Ask Paul, Weiss Anything! (2025/26)

[Jaysen]

Hi everyone,

I hope you'll join me in giving a very big welcome to Paul, Weiss’s graduate recruitment team, Paul Gascoyne and Lizzie Arthey, who are live right now in the forum to answer your questions.

They are joined by three associates:

• Alexander Brown, an associate working in the M&A team at Paul, Weiss
• Meg Hebbert, an associate working in the London antitrust team
• Ali Fazeli-Nia, an associate in the IP and technology transactions group

Please use this thread to ask any questions you have about Paul, Weiss, the application process, or anything in between.

Best,
Jaysen

---

And here are the upcoming Paul, Weiss Deadlines

Vacation Schemes

Winter Vacation Scheme: Apply by 28 September 2025
Spring Vacation Scheme: Apply by 21 December 2025
Summer Vacation Scheme: Apply by 21 December 2025

Open Days

October Open Day 2025: Apply by 30 September 2025
November Open Day 2025: Apply by 2 November 2025

 

[student110]

Morning! I have a quick question for the recruitment team - are you still using an SJT as part of the application process? I submitted an application for the Winter VS recently and am yet to receive one.

 

[CharlesT47]

Hi all, thank you for agreeing to do this.



I have 4 questions for the associates.



First, could you give me a specific example of how you were given work that is typically above the remit of a trainee?




Second, could you give me a specific example of how you benefitted from having a small deal team? (e.g mentorship directly from a partner)



Third, could you give me a specific example of how your initiative has been rewarded at Paul, Weiss?



Fourth, are there specific private equity sectors that Paul, Weiss is particularly established in (e.g infrastructure) or is the firm sector agnostic?

 

[eddiemxlii]

Hi everyone,
I'm Eddie and interested in applying for the firm. I was wondering how Paul Weiss' private equity practice differs from its competitors, like Latham, Kirkland etc. Is there a specific sector focus or part in the PE cycle that Paul Weiss advise on?

 

[Paul @ Paul Weiss]

Morning! I have a quick question for the recruitment team - are you still using an SJT as part of the application process? I submitted an application recently and am yet to receive one.

Hi @student110

Thanks for the question. There is no SJT in our recruitment process. Here are the steps:

Once your vacation scheme application is submitted, it will be reviewed. Successful applicants will then be invited to a first stage interview in our London office.

If you are successful at the interview, you will then be invited to join one of our vacation schemes. During the vacation scheme there will be three assessments: a partner interview, a numeracy test and a presentation.

I hope that explains.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[ujjwala]

Hi all, thank you so much for offering your time to answer these questions!
I had a few questions regarding the firm's culture & training:
1. How would you describe Paul Weiss' culture in relation to taking initiative and mentorship?
2. Do trainees receive responsibility early on?
3. What drew you to Paul Weiss?

Thank you!

 

[JasmineM9]

Hi @Paul @ Paul Weiss

Hope you are doing well!

I wanted to know whether applications are screened on a rolling basis and then interview invites are being sent after the deadline. Or if everything is done after the deadline.

Thank you in advance.

Warm regards,

Jasmine

 

[Alex - Paul Weiss]

Morning all

I am an associate in the Paul, Weiss Corporate M&A/PE team in London. The Corporate team advises public and private companies, including private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, on a variety of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, carve-outs, recapitalizations and corporate restructurings. I moved to PW in March 2024 on qualification after training at a Magic Circle firm.

Happy to answer any and all questions about life at PW (noting that, since I wasn't a trainee here/we don't have trainees yet, I may be limited in giving trainee-specific answers).

Many thanks
Alex

 

[Sachin Chandra]

Dear @Paul @ Paul Weiss

Good morning, and I hope you are well.

My questions are as follows.

1) Do you take mitigating circumstances into account?

2) I am doing a ULaw LLM Legal Practice (SQE1&2) prep course, so I should have passed both SQE assessments by June 2026 - does Paul, Weiss require any additional education from successful candidates?

3) does Paul, Weiss reimburse successful candidates retrospectively for costs incurred from GDL and/or SQE prep courses?

4) are there Training Contract starting date slots available that are earlier than 2028?

Thank you for kindly responding to me!

