Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP - The Inside View

Curious about Weil’s style? “The firm prides itself on handling the intricate, thorny cases,” an insider made clear.Indeed, the firm’s not one to shy away from a front-page deal. It was this very New York powerhouse which led some of the US’ largest bankruptcies to date – think Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, and General Motors. But that’s not to say Weil’s glory days are in the past; the firm’s currently got its fingers in many large restructuring deals. For instance, the firm is currently connected with WeWork’s Chapter 11 filings through its representation of SoftBank.

Its expertise is so great that Chambers USA recognizes the firm’s bankruptcy/restructuring practice as one of the elites nationwide. But Weil’s no one-trick pony; the firm also garners high praise on the national stage for its product liability & mass torts, securities regulation (advisory), antitrust, banking & finance, capital markets, corporate crime & investigations, corporate/M&A, environment, private equity, SPACs and tax work. It’s this Weil-balanced offering that our sources reckoned keeps the firm “stable though market upturns and downturns.” The firm picks up a smattering of accolades for its regional expertise too, though you’ll have to visit chambers.com to see the full list. We’ve got a word limit over here!

Weil’s got nine US offices; the vast majority of associates join the firm’s New York office, though there are a few who ply their trade in the Silicon Valley, DC, Dallas, Boston and Miami offices. The firm also has bases in Houston, LA, San Francisco, and a further six international offices.

Strategy & Future

“It’s always been important to our firm that we have strong transaction and finance practices, and also strong litigation and restructuring practices,” executive partner Barry Wolf tells us. As such, “when markets go up and down, we are well balanced,” he adds.

Growth is also clearly on the firm’s mind. “We continue to invest both organically and laterally,” says Wolf. “We made 16 new partners across the firm’s global offices, effective January 1, 2024,” he tells us of the firm’s organic growth – this is up from the 12 partner promotions in 2022. The firm “also brought in 16 lateral partners over the course of 2023” across a range of practices. Energy was one focal point; Wolf tells us the firm added four lateral partners to the Houston energy team to grow out the practice across the US. “The premise is that our lateral growth will provide more opportunities for associates,” Wolf makes clear.

Read more from Barry Wolf under the ‘Get Hired’ tab, including updates on leadership transitions.

The Work

Most summer associates join a practice-specific program, while those in New York and Dallas rotate through multiple departments before selecting their top choice. The majority of juniors join the corporate department, followed by the litigation, restructuring and benefits, tax and executive compensation groups. Once settled in a group, associates are assigned work through staffing partners who oversee workloads and individual interests. “I do think they are very intentional about the work they give you,” one source considered. “During your mid- and end-of-year reviews, you’re allowed to indicate what kinds of projects you’re looking for and it works well.”

Weil’s corporate department covers a number of subgroups, including private equity; M&A; banking & finance; private funds; capital markets; tech & IP transactions; real estate; public company advisory; and structured finance. “Public company work is our bread and butter,” one M&A source explained. “The firm’s M&A and private equity subgroups used to be combined,” so it’s not uncommon for the two to have overlapping cases. The now separate private equity group works with a number of portfolio companies on both the buy and sell side. Teams here are staffed pretty leanly. “There’s usually a dedicated junior, mid-level and senior on the core deal,” one source said, “though if we get into a situation where the client has a tight timeline, they’ll staff people to assist so we can hit those deadlines.” What does that look like in practice, you ask? “Typically, on a buy-side deal you’re doing diligence, checklists, resolutions, overseeing schedules, reference checks and inserting comments into merger agreements and ancillary documents,” an M&A junior detailed. Responsibility creeps up too: “As a first-year, you’re not expected to think through the comments as much, but as you progress as a second-year, you need to decide if you have any questions or if there’s any follow-up required with the specialist.”

Corporate/M&A clients: The Kroger Company, Lazard, L’Oreal. Advised MGM Resorts on the $1.1 billion sale of The Mirage Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip to Hard Rock International.

