Silicon Valley-Goodwin vs. Weil vs. Fenwick? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Which corporate practice is better for someone who is not sure what they want to do long term?

[Anonymous User]

Not too familiar with Goodwin out in the Valley, but I presume they do a lot of Emerging Company work.
Weil & Fenwick are both great firms, have friends at each who both enjoy their jobs (as far as big law goes).

Weil's SV Corporate group is M&A/Private Equity heavy (they don't do Capital Markets like DPW/STB might) although they seem to have more of a techy/local client base as far as NYC-based firms in SV go. Relatively small office, but seem to have a better culture than their peers (STB/Skadden/DPW). They don't do emerging co work. I imagine exits down the line are to tech clients (think Micron, Apple, Oracle) or firms like Silver Lake/Genstar.

Fenwick obviously has a strong Emerging Companies practice, on par with Cooley/WSGR/Gunderson. If you are committed to the Bay Area long term, you can't really go wrong there b/c they have great recognition throughout the Bay Area. Exits will likely vary depending on if you do traditional M&A or Emerging Companies work. You might run into some trouble if you do try to leave the Bay Area - as (from my experience) the native Bay Area firms, particularly Fenwick/Gunderson, have much less recognition nationally.

You should consider if you want a small vs big office feel, and also emerging companies vs M&A/PE work.

[h2go]

I probably wouldn't go to Weil. Their M&A group just left for Hogan Lovells.

[Anonymous User]

Not too familiar with Goodwin out in the Valley, but I presume they do a lot of Emerging Company work.
Weil & Fenwick are both great firms, have friends at each who both enjoy their jobs (as far as big law goes).

Weil's SV Corporate group is M&A/Private Equity heavy (they don't do Capital Markets like DPW/STB might) although they seem to have more of a techy/local client base as far as NYC-based firms in SV go. Relatively small office, but seem to have a better culture than their peers (STB/Skadden/DPW). They don't do emerging co work. I imagine exits down the line are to tech clients (think Micron, Apple, Oracle) or firms like Silver Lake/Genstar.

Fenwick obviously has a strong Emerging Companies practice, on par with Cooley/WSGR/Gunderson. If you are committed to the Bay Area long term, you can't really go wrong there b/c they have great recognition throughout the Bay Area. Exits will likely vary depending on if you do traditional M&A or Emerging Companies work. You might run into some trouble if you do try to leave the Bay Area - as (from my experience) the native Bay Area firms, particularly Fenwick/Gunderson, have much less recognition nationally.

You should consider if you want a small vs big office feel, and also emerging companies vs M&A/PE work.

Would you say that M&A/PE work is harder to exit in the Bay compared to in NYC? I always wonder if there's some stigma associated with working in a DPW/STB/Skadden in CA since they're not native CA firms.

[Anonymous User]

Not too familiar with Goodwin out in the Valley, but I presume they do a lot of Emerging Company work.
Weil & Fenwick are both great firms, have friends at each who both enjoy their jobs (as far as big law goes).

Weil's SV Corporate group is M&A/Private Equity heavy (they don't do Capital Markets like DPW/STB might) although they seem to have more of a techy/local client base as far as NYC-based firms in SV go. Relatively small office, but seem to have a better culture than their peers (STB/Skadden/DPW). They don't do emerging co work. I imagine exits down the line are to tech clients (think Micron, Apple, Oracle) or firms like Silver Lake/Genstar.

Fenwick obviously has a strong Emerging Companies practice, on par with Cooley/WSGR/Gunderson. If you are committed to the Bay Area long term, you can't really go wrong there b/c they have great recognition throughout the Bay Area. Exits will likely vary depending on if you do traditional M&A or Emerging Companies work. You might run into some trouble if you do try to leave the Bay Area - as (from my experience) the native Bay Area firms, particularly Fenwick/Gunderson, have much less recognition nationally.

You should consider if you want a small vs big office feel, and also emerging companies vs M&A/PE work.

