Irell & Manella LLP - The Inside View

If you’ve spent much time perusing the internet, you’ll have likely heard of ‘quiet luxury’ – best described as understated elegance, quality, and sophistication. It goes without saying that elegance, sophistication, and quality are abundant in the world of BigLaw, but in a sea of global offices and headcounts in the thousands, it’s the ‘understated’ part which is harder to come by. Enter Irell & Manella. Few firms emanate quiet luxury better than the SoCal local, who has just three offices and a headcount of just under 70. “I knew that Irell wasn’t a big firm,” said a source, “but they had clout. I was drawn to the prospect of being around A1 litigators.”

“I was drawn to the prospect of being around A1 litigators.”

Of course, the firm’s focus on the West Coast further narrows down its scope. “I knew that I wanted to live in SoCal, and I knew I wanted to do patent litigation, and with some brief Googling – not even targeted Googling! – Irell was consistently at the top of every list,” said another source. The firm’s certainly at the top of a few Chambers USA lists; our sister guide places the firm on the top pedestal for intellectual property: patent litigation in its home state. Irell also earns high praise for its nationwide intellectual property practice, which, when you consider the firm’s only got three US offices (Century City, Newport Beach, and DC), demonstrates just how much of a punch it packs.

Irell & Manella is recognized as The Elite for Associate Satisfaction and three other categories in our 2025 survey.

The Work

Upon joining their groups, a work coordinator is on hand to assist newbies with getting started. Once they’ve found their footing, sourcing work becomes much more of a free market system. “It’s pretty informal,” an interviewee noted, “I’ve sometimes gone to partners I’ve wanted to work with, or sometimes I’m on a case with them for a long time and later then come directly to me.” Essentially, “you form relationships with people and get work that way.” Oftentimes, word will also spread far and wide: “I’ve also gotten cold emails from other partners at the firm asking if I’m available and interested in working on something.”

The majority of work at the firm centers around IP litigation, with juniors explaining that they had been involved in tech-based litigation cases, contract disputes, and trade secret cases. The team mostly handles cases on the plaintiff side, but there are some exceptions. Juniors were impressed with the level of responsibility they were given, with a source explaining, “A couple of months in, I was already asked to write a brief or a motion.” It also wasn’t uncommon to hear of juniors going to trial in their first year at the firm. In fact, “There’s not a huge distinction between what you do as a junior and as a more senior associate,” an interviewee divulged, “the level of responsibility and how much you’re managing goes up, but not the tasks.”

“…there’s a lot of initiative involved in litigating patents.”

Day-to-day, associates work on a range of tasks depending on the case at hand. In one particular example, an interviewee described working on definitions and linguistics: “We just did a briefing on the meaning of a word, and it’s a delightful experience! You’re pulling out dictionaries and helping out where you can. In real life, you likely wouldn’t have to consider if teal is considered blue or green, but in patent law sometimes you do, because we need to determine where the patent begins and where it ends… It’s super linguistic, and there’s a lot of initiative involved in litigating patents.”

IP litigation clients: Netlist, Sketchers, StreamScale. Successfully represented G+ Communications in a $142 million patent infringement trial against Samsung.

Career Development

Our interviewees’ ears pricked up at the opportunity to speak about career development: “Yes! This is what I love about a smaller environment!” said one. “Some places can be too big to wrap your arms around,” they continued, “at Irell, I was surprised at how quickly I was able to integrate.” With around 70 lawyers in total, and a first-year class intake of roughly ten, Irell’s proportions are at the smaller end in comparison to the rest of the firms in our guide. For one associate, this leaner headcount meant “my name doesn’t get scrubbed out and replaced with ‘first year associate’. I’m known by name, and everyone knows one another, which signals that people think about me and that I’m being invested in.”

“…a vested interest in you becoming a strong attorney.”

As such, associates were confident in their belief that partnership was a realistic goal at the firm. “Every senior associate who has made it to their seventh year and has stayed with the firm has eventually made partner or counsel,” one interviewee told us, “it seems that when people decide they want to be here and stay on the partner track, the firm has been supportive and transparent.” Even more so, the almost 1:1 ratio of partners to associates means “the firm relies on you and has a vested interest in you becoming a strong attorney.”

And the path to becoming said strong attorney? “It’s not as textbook as it may be at other firms where you might have regular catch ups to discuss your progress,” a source noted of the firm’s feedback structure. At Irell, progress chats tend to be more ad-hoc, with a lot more on the job learning: “In general, I work with partners so often that I get a lot of constructive feedback quite regularly.”

Culture

“What’s always struck me is the diversity of thought and personality and individualism,” one interviewee listed of the culture at Irell, “folks are just very direct in who they are and how they are – it’s very refreshing.” Sources were also keen to highlight that the firm has “no culture of blame.” Explaining this further, an interviewee added, “I’ve never felt any sense of guilt or blame from the top if things go wrong, even if you do feel the stress of mistakes yourself.”

As for the social side of things, sources told us, “It’s a pretty social firm, but it’s an opt-in kind of thing. If you prefer to WFH and not be involved, you can.” It’s during the summer program, however, where the firm’s social calendar truly shines. “Every day, there’s something going on, whether it’s lunches, dinners, events, Dodgers games, or happy hours,” a source listed. Outside of that, the firm hosts weekly Friday happy hours and regular attorney lunches to “encourage people to come into the office and spend time together.” There are also annual holiday and Halloween parties, and a retreat!

