Fall Interview Process

Which qualities does Willkie look for in candidates?

What is the callback interview process like? How long will each interview last?

What should I bring to my callback interview?

How will I be reimbursed for travel expenses?

When are hiring decisions communicated?

If I receive an offer, can I come back to the firm for a second visit?

How do I apply if you are not interviewing on campus at my law school?

Who should I contact at the firm if I have any questions about the interview process?

Summer Program

What is the percentage of summer associates who have received offers over the last few years?

How will I receive assignments during the summer?

Is there a mentoring system?

Will I receive feedback on my assignments? Is there a formal evaluation process?

If I receive an offer at the end of the summer, is it for a specific department?

Can I participate in pro bono activities over the summer?

Do we receive any training during the summer program?

How will I find summer housing in New York City?

What kinds of social activities do your summer associates participate in?

What is the dress code at the firm?

Associate Life and Firm Culture

Is there a mentor program at the firm?

What sort of orientation does the firm provide?

Do you have a billable hour requirement for associates?

How do associates receive assignments?

What sort of departmental training does the firm provide?

Do associates have opportunities to work in any of the overseas offices?

How are salaries and bonuses determined for associates?

What kind of diversity initiatives does the firm undertake?

How do associates contribute to life at the firm?

What are some of Willkie's family friendly initiatives?

Fall Interview Process

Which qualities does Willkie look for in candidates?
Willkie seeks motivated individuals who have excelled academically. We are looking for candidates who possess ambition, maturity, communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with others.

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What is the callback interview process like? How long will each interview last?
Each student will meet with a combination of partners and associates, and you should plan to be here for approximately 2 hours.When scheduling your callback interview, you may indicate your practice area interests. We will do our best to arrange meetings with attorneys from the departments in which you are most interested.

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What should I bring to my callback interview?
If your resume has been revised since your on-campus interview, please bring an updated copy for the recruiting department. While your resume and transcript will be provided to the attorneys with whom you will meet, we recommend that you bring additional copies. We do not require a writing sample or references.

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How will I be reimbursed for travel expenses?
We suggest that you choose a “host” firm for your trip to New York. You will make your travel and hotel arrangements through that firm, and they will be responsible for billing the other firms visited on your trip. You should also submit any additional costs for your trip (i.e. cabs, meals, parking etc.) to this firm, as well. Please be sure to retain receipts for any expenses for which you would like to be reimbursed.

You should keep track of all of your expenses using the NALP Travel Expense Reimbursement Form, which can be found at www.nalp.org. Please send the form along with your receipts to:

Alexandra Clark
Legal Recruiting Assistant
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
787 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10019

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When are hiring decisions communicated?
Our hiring committee meets regularly to review candidates, and hiring decisions are made on a rolling basis. Candidates are notified about decisions shortly after their in-office interviews.

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If I receive an offer, can I come back to the firm for a second visit?
We encourage all students who have received offers from the firm to come back for a second visit. We would like you to feel as informed as possible in making your decision. You may request the practice area as well as the level of the attorneys (i.e. junior associate, senior associate, counsel or partner) with whom you would like to meet for your return visit.

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How do I apply if you are not interviewing on campus at my law school?
We welcome you to submit your resume and transcript directly to us for review. If you are selected for an initial interview, we will contact you about making arrangements. Please send your materials to recruiting-ny@willkie.com.

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Who should I contact at the firm if I have any questions about the interview process?
Any of our Legal Personnel & Recruiting contacts will be happy to assist you. For a list of recruiting contacts, please click here. You can also call our Recruiting Hotline at (800) 317-0238.

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Summer Program

What is the percentage of summer associates who have received offers over the last few years?
Typically, 100% of our summer associates receive offers at the end of the summer.

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How will I receive assignments during the summer?
Willkie’s summer program uses a rotation system to expose summer associates to a number of practice areas. Prior to your arrival, you will choose the department in which you would like to begin your summer. You have the flexibility to decide subsequent rotations as your interests evolve. Overall, the summer program is designed to structure our summer associates’ experience, while always allowing them the opportunity to shift gears as they determine the type of work they most enjoy. For more information on work assignments, click here.

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Is there a mentoring system?
Yes, each summer associate is assigned a partner mentor and an associate liaison. Partner mentors and associate liaisons check in with their mentees regularly throughout the summer and are available to answer any questions that may arise. Willkie summer associates also can expect to form informal mentoring relationships with their officemate, departmental colleagues, and others whom they meet during the program.

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Will I receive feedback on my assignments? Is there a formal evaluation process?
Our attorneys are always encouraged to provide informal feedback on your work, and you will receive a formal evaluation midway through and at the end of the summer. Our evaluation process allows summer associates the opportunity to improve their work and grow as future Willkie associates. It also allows summer associates to tell us how to make the summer program an even better, more rewarding experience.

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If I receive an offer at the end of the summer, is it for a specific department?
You will receive a general offer to join the firm at the end of the summer. If you decide to accept your offer, you will join the firm as an associate in the specific department that best suits you and the needs of the firm.

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Can I participate in pro bono activities over the summer?
Absolutely. Summer associates are a vital part of Willkie’s commitment to public service and are encouraged to become actively involved in the diverse pro bono matters the firm handles on a daily basis. Summer associates also have the opportunity to participate in one or two week externships at public service organizations throughout New York City. For more information about pro bono opportunities available to summer associates, click here.

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Do we receive any training during the summer program?
In addition to the informal training you will receive while completing your work assignments, the firm provides formal training opportunities for its summer associates. The summer program includes weekly in-house luncheons hosted by attorneys in each of the firm’s practice groups to give students a better sense of what attorneys do on a daily basis. In addition, summer associates are invited to attend weekly in-house training seminars which are part of our professional development program for full-time associates.