Thank you! Are we defining peers based on Vault rankings? Are exits out of law harder at Gundersen/Fenwick or just laterals? I'm really not sure what practice area I want. Definitely corporate and likely emerging companies or tax, but is hard to say without having a background in law or business. Once I commit to a practice group as an associate, how hard is it to switch groups or find work in a different group at a different firm? Are tax attorneys or M&A attorneys more "transferrable" practice areas than private equity/emerging companies? How much flexibility is there for junior associates to change firms?

[h2go]

Not too familiar with Goodwin out in the Valley, but I presume they do a lot of Emerging Company work.
Weil & Fenwick are both great firms, have friends at each who both enjoy their jobs (as far as big law goes).

Weil's SV Corporate group is M&A/Private Equity heavy (they don't do Capital Markets like DPW/STB might) although they seem to have more of a techy/local client base as far as NYC-based firms in SV go. Relatively small office, but seem to have a better culture than their peers (STB/Skadden/DPW). They don't do emerging co work. I imagine exits down the line are to tech clients (think Micron, Apple, Oracle) or firms like Silver Lake/Genstar.

Fenwick obviously has a strong Emerging Companies practice, on par with Cooley/WSGR/Gunderson. If you are committed to the Bay Area long term, you can't really go wrong there b/c they have great recognition throughout the Bay Area. Exits will likely vary depending on if you do traditional M&A or Emerging Companies work. You might run into some trouble if you do try to leave the Bay Area - as (from my experience) the native Bay Area firms, particularly Fenwick/Gunderson, have much less recognition nationally.

You should consider if you want a small vs big office feel, and also emerging companies vs M&A/PE work.

Would you say that M&A/PE work is harder to exit in the Bay compared to in NYC? I always wonder if there's some stigma associated with working in a DPW/STB/Skadden in CA since they're not native CA firms.

Depends on what you want for an "exit". If you are looking to exit into a tech company, it is definitely harder coming from DPW/STB/Skadden than a CA firm that does SV tech work. I've seen Skadden on more deals than DPW/STB, so it may be a bit easier from there? I believe DPW does a bunch of capital markets work that originates from NY. Heard good things about their culture though. Supposedly fairly different than NY.

[Anonymous User]

Would you say that M&A/PE work is harder to exit in the Bay compared to in NYC? I always wonder if there's some stigma associated with working in a DPW/STB/Skadden in CA since they're not native CA firms.

Eh Idk, that sort of work is still highly sought after in Silicon Valley. There isn't a stigma - If you're exiting, you're likely going in-house somewhere where you will be working with other attorneys. These attorneys will be very familiar with all the big NYC firms.

[Anonymous User]

Would you say that M&A/PE work is harder to exit in the Bay compared to in NYC? I always wonder if there's some stigma associated with working in a DPW/STB/Skadden in CA since they're not native CA firms.

Eh Idk, that sort of work is still highly sought after in Silicon Valley. There isn't a stigma - If you're exiting, you're likely going in-house somewhere where you will be working with other attorneys. These attorneys will be very familiar with all the big NYC firms.

how do partners lateral to different cities when they come from regional firms? think V100 firm that doesn't have NYC office lateraling to NYC or D.C. or whatever

[Anonymous User]

Not too familiar with Goodwin out in the Valley, but I presume they do a lot of Emerging Company work.
Weil & Fenwick are both great firms, have friends at each who both enjoy their jobs (as far as big law goes).

Weil's SV Corporate group is M&A/Private Equity heavy (they don't do Capital Markets like DPW/STB might) although they seem to have more of a techy/local client base as far as NYC-based firms in SV go. Relatively small office, but seem to have a better culture than their peers (STB/Skadden/DPW). They don't do emerging co work. I imagine exits down the line are to tech clients (think Micron, Apple, Oracle) or firms like Silver Lake/Genstar.

Fenwick obviously has a strong Emerging Companies practice, on par with Cooley/WSGR/Gunderson. If you are committed to the Bay Area long term, you can't really go wrong there b/c they have great recognition throughout the Bay Area. Exits will likely vary depending on if you do traditional M&A or Emerging Companies work. You might run into some trouble if you do try to leave the Bay Area - as (from my experience) the native Bay Area firms, particularly Fenwick/Gunderson, have much less recognition nationally.

You should consider if you want a small vs big office feel, and also emerging companies vs M&A/PE work.

