THINKING
DIFFERENTLY
ABOUT LEGAL CAREERS
Whether you’re in law school, doing a clerkship or practicing in another setting, Orrick offers
an experience unlike any other big law firm today. Here are 8 ways we do that:
1
We think there’s a better way
to practice law – and develop
as a lawyer.
A path to excellence – tailored for you.
We’ve moved beyond the traditional law firm model by looking ahead to what law can be.
Orrick, you’ll get that experience through a meaningful role on a small team delivering impactful work for the world’s most innovative clients.
IMPACTFUL ASSIGNMENTS
track to partnership while other top performers prefer
more flexibility. 20% of the U.S. new partner class of 2023 and 2024 made partner in <8.5 years. We offer options in where and how you work and the ability to pace your advancement in a way that’s tailored for you. Yale Law Women named us the top firm for Agency and Flexibility in 2022 and 2023.
FLEXIBILITY
individuals with a diversity of perspectives and experiences often produce the highest quality, most innovative work.
An inclusive team
clients. To sustain that performance, it’s essential to integrate time to recharge, reflect and
take care of ourselves and each other. We help our team do that in unique ways.
An emphasis on wellness
"Work assignments are quite substantive and are focused on providing regulatory advice and guidance directly to clients, including consulting with clients, drafting memos, and conducting legal research. I've had several opportunities to contribute to crafting legal strategy in order to better hone my skills.”
– Orrick associate, Vault 2024
You’ll build your career around
what’s coming next.
2
Exceptional quality legal
advice is sector-focused and
forward-looking.
We focus our practice on the sectors that are driving the economy of the future: Technology & Innovation, Life Sciences & Healthtech, Decarbonization & Infrastructure Modernization, and Finance & Fintech. This focus enables us to really get to know our clients’ market and business and deliver actionable, commercial advice.
We focus our practice on the sectors that are driving the economy of the future: Technology & Innovation,
Life Sciences & Healthtech, Decarbonization & Infrastructure Modernization, and Finance & Fintech. This focus enables us to really get to know our clients’ market and
business and deliver actionable, commercial advice.
TECH & INNOVATION
Decarbonization & Infrastructure Modernization
FINANCE & FINTECH
Our clients
Our clients
Our clients
13 of the 25 largest
public tech companies
6 of the top 10
energy majors
14 of the top 15 U.S. financial institutions by market cap
4,500 venture-backed companies, including 100+ unicorns
8 of the top 10 U.S. private debt investors
700+ fintech clients
Our PRACTICE
Our PRACTICE
Our PRACTICE
Top 5 for venture capital globally for the past
7 years and No. 1 in
Europe for 8 years
– PitchBook, 2023
Technology Practice
Group of the Year
– Law360, 2023
No. 2 global renewables firm by volume
– Inspiratia, 2023
More venture-backed energy deals than any other firm
– PitchBook, 2023
Band 1 nationally for Energy Transition, Renewables, P3 and Power
– Chambers USA, 2024
Financial Times has recognized
our finance teams with
15 innovation awards
No. 1 Bond Counsel for
20+ years
– The Bond Buyer
Band 1 nationwide for Public Finance, CMBS
and PACE
– Chambers USA, 2024
Litigation, IP and Regulation
Litigation, IP and regulation comprise half of our practice. Our teams have handled 25+ trials in the last two years, and 300+ class actions, a dozen ITC wins and 140+ appellate arguments over the past five years.
Interested in trial work? The American Lawyer recognized Orrick among the six elite litigation shops at the 2023 Litigator of the Year awards. And our appellate practice is among the nation's best, with
40+ dedicated appellate lawyers, including 10 former U.S. Supreme Court clerks.
In the regulatory and enforcement area, we provide forward-looking, synthesized regulatory, enforcement, litigation, white collar crime and transactional advice. We launched our Strategic
Advisory and Government Enforcement team and combined with Buckley in 2023 in response to increasing client needs for help navigating regulatory and enforcement uncertainty, the convergence of finance and tech, and a rise in financial litigation and investigations. SAGE offers advice drawing on financial & fintech (regulatory, enforcement, transactional), white collar, privacy & cybersecurity, competition, public policy, trade and technology transactions perspectives.
National and IP Litigation Department of the Year Finalists – the only firm on both lists
American Lawyer
2023
Band 1 rankings nationally for IP Appeals, Privacy and Data Security Litigation, Product Liability & Mass Torts, White Collar Crime & Investigations, and Consumer Finance Compliance
Chambers USA
2024
11 times on the Appellate Hot List
National Law Journal
Top 3 for win rate in PTAB proceedings
for both
patent owners and patent challengers
Tech Litigation Department
of the Year – Finalist
The Recorder
2023
And we believe mentors learn as
much as mentees.
3
Continual learning is what
makes the practice interesting.
at mentorship – with a faculty that has included the Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi, Dr. Arin Reeves and partners invested in developing the next generation of talent at Orrick.
Mentoring Matters
WE CELEBRATE OUR BEST MENTORS EACH YEAR DURING MENTORING MAY
business topics – and up to 100 hours a year of bonus-eligible time for training. Junior associates jump in with bootcamps in areas such IP, trial skills and working with startups. To hone business skills, our curriculum includes three intensive academies at key career advancement points. Our academy for new associates sets up a great first year at Orrick, while our senior associates complete a mini-MBA.
