According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Paul, Weiss donated more to federal candidates and committees during the 2018 election cycle than any other law firm, giving $2.77 million, 93% to Democrats. By comparison, the legal profession as a whole made 72% of its donations to Democrats. Since 1989, Paul, Weiss contributed $11.26 million to federal campaigns and committees.
Notable representations
Paul, Weiss represents detainees held by the U.S. military at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. A number of the detainees went on a hunger strike to protest alleged inhumane conditions. In response, prison authorities force-fed detainees. Paul, Weiss attorneys filed an emergency application demanding information about the condition of the detainees. In a ruling in October 2005, Judge Gladys Kessler of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the government to provide the detainees' lawyers with 24 hours' notice before initiating a force-feeding, and to provide lawyers with the detainees’ medical records a week before force-feeding.
Paul, Weiss assisted Thurgood Marshall to reverse the doctrine of "separate but equal" in Brown v. Board of Education.
Paul, Weiss represented the China Medical TechnologiesAudit Committee in investigating an anonymous letter alleging possible illegal and fraudulent activities by management, prior to CMED being discovered to have been the subject of a $355 million fraud.
Rankings
The firm was ranked #2 for average partner compensation and #4 for profits per partner in the 2018 AmLaw 100 report. Starting July 1, 2018, associate salaries range from $190,000 for first-year associates to $350,000 for senior associates.
Diversity
was the first black lawyer hired at the firm. He was hired in 1949 and worked for Paul, Weiss for three years. The firm's first black partner, Jeh Johnson, was selected in 1994. On October 10, 2007, Paul, Weiss was included in a ranking of Manhattan law firms by the national law student groupBuilding a Better Legal Profession. The organization ranked firms by billable hours, demographic diversity, and pro bono participation. Paul, Weiss was ranked as being in the top fifth of the 74 firms researched, in number of Asian, female, and LGBT associates at the firm. The firm fell within the 61st to 80th percentile for number of Black associates, and in the 21st to 40th percentile for Hispanic associates. For diversity among partner attorneys, the firm was ranked in the 61st to 80th percentile for Black, Hispanic, Asian, and LGBT categories, despite only having 2 Black, 2 Hispanic, 5 Asian, and 3 LGBT partners at the firm. Paul, Weiss was also ranked number 52 out of the 74 firms evaluated, for opportunities for advancement for female attorneys, with the firm having a 68.8% decrease from the number of female associates to female partners. Paul, Weiss received criticism when an announcement for the firm's new partner class was shared by the firm's LinkedIn page in early December 2018. The displayed the photos of the 12 attorneys in the partner class; 11 of whom were men, and all of whom were white. The announcement generated discussions on diversity within the legal community, and prompted an open letter from more than 170 General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers expressing their disappointment that firms like Paul, Weiss "continue to promote partner classes that in no way reflect the demographic composition of entering associate classes."