“There’s exposure to the CMA (UK Competition and Markets Authority) and the European Commission…”

The litigation department houses the complex commercial litigation; antitrust/competition; securities litigation; patent litigation; employment litigation; and white collar defense, regulatory and investigations subgroups. “For such a small group, we do a variety of things!” one antitrust associate noted. Cases in this subgroup cover both corporate and litigation. “On the litigation side, we have cartel cases and criminal investigations, as well as private civil litigation and conduct cases,” they explained. “On the corporate side, the PE or M&A group will sometimes pull us in, or clients come to us directly as antitrust counsel to do diligence, risk assessment and the regulatory approval process,” they added. And the work’s not just stateside: “We’ve got a presence across London, Brussels, and Paris so there’s exposure to the CMA (UK Competition and Markets Authority) and the European Commission – it’s awesome!” Over in the securities litigation subgroup, “there are two main buckets, and a few one-off cases,” a source explained. “Normally, our clients are being sued for violation of federal securities laws, or we’re dealing with breach of contract claims.” As for responsibility levels, our sources reckoned their experiences were “pretty representative of what’s expected of a junior.” A second-year explained, “most of the time I’ll be reviewing documents and looking into legal research questions. Sometimes there’s more fact research to be done, and other times I’ll be assisting senior associates with drafting and responding to discovery requests.”

Litigation clients: Paramount, Getty Images, GrubHub. Represented Meta Platforms against an FTC investigation into Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality company Within.

Over in the restructuring group, juniors work on both debtor and creditor matters. “Debtor work tends to be the main part of our practice,” one associate explained. “As you become more senior, you get to work on more pitches and creditor-side matters as those tend to be more leanly staffed with mid-level to senior associates.” Juniors’ involvement varies case by case; sometimes it involves playing a more administrative role and carrying out a lot of the organizational work (“in bankruptcy, everything revolves around noticing details and staying organized!”), and other times it may be drafting motions and disclosure statements, working closely with mid-levels to carry out research related to the Chapter 11 plan, and getting involved in negotiations.

Restructuring clients: Softbank, Western Global Airlines, iFIT Health & Fitness. Represented Softbank in connection with WeWork’s Chapter 11 filings.

Pro Bono

The firm encourages associates to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono work each year, though our sources were keen to note they’d long cleared that requirement. “I did 100 last year!” one enthused. “If you’re doing enough client billable work then pro bono is technically unlimited! It’d probably have to get very extreme for someone to step in and stop you…” another considered.

“I haven’t seen an issue in the news that Weil hasn’t gotten involved with in some way.”

With a variety of cases to pick up, it’s no wonder that this lot get so stuck in. “I haven’t seen an issue in the news that Weil hasn’t gotten involved with in some way,” an associate explained of the causes the firm is dedicated to. “As a first-year, you’re involved in work for the Innocence Project," one source outlined (and they're also required to take on another pro bono matter) but we heard that, "beyond that, you can really do anything.” The pro bono team frequently sends round emails with opportunities involving reproductive rights, voting rights, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, housing matters and corporate-aligned work too. And if none of that tickles your fancy, “you can go out and source your own” to present to the team.

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 75,742
• Average per US attorney: 78.8

Career Development

Training and mentorship were both given a thumbs-up by our associate sources. Juniors across all practices recalled having formal training sessions upon joining the firm, but it doesn’t stop there. “Trainings continue throughout the year,” a source said, “and you continue to have training as mid-levels and seniors.” In the private equity group in particular, “there’s a comprehensive program with sessions scheduled at least once a week.” The Boston private equity team also hosts associate-led trainings as well as informal lunch-and-learns. “The smaller group sessions are really valuable for more specific questions you have,” an interviewee explained. One slight qualm we heard from our sources though was, while the firm is good about training on hard skills, “if you want help with professional development you need to put yourself out there.”

“Seniors and mid-levels always want to take you under their wing.”

Luckily for our sources, there’s ample opportunity for mentorship at the firm. As part of the formal mentorship program, newbies are assigned partner and associate mentors. Additionally, in the M&A subgroup in particular, first-years are also paired with a second- or third-year associate to “help get acclimated to the group.” The highlight for many of our sources, however, was the informal mentorship. “You’re encouraged to forge relationships with everyone,” an associate told us. “I’m getting coffees with people all the time!” Many of our sources picked up informal mentors through the teams they were staffed on. “So far, the best mentorship I’ve gotten is from the mid-levels and seniors I work with,” one junior gushed. “Seniors and mid-levels always want to take you under their wing.”

Looking ahead to partnership, “it does feel attainable and there is a path,” one associate explained, though there’s not a lot of focus on the process until the end of your fifth year. “At that point, you’ll get a better sense if the firm thinks the path is open to you, and you’ll have discussions on the steps you need to take to get there,” we heard.

