* as of 8/1/23
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
Wilson Sonsini's Accelerated Consideration for Employment (ACE) program is an opportunity for applicants with a serious interest in Wilson Sonsini to get a decision from us on a much earlier timeline. For those candidates who have done their research and know where they want to be, this program offers an opportunity to begin our application process earlier and move through more quickly.
The ACE application will remain open until May 27th. We will review applications on a rolling basis, and we will conduct screening interviews the week of June 10th. Callback interviews will take place beginning on June 17th. You will be asked to submit your Fall Semester grades as part of this application. Spring Semester grades will be collected at a later time. Our general Summer Associate application will open on May 28th.
The life science business advisory practice at Wilson Sonsini was formed in 2019 to provide emerging growth and more established life science companies with critical business advice and transactional support. This non-legal practice focuses on life science companies that need support raising capital, developing and evolving their business strategies, and developing and executing on partnership, licensing and M&A transactions. We are seeking to hire a Director, Life Science Business Advisory Practice, to grow the burgeoning practice. The Director will source clients and execute projects and transactions for clients to support on their business needs. The successful candidate will also support the strategic build out of the practice.
Love science but tired of bench work? Interested in staying abreast of cutting edge technology but want to hang up your pipette? The Patents & Innovations Group at Wilson Sonsini is actively hiring IP specialists and patent agents with advanced degrees for open positions at offices throughout the United States. IP specialist candidates must be qualified to sit for the USPTO patent bar and are required to take and pass the exam prior to starting at the firm. LSAT and imminent plans to attend law school strongly preferred.
Our IP specialists and patent agents collaborate closely with our patent attorneys, receiving both formal and informal training and mentorship. They have the opportunity to work with attorneys across our offices, serving both US and international clients. Our working group and firm culture values diverse perspectives, collaboration, and high-performance, while respecting work-life balance and prioritizing mentoring, training, and professional development. Relocation not available. Search firm submissions not accepted.
The Patents and Innovations Group at Wilson Sonsini has an opening for an IP specialist or patent agent with backgrounds in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, materials science, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), or related disciplines. Previous law firm or industry experience is a plus. Responsibilities include working with the firm’s clients in all aspects of patent prosecution, including in evaluating invention disclosures, preparing and prosecuting patent applications, conducting landscape studies including analyzing third party patents.
Our patent agents collaborate closely with our patent attorneys, receiving both formal and informal training and mentorship. They have the opportunity to work with attorneys across our offices, serving both US and international clients. Our working group and firm culture values diverse perspectives, collaboration, and high-performance, while respecting work-life balance and prioritizing mentoring, training, and professional development. Relocation not available. Search firm submissions not accepted. IP specialist candidates must be qualified to sit for the USPTO patent bar and are required to take and pass the exam prior to starting at the firm. LSAT and imminent plans to attend law school strongly preferred.
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.