About Patterson Belknap
Patterson Belknap is a New York-based law firm of approximately 200 lawyers. Our practice is global, and our dedication to our people and to our clients make us the choice of many admired institutions and attracts outstanding talent to our firm. Our single office approach fosters a uniquely effective level of collaboration between our lawyers, which allows us to provide the highest level of service in all that we do. Patterson Belknap assembles exceptional teams representing a robust array of experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, and talents.
Since our founding in 1919, we have been guided by our core values of Excellence, Integrity, Accountability, Inclusion, and Service. These core values are demonstrated each day by our attorneys and business services professionals, and are fundamental to how we work with each other and our clients.
We deliver a full range of services centered around three areas: litigation and disputes, corporate and transactions, and the legal needs of tax-exempt organizations and private clients.
Our litigators are known for their big trial victories and formidable track record in high-stakes disputes. We have deep bench strength in key litigation areas including commercial litigation, IP litigation, and white-collar defense and investigations, as well as a diverse collection of leading niche practice areas including advertising litigation, anti-counterfeiting and brand protection, media and entertainment, and law firm defense. We also provide sophisticated counsel on a wide range of transactional activities and serve as a single point of contact for the legal needs of cultural institutions, tax-exempt organizations, and private clients. Our practice groups and attorneys are regularly ranked among the leaders in New York and nationally by the most respected industry guides, based on client and peer reviews.
Our clients include a diverse group of institutions and individuals including major pharmaceutical and medical device companies; media and publishing empires; household-name consumer products companies; leading financial institutions; galleries and museums; and various private foundations and charities. We have a global client base ranging from foreign companies seeking to transact business on U.S. stock exchanges to U.S. companies doing business abroad.
To learn more about our attorneys and client work, click here. https://www.pbwt.com/news/
We have a long-standing commitment to public service that driven by our sense of professional responsibility and recognized by our 100% Pro Bono participation from all firm lawyers, every year, for more than two decades. We care about our attorneys, our staff, and the communities we are privileged to serve. As a result of our performance and our values, the firm is consistently included on The American Lawyer’s “A-List” of 20 leading law firms in the United States. To learn more about our Pro Bono program, click here. https://www.pbwt.com/pro-bono/
Professional Development
Our associates work directly with clients, conduct depositions, argue motions, and examine witnesses at trial, and they are often up against partners on the other side. We take professional development seriously and provide our associates with the training and mentoring they need to develop and thrive. But, don’t just take our word for it – click here to hear directly from our associates. https://www.pbwt.com/careers/hear-from-our-associates/
Recruiting & Hiring
We look for intellectually curious, engaging, collaborative people who desire early responsibility and are highly motivated to solve complex legal problems. We expect our associates to assume significant substantive responsibility for their cases and matters. For that reason, we highly value the challenges, responsibility and perspective that a judicial clerkship provides. 75 percent of our litigation associates have clerked, and the bulk of our associate hiring involves recruiting individuals directly from chambers.
While we do not currently run a summer associate program, we do recruit a select number of 3Ls each year. As a firm with a single office, we are interested in students who want to be in New York. Additionally, our 3L hiring is limited to students who are specifically interested in litigation.