A Full Curriculum + Time to Invest in
Learning
At about six years into practice, we pair
sponsorship
“Great training, mentoring, and sponsorship at Orrick. The firm has formal programs, but the attorneys are also open to helping associates develop on an informal basis. I have never felt that I could not find help at the firm on anything I needed help with, and people are easy and approachable if you are looking for assistance with anything.”
– Orrick associate, Vault 2024
Inclusion and diversity of perspective are baked into our core values.
4
Inclusion is integrated into everything we do.
Learn more about inclusion & belonging at Orrick
You’ll choose the issues most
meaningful to you.
5
We believe we have a heightened
duty today to make a social impact.
We believe we have a responsibility individually and collectively to make an impact in our communities. It’s part of what inspires us about practicing law together.
Lawyers across our teams – litigation, transactional and regulatory – are engaged in advancing social justice and equity and meeting the challenges of climate change. We fight for the vulnerable: veterans, children, immigrants and others. We innovate for more equitable financing. And we collaborate with the global legal community to provide humanitarian assistance around the world.
750+
individual clients and social impact organizations represented in 2024
67,500+
hours dedicated to pro bono service globally
in 2024
Top 10
for U.S. pro bono impact for 10 consecutive years
The American Lawyer
2024
Learn more about our pro bono work
Why
Pelicans?
Learn more about our 2022 Racial Justice Fellows
The best athletes take time to recover,
recharge and reflect – so do we.
6
We need to be intentional about
making top performance sustainable.
We were the first law firm to make it possible to truly unplug after intense periods of work. Our “Unplug Time” policy enables team members to take one week a year fully disconnected – and they report that it makes a big difference in their ability to reflect and recover. To help our team take this time, it counts toward bonus-eligible hours.
We work hard to deliver the best service to our clients. For that to be sustainable, we need to find ways to take care of ourselves. Here’s how we do that:
We send “Wellness Dollars” to associates after particularly intensive months to encourage them to invest in self-care.
Our team has premium access to the Calm app –
a tool for mindfulness, stress management and good sleep.
We also offer Modern Health, a platform that provides free mental health services. Orrick team members and their families get 10 sessions a year at no cost. This is on top of benefits from our Employee Assistance Program and medical plans.
“The firm goes above and beyond—noticeably—to ensure that employees of the firm are supported and are not undergoing mental stressors.”
– Orrick associate, Vault 2024
We offer some of the most generous parental leave benefits in Big Law, with at least 16 weeks for moms and dads (more for birth moms).
Our innovation platform helps our lawyers deliver both – while making work better.
7
The most innovative lawyering
combines great judgment with
great data.
We’re tapping into technology to take the grind out of legal work. Our corporate associates work on a platform that gives them access to state-of the-art document templates, checklists, and AI-powered precedent and drafting tools so they never have to reinvent the wheel. Our litigation associates use AI, automation, case management tools, virtual courtroom technology and data visualization to battle discovery and prepare for trial.
Our lawyers have the support of our team of analytics and innovation professionals and legal technologists – many of whom are based at our award-winning Global Operations & Innovation Center in West Virginia – to draw on the best tools to solve each client’s problem.
We give our team bonus-eligible time for innovation projects. Orrick
Labs, our in-house technology development team, builds solutions
we cannot find in the market, and our legal tech initiative invests in
promising legal tech startups – whose technologies our lawyers then
beta test.
"Orrick is cutting-edge when it comes to technology, and has provided substantive training on artificial intelligence and the use
of AI-based tools.”
– Orrick associate, Vault 2024
To learn more about the latest in legal tech, check out The Observatory.
Top 10 Most Innovative Law Firm in North America
9 Years in a Row
7
The most innovative lawyering
combines great judgment with
great data.
So we’re reimagining our workplace
to prioritize performance, connection
and flexibility.
8
The pandemic experience taught us that
we can perform incredibly well while enjoying
more flexibility than we ever imagined.
We don’t pretend to have it all figured out – we’re experimenting with new ways of doing things.
The majority of our lawyers work in the office at least 3 days a week. And we’re focused on finding ways of connecting while we’re together.
We also offer 100% remote opportunities for experienced associates and a “work from anywhere” option for defined periods for everyone. Our nationwide salary scale applies regardless of where you work.
Flexible work arrangements are well established and increasingly popular. About a third of our 2024 U.S. partner class took advantage of a flexible work arrangement before their promotion. And many of our partners choose FWAs as well.
LET’s TALK
If this kind of thinking resonates with you, we’d
welcome a conversation – in person or virtually.
We’re looking for candidates who are excited about working in teams to help
our clients adapt to a rapidly changing market. Candidates whose life
experiences have enabled you to develop grit and empathy, practice teamwork
and innovate. And we’re looking for future leaders — as an Orrick partner, at one
of the great companies we advise, or to use your legal training to make an
impact in new ways.