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: no requirement

There’s no billable requirement at the firm, so “your bonus and performance reviews aren’t tied to hours.” Alongside feedback from performance reviews, “you have an idea that you’re on track based on how much you’re working and how much experience you’re getting through your work,” a junior explained. “There’s always more work out there if you want to seek it out, but I feel like there’s enough for me to do that I’ve never had to go outside of the normal staffing process.”

So with no target to indicate hours, how much do Weil juniors bill? “On a slower week, 40 to 50 hours is a good amount,” one litigator suggested. “Busier weeks can be anything upwards of 65.” Associates in transactional practices reported similar hours. “The firm does a good job of understanding that the hours can be a bit crazy because of the nature of transactions,” one private equity source explained, “so when you’re slow they encourage you to relax and enjoy it.” Overall, according to our survey, juniors at Weil reported working around 46.2 hours a week on average – lower than the market average of 48.2.

Associates are required to be in office four days a week. “That’s been a recent change, but thankfully I don’t think Fridays are coming back any time soon,” a source mused.

Culture

As is to be expected of a global firm with a headcount of over 1,200 attorneys, there are massive variations in the lived experiences of the firm’s culture. “Even each floor in the building is different!” one New York associate quipped. “I’m on the 24th floor where the employment, patent, tax and antitrust teams are located. We’re all smaller groups that do our own thing and that’s the vibe,” we heard. “I was worried that it would be a super cult-y, 'work hard, play hard' vibe, but the people I interact with very much treat this as a job and have lives outside of work.”

“…pull you for a casual walk round the block to schmooze…”

Over in larger groups like securities, restructuring and corporate departments, associates noted that recently “it’s gotten pretty busy.” While social events may have had to take a bit of a back seat, “we’ve still got great working relationships,” an associate made clear. “Senior associates are good at taking juniors out for coffee. They’ll often pull you for a casual walk round the block to schmooze, and by the time you’re back at the office, you’ve made a connection!” When the opportunity arises, this lot put in the effort to grab the occasional group lunch and attend the odd cocktail party.

Inclusion

“In the past three years, the majority of partners made in the M&A group have been women,” one associate recalled. Litigation’s also not doing too bad: “We have three heads of litigation and one is a woman. She’s extremely badass and hashtag goals.” That being said, “overall, there are still more men than women in partnership.”

When it comes to the representation of minority backgrounds, our sources acknowledged there was still work to be done. “We don’t have enough associates from minority backgrounds, and we certainly don’t have enough partners from minority backgrounds,” an interviewee observed. “We are working to be better,” another reasoned.

Get Hired

LATERAL PROFILE: Thinking of lateraling to Weil? Here's all you need to know...

Recruitment on and off campus:

OCI applicants interviewed: Undisclosed

Interviewees outside OCI: Undisclosed

Weil interviews at a myriad of law schools and job fairs, and participates in resume collection programs at many additional law schools throughout the U.S. and Canada. Candidates are also encouraged to apply directly to via the Firm’s career site. 

“We’re looking to get to know the candidate and ascertain whether they have an interest in what we do. A key trait of a successful associate is having a level of intellectual curiosity about what we do,” our hiring source at the firm tells us. 

Candidates interview with two partners and two associates. “Overall, the goal is to get a sense of each candidate, their motivations and their professional interests,” our hiring source tells us.

Questions are geared toward gauging candidates’ “readiness to commit to, and qualifications for, a career that is both demanding and rewarding.” 

There is no one “type” of Weil lawyer, our hiring source explains: “We’ve found that both introverts and extroverts can excel at the firm (and in interviews). When people are sincerely interested in a legal career at a top-notch firm, both for the intellectual challenge and the rewards, those interviews generally end up being fantastic.” 

Top tips for interviews: 

“The best interviews tend to be those with a conversational tone. We want candidates to be prepared and ready to discuss their background, unique and informative experiences they’ve had, and motivation for the future, as well as ask questions that exhibit their interest in the industry and our firm in particular.” – Weil hiring source. 

“If you’re a well-rounded, candidate you’ll do great. If you’re prepared and serious about wanting to be a good lawyer, you’ll do well here.” – a junior associate. 

“The most outstanding interviews tend to be with candidates who are comfortable with themselves and their resumes–those that come across as sincere, interested, and engaged.” – Weil hiring source. 