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 2,000 target

Interviewees felt that the firm’s billable target of 2,000 hours was achievable. “In my experience, people are able to hit it,” one associate divulged, “and when they don’t, I think there’s flexibility based on individual circumstances.” Of course, the nature of litigious work means hours fluctuate throughout the year based on what stage cases are at. “There are very light weeks and there are very heavy weeks,” a source explained, “but at the end of the year it generally averages out to 2,000 hours.” Interviewees also expressed their appreciation of the flexibility available to them when it came to working hours; some associates spoke of logging on around 10am and working a little later into the evening while others preferred to clock in at 7am and wrap up in time for dinner.

As for compensation, the firm follows a lockstep model and is at market for base compensation. Bonuses, on the other hand, are above market! “The firm is pretty well known for having above-market bonuses,” said an interviewee, “usually the market bonus increases, and we do too, so it’s often a decent amount higher…”

Pro Bono

The sentiment among juniors was that involvement in pro bono was strongly encouraged at the firm, particularly as all pro bono hours count towards associates’ billable targets. Opportunities to get involved range from larger cases with big teams, to more intimate matters surrounding immigration where associates are able to work directly with children requiring assistance. “People like talking about the pro bono cases they’re working on,” a source noted of the general sentiment around involvement, “almost everyone I know has worked on a pro bono matter during their time at the firm.”

Notably, Irell recently secured a pro bono victory on a matter relating to Measure ULA, LA’s largest affordable housing ballot initiative, when a federal challenge filed against the initiative was dismissed in a district court. “A lot of associates have been involved in the matter and have spent a large amount of their time on it,” one interviewee told us, “it’s cool that the firm is so willing to allow associates to spend a decent percentage of their time in a year on pro bono work.”

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: undisclosed
• Average per US attorney: undisclosed

Irell & Manella is recognized as a Strong Performer for Pro Bono in our 2025 survey.

Strategy & Future

Irell’s remaining steadfast in its commitment to all things IP litigation. The rise in tech-related issues hasn’t gone amiss at the firm; associates noted an increased focus on tech litigation involving patents and such. Overall, “It doesn’t seem there are any major plans to shift strategy,” said an interviewee, “we generally have a pretty high success rate, and the strategy is just to keep doing that!”

Get Hired 

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus  

OCI applicants interviewed: undisclosed 

Interviewees outside OCI: undisclosed 

Irell does most of its recruitment through OCIs – Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, GWU, Harvard, Howard, Michigan, Northwestern, NYU, Penn, Stanford, UCI, UCLA, USC, UVA and Yale are always on the OCI list, and the firm also does Resume Collections at over 40 law schools. Candidates can also apply by sending in a cover letter, resume and transcript.

Where possible, alumni from the school conduct interviews there. They're looking for “communication skills, leadership qualities, initiative and creativity” on top of the standard academic credentials. The questions posed during the interview are focused on drawing these out. Irell also recommends interviewees have their own questions to ask.  

Top tips for this stage:  

“We always ask some kind of legal question – maybe based on your favorite class or something on your resume – as we want to see candidates engage in substantive legal discussions, though you don't have to memorize rules.”– a 3rd-year associate  

“Because we're a smaller firm it's important that recruits bring a new perspective and will practice law with integrity. We appear before the court early in our careers so we need someone who can be the face of the firm.”– a 3rd-year associate  

Callbacks  

Once they've reached this stage, interviewees can expect to speak with at least three partners and several hiring committee members as part of their callback interview. Whether they're at a morning or an afternoon session, they'll get a meal (lunch or dinner). Successful candidates are invited back to get to know Irell better before summer.  

How to impress here? There aren't real differences to the OCI – it's all about candidate and firm getting to know one another better. By this point you'll have a pretty good idea of the work Irell does and the character of the firm, so should definitely have some of your own questions at the ready.  

Top tips for this stage:  

“One initiative the firm's taken is structuring callbacks more effectively to remove implicit bias. We'll ask standard questions in various areas to seek out qualities like leadership and creativity.”– a 3rd-year associate  

“I talk to a lot of people who don't know how to sell their resume. Focus on what demonstrates creative thinking and leadership skills.” – a 2nd-year associate  

Summer program  

Offers: undisclosed 

Acceptances: 17 

Matching faces to names is one of the key roles of Irell's summer program – attendees are encouraged to work with as many attorneys as possible to see everything from depositions and trials. Day-to-day work is complemented by formal programs with exciting titles like 'Intellectual Property at Irell’ and 'Trademark Year in Review.' Pro bono is another key aspect of the summer – adoption proceedings are one of the most common options.  

Weekend retreats and dinners are a means for attorneys to get to know summers. Successful candidates will be those who've thrown themselves into everything, and in doing so have shown off their professionalism, ability and judgment. 

Notable events: Summer party, summer associate weekend retreat, rock climbing, cooking classes and Disneyland.  

Top tips for this stage:  

“We have an unbelievable support staff who are always willing to help and make sure you use all the resources available.” – a 3rd-year associate  

“A huge advantage of summering at a smaller firm is that when you come back, attorneys you've made connections with will inevitably be your mentors.” – a 3rd-year associate  

And finally...  

Irell's summer program includes the chance to get involved in a mock wrongful death trial, which is overseen by a judge.