Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison: What Law Students Should Know

Paul Weiss is the firm that shows up when the stakes are highest. High-profile M&A battles, bet-the-company litigation, billion-dollar bankruptcies, and the most sensitive white collar investigations. The firm has built its reputation on taking the hardest matters and staffing them with attorneys who are, frankly, operating at a different level.

The Basics

• Vault Rank: #8
• Headquarters: New York
• US Offices: New York, Washington DC
• Size: ~1,000 attorneys worldwide
• Starting Salary: $225,000

What They Are Known For

Paul Weiss is a dual powerhouse: M&A and litigation, both operating at the very top of the market.

The M&A practice is elite. The firm advises on some of the largest and most contentious transactions in the world, frequently representing PE sponsors (including a deep relationship with several of the largest buyout funds) and public company boards. The corporate practice has grown significantly in recent years and now rivals firms that were historically ahead of it in deal volume.

Litigation is where Paul Weiss built its original reputation, and it remains one of the finest trial practices in the country. The firm handles high-stakes commercial litigation, securities enforcement, antitrust, and white collar defense. The attorneys are trial lawyers in the truest sense, they prepare cases to win at trial, not just to settle. Several of the firm's litigators are genuine celebrities in the legal world.

Bankruptcy and restructuring is another area of strength. The PE connection creates a natural pipeline, when leveraged companies hit trouble, Paul Weiss is often already in the room. White collar defense, particularly for high-profile individuals and corporations facing government investigations, is a core practice.

Culture and Assignment

Paul Weiss uses a hybrid assignment system. Associates join a department but have significant freedom to choose which matters they work on within that group. It is more structured than a pure free market but less rigid than a formal rotation.

The culture is intense, intellectually demanding, and unapologetically ambitious. Paul Weiss attracts people who want to work on the most consequential matters in the market, and the firm delivers on that promise. Partners are brilliant and expect associates to keep up.

There is a genuine commitment to pro bono and public service that goes beyond most BigLaw firms. Paul Weiss has historically taken on major civil rights and social justice cases, and pro bono is a real part of the culture, not a marketing line.

Hours are very high. When you are working on the biggest deals and the biggest cases, the demands are enormous. But the associates who thrive here are the ones who would rather work 80 hours on a transformative M&A deal than 60 hours on routine commercial lending.

Summer Program

Paul Weiss runs a mid-sized summer program, typically 80-120 summers. The program is well-organized and gives summers exposure to both the corporate and litigation sides of the firm.

The firm takes its summer program seriously as a recruiting tool. Social events are generous, the work is real, and partners make themselves available. The offer rate is consistently high.

What distinguishes the Paul Weiss summer experience is the quality of the matters you touch. Even as a summer, you are likely to work on transactions and cases that you will read about in the news.

Offices

New York is the center of everything. The vast majority of the firm's M&A, litigation, PE, and bankruptcy work happens in Manhattan. The DC office has a meaningful presence focused on regulatory work, government investigations, and appellate litigation. International offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and other cities support cross-border work.

Paul Weiss is a New York firm. If you want to practice in New York and do the highest-profile work available, it is one of the best options. If you want geographic diversity, the platform is limited.

Compensation

Paul Weiss matches the Cravath scale. $225,000 base for first-years with a $21,000 bonus. Total first-year comp: approximately $246,000.

The firm has occasionally led the market on special bonuses and other forms of associate compensation. When profits are strong, and they have been, the firm shares.

Who Should Apply

Paul Weiss is the right firm for students who want to work at the absolute top of the market in either M&A or litigation, ideally with some interest in both. It is the right firm for students who are intellectually fearless, comfortable with high expectations, and motivated by the significance of the work rather than the predictability of the lifestyle.

If you want a large, geographically diverse platform or a structured rotation to figure out your interests, Paul Weiss is not the fit. But if you want to walk into a room where every person is operating at the highest level and every matter is one you will remember for your career, this is the firm.