Career Development at Paul, Weiss

Paul, Weiss is strongly committed 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. The Career Development program is multi-disciplinary and is 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 topics that are central to their day-to-day work and long-term success, including:

• Presentation and communication skills
• Writing technique
• Team Collaboration, Management and Leadership development
• Working parenthood

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 with attorneys at all levels to discuss any topics relating to career development, including networking, raising their profiles, developing professional skills and setting goals. They also can assist Paul, Weiss attorneys, summer associates and alumni as they navigate transitions, including pursuing judicial clerkship opportunities.

Conferences

The firm hosts annual conferences for attorneys to practice professional skills and develop and deepen their connections 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 project management skills and team collaboration, including effectively communicating with colleagues across different perspectives, practices and experience levels, and is designed to prepare associates for the transition from junior to midlevel.
• The Senior Associate Conference, led by Harvard Business School Professor Ashish Nanda, focuses on leadership development and career goals.
• 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 customized, practice group–specific workshops that integrate group instruction and individualized coaching. Our programs are taught by the firm’s most experienced lawyers as well as outside expert consultants and advisors at the top of their fields.

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 included Alumni in Senior In-House Roles, 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 enhance learning and develop mentoring relationships.

Career Planning Tools

The firm has developed tech-enabled tools to support our attorneys in navigating their careers and excelling professionally.

• The Career Development Dashboard draws data from billing and finance to provide associates with a “snapshot” of their work experience broken down by client and practice area, including pro bono matters. The Dashboard helps associates to track trends in their experience over time and identify areas for development.
• Practice group–specific Career Development Plans are customized tools that prompt associates to take stock of their professional development, achievements and personal career goals. The CDPs are integral to the firm’s annual review process and facilitate conversations between partners and associates about how the firm can support the associates’ 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.