Best wishes,
Sachin

 

[Meg - Paul Weiss]

Good morning everyone!

Thank you for being interested in applying to PW's Open Days, Vacation Schemes and Training Contracts. The firm is a fantastic place to work and looks forward to welcoming you all in the future!

As context to the responses I will give to your questions, I thought it might be helpful to introduce myself and explain my background.

I am an Associate in the Antitrust Team in London, with 1 years' PQE. Our work can broadly be categorised as follows: (i) Transactional i.e. ex-US Merger Control and Foreign Direct Investment assessment of M&A transactions (strategic or sponsor) (ii) Behavioural i.e. abuse of dominance and cartel investigations and (iii) Digital Regulation e.g. DMCCA or DMA. The vast majority of my work (and the team's at present) falls squarely in the Transactional category, which can broadly be segmented between PE clients which are typically high volume, low complexity filers and strategic acquirers (e.g. in oil & gas, pharma, semiconductors, telecomms etc.) seeking to buy their rivals, suppliers or customers, which can cause much more complex competitive issues based on "horizontal overlaps" and "vertical relationships" between the Parties.

I trained (unusually) in the Civil Service with the competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority and moved into the private sector on qualification. Prior to entering the legal profession, I worked internationally in the Thoroughbred horseracing industry. At university, I studied History. As this hopefully exemplifies, taking the road less travelled in your educational and professional journey is no impediment to becoming a lawyer, nor from joining a world-leading practice such as Paul, Weiss.

I'm hear to help, so please ask anything that may be useful to you in future.

Best
Meg

 

[e_turbo2]

Hi everyone, thanks for the time! How many people do you take on the vac schemes and how many spaces on the TC?

 

[DavidJC]

Hello everyone, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.

I have a few questions.

1. I wanted to ask if there are other spaces to evidence how we have the skills/traits which Paul, Weiss are looking for (Entrepreneurial Mindset, Commitment to Excellence, Continuous Learning) besides the work experience section and the question about extra-curricular activities?

2. I also wanted to ask if prior work experience schemes count as extra-curricular activities or if it should strictly cover hobbies and interests i.e. activities outside of academics/work?

3. Ahead of the first cohort of Paul, Weiss trainees coming in next year, what proportion of training during the TC can we expect to comprise of on-the-job learning vs formal workshops/classes?

4. On that note, what are the key challenges that you have faced in preparing/structuring the TC so far and how excited are you to train the first cohort next year?

 

[Meg - Paul Weiss]

Hi everyone,
I'm Eddie and interested in applying for the firm. I was wondering how Paul Weiss' private equity practice differs from its competitors, like Latham, Kirkland etc. Is there a specific sector focus or part in the PE cycle that Paul Weiss advise on?

Hi Eddie.

From an Antitrust perspective, our PE offering is unique for the following reasons: (i) We are able to offer PE Houses a "full service" AT offering i.e. we can perform all routine multi-jurisdictional analysis for transactions (as K&E does) while also having the in-house capability to assist them with conduct investigations by the regulators e.g. if a portfolio company is accused of participating in a cartel, or is subject to one of the new digital regulation regimes; (ii) PW often acts as AT House Counsel to a number of leading PE Houses, meaning we are accustomed to working alongside the PE House's Corporate Counsel of choice, even if that is not PW.

The exposure I have had to our PE clients to date, is that they are typically such huge businesses that rather than focusing on a specific sector, they have various funds that focus on specific sectors. TPG, for example, has the following platforms/funds: Capital; Growth; Real Estate; Impact (ESG focused).

Hope that is helpful.

Best
Meg

 

[eddiemxlii]

Hi Eddie.

From an Antitrust perspective, our PE offering is unique for the following reasons: (i) We are able to offer PE Houses a "full service" AT offering i.e. we can perform all routine multi-jurisdictional analysis for each transactions (as K&E does) while also having the in-house capability to assist them with conduct investigations by the regulators e.g. if a portfolio company is accused of participating in a cartel, or is subject to one of the new digital regulation regimes; (ii) PW often acts as AT House Counsel to a number of leading PE Houses, meaning we are accustomed to working alongside the PE House's Corporate Counsel of choice, even if that is not PW.

