Go to Dashboard

Paul Weiss

Interesting selling points

  • Paul Weiss is a leading US law firm, headquartered in New York, known for its work involving public M&A, private equity, litigation, white-collar, and restructuring.
  • In the US, it is known for its political lobbying -   it was the leading law firm funding Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in 2024. 
  • In the UK, the firm is known for its private equity work, serving some of the world’s leading private equity funds.
  • High-profile clients include Apollo, IRIS, Marvel Studios, Sony, Nintendo, Sigourney Weaver, Spike Lee, and John McEnroe. 
  • 2026 marks the firm’s first cohort of London trainees as the firm aims to build on its expansion within the City. The London office now has over 100 lawyers working in it.
  • The firm has a long history of being involved in high-profile, politically important cases and issues. Lawyers at the firm were involved in Roe v Wade, the Windsor case, and representation of Nelson Mandela through its pro bono work on behalf of the South Africa Election Fund.
  • Paul Weiss was the first major New York City firm to hire a black associate and was involved in the Brown v Board of Education case in the US. 

We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.

Practice areas / services

Paul Weiss is a full-service law firm, with a broad range of practice areas including:

  • Antitrust
  • Anti-Corruption & FCPA
  • Anti-Money Laundering
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Asset Management M&A
  • Bankruptcy Litigation
  • Capital Markets
  • Congressional Investigations
  • Copyright & Trademark Litigation
  • Corporate
  • Corporate Governance
  • Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
  • Cybersecurity & Data Protection
  • Digital Technology
  • E-Discovery
  • Employment, Workplace Investigations & Trade Secrets
  • Entertainment
  • Environmental
  • ERISA, Pension & Benefits Litigation
  • Executive Compensation
  • Family Office & High-Net-Worth Individuals
  • False Claims Act & Qui Tam
  • Finance
  • Financial Services
  • Financial Services Litigation & Investigations
  • Foreign Direct Investment Regulation
  • Hybrid Capital & Special Situations
  • Infrastructure
  • Insurance
  • Internal Investigations 
  • International Arbitration
  • Investigations
  • Investment Funds
  • Investment Management Litigation
  • IP & Technology Transactions
  • Litigation 
  • Media, Sports & Entertainment
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation
  • National Security, CFIUS & FARA
  • Patent Litigation
  • Personal Representation
  • Private Equity
  • Product Liability & Mass Torts
  • Real Estate
  • Restructuring
  • Sanctions
  • Securities Litigation
  • SPACs
  • Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation
  • Sustainability & ESG
  • Tax
  • White Collar & Regulatory Defense

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Paul Weiss its highest ‘Band 1’ ranking for the following departments: Bankruptcy/Restructuring: The elite, Capital Markets: Securitisation: Whole Business, Corporate Crime & Investigations, and Mining & Metals.  See here for more information.

Key sectors / industries

Paul Weiss services a broad range of industries, with some of its highest-value clients operating in the following sectors:

In addition, Paul Weiss services various industries including tech, government authorities, competition authorities, and oil and gas companies, to name but a few. 

Work

Paul Weiss has consistently advised on some of the most high-profile cases and private equity matters over the past few decades. Some notable examples include:

  • Apollo: the firm helped Apollo with its £2.7 billion acquisition of the parcel delivery company Evri from Advent International, Evri’s then private equity backers. In 2022, Evri delivered 14% of the UK’s parcels by volume. 
  • IRIS: Paul Weiss advised IRIS Software, one of the UK’s largest privately held software companies, on the market leading refinancing of its senior facilities. 
  • Westbury Street Holdings (WSH): The firm advised WSH on its acquisition of London based independent contract catering company The Genuine Dining Co from existing shareholders.  

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: New York, 1285 Avenue of the Americas

Offices: Paul Weiss has 11 offices across 6 countries, including offices in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Brussels, London and Hong Kong.  

