Wilmer DC vs Sidley DC (reg work) Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi!

I'm extremely grateful to be choosing between two wonderful DC firms from pre-OCI recruiting.

I'm interested in regulatory work. It feels like Sidley is stronger in reg while Wilmer is stronger in litigation.

Both sets of people were very nice, but both sets of interviews were virtual and I only got a chance to talk to a few. Wilmer seemed slightly stuffier, but with the format that's not indicative of anything.

I've heard both have a reputation for being "cheap."

I guess my questions are i) which firm is more likely to avoid layoffs during the downturn ii) which firm has more "prestige" in the DC market/sets up the better government opportunities and iii) which generally seems to have a better culture?

Thank you so much in advance!

[Anonymous User]

Any particular subject matter/industry interests?
As to "prestige" I think it's fair to say no question it's Wilmer but Sidley could still be a better fit depending on the interest/group, would defer to others with more knowledge there though

[Anonymous User]

There are a ton of different reg practices. Overall prestige aside if you're interested in trade you'd be silly to go to Wilmer over Sidley for example.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland for obvious reasons

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland for obvious reasons

hahaha good one very funny that firm wasn't one of the options but you said it anyway as a little tongue-in-cheek joke. love that hope to see your funny posts elsewhere on this forum

[Anonymous User]

I work at Wilmer and, anecdotally, I heard the firm avoided layoffs in '08 and kept their entire summer class after a delay (though with little say on what practice group to join). Sure, the firm can be cheap on things like holiday parties, etc., but I don't get the sense that the partners would throw capable associates out on the street in a recession just to preserve the bottom line. I don't have experience with Sidley so I can't really compare the two.

I was deciding between Wilmer and Sidley (though a different practice group) and thought both had good cultures. I wouldn't call Wilmer "stuffy," but it's not one of those firms where everyone's social life revolves around the office. I think some of the online writeups about Wilmer's culture are spot on - it's a meritocracy that's not hierarchical, which means if your opinion is valued from day 1 as long as it's well reasoned. Very academic, but in a chill "we want the smartest and best result and don't care where it comes from" kind of way.

[Anonymous User]

Plenty of Sidley DC'S groups are stronger than Wilmers and vice versa. Just look up your preferred practice on chambers.

[Anonymous User]

There are a ton of different reg practices. Overall prestige aside if you're interested in trade you'd be silly to go to Wilmer over Sidley for example.

With the slight caveat that it depends what kind of trade you're interested in. If you're interested in WTO-esque trade (which involves a good share of lit stuff) then clearly Sidley > Wilmer but honestly you can't go wrong with Wilmer either. They have a great trade practice as well.

If you are interested in sanctions/export controls/AML-type work I think it's more of a toss-up leaning Wilmer. Really the "first tier" would be Covington, Gibson, and Hogan as the heavy hitters then the next tier (specifically for sanctions) would probably be Akin/Steptoe/White & Case/ Crowell / a few others with much smaller groups. I know that's not exactly what you asked for but figured I would note it for those looking at these forums in the future.

[Anonymous User]

There are a ton of different reg practices. Overall prestige aside if you're interested in trade you'd be silly to go to Wilmer over Sidley for example.

With the slight caveat that it depends what kind of trade you're interested in. If you're interested in WTO-esque trade (which involves a good share of lit stuff) then clearly Sidley > Wilmer but honestly you can't go wrong with Wilmer either. They have a great trade practice as well.

If you are interested in sanctions/export controls/AML-type work I think it's more of a toss-up leaning Wilmer. Really the "first tier" would be Covington, Gibson, and Hogan as the heavy hitters then the next tier (specifically for sanctions) would probably be Akin/Steptoe/White & Case/ Crowell / a few others with much smaller groups. I know that's not exactly what you asked for but figured I would note it for those looking at these forums in the future.

More like Covington>/=Steptoe=Akin>HL>>>>>Gibson>WC>Crowell

You cannot possibly believe that Gibson and HL are up there with Covington? And W&C and Crowell are in the same tier as Akin and Steptoe?

[Anonymous User]

There are a ton of different reg practices. Overall prestige aside if you're interested in trade you'd be silly to go to Wilmer over Sidley for example.

With the slight caveat that it depends what kind of trade you're interested in. If you're interested in WTO-esque trade (which involves a good share of lit stuff) then clearly Sidley > Wilmer but honestly you can't go wrong with Wilmer either. They have a great trade practice as well.

If you are interested in sanctions/export controls/AML-type work I think it's more of a toss-up leaning Wilmer. Really the "first tier" would be Covington, Gibson, and Hogan as the heavy hitters then the next tier (specifically for sanctions) would probably be Akin/Steptoe/White & Case/ Crowell / a few others with much smaller groups. I know that's not exactly what you asked for but figured I would note it for those looking at these forums in the future.

More like Covington>/=Steptoe=Akin>HL>>>>>Gibson>WC>Crowell

You cannot possibly believe that Gibson and HL are up there with Covington? And W&C and Crowell are in the same tier as Akin and Steptoe?

I do not agree with this at all.
If I had to break it down I would say Covington>>>HL>Gibson/Akin/Steptoe>Crowell>W&C>all the others...And for what it's worth, I genuinely don't believe outside of Covington, there's that big of a gap.