Wilson Sonsini (WSGR) in DC Forum

[Anonymous User]

4th year corporate looking to lateral. Applied directly to WSGR and really interested in their tech-focused work. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences?

[Anonymous User]

Had a buddy interview for tech trans last year and told me at least for that group it looked like a sweatshop. The associates looked like death. Not sure about corporate but I can't imagine it's better. He said their tech trans group is primarily involved in m-a support.

[Anonymous User]

OP. Thanks for the insight, I'm guessing he didn't end up joining the firm?

[Anonymous User]

I did a callback, second, and third look for wsgr DC antitrust and the associates and partners also all looked like death. Their boom/bust model also concerned me.

[Anonymous User]

They came to our school to talk to us about their "california culture". Seemed like a load of crap.

[Anonymous User]

WSGR associate here (another office).

I've worked with some of the specialists from DC, but never any of the general corporate folks. I don't know what their hours are like, but I think it's safe to assume that it is not a low-key office/team. WSGR works you pretty hard no matter what office you're in, I think.

Another thing: WSGR takes a lot of laterals, but many of them do not do very well. In my group alone, I have seen 4 laterals come and go within the last 2 years. They all came from big NY/SF firms that do public company work, and they all wanted to break into emerging tech/VC work. None of them had really done this type of work before, though, and I don't think they realized how much of a learning curve there was going to be. I realize there will be a learning period at any firm you lateral to, but at WSGR we have very high billing rates and very cash-poor tech clients who do not want to pay a 4th year associate $650/hr to navigate an Investors' Rights Agreement or Right of First Refusal and Co-Sale Agreement for the first time in connection with a Series A or Series B financing. All four of the laterals who I spoke of earlier came, did not get many hours, and either left voluntarily (2) or were asked to leave (2). If you decide to take the offer and have not done any VC/emerging tech work, I would strongly recommend finding a book about VC deals or something like that. Probably will only take like 10 hours of your life but will help you a ton when you start.

Just my $.02. WSGR is a great firm if you want to do tech work, but it's still biglaw and may not be for everyone.

[Anonymous User]

Just a 2L here, but I know people who have summered at this office before. It's supposed to be pretty well-respected, but they will work you hard. I have seen people exit from this office into management consulting (although I'm sure that's not common). From what I understand, it is definitely more respected than the average DC satellite (i think)

[Anonymous User]

Hey, former WSGR corporate paralegal (Palo Alto). The DC office is great at antitrust and lit, has less corporate (but not none). WSGR will work you hard, and, until this year, give you a below-market bonus for the privilege. WSGR has great training and great knowledge management. It's not known, across the board, for being a very associate-friendly firm. That's a nice way of saying that it can be a rough working environment. How much you learn or how you get staffed really depends on the partners/pod. I've worked with Mike Labriola and Scott Sher from the DC office. Both were great.

I also cosign the advice regarding WSGR billing rates and laterals (but this advice could be given at nearly any biglaw shop). I would do a lot of probing about how well integrated laterals have been. VC is a junior associate's game, with a few supervising senior associates. There's not a lot of room for midlevels given billing rates. However, WSGR is a really well-respected name and you should have good exit opps to go in-house (although I am not sure how robust the NoVa/DC corporate in-house market is, since I'm not terribly familiar with it). GL.

[Anonymous User]

interested in their new office in Boston. It shows FOUR(4) people working on the new office on the firm website. I would love to see if they are hiring entry-level bodies. If so, who do I approach, shoot an email to each one of the four people on the website?

[Anonymous User]

Also a WSGR associate here. I think this has gotten a little off track since there appears to be no DC general corporate attorneys weighing in but I would say my experience, having worked at two different biglaw firms (WSGR being my second), is very different than what is posted here. I worked at an NYC V15 and the hours were much worse than they are here across the board. Associates here have access to median hours information. The hours are not bad at all compared to other places. I don't think WSGR works you as hard as people are saying here but the advice re the lateral issue may be credited. That I don't know. I came to WSGR pretty junior.

[Anonymous User]

anon above, do you know if you guys hire 3Ls?

[Anonymous User]

anon above, do you know if you guys hire 3Ls?

[Anonymous User]

Yes they hire 3Ls and first year attorneys if there is a need. They may be hiring those years now, not sure.

[Anonymous User]

i guess my question is " is there a need right now, if there is, which office"; rather than "theoretically and vaguely do they hire 3Ls"

[Anonymous User]

Also a WSGR associate here. I think this has gotten a little off track since there appears to be no DC general corporate attorneys weighing in but I would say my experience, having worked at two different biglaw firms (WSGR being my second), is very different than what is posted here. I worked at an NYC V15 and the hours were much worse than they are here across the board. Associates here have access to median hours information. The hours are not bad at all compared to other places. I don't think WSGR works you as hard as people are saying here but the advice re the lateral issue may be credited. That I don't know. I came to WSGR pretty junior.

OP here. Thank you. Do you mind sharing the range for what you consider "not bad" hours at WSGR? I'm assuming it varies widely by group but any range would be greatly appreciated - it's tough to get an idea through other channels. How do you like your experience so far after lateraling in as a junior?

[Anonymous User]

Also a WSGR associate here. I think this has gotten a little off track since there appears to be no DC general corporate attorneys weighing in but I would say my experience, having worked at two different biglaw firms (WSGR being my second), is very different than what is posted here. I worked at an NYC V15 and the hours were much worse than they are here across the board. Associates here have access to median hours information. The hours are not bad at all compared to other places. I don't think WSGR works you as hard as people are saying here but the advice re the lateral issue may be credited. That I don't know. I came to WSGR pretty junior.

OP here. Thank you. Do you mind sharing the range for what you consider "not bad" hours at WSGR? I'm assuming it varies widely by group but any range would be greatly appreciated - it's tough to get an idea through other channels. How do you like your experience so far after lateraling in as a junior?

I love it here. It may be different in DC, I don't know but I have met a few DC people and I really liked them. The DC general corporate guys may be a little more bro-y IMO than the people in the Bay Area but they seem like great people. I think they get some pretty decent clients too, though I'm no expert on the DC corporate scene. The specialists I worked with out there were very nice too, though there may be a few hit-or-miss personalities as is the case anywhere. I don't want to get too much into specifics and it certainly can vary but I would consider anything less than 2100 hours a year not bad. I think most people who want to can do fine staying around that here. The M&A group probably skews a bit higher. Again, DC office may be different, not sure, but I kind of doubt it. There were times in the last few years when we were busier but I think this is more of the reality now.