Weil Gotshal & Manges (London)
Our view...
Weil, Gotshal & Manges is, along with Shearman and Sterling, probably the most anglicised of the US firms over here - and so probably the most likely to be here for the long haul. Insiders report that the hours are long, but no worse than at other big name City practices and generally not at the absurd levels sometimes rumoured to be found at smaller US offices over here. You're going to be part of a global network of 1,300, but - don't be worried about stetsons and six shooters - almost everyone in London is UK qualified.
The firm's been here a long time. 2011 was the fifteenth anniversary of the firm's London office, which makes it a pretty well-established brand in the Great Wen. With around 120 lawyers over here it's one of the biggest US offices in
the City, and the work is as high profile as anywhere. The first decade or so was pretty smooth running, with the firm getting its hands filthy in the private equity world (aided by the hire of PE star Marco Compagnoni).
But with PE work drying up, how has Weil got on. Well, as other firms suffered, WGM swiftly managed to diversify and pick up a huge load of restructuring work (Lehman and the like), so it's been coining it. Bonuses for US associates are generally top of the tree and London salaries are the typical stellar rates: how many NQs are going to grumble at £90k?
The practice is concentrated on profitable corporate and finance work, so if property or litigation is your thing you'll need to look elsewhere. Bear in mind that however committed it is to the UK, decisions affecting your future are still made by partners thousands of miles away. So what do the workers think? Responses to our Firm of the Year survey were, ahem, mixed. Not only were there rumours that "lots of people are quitting", there's also a suspicion that a few of the partners aren't the nicest, with a couple described as "
ignorant" and being accused of "
treating juniors badly". Even worse, one - furious - correspondent described the private equity team as "
odious and dysfunctional", making working at Weil "
deeply unpleasant" and "
a significant deterrent for new hires as well as augmenting the attrition rate". Although the overwhelming majority of people thought that largely people were "
lovely", "
awesome", "
great" and "
easygoing".
Still, the firm is very keen to stress that it is in London to stay. The fact that London is its fastest growing office (and the largest after New York), and that the office has generated significant profits for the last few years would also seem to support this. If hard-core corporate work is your bag, and you're prepared to work long hours, the combination of cash and clients make for a good deal. Plus, as one assistant comments, you get the benefit of "
working for a firm with the same name as an infection spread by rats". Which is nice.
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