The exposure I have had to our PE clients to date, is that they are typically such huge businesses that rather than focusing on a specific sector, they have various funds that focus on specific sectors. TPG, for example, has the following platforms/funds: Capital; Growth; Real Estate; Impact (ESG focused).

Hope that is helpful.

Best
Meg

Thanks for the response, Meg. That was very insightful from an antitrust perspective!

 

[noahsmiit01]

Morning @Paul @ Paul Weiss, can you please confirm the exact time for the Winter Vac Scheme deadline? Thank you.

 

[afazeli-nia]

Hi all!

I'm an associate in the IP and Technology Transactions team here at PW. Like most of us here, I trained at another firm and joined PW in Feb 2024, about 1.5 years after qualification. I've been at the firm for over a year and half now.

My work is generally pretty varied and spans across M&A matters (e.g. advising on IP, tech, data, AI and separation aspects of corporate transactions), standalone IP/Tech matters (e.g. software, brands, licensing, franchising and similar commercial arrangements) and advisory work (e.g. on data protection and, increasingly, AI regulatory matters).

I am state-school educated and the first in my family to attend university, so have been fairly active in the social mobility space throughout university, law school, my old firm and now Paul, Weiss.

More than happy to speak to anything above or any other questions you have about life at the firm or my journey to get here.

Looking forward to reading your questions!

 

[LizzieArthey]

Hi everyone, thanks for the time! How many people do you take on the vac schemes and how many spaces on the TC?

Thanks for your question.

We will have up to 12 people on each vacation scheme (winter, spring and summer), and up to 10 trainees per intake.

 

[CharlesT47]

Hi Charles

I didn't train at PW so I can only answer your questions from the perspective of an NQ.

1. I have been given the opportunity to run calls, unsupervised, with major clients such as Apollo which really took me by surprise and in my opinion is work above the remit of a NQ.

2. Many of our AT matters are staffed very leanly. I have, at times, been the only associate on a matter working directly for a partner. This focused me to have the courage of my convictions regarding research or advice, as there was no one more senior to run it by as a sense check. This has really improved my confidence in my decision making as well as my resilience when receiving constructive feedback directly from a partner. Furthermore, it has also allowed me to understand how individual partners like work to be delivered and presented. This is essential because early on in your career, your clients are essentially all those people in your team that are more senior than you are!

3. My initiative has been rewarded by PW this morning! A contact invited me to a DMA conference in Brussels. I flagged this is a useful Know-How and networking opportunity to the partners, and they have signed off (and funded) my attendance.

4. Please see my answer to Eddie on this - I am not aware of such specification because the remit of AT work for PE clients is so broad but that may be because the AT Team has standing House AT instructions. Colleagues from the M&A/PE Teams might be better able to advise here.

Hope that is helpful!

Best
Meg

Hi Meg,

Thank you so much for your comprehensive answer. This is hugely appreciated!

Best,
Charles

 

[eddiemxlii]

Hi all!

I'm an associate in the IP and Technology Transactions team here at PW. Like most of us here, I trained at another firm and joined PW in Feb 2024, about 1.5 years after qualification. I've been at the firm for over a year and half now.

My work is generally pretty varied and spans across M&A matters (e.g. advising on IP, tech, data, AI and separation aspects of corporate transactions), standalone IP/Tech matters (e.g. software, brands, licensing, franchising and similar commercial arrangements) and advisory work (e.g. on data protection and, increasingly, AI regulatory matters).

I am state-school educated and the first in my family to attend university, so have been fairly active in the social mobility space throughout university, law school, my old firm and now Paul, Weiss.

More than happy to speak to anything above or any other questions you have about life at the firm or my journey to get here.

Looking forward to reading your questions!

Hi,

Thanks for taking your time to answer questions. What are some of the steps Paul Weiss has taken to further DEI initiatives and improve workplace culture? Are there any affinity networks set up within the firm that create a more inclusive culture?

Kind Regards
Eddie

 

[LizzieArthey]

Morning @Paul @ Paul Weiss, can you please confirm the exact time for the Winter Vac Scheme deadline? Thank you.

Thanks for your question - the exact time for the deadline for our Winter Vacation Scheme is 23:59.