Thank you! Are we defining peers based on Vault rankings? Are exits out of law harder at Gundersen/Fenwick or just laterals? I'm really not sure what practice area I want. Definitely corporate and likely emerging companies or tax, but is hard to say without having a background in law or business. Once I commit to a practice group as an associate, how hard is it to switch groups or find work in a different group at a different firm? Are tax attorneys or M&A attorneys more "transferrable" practice areas than private equity/emerging companies? How much flexibility is there for junior associates to change firms?

To the first point - I don't think exits out of law are hard at Gunderson / Fenwick, I'm just saying that if you're thinking about other markets (i.e. NYC or something) down the line, it may limit you to a certain degree.

YMMV. It's not impossible to change practice groups, but definitely frowned upon and firms try to avoid it if possible. There are certain firms (i.e. Latham or WSGR come to mind) that have more of a generalist program early on, where as a 1st year you're not committed to a particular group. It's not that hard as a 2nd-3rd year to change firms.

I will say I personally think M&A/PE has better exits than VC/Emerging Companies (whereas these exits are more plentiful earlier in your career), you're thrown into in-house roles that are usually higher up the totem pole and generally pay a little better. At the same time, these exits might require a little more experience (think 3-6 years in biglaw).

[Anonymous User]

Not too familiar with Goodwin out in the Valley, but I presume they do a lot of Emerging Company work.
Weil & Fenwick are both great firms, have friends at each who both enjoy their jobs (as far as big law goes).

Weil's SV Corporate group is M&A/Private Equity heavy (they don't do Capital Markets like DPW/STB might) although they seem to have more of a techy/local client base as far as NYC-based firms in SV go. Relatively small office, but seem to have a better culture than their peers (STB/Skadden/DPW). They don't do emerging co work. I imagine exits down the line are to tech clients (think Micron, Apple, Oracle) or firms like Silver Lake/Genstar.

Fenwick obviously has a strong Emerging Companies practice, on par with Cooley/WSGR/Gunderson. If you are committed to the Bay Area long term, you can't really go wrong there b/c they have great recognition throughout the Bay Area. Exits will likely vary depending on if you do traditional M&A or Emerging Companies work. You might run into some trouble if you do try to leave the Bay Area - as (from my experience) the native Bay Area firms, particularly Fenwick/Gunderson, have much less recognition nationally.

You should consider if you want a small vs big office feel, and also emerging companies vs M&A/PE work.

Thank you! Are we defining peers based on Vault rankings? Are exits out of law harder at Gundersen/Fenwick or just laterals? I'm really not sure what practice area I want. Definitely corporate and likely emerging companies or tax, but is hard to say without having a background in law or business. Once I commit to a practice group as an associate, how hard is it to switch groups or find work in a different group at a different firm? Are tax attorneys or M&A attorneys more "transferrable" practice areas than private equity/emerging companies? How much flexibility is there for junior associates to change firms?

To the first point - I don't think exits out of law are hard at Gunderson / Fenwick, I'm just saying that if you're thinking about other markets (i.e. NYC or something) down the line, it may limit you to a certain degree.

YMMV. It's not impossible to change practice groups, but definitely frowned upon and firms try to avoid it if possible. There are certain firms (i.e. Latham or WSGR come to mind) that have more of a generalist program early on, where as a 1st year you're not committed to a particular group. It's not that hard as a 2nd-3rd year to change firms.

I will say I personally think M&A/PE has better exits than VC/Emerging Companies (whereas these exits are more plentiful earlier in your career), you're thrown into in-house roles that are usually higher up the totem pole and generally pay a little better. At the same time, these exits might require a little more experience (think 3-6 years in biglaw).

Thank you! This is so helpful. How about tax? I'm such a generalist. I was already rejected at WSGR and pretty sure the rejection from Latham is coming soon

[Anonymous User]

I probably wouldn't go to Weil. Their M&A group just left for Hogan Lovells.

I wouldn't agree with the "wouldn't go" based on things I've heard - they still have a strong M&A/PE team as well as a market-leading Tech Transactions/Patent Litigation team, albeit relatively small. Apparently the Climan group which left can be a pain to work with. Thats based on previous experience at Cooley