THE Lateral EXPERIENCE
Laterals who join Orrick tell us they’re inspired by the opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and to do meaningful work on impactful engagements. They value our culture. And they appreciate our transparency about the path to partnership – and great role models among our junior partners.
“I lateraled over and felt like I was very quickly integrated into the firm. The group made a huge effort to get me work that I wanted and to get me introduced to the many people in my group that I would be working with going forward.”
– Orrick associate, Vault 2024
Look at our current openings worldwide
Laterals who join Orrick tell us they’re inspired by the opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and to do meaningful work on impactful engagements. They value our culture. And they appreciate our transparency about the path to partnership – and great role models among our junior partners.
What’s a summer at Orrick like? You’ll work with Orrick colleagues in the office where you’re based and worldwide. You’ll gain experience on impactful client engagements. You’ll learn about our firm strategy, hear from Orrick partners and associates about how they think about their careers, meet our clients and get training by our lawyers and nationally recognized outside faculty in skills from legal writing to networking to inclusive teamwork (led by our military vets). Plus you’ll attend a national academy, in-person, to connect your class. And you’ll integrate that with fitness and mindfulness training and lots of opportunities to develop connections and friendships.
THE SUMMER EXPERIENCE
“I was so pleasantly surprised by the energy and vibrancy of the community that can be cultivated virtually. Everyone brought their full selves and worked intentionally to build connections with one another.”
– Rudi Miller, Berkeley, 2022
“I think we all came to appreciate how this summer helped to provide
an unvarnished view of the reality of what it’s like to work at Orrick …
[I]n a lot of ways, focusing this summer on the people and the work really helped me confirm that this was absolutely, 100% the right choice for me.”
– Sky Stallbaumer, Fordham, 2021
Apply to our summer program
Pelicans have become a symbol for us as we reflect together on how we want to practice in the future. They’re remarkable birds. Pelicans work as a team. They recognize that each individual has unique strengths – taking turns leading, depending on the conditions. They flock together to herd fish to shallow waters. And they go to extraordinary lengths to protect the next generation in their pod.
How you do things is part of what defines your ecosystem. We hope this page gives you an introduction to how we do things at Orrick, our culture and a sense of what it might be like to be part of our team.
As an associate, it’s essential to get in the reps to develop excellence. At
Some of our associates want a fast
In our experience, teams comprising
We work hard to deliver excellence for the world’s most demanding
None of us got here by ourselves – and we believe in paying it forward. We train
We offer 300+ courses annually on legal and
associates who are interested in partnership with a sponsor
to coach them through the consideration process and
support their success as a partner. We offer regular panel discussions to demystify the path to partnership. And if you decide a government or in-house role is a better fit for your career aspirations,
we’ll support you on that path, too.
2
You’ll build your career around what’s coming next.
3
Exceptional quality legal advice is
sector-focused and forward-looking.
And we believe mentors learn as much as mentees.
4
Continual learning
is what makes the practice interesting.
5
Diversity is not a “program” – it is
integrated into everything we do.
So you can bring your
whole heart and mind
to your work.
You’ll choose the issues most meaningful to you.
6
We believe we
have a heightened
duty today to make
a social impact.
The best athletes take time to recover, recharge and reflect – so do we.
7
We need to be intentional about
making top performance sustainable.
Our innovation platform helps our lawyers deliver both – while making work better.
8
The most innovative lawyering combines great judgment with
great data.
Fintech and Banking & Finance Practice Groups of the Year
– Law360, 2022
Most Digital
Law Firm
2020 & 2023
This holds true for our client teams and the team that leads our firm. Based on the traditional U.S. measures of diversity (lawyers who are of color, women, LGBTQ+ and/or have disabilities), our teams today are among the most inclusive in large law firms: our senior leadership team is 55% diverse and our U.S. partnership is 46%. We exceed large law firm averages at the partner and associate levels, as reported by NALP, in every category.
12 of the 20 largest biopharma companies
in the U.S.
13% of our work globally is life sciences
65 lawyers with technical degrees in life sciences and engineering – 7 life sciences PhDs
Our clients
Our PRACTICE
Life Sciences & Healthtech
The most active PE/VC funds and underwriters
in the tech ecosystem
175+ M&A and PE transactions in 2023,
half in Europe
Private credit client portfolio of 25+ funds with $500B AUM
25 of the top 50
renewables sponsors
60 of the top 100
infrastructure
investors globally
165+ energytech clients
550+ clients across biotech and pharma, digital health, research and laboratories, medical devices, health care IT, and diagnostics and tools
13 of the 25 largest public tech companies
175+ M&A and PE transactions in 2023, half in Europe
6 of the top 10 energy majors
25 of the top 50 renewables sponsors
60 of the top 100 infrastructure investors globally
Private credit client portfolio of 25+ funds with $500B AUM
Top 5 for venture capital globally for
5 years and No. 1 in Europe for 8 years
– PitchBook, 2023
65 lawyers with technical degrees in
life sciences and engineering –
7 life sciences PhDs
The most active PE/VC funds and underwriters in the tech ecosystem
13 of the 25 largest public tech companies
Life Sciences & Healthtech
Our clients
Our PRACTICE
Learn more about inclusion &
belonging at Orrick