Williams & Connolly? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Can any current or recent Williams & Connolly associates speak to what it's like working there? Is it true that associates get more substantive opportunities (depos, speaking roles at trials)? What are the hours like? And how below market is it after its 2022 raises?

[Anonymous User]

Also interested! Esp in hours/culture

[Anonymous User]

interested

[Anonymous User]

also interested

[Anonymous User]

I summered there within the last few years and plan to return after finishing my clerkships; happy to answer any questions based on what I've heard from folks there and based on my own experiences, though I lack actual experience as an associate

[Anonymous User]

A couple of my boys are at Williams and Connolly. Confirmed, they get great, great, substantive experience early and often.

[Anonymous User]

an example on substantive experience - W&C will sometimes represent corporate clients on their large matters, conditioned on the client also giving W&C its nickel-and-dime cases (think basic, low-dollar tort suits against the company based on the actions of one of its employees). The firm then staffs those small cases with early-year associates, who are basically given full latitude to run the case. If the case goes to trial, the firm will send a partner along as a backstop, but the associates are the ones doing the bulk of the stand-up work (giving openings and closings, crossing witnesses, etc.)

I doubt that green associates are getting speaking roles in the super high-profile trials - pretty sure none did in the Holmes case, for example - but at least based on asking around, I get the sense that there's no biglaw firm at which you have a better shot of actually doing trial work every so often than at W&C.

[Anonymous User]

can current associates share the comp table? Haven't found it on the above the law or elsewhere and wondering how it stacks up after all the biglaw raises.

[Anonymous User]

^

[Anonymous User]

They don't get bonuses of any kind. No year end. No special. And their comp scale is slightly below market. Maybe doesn't matter as junior, but mid to senior, that money adds up quick.

[Anonymous User]

A couple of my boys are at Williams and Connolly. Confirmed, they get great, great, substantive experience early and often.

LOL.. a mom/dad who is on TLS? Sure this isn't like W&C undercover recruiting team?

[Anonymous User]

A couple of my boys are at Williams and Connolly. Confirmed, they get great, great, substantive experience early and often.

LOL.. a mom/dad who is on TLS? Sure this isn't like W&C undercover recruiting team?

don't think "boys" in this context means what you think it means

[Anonymous User]

They don't get bonuses of any kind. No year end. No special. And their comp scale is slightly below market. Maybe doesn't matter as junior, but mid to senior, that money adds up quick.

Under the assumption that W&C associates must work incredibly hard, I'm not seeing any benefits to killing yourself for below market pay as opposed to just going somewhere like Kellogg and Susman and killing yourself for significantly above market pay.

[bigboybob]

They don't get bonuses of any kind. No year end. No special. And their comp scale is slightly below market. Maybe doesn't matter as junior, but mid to senior, that money adds up quick.

Under the assumption that W&C associates must work incredibly hard, I'm not seeing any benefits to killing yourself for below market pay as opposed to just going somewhere like Kellogg and Susman and killing yourself for significantly above market pay.

"Prestige" lol.

[Anonymous User]

They don't get bonuses of any kind. No year end. No special. And their comp scale is slightly below market. Maybe doesn't matter as junior, but mid to senior, that money adds up quick.

Under the assumption that W&C associates must work incredibly hard, I'm not seeing any benefits to killing yourself for below market pay as opposed to just going somewhere like Kellogg and Susman and killing yourself for significantly above market pay.

I mean how many people is Kellogg hiring each year? And Susman? These posts make it seem like it’s a no brainer. Well if someone doesn’t land those firms but still wants actual litigating experience, then maybe the difference is fine. This site treats comp as the end all be all of law. Some people actually like this stuff and so what they work on and the size of the team are important.

[Anonymous User]

They don't get bonuses of any kind. No year end. No special. And their comp scale is slightly below market. Maybe doesn't matter as junior, but mid to senior, that money adds up quick.

Under the assumption that W&C associates must work incredibly hard, I'm not seeing any benefits to killing yourself for below market pay as opposed to just going somewhere like Kellogg and Susman and killing yourself for significantly above market pay.

I mean how many people is Kellogg hiring each year? And Susman? These posts make it seem like it’s a no brainer. Well if someone doesn’t land those firms but still wants actual litigating experience, then maybe the difference is fine. This site treats comp as the end all be all of law. Some people actually like this stuff and so what they work on and the size of the team are important.

But imagine... you could go to say, Quinn for example, after having done two clerkships, get a 125k clerkship bonus, come in as a third year, make 250 base, plus 56k annual bonus, plus free health care, plus a 40k retention bonus which vests at end of third year, or make... only 250k at W&C with a little prestige sprinkled in. Likely same hours. Plus you get WFH @ Quinn.

[existentialcrisis]

Isn’t partnership like actually feasible at W&C though?

[Anonymous User]

I think hours expectations at W&C are significantly lower than at Quinn, etc

[Anonymous User]

Why does every darn thread have to turn into a preftige pissing match? OP asked for information about one firm, people answered, just leave it at that.

[Sackboy]

Isn’t partnership like actually feasible at W&C though?

Yep, people sleep on this all the time, and it's very annoying. If you want to be an attorney at a biglaw firm long-term, I'd rather hang my hat at one that gets great work, pays me slightly below market, and has 31% of their attorneys as equity partners than one where I'm making market with 15% of attorneys as equity partners. I'll probably be a perma counsel at the 15% firm making $500k while I could be an equity partner at the 31% firm making $700k+ for the rest of my career. Of course, if the goal is to take flight in-house/gov't as soon as possible, go take the market firm and maximize your dollars. Thinking that you're maximizing your dollars in lit, which makes notoriously few equity partners, in the long-term by going to a Ropes & Gray or something is extremely shortsighted.

[Anonymous User]

They don't get bonuses of any kind. No year end. No special. And their comp scale is slightly below market. Maybe doesn't matter as junior, but mid to senior, that money adds up quick.

Under the assumption that W&C associates must work incredibly hard, I'm not seeing any benefits to killing yourself for below market pay as opposed to just going somewhere like Kellogg and Susman and killing yourself for significantly above market pay.

Another factor— those firms have different practice specialties (in particular they don’t do crim)

Also while all-in Bartlit and Susman are the best places to be a civil lit associate in the country (top-of-the-market partnership prospects, trial experience, and comp, though bad hours), they don’t have DC offices

[Anonymous User]

They don't get bonuses of any kind. No year end. No special. And their comp scale is slightly below market. Maybe doesn't matter as junior, but mid to senior, that money adds up quick.

Under the assumption that W&C associates must work incredibly hard, I'm not seeing any benefits to killing yourself for below market pay as opposed to just going somewhere like Kellogg and Susman and killing yourself for significantly above market pay.

I mean how many people is Kellogg hiring each year? And Susman? These posts make it seem like it’s a no brainer. Well if someone doesn’t land those firms but still wants actual litigating experience, then maybe the difference is fine. This site treats comp as the end all be all of law. Some people actually like this stuff and so what they work on and the size of the team are important.

But imagine... you could go to say, Quinn for example, after having done two clerkships, get a 125k clerkship bonus, come in as a third year, make 250 base, plus 56k annual bonus, plus free health care, plus a 40k retention bonus which vests at end of third year, or make... only 250k at W&C with a little prestige sprinkled in. Likely same hours. Plus you get WFH @ Quinn.

But then you have to work at Quinn… gross.

[Anonymous User]

Do they do a clerkship bonus?

[Anonymous User]

Do they do a clerkship bonus?

Yes. I was offered $75k a couple years ago for 2 clerkships.