Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Designation: New York
- Head Count: 803
- Gross Revenues: $877,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $1,090,000
- Profits Per Partner: $3,350,000
- Year Over Year Change: 5
Law firm boasts more often fall under wishful thinking than fact, but when chair Brad Karp proclaimed Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison “the go–to firm for Wall Street litigation,” he may have been onto something.
Based in New York, the firm has won prestige, accolades, and—most importantly—cases for its work for the banking industry’s best known names. Chief among them: Citigroup Inc., the litigation practice’s biggest client.
Paul, Weiss was named The American Lawyer’s Litigation Department of the Year in 2006, was a finalist for that prize in 2010, and earned an honorable mention in 2012 largely for its work representing Citigroup—and helping it step through minefields in various credit crisis and subprime–related litigations. Citi is in good company, too: Other corporate titans that have reached out to Paul, Weiss trial lawyers include Pfizer Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Bank of America Corporation; Wells Fargo & Company; Morgan Stanley; HSBC Holdings plc; The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; and The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.
While there are larger firms around, few are as profitable. Indeed, on the 2011 profitability index, Paul Weiss came in second, and ranked fourth for average partner compensation and seventh in profits per partner. More important, Paul Weiss has appeared on The American Lawyer’s A–List since it was first published in 2003. The A–List ranks big law firms on a formula that measures revenue per lawyer, pro bono activity, and their scores on the magazine’s associate and diversity surveys. The top twenty firms in the Am Law 200 comprise the A–List.
Paul Weiss has eight offices but about 85 percent of its lawyers are in New York. Only Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has a bigger New York presence.
Paul Weiss is famous for its litigation department and pro bono record. But it also has strong lawyers in bankruptcy, employee benefits, executive compensation, real estate, and tax law. The firm brought in six lateral partners from O’Melveny & Myers to boost its private equity practice. And it remains a fixture in the music business and in the Broadway theatre, a practice that dates back to protecting Cole Porter’s copyrights.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 25 | 5 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 25 | 5 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 49 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 14 | 5 | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 43 | 11 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 14 | 3 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 46 | 19 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 101 | 10 | Summer programs |
In the News
Continental Breakfast: Chris Saul, Slaughter and May
Chris Johnson : The Am Law Daily : April 15, 2013
American Lawyer chief European correspondent Chris Johnson meets regularly with senior legal sector figures at their favorite breakfast joints to chew over the industry's tastiest talking points. This week, Slaughter and May senior partner Chris Saul discusses the long-term viability of the firm's "best friends" alliance network.
Pa., N.J. Lawyers Get a Piece of Revel Casino Bankruptcy Action
Gina Passarella : The Legal Intelligencer : April 12, 2013
The bankruptcy filing of Atlantic City's newest casino has meant an opportunity for local bankruptcy lawyers to get their hands on one of the region's most watched filings — and, in some instances, charge more than $1,000 an hour for the privilege.
Local Lawyers Get in on Revel Casino Bankruptcy Action
Gina Passarella : The Legal Intelligencer : April 11, 2013
The bankruptcy filing of Atlantic City's newest casino has meant an opportunity for local bankruptcy lawyers to get their hands on one of the region's most watched filings — and, in some instances, charge more than $1,000 an hour for the privilege.
Paul Weiss Defeats Suit Against UBS over Toxic CDOs
Ross Todd : The Litigation Daily : April 10, 2013
Columbia Law Hosts Moot Court Competition
: New York Law Journal : April 10, 2013
Will Sears, class of 2014, was awarded the Lawrence S. Greenbaum Prize for best oral presentation, and Joseph Itkis, class of 2014, was recognized for submitting the best brief.
Lawyers for ex-NFL players know the game
Jef Feeley and Sofia Pearson : Bloomberg : April 10, 2013
As one of eight brothers who played college football, Derriel McCorvey says he has the game in his blood. Now the Louisiana lawyer is trying to make the National Football League bleed over claims that it concealed data about the dangers of concussions.The ex-Louisiana State University safety is part of a group of plaintiffs' lawyers in cases filed by ex-NFL players and their families. They are readying arguments for a trial.
First Department Justice Tapped for Top Bench
John Caher : New York Law Journal : April 8, 2013
Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Sheila Abdus-Salaam, a highly regarded appellate judge, for a seat on the New York State Court of Appeals, saying she has shown "a deep understanding of the everyday issues facing New Yorkers, as well as the complex legal issues that come before the state's highest court."
Atheists Lose Bid to Halt Cross Display at 9/11 Museum
Tania Karas : New York Law Journal : April 3, 2013
A cross-shaped steel beam found in the wreckage of the World Trade Center helps tell the narrative of the 9/11 terror attacks and is not an endorsement of Christianity, Southern District Judge Deborah Batts has ruled.
Majority Signals Dissatisfaction With DOMA Provision
Tony Mauro and Marcia Coyle : The National Law Journal : April 2, 2013
The Supreme Court's historic two-day scrutiny of the same-sex marriage issue last week showed the justices as a cautious bunch, wary about ruling on a subject that is new to them, especially when it came to the court in the form of two cases weighted down with procedural baggage.
Federal Rule of Evidence 502: 'Rajala' Returns
H. Christopher Boehning and Daniel J. Toal : New York Law Journal : April 2, 2013
In their Federal E-discovery column, H. Christopher Boehning and Daniel J. Toal, partners at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, review a case in which a party that had previously opposed a clawback agreement to deal with inadvertent production of privileged data found itself in need of the protection.
- Anderson Kill & Olick
- Arent Fox
- Arthur Cox
- Baker & McKenzie
- Chadbourne & Parke
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- Covington & Burling
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- Dickstein Shapiro
- DLA Piper
- Duane Morris
- Eversheds
- Fish & Richardson
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian
- Heller Ehrman
- Howrey
- Irwin Mitchell
- Jenner & Block
- Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Latham & Watkins
- Linklaters
- Mallesons Stephen Jaques
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
- Perkins Coie
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Ropes & Gray
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Slaughter and May
- Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Vinson & Elkins
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
