2024 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

• “Summer associates receive appropriate levels of responsibility and work for a summer associate: nothing mission critical but substantive work that meaningfully contributes to a case. Summers attend and observe client meetings, mediations, and other complex and interesting meetings. The hours are also very reasonable.”
• “Work assignments were chosen to give me substantive experience and an understanding of overall deal structure (rather than rote tasks). Many opportunities to sit in on high-level negotiations and meetings with clients.”
• “I got to work on two Supreme Court briefing projects and a dynamic regulatory matter with the cybersecurity group, among other things. It was a great experience.”
• “There were substantive trainings and assignments for PW summer associates. I had the chance to be integrated into an investigation team, which is a unique experience as a summer, and I found it to be the most meaningful part of my summer. I handled a mix of research, document review, and witness interviews for my various cases. I got real feedback on my work product and felt like I was actually contributing to my teams.”

• “The summer associate program is social, with multiple events throughout a given week with various departments, and a generous meal budget to get lunch with associates of all levels. Associates genuinely look forward to the summer program and getting to know the summer associates.”
• “Paul, Weiss has generous social budgets for summer associates, allowing them to engage in fun events, attend great restaurants, and connect with interesting peers.”
• “The firm hosted multiple social events for summer associates, including firmwide events, department-level events, and summer associate-only events.”
• “The social aspects of the summer program were fun. I think they provided plenty of opportunities for summers to bond as a group and to get to know other attorneys in the firm. There were events after work as well as lunches and more informal social activities during the day, but I never felt overwhelmed with too many activities. My favorite summer event was the MoMA event, when the firm invites everyone from the firm (all offices) and plus-ones to NY and rents out the museum for a private event with great food, music, and art.”

• “I was pleasantly surprised that both formal and informal training is a continuous and never-ending aspect of practicing in my department at my firm. Partners and senior associates are always willing to offer their time to make sure more-junior members of the team fully understand what is going on with respect to any particular matter.”
• “My work is more flexible than I anticipated. I mostly set my own hours and practice in more areas of the law than I expected. Paul, Weiss has also given me more substantive tasks earlier into my career than I was led to believe I would get in BigLaw.”
• “It hasn't differed substantially. The firm attorneys, especially associates, are up-front that being a summer associate is not comparable in workload and difficulty to being an associate. The workload does not come as a surprise.”
• “I was pleasantly surprised at how understanding senior associates were about taking evenings/time off. I do not feel worried about taking a night off to spend time with friends or engage in a hobby (which I know friends at other firms will often worry about).”

At Paul, Weiss, summer associates are part of deal teams and case teams from day one, giving them the opportunity to experience our fast-paced, team-oriented work environment and introducing them to life at one of the world’s most prestigious law firms. They gain unparalleled experience working alongside nationally leading lawyers on complex, important matters for the biggest names in the business world and get the chance to interact with clients in meetings, fireside chats, and more. Summer associates shape their own experience by working with one department or exploring a variety of practice areas. The firm offers comprehensive training, and each summer associate is assigned a partner and associate mentor who guide them in their work and help them make connections across the firm. We welcome motivated, talented law students who want to achieve the highest level of excellence in lawyering.