Summer program 

Offers: Undisclosed

Acceptances: 101

Our hiring source tells us that Weil’s summer program “is a great balance of real life, in terms of having a dose of life as a lawyer here, and a great introduction to networking and developing relationships that can last throughout a legal career.” 

Summer associates do “real work for clients in real-time, working closely with associates and partners throughout the firm. They get a sense of being on a team and being in the trenches on a matter.” 

Weil provides numerous opportunities to explore the firm’s culture through day-to-day interactions, casual lunches/dinners and planned social activities. There are shadowing engagements as well, where the summer is assigned to a partner in order to shadow their routine on calls and in meetings: “The program gives our participants a good sense of what life will be like as a full-time associate at Weil.” 

Most summer associates return as juniors; they are hired into specific practice groups based upon their preferences expressed at the end of the summer associate program. 

Top tips for the program: 

“Summer associates succeed most when they do not have preconceived notions about their summer experience. Those who are ‘all-in’; those who proactively explore many areas of the firm by working and interacting with our attorneys; those who become part of a team that shares the common goal of client service and a sense of community.” – Weil hiring source. 

And finally… 

Our hiring source tells us that in the end “talented individuals who want a seat at the table and an opportunity to tackle complex, challenging matters on behalf of world-class companies will find ample opportunities to shine.” 

Interview with Barry Wolf, Executive Partner and Chair of the Management Committee

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?

Barry Wolf: There are a couple of themes – first, on the pure work and practice front, we’ve always stressed a balance of practice and geography. It’s always been important to our firm that we have strong transactional and finance practices, and also strong litigation and restructuring practices. When markets go up and down, we are well balanced. Also, as we know in terms of world events, things happen differently and at different times, so it’s also important to be well balanced on a geographic basis across all our offices in the US, Europe and Asia.

The other part which is really important to us is the idea of the culture of our firm, and that’s something that’s made up of a number of different elements that are extremely important. We are here for professional and financial success, but we also look beyond the pursuit of financial gain. Things like teamwork, caring for one another, mentorship, giving back to communities, and inclusion have all been part of our Firm’s DNA from the very beginning. Since our formation, the firm has always championed entrepreneurism as we give responsibility to associates early on in their careers. Mentorship, training, and sponsorship are always extremely important to us and are things we are quite proud of. Culture is something we view near and dear to our law firm, and is something that as the industry changes, we seek to hold onto and strengthen.

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

Wolf: There are a few different things I’d like to highlight. One is we continue to invest both organically and laterally. We made 16 new partners across the firm’s global offices, effective January 1, 2024. We also brought in 16 lateral partners over the course of 2023. We’re continuing to build and continue to grow both laterally and organically. The premise is that our lateral growth will provide more opportunities for professional development, upward trajectory and career promotions for our associates.

We’ve also had a couple of leadership transitions over the year. We have private equity tri-heads in the US; one is from New York, one from Boston, and the other from Silicon Valley. These heads represent our offices where private equity is very important to us, showing that it’s not just a New York practice. Also with respect to our US leadership, we have three people spread across three offices.

Another leadership transition is we have two new Co-Managing Partners for our Washington, DC office. One is in our complex commercial litigation group, and the other is in our antitrust group. These are two significant practices for the DC office, and these are two younger partners who are dynamic and will continue to energize and grow that office

We also added to our energy practice in Houston. We had four new lateral partners join over the course of 2023, who are young and dynamic to grow out our energy practice in the US through our Houston office.

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?

Wolf: The macroeconomic events over the last year and a half to two years have been affecting us as they have the rest of the industry. Given the geopolitical and economic uncertainty that exists, clients have slowed down on the transaction and financing front. Over the last couple of years there’s been a slowdown on transactions – the good news for us is we are well balanced. Out litigation department continues to be strong, and our restructuring group is second to none. The interesting thing is while restructuring has actively picked up, most people were expecting a bigger boom which we haven’t yet seen. We hope for a lot of reasons that the conflicts overseas stop, interest rates go down, and finance activity can pick up. In the meantime we are well balanced to handle what goes on economically.

CA: Obviously, among an array of other practices, Weil is a bankruptcy powerhouse and is recognized as one of ‘The Elite’ by Chambers USA. What would you predict 2024 will look like for bankruptcy/restructuring practices amid fears of a recession? Are there any major developments/rulings/regulations that law students should keep an eye on if they’re interested in bankruptcy?

