2025 Vault Rankings
At a Glance
“Culture, people, the clients.”
“High-quality work and flexibility in how the work is done.”
“Pro bono commitment.”
“The long hours.”
“The constant flurry of emails.”
“The clients are sometimes demanding, and that makes work/life occasionally difficult.”
About 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.
News & Awards
- 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)
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-6064
Phone: (212) 373-3000
Firm Chair: Brad S. Karp
Deputy Chair: Valerie E. Radwaner
Hiring Partners: Jaren Janghorbani, Greg Laufer, Elizabeth McColm, Laura Turano
Total No. Attorneys (2024):
1K - 1.5K
No. of Partners Named 2024:
12
1st year: $225,000
2nd year: $235,000
3rd year: $260,000
4th year: $310,000
5th year: $365,000
6th year: $360,000
7th year: $420,000
8th year: $435,000
Summer Associate: $4,327 weekly
Pamela N. Davidson
Chief Legal Personnel and Recruitment Officer
(212) 373-2548
pdavidson@paulweiss.com
No. of U.S. Offices: 5
No. of International Offices: 5
New York, NY (HQ)
Washington, DC
San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Wilmington, DE
London
Toronto
Beijing
Tokyo
Hong Kong
Antitrust
Capital Markets
Corporate
Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
Cybersecurity & Data Protection
Digital Technology
Executive Compensation
Finance
Internal Investigations
Investment Management
IP & Technology Transactions
Litigation
Mergers & Acquisitions
Private Equity
Real Estate
Restructuring
Securities Litigation
Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation
Tax
White Collar & Regulatory Defense
*See firm website for complete list of practice areas and industries.