Career Development at Paul, Weiss

The firm has a strong commitment to learning and development at every stage of a lawyer’s career. Our Career Development team is focused on the professional growth and fulfillment of our lawyers and offers innovative and individualized coaching, career advising, and practical skills training. Our Career Development program is multi-disciplinary and continually evolving to ensure our associates are equipped to meet the changing demands of the profession and lead professionally rewarding careers.

Skills Coaching

The firm views coaching as an invaluable investment in professional growth and development. We engage an extensive roster of external coaches to work with our current attorneys and our alumni at all levels of seniority on the practical skills that are central to their day-to-day work and long-term success, including:

• Presentation & Communication
• Writing
• Management & Leadership
• Career Planning for Working Parents

Our coaches work one-on-one with attorneys to help them identify and build upon their strengths and develop strategies for continued growth.

Individual Career Coaching

Senior members of the firm’s Career Development team are available to meet confidentially with attorneys at all levels to discuss any topics relating to career development, including networking and profile-raising, managing teams and matters, professional skills, and goal-setting. They also can assist Paul, Weiss attorneys and alumni as they navigate internal and external transitions, including pursuing judicial clerkship opportunities.

Conferences

The firm hosts annual conferences for attorneys to practice professional skills and develop and deepen their professional relationships with peers and partners at key milestones in their careers:

• New Associate Orientation, held each fall, introduces new associates to Paul, Weiss and provides the foundation for success at the firm.
• The Midlevel Associate Conference focuses on critical management skills, including the challenges of managing and communicating with colleagues across difference, and is designed to prepare associates for the transition from junior to midlevel.
• The Senior Associate Conference focuses on leadership development, management skills, and career planning.
• The Mock Pitch Program places fifth-year associates in small groups to prepare and present a mock pitch to partners playing the client role. The program is an opportunity to learn more about the firm’s capabilities across practice groups and get individualized advice and feedback from partners about how to approach pitches and client development more generally.
• New Partner Orientation includes programs on leadership, business development, and firm strategy and governance.

Professional Skills Workshops

Career Development hosts innovative professional skills training programs, including practice group-specific, customized workshops that integrate both group instruction and individualized coaching. Our programs are taught by the firm’s most experienced lawyers and expert consultants and advisors at the top of their fields outside the firm.

Business Development Training

The firm’s Business Development Training Curriculum provides associates the opportunity to build and enhance client service and business development skills throughout their careers at the firm. As noted above, the curriculum includes a highly interactive Mock Pitch Program for fifth-year associates.

Alumni Panels

The firm’s extensive alumni network includes former Paul, Weiss lawyers who have gone on to work at the highest levels of the legal profession and in countless corporate and creative fields. Career Development hosts practice group and industry-specific panels to offer associates the opportunity to network with alumni in various industries and learn about their professional paths and career advice. Recent panels have profiled our Alumni in Tech, Alumni in Media & Entertainment, Alumni in Government, and Alumni in Public Interest. 

Legal Shadowing Hours

Junior and midlevel associates are encouraged to join and observe partners and more senior lawyers in their everyday practices—for calls, meetings, hearings, negotiations, and other teaching opportunities—to both enhance learning and develop mentoring relationships.

Career Planning Tools

Career Development has developed tech-enabled tools to support the firm’s attorneys in navigating their careers and excelling professionally.

• The Career Development Dashboard draws data from billing and finance to provide associates a “snapshot” of their work experience broken down by client and practice area, including pro bono matters. The Dashboard is a dynamic, data-rich and visually revealing portal that allows associates to track trends in their experience over time and identify areas for development.
• Practice group-specific Career Development Plans are customized, written tools that prompt associates to take stock of their professional development, achievements, and personal career goals. The CDPs are an integral part of the firm’s annual review process and facilitate conversations between partners and associates about how the firm can support their progress. The CDPs integrate with other career development tools, including practice group-specific skill continuums, that help associates frame their future professional objectives.
• CareerConnect, our curated job board, connects current attorneys and alumni with career opportunities at the firm’s clients and pro bono partners.
• The firm’s searchable Alumni Directory enables networking between current attorneys and alumni of the firm in government, finance, media and entertainment, and tech, among many other industries.