Insights, internships and other opportunities

Paul Weiss offers a variety of opportunities for students wishing to explore law as a future career. These include open days designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the firm’s ethos, practice areas and strategies. The open days include interactive workshops, networking opportunities and application guidance. Anyone considering a career in law can apply, regardless of the stage they are at in their education.

The firm also runs a spring and summer vacation scheme, during which candidates get the opportunity to spend two weeks at Paul Weiss’ London office. The firm offers  everyone who gains a place on the vacation: accommodation paid for and arranged by the firm, travel costs to and from the scheme, free breakfast and lunch, a £250 professional attire grant, and a £1,500 salary. 

Training contract

Paul Weiss offers a four-seat training contract in its London office, with each seat lasting six months. Practice areas covered on the training contract include Antitrust, Debt Finance, Intellectual Property and Technology, Tax, Restructuring, Funds, and Mergers & Acquisitions.  All trainees are recruited via the firm’s vacation schemes. The firm aims to hire up to 10 trainees per year with trainees beginning their training contracts in September. 

Technology and innovation

Paul Weiss keeps its finger on the pulse with technological developments, contributing to discussions in this area and developing its offering to clients to meet their changing demands. This is evidenced by the following examples: 

  • Best Use of Technology 2024 Finalist: the American Lawyer named Paul Weiss as a finalist for the Best Use of Technology in recognition of the firm’s use of the PW Emoji Detector, PW Face Detection, and PW Flash Search tools by its litigation team in the US. 
  • Expansion in the London office: in summer 2024, the firm drew headlines for the expansion of its intellectual property and technology transactions capabilities with the appointment of partners Claudine Meredith-Goujon and John Patten. The aim of the expansion is to complement the London office’s private equity, M&A and finance offerings as IP and transactions are core to so many M&A deals.  
  • Waking Up with AI podcast: this podcast, hosted by two of the firm’s lawyers, focuses on cutting edge AI in both tech and law. They discuss the day’s biggest developments in AI, helping listeners to keep up to date with the rapid development of AI. 
Corporate social responsibility

Paul Weiss has a long history of being involved in topical and high-profile work. Historically, it has represented Nelson Mandela through its work on behalf of the South Africa Free Election Fund. More recently the firm has entrenched itself at the forefront of various key issues in the US, including: 

  • Voting Rights: the firm has been involved in advocacy in connection with important voting rights cases since 1963, when it won the landmark US Supreme Court case Gray v Saunders (this case established the principle of ‘one person, one vote’). More recently, in 2022, the firm - alongside NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Louisiana - filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the map of Louisiana’s congressional districts. 
  • Gun Violence Prevention Efforts: Members of the firm assisted with the $73 million settlement with the estate of Remington Arms Co LLC, the manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15 military assault rifle used in the Sandy Hook School shooting. The settlement ended a seven-year legal battle in a wrongful death class action against the gunmaker filed by the families of certain victims. 
  • Reproductive Justice: over the last decade, the firm represented the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi and Missouri respectively, successfully challenging those state’s multiple attempts to enact laws that would ban abortions prior to viability. 

Diversity and inclusion

Paul Weiss is described as having ‘a century-old tradition of breaking down walls and shattering barriers’ - evidenced by the fact the firm assisted Thurgood Marshall in Brown v Board of Education and was the first major New York City firm to hire a black associate. Its more modern inclusion policies and strategies include: 

  • Affinity Networks: these operate firm-wide and are open to all lawyers interested in the various networks, which include Asian-Pacific Lawyers, Black Lawyers, Family, Latine Lawyers, Pride@Work and Women. The networks focus on internal relationship building, career development, recruitment and client relationship development. 
  • Internal Inclusion Workshops: At every level across the firm, there are various D&I workshops which the firm offers as part of its internal diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum. Examples of workshops includes sessions on Allyship, Interrupting Bias, Cultivating Belonging at Work, and Managing Effectively Across Difference. 
  • Diversity Networking Reception: annually at its New York City office, the firm hosts a Diversity Networking Reception bringing together lawyers and business professionals of colour to discuss various topics surrounding diversity and inclusion.