Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP - The Inside View

Our firm is a choose your own adventure! - It’s a phrase that BigLaw associates throw around a lot, yet how true that holds is in reality is another question entirely. For associates at Gibson Dunn, though, there is no question that the adventure is truly out there. Insiders were consistent: “Gibson is as free as advertised” when it comes to its free-market system, with the biggest draw being the “flexibility and ability to try a lot of different things.” Associates are encouraged to be entrepreneurial, which means talking to lots of different people at the firm and following trails of work that seem interesting in the hopes that horizons will be broadened, and all possible work opportunities explored. “This systemallows you to be strategic in terms of the type of work you’re taking on,” explained one insider, “You are truly free to go and ask for anything you want in any area and have as diverse a practice as possible, not just in your junior years, but even in your eighth, ninth or tenth year.”

“…you are truly free to go and ask for anything you want in any area and have as diverse a practice as possible.”

And where does adventure at Gibson take you? Well, as a highly ranked firm (thank you Chambers USA) for all manner of litigation, including within the realms of appellate law, securities, white-collar crime and government investigations, and media and entertainment, juniors are provided the opportunity to play a part at each stage of the journey. Rest assured though that the rankings span further than this, meaning associates are able to tread the path into more transactional areas of law with the same level of prestige, such as antitrust, labor & employment, real estate, and intellectual property.

Strategy & Future

Associates at the firm are well aware that the future of tech is rapidly changing “but it’s how we adapt to it that matters,” shared one insider: “We need to be in the driver’s seat.” It seems that the firm is gearing up to stay ahead of the curve, and with a chief tech officer focused on training and introducing resources to the firm. Juniors are encouraged to utilize the AI resources as part of their initial research to increase efficiency and improve billables, which in turn “frees you up to do more interesting and advanced tasks.” With regards to its practice areas, we also heard that the firm has made a push to grow its transactional groups in particular.

Summer Program

Key to the summer program is “exposing you to interests you wouldn’t otherwise be aware of.” It’s something that assisted associates when they returned too, with one telling us: “I realized that I wanted to work in the areas I had tried as a summer because they were very intellectually stimulating.” Other sources also felt that “doing it as a summer is a low-pressure way to see what the legal practice is like to help you decide.” Work is substantive, with insiders explaining that summer tasks “mimicked a lot of what I do now on a day-to-day basis,” meaning it was less nerve-wracking when summers returned as associates. There are also tons of activities put on for summers, including baseball games, trips to Disneyland, outdoor hikes, winery visits, and even tickets to a Charlie Puth concert.

The Work

Following the call of adventure often means leaving your hometown behind, and Gibson Dunn has indeed traveled far beyond its origins in Los Angeles to 22 offices globally, including US bases in California, Colorado, Texas, Washington DC and along the east coast in New York. “Work isn’t really geographically cabined,” explained one insider, “Gibson is good with its cross-office staffing,” meaning associates are provided the luxury of choosing the matters they want to work on, regardless of whether they are available at their home office.

This goes hand-in-hand with the free-market system employed at the firm. “It lets you hear about types of work you didn’t know existed,” shared one source, though not all associates were as sold on this staffing arrangement. “The cons to it are that you’re responsible for your own plate,” said another associate as they considered it, “there is no staffing coordinator to see if you are super over capacity or super slow, or to make sure you’re staffed on new matters which at times, especially initially, was hard to figure out.” However, sources seemed to agree that “once you get used to it it’s not a big deal, there’s just an adjustment in managing your plate.”

“There are so many stages of a case, and I think I’ve touched every single stage…”

Over in litigation, there’s a pretty broad spectrum of work to choose from. Associates could be doing anything from document review, to drafting chronologies, preparing for depositions, interviewing witnesses, and even preparing for trial: “There are so many stages of a case, and I think I’ve touched every single stage,” explained an associate. A key task for juniors is within the discovery stage, where strategy is dependent upon whether your client is on the defensive side or planning a strong offense. For associates working defense, “the opposing counsel will send you a request to provide documents; you then have to go through those documents with your client to review and organize them to see if they are privileged and figure out a strategy to produce them.”

A similar process occurs when playing offense, and both tend to result in letters of negotiation “because nobody wants to abide by the request.” Insiders reported gaining substantive experience within this department “because of the diversity of work available.” On more leanly staffed matters, associates reported being given more responsibility, including prepping witnesses and drafting briefs. Clients tend to come from various industries including tech, logistics, media, and energy.

Litigation clients: NFL, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Nike. Won a summary judgement for DoorDash in a First Amendment challenge to a New York City law compelling delivery platforms to disclose customers’ sensitive personal information.

Within the M&A department, associates experienced being delegated streams of work which felt a little like project management, alongside the more substantive stuff. As a junior this means managing workstreams by keeping track of different documents and maintaining oversight of the progress of a deal. This is important as any major transaction usually requires the input of specialist teams “to advise on the granular points of a deal,” - the employment team for employee-related aspects of a deal, or the data privacy team for any regulatory issues arising around data protection, for example. It is often the juniors’ responsibility to organize any relevant cross-department meetings as well as coordinate review or completion of different documents. Juniors reportedly “get the opportunity to dive really deep into every deal,” which means getting to learn about different client needs and objectives, and seeing “the bigger picture as you pull together the various transaction documents.” This tends to happen on the smaller deals, where juniors had the chance to lead.

