How am I Being Evaluated?
What can be more important than providing you with thorough and timely feedback regarding performance? Here's how it works: the firm will conduct two reviews of associates each year—a mid-year review in June/July, and a year-end review. We also encourage you to give yourself an examination prior to your formal sessions with partners.
We'll focus the reviews on your performance in the following categories:
- Substantive legal knowledge
- Analytical skills
- Written and oral communication skills
- Advocacy
- Initiative and responsibility
- Managing relationships
- Professionalism
Sixth year associates receive a comprehensive career assessment and review at the end of the sixth year. The precise timing may vary.
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Do I Get Formal Guidance as My Career Progresses?
The firm has developed an extensive program to support and guide all our lawyers as they develop throughout their careers here, not only through our formal programs, but also through personal commitment to one another. Our goal is to make Weil Gotshal the place to be throughout the early years of your career by ensuring that we guide, coach and work in supportive teams.
On a formal level, our programs are geared to support you with the following colleagues:
- First-Year Associate Mentor
- First-Year Class Monitor Partner
- Permanent Partner Mentor
- Career Development Partner
Be it advice about working relationships, insight into the firm culture and how it all works, constructive feedback on work assignments, or developing contacts outside the firm—we are here for you.
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How Do I Keep Learning?
The firm places a high priority on professional training, both formalized and on-the-job, for our lawyers. Throughout the year, we offer you a broad array of in-house programs designed to expand your knowledge and explore new territories. We also encourage you to attend programs and seminars at bar associations and outside legal education providers to supplement what we do for you here at the firm. Most importantly, you are working day-to-day with some of the finest lawyers in the world, who share their knowledge and experiences through ongoing instruction, guidance and insight.
If you want to learn, we'll help you do it. Ask Lisa Cuevas for details.
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How Do I Give Feedback About My Experiences?
We recognize that it's not enough for us to tell you how you're doing. You need a chance to tell us how we're doing, as partners and professional colleagues. To that end, the firm gives you an opportunity to provide feedback on your experiences with partners and senior associates for whom you work in the form of an Upward Feedback Survey. You have the chance to comment on case and transaction management, assignments, building professional relationships, your professional development, and issues of respect and colleagueship. It is important to note that this Survey is completely anonymous and confidential.
We also have a terrific staff of professionals who focus on Associate Programs and who you should contact with any questions or concerns. Be assured, we want to hear from you.
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Do Associates Ever Meet As a Group?
You bet. One example is Town Hall meetings. Town Hall meetings are one of the forums that the firm sponsors to encourage and support open communication among our attorneys. We hold these meetings several times during the year and the panels can include Management Committee members, partners or members of the Associates Committee. You get to set discussion topics in advance and questions are taken from the floor. The firm's management contributes to these meetings by chatting with you about current issues relating to firm governance and operations. Have ideas on how to get together? Topics you want to cover in a group setting? Let us know.
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Does Diversity Matter?
To compete effectively in the global marketplace, there is no room for exclusionary thought. Such thinking limits our ability to serve clients whose concerns and needs are as variegated as the world is vast. One of our key goals at the firm is to create and maintain a climate of inclusion. And what does that mean?
We want to ensure that:
- Each individual can succeed regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability
- Group differences are respected
- Different perspectives are respected
- Communication is open
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How Do We Promote Diversity?
The firm has developed programs and a way of working together meant to facilitate the achievement of our diversity goals, including the recruitment of minority and women associates and laterals, the mentoring and retention of associates, and the formation of affinity groups within the firm to provide a forum for those groups to network and grow. Our firm-wide diversity training is designed to create an environment of inclusion in which we value individual and group differences, respect the perspective of others and communicate openly. We employ focused diversity recruiting strategies because our goal is to seek out, hire and retain the best and brightest candidates in the world. By hiring people from diverse cultures and with diverse backgrounds and experiences, we gain perspective essential for achieving our clients' business perspectives.
Sound serious? It is, and we are. Check in with Meredith Moore to learn more.
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How Do I Get Pro Bono Experience?
Devoting significant time to rendering pro bono legal services is an important part of a lawyer's professional responsibility, and the firm believes that pro bono work can be an enriching personal and professional experience. We handle pro bono matters with the same level of professional responsibility and resources that we give to our regular clients, and credit work in our evaluation processes. The firm's Pro Bono Externship Program was established in 1999, and has successfully placed junior associates from various areas of practice at leading pro bono legal service organizations to work full time for a four-month period. Our commitment to pro bono is respected in both the legal and business communities, and its continued success depends on the full participation of attorneys throughout the firm at all levels of seniority.
For more information please contact Miriam Buhl, Pro Bono Counsel.
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What If I Would Like a Reduced Work Schedule?
There are lots of reasons in life for needing some flexibility in your time commitment to your career. We understand, and we have developed a flex-time work program which can present you with options that work for you, for the firm, and for our clients. You should know that participation in the flex-time work program will not preclude you from partnership consideration, and all associate requests are given the same consideration.
Chris Gillis and your Regional Office Administrator can chat with you about the Flex Program and explain how it all works.
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How Do Associate Programs Get Developed?
We have a terrific and dedicated set of committees who take on the responsibilities of ensuring that associate-related programs come to life and meet the vision of the firm's leadership. We encourage you to learn about these committees, get to know how they serve you, and meet the partners, associates and senior administrators who work hard to build a supportive and positive work environment.
The committees are:
- Professional Relations Committee
- Diversity Committee
- Professional Development Committee
- Professional Evaluation & Compensation Committee
- Professional Hiring Steering Committee
- Summer Program Committee
- Associates Committee
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Am I Supposed to Get Involved in Promoting the Firm?
We all take pride in the firm's practice, and there are ways in which we can each be a good ambassador for the firm. As an associate, you have no direct responsibility for developing clients or bringing in business for the firm. Your years as an associate are a great time to get to know lawyers through client relationships, meet colleagues through bar associations, and develop a network of contacts that you grow and develop over time. And we welcome your participation in the summer program and other recruiting activities. Of course, one of the best ways to promote the firm is to do your best work every day for our clients!
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Can I Publish an Article?
Publishing is an important part of your development as an attorney. To assist you in doing the best job you can and to ensure that what you publish takes sensitive issues into consideration, the firm has a simple review process that you will follow when you have decided to work on an article. For articles about substantive legal issues, you go to the Department or Practice Head most closely associated with your topic and ask them to review your idea.
If you want to write an article that relates to how law firms operate, or about ethical issues, you should submit your idea to Richard Davis as the Chair of the Compliance Committee who, as appropriate, will arrange for your idea to be considered by the Ethics Committee. Don't be shy. It's never too early in your career to think about getting published.
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Should I Join Bar Associations?
Being active in bar associations is a great way to meet other lawyers and expand your network. There are lots of bar associations that focus on diversity-related issues, which provide great opportunities to reach out to the broadest community. We encourage you to participate, and will pay your annual dues for one national or local bar association membership.
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