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Anybody know much about Wheeler Trigg? What is the work like? How is the culture? Pay? Hours? Hiring? Anything? Thinking about a move to Denver and am thinking this might be a potential option. There isn't much on this site about it and most of it seems dated.

Am more certain this is a new Palin baby name than it is an actual law firm

owlofminerva wrote:Anybody know much about Wheeler Trigg? What is the work like? How is the culture? Pay? Hours? Hiring? Anything? Thinking about a move to Denver and am thinking this might be a potential option. There isn't much on this site about it and most of it seems dated.

It's a well-respected trial firm. They hire a fair number of clerks. That's about the extent of my knowledge.

I interviewed there. It seemed like a big portion of their work is products liability defense and class action defense. Most of their work seemed to be outside of Colorado--one guy said he chose to bring his practice there because DIA could get you anywhere in 4 hours. They liked clerks. They told me they pay below market, but I'm not sure how much below market, because I didn't get an offer. They all played up the trial lawyer mentality, but only about half the people that interviewed me had any trials, so I wasn't sure what to make of that. Everyone seemed nice.

According to NALP, they start at $135k, and give the following clerkship bonuses: $60,000 for federal appellate court clerkship; $40,000 for federal district court clerkship; $25,000 for state supreme court clerkship; and $10,000 for state appellate court clerkship.

That sounds right based on my limited experience with Denver firms - I would have guessed $120k, but I moved away a few years ago so am out of date. The associates I know there are very nice and very smart.

edit: wait, according to their website, "Associates' salaries are set commensurate with experience, usually starting at $135,000 per year. (On January 1, 2017, starting associate salaries will increase to $160,000 per year.)"

for whatever its worth, i've always heard more ppl complain about the hours at WTO than anywhere else in Denver

eta and none of them are still there apparently

VERY well-respected litigation boutique in Denver. Pay is a touch over Denver market (Denver market is 120-130, WTO is ~135-140, and only a few firms are paying more than that). Heavy hours. Also mirroring the clerkship comments, but adding more - they don't hire first-year associates or SAs. Period. You either need experience or a clerkship to get in the door.

Another thing - I know someone who used to work for them as a paralegal, and apparently their support staff are treated as second-class citizens at the firm. As in, at events they eat from a separate buffet with not-as-nice food, and there's a bit of a culture supporting that.

OP here. Thanks for the comments so far. What does a lot of hours mean in this context? I've billed over 2700 this year, so surely it isn't that bad. I'm surprised to hear about the support staff treatment; seems they get a lot of local business coverage as a good place to work.

bump. Anyone interviewing recently? advice?

Bumping this bc I’m considering an offer

I think they do a lot of Ford rollover cases, and other similar high-volume/lower pay scale work.

Does anyone have any updates on WTO?
I plan to send them an app. Currently clerking.
They seem to pay a bit below market and claim that ppl bill around 2000 hours/year.

idk if their marketing re giving associates real experience is true or not though.

Basically would love if anyone could speak on their experience with the firm.

Wheeler Trigg

sounds like Canadian slang for hitting on a girl and getting so nervous you vomit

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 05, 2024 3:23 pm

Does anyone have any updates on WTO?
I plan to send them an app. Currently clerking.
They seem to pay a bit below market and claim that ppl bill around 2000 hours/year.

idk if their marketing re giving associates real experience is true or not though.

Basically would love if anyone could speak on their experience with the firm.

I have a friend who worked there. They said they liked the people, but the work wasn't that sophisticated (they were coming from big law major market). They lateraled after 2 years.