Training Program 

Paul, Weiss is heavily invested in our associates’ training and development. From our Summer Associate training to training for senior associates and beyond, our programs support associates across practice areas and throughout their careers. In-house programs are taught by Paul, Weiss partners, counsel and associates and, occasionally, by leading outside consultants.

Summer Associate

Our summer associate training introduces summers to the breadth of our practice. Programs focus on substantive topics related to corporate, litigation and transactional practice areas, and on skills critical across practice areas such as writing, presenting and negotiating. Highlights include:

• Hearing from Paul, Weiss attorneys about their own experience working on headline-grabbing matters to talk you through common, and commonly misunderstood, business terms.
• Learning practical skills for succeeding as you transition from law student to law firm associate, including effective email communication, managing assignments and competing deadlines and adding value to your teams and matters.

• Individual writing and oral presentation coaching.

Corporate Department Trainings

When associates join the Corporate Department as first-years, we prepare them for a strong start beginning with our substantive and hands-on programs at New Associate Orientation. From there, junior associates participate in our mandatory Corporate Cycle I and II curricula, along with practical rotation-specific trainings taught by partners, counsel and associates with whom they work. These comprehensive department-specific curricula include substantive training on legal and business topics, skills-based training, and individual coaching. More senior associates attend tailored programs and experiential workshops in their particular practice areas.  

Litigation Department Trainings

Our Litigation training consists of both substantive and skills-oriented programs and workshops for attorneys of all seniority levels, including an intensive two-year mandatory curriculum for first-year and second-year associates. The first-year curriculum, the Litigation I training series, begins with a number of introductory programs as part of New Associate Orientation in the fall, and is followed by training programs offered approximately once a week through May.  Programs include overviews of the lifecycle of a litigation and an investigation, along with an introduction to key documents associates are likely to encounter at each phase of a litigation.  These initial programs are followed by more in-depth training addressing key aspects of document discovery, depositions, drafting and filing motions, and writing persuasively.  The second-year curriculum, the Litigation II training series, addresses core litigation skills related to managing discovery, understanding evidentiary issues, and preparing for trial. Training for midlevel and senior associates focuses on building litigation skills and includes a variety of deposition and trial skills programs, as well as more hands-on, experiential workshops.  

Business and Financial Literacy Training

In recognition that our sophisticated clients demand lawyers who are not only skilled experts in the law, but also trusted business partners to advise on their most important matters, we train Paul, Weiss associates with the leadership and executive skills necessary to become a trusted adviser who understands the business of our clients. Throughout their careers at Paul, Weiss, associates attend trainings on financial literacy, corporate valuation and negotiation.

Informal and Small Group Trainings

We recognize that our attorneys benefit from trainings that are offered in a less structured, small group format, allowing for more interaction and connectivity among lawyers of different levels.  Programs such as “office hours” hosted by partners, coffee chats with mid-level and senior associates and Q&A sessions provide an open forum for associates to ask questions and gain clarity on topics that they may not otherwise have an opportunity to explore during their matters.  

On-demand Training

Many of our trainings are recorded and available for lawyers to review “just in time” during the course of their matters. Our lawyers also have access to short, practical training videos and resources, including outlines and interactive quizzes, provided by a leading external digital learning company.

External Training Opportunities

In addition to our in-house programming, under Paul, Weiss’s arrangements with leading external providers of continuing legal education (including, for example, the Practising Law Institute and the New York City Bar), our attorneys enjoy access to many of these organizations’ programs free of charge.