M&A clients: SpaceX, PepsiCo, News Corporation. Represented Serena Williams in connection with her acquisition of an ownership stake in the Toronto Tempo, Canada’s new WNBA team.

There are lots of different matters which make up the share of work in the privacy, cybersecurity, and data innovation department. Where there has been a data incident such as a breach or hack, associates work with their client to manage communications with regulators, investors, as well as the general public. Assistance is also required with remediation of any incidents to ensure that everything is “cleaned up,” meaning compliance with the relevant laws. In addition to this, Gibson Dunn provides product counseling, where associates advise companies on products they are bringing online to ensure regulatory and legal compliance, as well as provide information on emerging regulations, particularly surrounding regulators’ focus on specific issues such as the impact of AI on kids. “Providing our research on what regulators are looking for and what they have said at public hearings” is a big part of the role, according to sources.

Privacy, cybersecurity, and data innovation clients: Meta Platforms, Uber, Sony Pictures Entertainment. Defended OpenAI in a landmark defamation case in Georgia state court.

Career Development

Mentorship happens organically at Gibson. According to associates, it’s a pleasant side effect of the free market system: “The informal mentorships have been invaluable,” shared one source, “it’s a culture of going out and making those relationships and putting yourself in front of more senior people to solicit advice from them.” It was something the majority felt positive about, though there were a few grumbles from those with a preference for a more formalized mentorship program. That said, sources all felt comfortable enough just walking into a senior associate’s office and asking questions: “There isa willingness from seniors to teach the juniors even if it does take some time to do.”

“…it’s a culture of going out and making those relationships and putting yourself in front of more senior people to solicit advice from them.”

Training is varied, but it all begins with a new lawyer retreat for the first years where they learn the basics about the firm and get the opportunity to meet the whole of their cohort from other offices, as well as network with senior attorneys. Boot camps are also provided to teach juniors the basics of different practice areas, like life in litigation and getting to know corporate. We heard that Gibson also does a good job of continually upskilling its associates beyond those first few years, with career-stage based retreats making partnership feel like an attainable goal.

Culture, Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,950 hours

Readers rest assured, because at Gibson Dunn “the firm makes a lot of effort, especially early on, to get you integrated” with associates happily sharing that the firm “goes further than people being nice.” Mid-levels are quick to go the extra mile to explain things, “they’ll walk through a redline with you when you take the first try on something, go through the things you missed, and talk about big picture things in terms of the transaction.” As pro-bono matters count as 1-1 with billable work, associates could take on more of these matters during any slow periods they had. And for those that go above and beyond their target, there is an increased bonus up for grabs. Another perk available to associates from their second year onwards is an office of their own, although you need to average a certain amount of in-person attendance (office-dependent) in order to hang onto it.

Pro Bono

In the words of Elphaba: Unlimited, together (with Gibson), your pro-bono is unlimited. And yes, 100% of it counts towards your billable target. Joining up to a matter is as simple as reaching out to the pro bono team, and since “the firm broadly supports a wide variety of pro bono matters,” there is no shortage in transactional or litigation-based projects. “We also get email blasts from the pro bono team for opportunities that exist so we can just email back to join one,” explained one junior. Most associates referred to a multitude of immigration opportunities, with one proudly telling us: “I have helped a client through the lifecycle of an asylum claim.”

“The firm has been a long-term leader on LGBTQ rights, including litigating some of the most significant cases and continuing to do pro bono work in that space…”

Other opportunities include clinics helping individuals file for benefits, putting together organizational documents for a small business in a disaffected community, drafting letters for housing disputes on behalf of tenants, and working for reproductive rights. “The firm has been a long-term leader on LGBTQ rights, including litigating some of the most significant cases and continuing to do pro bono work in that space,” shared one associate. Associates were also impressed by the ability to source their own pro bono opportunities and pitch them to partners, and should they support them, juniors are able to “really take ownership of it.”

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: undisclosed
• Average per US attorney: 101

Inclusion

When it comes to affinity groups at Gibson Dunn, there are societies aiming to champion every aspect of associates’ backgrounds, whether it be their ethnicity, religion, parental responsibilities, or veteran status. And this filters through the ranks all the way up to management, who make efforts to attend events and speak to their own experiences on what it’s like to be a partner “to give you the confidence to know that it’s achievable and hear their stories and the paths that led there.” Associates also praised the parental policies at the firm, which extend further than encouraging people to take leave, and includes “really good fertility initiatives, not just IVF but adoption and surrogacy programs too.”

Get Hired

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus

1L applicants interviewed for 2027 summer program: 1,077 (includes students who were screened and straight to callbacks)

Gibson Dunn receives applications for the summer program through law school–sponsored programs, including OCI and résumé collects, and through the application portal on the website.  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 2027 summer program: 515

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 2027 summer program: 300

Acceptances for 2027 summer program: 139

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.”