2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Paul, Weiss

For almost 150 years, Paul, Weiss has been a leader in the legal industry and a mainstay in the New York City legal market. Today, the firm has more than 1,000 lawyers working across 10 global offices, and is known for representing some of the world’s largest companies, private equity firms, and financial institutions.

Groundbreaking Start

Founded in 1875, Paul, Weiss was the first major firm in New York where Jews and Gentiles practiced together, as well as the first to hire a Black associate and elect a woman to the partnership. With early roots in litigation, the firm has grown to become a market leader in public M&A, private equity, litigation, white collar and regulatory defense, and restructuring.

One of the Greats

Paul, Weiss is home to a panoply of preeminent practice groups. Its M&A team advises on matters that have defined core principles in the field, and has experience working across industries. The team has secured deals for companies like Amazon, General Electric, General Motors, IBM, and Qualcomm. Since 2020, the firm has advised on over 200 billion-dollar-plus M&A transactions and over a trillion dollars in total M&A.

The firm’s private equity group was a pioneer in the area of leveraged buyouts and regularly represents buyout and investment firms. Its fund formation group leads the charge for all types of asset managers, from private equity funds to open-ended funds and more. In the last three years, the firm has handled more than 400 PE/PE portfolio co-deals for clients like Apollo, Ares, Brookfield, Clearlake, General Atlantic, Kohlberg, KPS, Oak Hill Capital, Roark, and 3G Capital, among others. 

Its renowned litigation department is known for its trial experience and advises on some of the highest-profile litigations. The firm has recently won cases for Amazon, Blackstone, IBM, Mastercard, Uber, and Goldman Sachs—this last one before the U.S. Supreme Court, no less. Attorneys in the firm’s white collar and regulatory defense practice represent Fortune 50 clients, boards, and key executives in major government investigations and enforcement actions, Congressional hearings, and internal investigations.

Members of Paul, Weiss’ restructuring department handle the biggest restructuring matters, from both the company and creditor side. They recently represented Revlon, Diamond Sports Group, and Party City in their chapter 11 cases and handled three of the five largest restructurings of 2023.

Well-Trained Lawyers

Associates at Paul, Weiss enjoy high-quality training in addition to the high-level work. The firm hosts hundreds of internal training programs annually, including “bootcamp” trainings for junior litigation and corporate associates. Annual conferences for new, midlevel, and senior associates help associates successfully transition to new roles within the firm. The firm’s unique “Mock Pitch” workshop helps fifth-year associates understand client development and the firm’s capabilities across practice groups. The firm also offers professional skills and individual career coaching for attorneys of all levels, career development planning tools for associates, and coaching for summer associates during both the summer program and the third year of law school.

• Paul, Weiss advised World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in its $21 billion combination with UFC, forming a new sports and entertainment giant.
• The firm represented iconic beauty company Revlon in its successful bankruptcy, the largest chapter 11 filing of 2022.
• The firm advised Clearlake Capital in its $5.3 billion acquisition, as a leading member of an investor group, of Chelsea Football Club, the largest amount for a football club.
• The firm won a defense verdict for Citigroup in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit by failed Italian dairy giant Parmalat, and won a $1 billion counterclaim.

• 10 American Lawyer Dealmaker of the Year recognitions over the past seven consecutive years (2018–2024)— more than any other firm during that time period
• Seven practices named Law360 “Practice Groups of the Year” in both 2022 and 2023, among the most in the legal industry
• Private Equity Team of the Year, IFLR Americas (2024)
• Bankruptcy Law Firm of the Year, Chambers USA (2023)
• Commercial Litigation Law Firm of the Year, Chambers USA (2022)