* as of 4/1/26
The federal government. Regulatory and enforcement agencies. Top decision-makers in the biggest industries in the world. Practicing law in Washington, D.C., is a whole different ball game.
Every D.C. firm worth your consideration will tell you about their proximity to the White House and K Street or their deep bench of former government officials and industry insiders.
Wilson Sonsini can go toe to toe with any of them on those points. But you should know that Washington, D.C., has been a growing tech hub for years: AOL was founded here, Amazon opened HQ2 just across the river in Arlington, and Northern Virginia’s Dulles Tech Corridor boasts a cluster of tech company headquarters and outposts. With our Silicon Valley roots and decades of experience helping start-ups and scale-ups in the tech and life sciences industries, our presence in D.C. just makes sense.
And it is an incredible place to practice law. Our D.C. practice is wide-ranging, so there is a wide range of practice groups from which to choose. Whether you work in antitrust and investigations or patents and transactions, or any of our other DC practice areas, you’ll learn from an established and growing team of litigators, dealmakers, and regulatory professionals.
You’ll also gain perspective from colleagues and mentors with substantial experience before major federal agencies, including the SEC, DOJ, FTC, FCC, USPTO, Copyright Office, Copyright Royalty Board, and the Departments of Commerce, Defense, State, and Treasury.
Our D.C. office hosts 11 to 15 summers each year, and they are assigned to any of a number of practices, including antitrust, appellate, corporate, complex litigation (which could include FCPA, government investigations, and white collar), M&A, national security, patents and IP, privacy and cybersecurity, or IT transactions.
Explore Washington, D.C. Practices
Join Our Team
Our Technology Transactions Group offers the opportunity for self-motivated and entrepreneurial individuals with a strong interest in technology companies at all stages of growth to help build and grow an established and dynamic national practice. Your work will focus primarily on structuring, drafting, and negotiating a variety of intellectual property and commercial transactions as well as intellectual property aspects of mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, financings, and other multidisciplinary transactions. If you want a career focused on intellectual property and commercial transactions and have 2-6 years of experience, we want to hear from you.
Wilson Sonsini’s Energy & Climate Solutions practice is seeking an associate to join our industry-leading energy regulatory practice. We represent independent power producers, large power consumers, demand response and grid-edge companies, and developers of energy transmission infrastructure that are leading the way in our nation’s rapidly evolving energy landscape. And we do so comprehensively: At RTOs/ISOs, before FERC, on judicial review, and in many of the most significant transactions shaping that energy landscape.
This is an opportunity to make a difference by working on some of the most challenging and consequential issues facing today’s energy industry. If that’s of interest, we want to hear from you.
The ideal candidate would join our Washington, DC office, although we will consider applicants for other Wilson Sonsini offices, as appropriate. We are looking for candidates with a demonstrated understanding of the Federal Power Act, including RTO/ISO market design, Section 203 applications, Section 205 rate filings, Section 206 complaints, energy market compliance and enforcement issues, PURPA, and FERC’s regulation of generation interconnection and energy transmission infrastructure development as well as the writing and research skills to craft persuasive FERC pleadings.
The Senior AI Risk Advisor sits at the intersection of emerging AI technology and enterprise risk, helping shape how one of the world’s leading law firms adopts AI responsibly and strategically. Reporting to the Manager of Risk Operations, this role will lead the firm’s AI risk function, evaluating AI tools and vendors, developing governance frameworks, and guiding firm-wide AI adoption. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is deeply knowledgeable about AI systems and passionate about building governance programs that balance innovation, security, and responsible use. The ideal candidate is collaborative, forward-thinking, and energized by advising attorneys, technologists, and firm leadership in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.
The Senior AI Security Engineer sits at the forefront of AI innovation and enterprise security, helping shape how one of the world’s leading law firms securely builds and deploys AI technologies. Reporting to the Director of Security Engineering and Operations, this role will lead the firm’s AI security engineering function, designing secure AI pipelines, evaluating emerging architectures, and establishing trusted frameworks for AI adoption at scale. This is a highly visible opportunity for a security expert who understands both AI infrastructure and adversarial threats, and who is excited by the challenge of securing AI-native workflows in a rapidly evolving environment. The ideal candidate is deeply technical, forward-thinking, and passionate about building secure, resilient, and responsible AI systems.
If you would like to submit an application to Wilson Sonsini, but do not see an active posting for the office or practice you are interested in, please apply here.
Did you know?
There are more than 20 participants in Wilson Sonsini's Patent Agent Law School Program (PALS) at any given time.