Paul Weiss

Paul Weiss (officially Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison) is a leading US law firm headquartered in New York.

The firm has a rich history and traces its roots back to 1875 when Julius J. Frank and Samuel W. Weiss established their partnership, Frank & Weiss, in New York.

Fast-forward 150 years, today Paul Weiss is considered an American powerhouse - certainly one of the most prestigious names in the US market - with a reputation that’s quickly growing globally thanks to its aggressive overseas expansion, especially in the London market.

The firm operates with around 1,000 lawyers worldwide, including 250 partners. While not the scale of global behemoth rivals like Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins, it has a decent international footprint with 10 offices across the US, Europe and Asia.

Paul Weiss built its reputation on the back of high-stakes litigation mandates and has long been considered one of the premier disputes advisers in the US.

The firm has represented clients in some of the most significant disputes of recent decades, including securities litigation, antitrust matters, and regulatory investigations. Notable cases include its work defending Citigroup during the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis.

Since the financial crisis, the firm’s strategy has been one of specialisation: increasing its transactional advice capability and focusing on the most lucrative practice areas: namely private equity, public M&A and restructuring.

A key turning point came in the early 2010s when Paul Weiss landed private equity giant Apollo as a corporate client. The new relationship boosted the firm’s transactional credibility enormously and also became a huge revenue driver, soon reportedly generating more than $100 million annually in fees.

Its London office has been a key part of its new strategy. Although it’s had a presence in London since 2001, the office has grown aggressively over the past couple of years targeting high-end transactional work for European private equity sponsor clients.

The clearest evidence of that focus without doubt was Paul Weiss’ raid on US rival Kirkland’s star rainmaker Neel Sachdev in a headline-making move in August 2023.

The raid triggered one of the largest mass lateral moves in City law history, with over a dozen market-leading private equity partners joining the firm in what some have called an attempt by Paul Weiss to build “Kirkland 2.0” - a nod to Kirkland’s remarkable rise as the City’s leading private equity shop.

After nearly doubling in size in just over a year, by the end of 2024, the London office boasted around 170 lawyers, with 32 partners. Almost all the growth has come from poaching talent from rivals - mainly Kirkland.

Early signs point to Paul Weiss’ huge investment in London paying off. It advised on several big-ticket private equity mandates in 2024, including Apollo's £2.7bn buyout of UK delivery firm Evri, and secured fourth place in Bloomberg’s ranking of Europe’s top advisers on buyouts for 2024, increasing its market share more than any other firm.

Other things to know

Non-equity Partnership Tier: Paul Weiss was late to adopt the increasingly popular model of maintaining a tier of non-equity partners. Its 34-strong 2024 round of partner promotions consisted of non-equity (i.e. salaried) partners for the first time. Non-equity partnership is now a staple at most major US firms.

London Training Contract: Paul Weiss is launching a London training contract with its first cohort of trainees due to start in October 2026. The firm is expected to take up to 10 trainees.

What is Paul Weiss known for?

Paul Weiss is a full service corporate law firm. In the UK market, it is best known for its expertise in private equity:

Leveraged Finance: Paul Weiss now has one of the City’s leading sponsor-side finance practices, led by star player Neel Sachdev who was poached from Kirkland in 2023 and who serves as the global co-chair of finance. The firm is ranked in Band 2 by Chambers for its sponsor-side banking advice. Its high-yield bond practice is ranked in Band 4.

Private Equity: Paul Weiss is quickly establishing itself as one of London’s go-to advisers for corporate advice on the biggest buyouts. The firm is ranked in Band 4 for the highest-value buyouts.

What's Chambers?

We use Chambers rankings to demonstrate a firm's strengths. Chambers is the most highly-regarded provider of law firm rankings in the legal industry. Law firms are ranked in bands from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest) across a range of practice areas.

It's important to note that being ranked in any band at all is still considered a significant achievement.

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Who does Paul Weiss compete with?

In the UK market, Paul Weiss competes directly with the other leading private equity advisers, including US rivals Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Simpson Thacher and Weil, as well as Magic Circle names Freshfelds, Linklaters and Clifford Chance.

Paul Weiss makes the top 25 biggest law firms in the world by revenue. In 2023, its revenue reached $2 billion.

In 2023, its profit per equity partner (PEP) was $6.5 million.

How much does a partner at Paul Weiss make?

In 2024, Paul Weiss’ average profit per equity partner (PEP) was $6.5 million.

This is the total amount of profit available for distribution among equity partners, divided by the number of equity partners at the firm.

This represents the average amount that equity partners are entitled to. Some will receive significantly more, some less. It depends on the firm’s profit-sharing formula and each partner’s seniority.

How many trainees does Paul Weiss take?

Paul Weiss will start accepting trainees in London in October 2026.

The firm will take on up to 10 trainees each year.