We have also developed two intensive, hands-on training programs: a Mock Arbitration Seminar and a Corporate Negotiation Seminar. Many summer associates are not able to experience all of the intricacies of the matters on which they work due to the time constraints of the summer. The condensed format of these mock seminars, however, allows summer associates to have the full experience of both a negotiation and an arbitration during the summer. For more information on these programs, please click here.

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How will I find summer housing in New York City?
Both NALP and NYU School of Law have summer residency programs. Information on these programs can be found at www.nalp.org and www.law.nyu.edu/depts/housing/summerliving. We will also forward information on summer sublet opportunities by email.

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What kinds of social activities do your summer associates participate in?
Social events during the summer are designed to help our summer associates get to know partners and associates at the firm as well as each other. From Major League Baseball to cooking classes, the social calendar includes a range of activities that will appeal to our diverse group of summer associates and attorneys, and that we hope will enhance everyone’s enjoyment of the city in which we live.

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What is the dress code at the firm?
The firm has a business casual dress code year round. We do recommend that attorneys and summer associates have business attire available in the office in the event of an unexpected client meeting or court appearance.

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Associate Life and Firm Culture

Is there a mentor program at the firm?
Each new associate is assigned a partner to serve as a Career Advisor and an associate to serve as an Associate Liaison. Both will help the new associate transition smoothly into firm life and provide general guidance. Willkie also has an Partner Advisor program for senior associates, as well as a cross-departmental women's Mentoring Circles program.

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What sort of orientation does the firm provide?
Willkie provides a full day orientation program for new associates. The program includes discussion groups covering topics such as firm policies, professional ethics, firm economics, and pro bono opportunities. Associates from both the New York and Washington, DC offices attend, and the program culminates with partners and associates joining new associates for a reception.

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Do you have a billable hour requirement for associates?
There is no billable hour requirement at the firm.

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How do associates receive assignments?
Within each of the firm’s departments, associates work closely with partners, who provide supervision and training. Each department has its own assigning partner, who is familiar with the associates’ needs and interests as well as the needs of our clients. In staffing assignments, we are not bound by formal hierarchies, and associates are encouraged to assume individual responsibility for matters as quickly as possible. Typically, associates will have direct client contact as soon as they join the firm.

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What sort of departmental training does the firm provide?
In addition to their daylong orientation, new associates at Willkie participate in a comprehensive two-day training program that assists attorneys in transitioning to the full-time practice of law. The program is comprised of "boot camps" for the firm’s different departments, and subjects include Litigation and Corporate ‘Nuts & Bolts’ and ‘The Basics of Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine,’ among others.

Throughout the year, each department holds seminars and luncheons to develop associates’ legal skills and to address significant legal developments.

Willkie is an accredited provider of Continuing Legal Education courses for both live and videotaped training seminars. All attorneys are able to satisfy their Continuing Legal Education requirements by attending in-house seminars.

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Do associates have opportunities to work in any of the overseas offices?
Yes, we have had a number of associates transfer to our Paris, London and Milan offices with the length of their stay determined on an individual basis. All of our offices work closely together, so associates are able to make the transition quite easily.

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How are salaries and bonuses determined for associates?
The firm uses a lock-step system for associate bonuses. All associates in good standing at the firm are eligible for a bonus that is determined by class year. Our bonuses have been consistently competitive with those of other large New York firms.

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What kind of diversity initiatives does the firm undertake?
As Willkie recognizes that everyone benefits from a diverse workplace, Willkie is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse environment by employing people of all backgrounds and cultural experiences.

Willkie's Diversity Committee coordinates much of the firm’s efforts in the area of diversity. The Committee is chaired by the firm's Director of Diversity Initiatives, who is dedicated to the recruitment, professional development, and advancement of minority attorneys. In addition, Willkie's Women’s Professional Development Committee ("WPDC") emphasizes the training and career development of women attorneys at Willkie. Initiatives of the Committees have included, among many others, sponsoring bi-monthly luncheons featuring a diverse array of internal and external speakers, providing opportunities for the cultivation of successful mentoring relationships, engaging diversity consultants to foster diversity awareness, and increasing the firm's presence at diverse job fairs and conferences, as well as law school campuses with diverse student populations.

For more information on the Firm’s diversity initiatives, please click here.

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How do associates contribute to life at the firm?
Associates can participate in firm management by serving as a representative on committees, such as the Professional Personnel Committee, the Marketing Committee, and the Professional Development Committee. Willkie’s open atmosphere provides associates with the opportunity to provide feedback on a formal and an informal basis. Associates are encouraged to voice their opinions on issues such as professional development, diversity, and work-life balance.

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What are some of Willkie's family friendly initiatives?
Willkie is committed to maintaining a family friendly workplace. In addition to 18 weeks of paid leave for primary care givers, we also offer up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave, during which our attorneys may return to work part-time without prior approval from the firm. Additionally, the firm offers a paid paternity leave of 4 weeks. This paid leave period may be taken at any time within the first six months after a child is born or adopted.

The firm recognizes that associates who have strong commitments to the practice of law and are engaged in parenting may find it desirable to adjust or reduce their work schedules. The firm has an equally strong commitment to providing alternative work schedule arrangements for associates, and we believe that such schedules should not limit opportunities for career development, experience, and advancement. Once an attorney returns from parental leave, he or she may request to work part-time on a permanent basis.

In keeping with our efforts to cultivate a family friendly work environment, the firm has made available for new mothers an onsite lactation room. We have also appointed one of our woman partners to check in regularly with our alternative work schedule lawyers and meet with them periodically.

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