s commercial strategy focusing on, and how do you expect the next year to unfold?

Higgins: We’re not trying to serve 30 different practice areas and be a one-stop shop. The nice thing for us is, starting from the partners and all the way through to associates and business professionals, everybody understands what we're doing with the markets that we're serving and how we're approaching it. It allows for teamwork and collaboration and a consensus-driven culture. That is a key to our success and the uniqueness of the organization.

CA: Does this factor at all into the process for recruiting people when you're looking at who to hire on the junior end? Are you looking for a particular kind of personality?

Higgins: Yes and no. First and foremost, we're looking for people that are interested in doing this kind of work. It's very specific, so it's got to be somebody who is highly motivated to be in this space. We have our younger lawyers get in front of clients from almost day one. You're not going to be staffed on an antitrust litigation case with 20 lawyers that's gone on for five years where you're just doing research.

Our best recruits have business sense, communication skills, interpersonal skills, the ability to talk to clients immediately and instil confidence in that client. There definitely is a profile in that sense. One of the things we pride ourselves on is that our table stakes is to have really smart, really good lawyers who understand the advice that they're giving, but also have business sense and a practicality in the way that they deliver that advice. You’ve got to find somebody that you say, “this person can grow into that role.” Nobody in our organization hides in a backroom in an old school law library. That's not who we are.

CA: As your firm works closely with tech companies, do you have any predictions for trends we’re likely to see in this sector over the next few years?

Higgins: I sometimes joke with people that if I really had great answers to all of that, we might be on the venture capital side as opposed to the lawyer side! But I get asked all the time how AI will continue to influence everything that we as a firm are doing and where the investors are going. I think that trend is going to continue for some time.

There's always talk about AI valuations and if there is a bubble. It's hard to comment necessarily on the valuations, but these companies are long-lasting companies that are going to be impactful to the world for the foreseeable future. Certainly, you've got big companies like Open AI and Anthropic and others that are talking about trying to go public. That’s a natural part of the life cycle of these companies. That’s still to come and then we'll see what happens after that.

For 30 years, we've seen cycles and we're as close to this as anybody. As long as there are innovators there will always be the next new thing, the next new technology that innovators are developing and companies and investors are finding them and putting money behind them. Technology has been a good run since we started and our view is that that will continue for the foreseeable future.

Inside the Firm

CA: How is the firm evolving to accommodate the needs/expectations of the next generation of lawyers?

Higgins: We have a number of strategic initiatives that we’ve identified and the management committee endorses. There are five things that we look at and one of them will always be culture. Part of that includes the wellbeing of lawyers. People work hard. It's a stressful job. Mental health,  well-being and trying to get people to be well-rounded, are things we certainly encourage and we have wellness programs.

We think being in- office is very helpful for a whole bunch of reasons. Building culture is one of them as are mentoring and training. But we allow the local offices flexibility to determine what they think most makes sense for their particular office. We have not required five days a week back in the office, so there's a little bit of flexibility still there.

The Legal Profession

CA: How do you predict the legal profession will change in the next five years? Are there any particular challenges the industry is facing?

Higgins: AI tools, automation and how that's going to change how professional services firms deliver services to clients. We’re all making sure that we're getting these types of tools and automation built into our workflows and are as efficient as we can be. That will continue. It’s changing now. This is not in the future. The moment's now. We're seeing it and we're using these tools. Does that have an impact on business models going forward? Certainly, it will. How that plays out remains to be seen.

The Fun Bit

CA: Throwing it back to law school: it's been a long day of classes and studying. What's your go-to easy meal to have before you crash?

Higgins: I never had any money and I paid for my schooling, so sadly it was takeout spaghetti bolognese that I could get delivered from some local Italian place for like $3 or something. So, a big plate of pasta always worked for me.

CA: What was the first concert you attended?

Higgins: Probably Rolling Stones in 1979 with my dad.

CA: Thinking about the ways in which the legal profession is developing, what is the one skill you have learnt in your career that you think is key for young attorneys to learn?

Higgins: The most important skill in what we do is truly, I think, our interpersonal skills. You're giving advice to people in an incredibly important time in their lives. Many are founders or they're investing a ton of money in things, and so being able to communicate, be responsive and instil confidence in those clients, be somebody that the client wants to talk to, be a real person.

To your point about “what do we look for in lawyers,” that is something that you can actually tell relatively quickly both in the interview setting and once they start. We see young lawyers and you just watch the way they write emails or the way they use Copilot to write emails. The way they communicate with clients, you can just tell that person's got that natural touch.