Wolf: I wish I could predict what was going to happen so I could start investing in stocks and bonds!

I think that restructuring activity is going to pick up as well as transactions. It’s a question of when. Clearly on the restructuring side, there is the view that businesses are putting off the day when they’ll have to restructure. When interest rates flatten or come down, there’ll be more certainty. Given what’s going on with conflicts and instability overseas it’s hard to predict, but people expect transaction activity in Q2 and Q3 of 2024 to pick up.

CA: Back in 2019 you were awarded the ‘Outstanding Ally’ award at the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards. We'd love to hear a bit more about how you champion allyship at the firm, particularly in recent years where we’ve seen so much commentary around inclusion.

Wolf: My view is that tone at the top is extremely important when it comes to inclusion. The way I state our goal regarding inclusion is that when everyone at the firm, both lawyers and staff members, feels comfortable that they can reach his/her/their potential, that is when we’ve reached our goal. When that happens, all the numbers people focus on will take care of themselves. How do we achieve that? We have to have active involvement from our leaders, and that starts with me. I am personally very involved in these efforts. I lead mentoring circles at the firm which provide mentoring for people who are diverse across a number of different affinity groups. I was the first partner to lead a mentoring circle, and there are now many of them as people have seen their successes. Similarly, there have been two advisory boards set up – we have a group of black partners and a group of black associates who I meet with monthly to discuss ideas and put action items into place. I’m not someone who believes in theory; you have to take actions, and not all will work, but you have to try things out and you have to do things to improve. It’s not about giving people an unfair advantage, it’s about levelling the playing field. Society doesn’t provide for a level playing field, whether for women, lawyers/staff of color as well as for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Inside the Firm

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

Wolf: The next generation are different from the generation before, and they’ll be different from the generation that comes after them. The answer is really about communication and understanding what the needs and wishes of the incoming people are. There’s no one size fits all to any of this. People come from different backgrounds. The pandemic has impacted the generation that is entering the workforce now – these are people who started out working from home, and people who went to law school remotely and, as a result, don’t have the same understanding of the profession as the people who didn’t do that. It’s a two-way street; we have to learn that this generation is different. They learned they can and do work better from home, but they also need to learn that there are benefits to training, development, and culture in the office. We need to achieve the right balance. It’s something we’ve been striving to do at the Firm. Often times, when we do something, we pilot it to see what works best and what doesn’t work, and we make adjustments to it to achieve the right balance for the next generation who have lived through a pandemic. Life is now different, and people need to understand the benefits of both sides and come to a balance.

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?

Wolf: The legal industry is facing a number of challenges. The challenge of the moment – how you attract and retain your talent in the current market – amongst lawyers and especially partners in top tier law firms has continued to accelerate, and I expect will continue to accelerate over the next five years. Our view is we’re going to retain people by providing both financial and professional success, but also a culture in which people want to be here beyond money. That’s a challenge in itself considering the amount of compensation being offered to star performers – there’s no doubt about that. That is going to and has already created challenges – clients seem to be following star performers from firm to firm. Creating an environment to attract and retain star performers will be a challenge for everyone.

The Fun Bit

CA: The hours in BigLaw can be punishing. How do you unwind at the end of a long day/week?

Wolf: I am an avid but not a great golfer, so I would say golf is something that allows me to take my mind off work, because it forces me to focus on something else other than business. I also tend to play with family members, so I’m also having good quality family time. I’m not sure I’m unwinding, but I’m decompressing from the stresses of the day! It allows me to focus on something I’m trying to master.

One nice thing about golf is you can root for everyone you’re playing with to do well. It’s not like someone has to win and lose like with tennis. If I make par and my daughter makes a birdie, I’m thrilled! If I make a six and she makes a seven, I’m not so thrilled! It allows you to go out and root for everyone you’re playing with.

CA: Is there a movie/TV show/books about lawyers or the legal profession that you particularly enjoy? And how accurate would you say it is?

Wolf: I tend not to watch TV shows regarding the law, but I’ve read every John Grisham book that has ever come out! The Firm was one of the first, and he’s published 25 since. They’re all legal thrillers of some sort, and they’re not the most challenging read, so it’s nice to unwind with on holiday by the beach!