2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE PREMIUM SPONSOR Orrick

Our Survey Says

VAULT'S VERDICT:

Whatever an associate might want in a law firm—high-quality work, a great work environment, or top-notch technology—Orrick has it. The firm recruits beyond the top law schools and looks for intelligent, hard-working team players who have grit. Firm settings are friendly, supportive, and welcoming. Partners treat associates as equals and, through open-door policies and feedback, help them gain experience and grow. Beyond training academies and catalogs of training sessions offered by the firm, partners step in with on-the-job guidance. Lateral hires are oriented well and made to feel like part of the team quickly. Project work ranges from basic to level appropriate to challenging, all of which help associates develop professionally. Assignment coordinators help distribute work fairly, which helps associates reach the billable hour requirement of 1,950 hours. These hours include many non-client billable matters. Salaries are top of the market and lockstep, with bonuses attainable for hours worked, entering time efficiently, and contributing to the firm. Associates love that Orrick is a leader in firm technology and innovation. Orrick also offers a full range of wellness programs, including counseling, but associates really appreciate the expectation that they “unplug and recharge” for one full week each year. The firm, through a pro bono coordinator, encourages pro bono work, and hours count as billable. Diversity is a key consideration in hiring, retention, promotion, and programming. Associates feel confident in partnership prospects, complemented by a dedicated discussion series; otherwise, senior associate and counsel roles exist, and external options are posted on a firm job board.

THE FIRM'S PERSPECTIVE:

We’re thinking differently about legal careers for top talent. Orrick lawyers focus on one or more sectors: Tech & Innovation, Life Sciences and Healthtech, Renewable Energy & Energytech, and Finance & Fintech. Within each sector, you’ll have a practice focus: transactional, litigation, or regulatory.

Our clients include 4,000 venture-backed companies, 13 of the 25 largest public tech companies, renewable energy innovators, financial institutions, 700+ fintech companies, and 300+ AI innovators. Through cutting-edge work with disruptive companies and our strong pro bono practice, our team has the opportunity to impact some of today’s most important issues. 

Our litigators go to trial—in 2022, our team ranked No. 2 for American Lawyer Litigator of the Week on the strength of our wins. We have a deep commitment to training, including in legal and business skills. We enlist top faculty to provide negotiation, deposition, and trial skills, host practice group and business unit retreats, and offer a first-year Litigation Bootcamp. We also offer a bootcamp for junior lawyers in our Technology Companies Group, and we rolled out a version of that bootcamp last year for midlevel associates. In addition, associates attend four immersive development academies as they advance, including an executive MBA invitational for partner-track senior associates and counsel.

We offer fast-track advancement and flexibility. Nearly half of our 2022 class achieved partnership in 8.5 years—and many made it more quickly. We make hard work sustainable through 40 hours of bonus-eligible time to truly unplug, the Calm app and Modern Health platform, and wellness dollars to invest in self-care after intense periods. This—and a culture focused on connection and inclusion—has put us on the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work list for eight years in a row. We also invest in innovation—including cutting-edge AI-powered tools in BigLaw—to take the grind out of legal work.

Our senior leadership is 50% diverse (including nine women), and new partner classes have been 57% diverse over the past eight years. Through our Racial Justice Fellowship Program, five Orrick Fellows work full time each year at organizations dedicated to civil rights, criminal justice reform, and economic equity. 

Most of all, we’re always looking for ways to adapt and improve. If you want to join a team that’s among the best at what we do, practice in cutting-edge areas, and be part of a forward-looking, inclusive, and community-oriented firm, we hope you’ll have a conversation with us.