Partner Christopher Sullivan on building the firm’s London practice and its first trainee programme, and what it means for aspiring lawyers
After nearly two decades at a Magic Circle firm, where he trained and rose to partnership, Christopher Sullivan joined US outfit Paul, Weiss just over two years ago. “The Paul, Weiss opportunity was spectacularly unique,” the private equity and M&A partner tells Legal Cheek Careers, recalling the chance to sit down with fellow partners and ask: “How do we create a law firm for today?”
Building a London practice
While Paul, Weiss was already well established in New York, its London presence was still relatively small. For Sullivan, the opportunity was to develop a practice focused on strategic M&A, financing and private capital with a “blank sheet of paper”. Rather than defaulting to established ways of working, the partners could draw on their different experiences across the City to shape the office together.
Over two years on, the experience has more than lived up to Sullivan’s expectations. He believes the firm’s smaller partnership allows it to remain nimble and responsive to market developments. “We can make decisions rapidly and execute on our plans with real entrepreneurial verve,” he says. “We’re able to react to market events and be opportunistic.” That flexibility has shaped decisions ranging from recruitment and the development of its training programme to the firm’s West End location. “That entrepreneurialism and that freedom to hustle has been very empowering,” he adds.
Sullivan has also been impressed by the collaborative culture at Paul, Weiss, particularly the willingness of partners to share opportunities and expertise. Having worked with major clients including Apollo and General Atlantic, he highlights the value of drawing on colleagues’ longstanding relationships and experience. “At its heart, a law firm is at its best when brilliantly talented people are collaborating together,” he says. “That allows us to deliver great outcomes for our clients and great outcomes for our teams.”
Why M&A
Teamwork has been a recurring theme throughout Sullivan’s career. Having studied modern history and politics at Oxford, he considered becoming a barrister before deciding it would be “too solitary a profession”. Instead, it was “the opportunity to work in teams”, both within a firm and alongside clients, that drew him to the solicitor route. “I love working with people, and M&A is a team sport,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan credits his early training and mentors with shaping his approach to legal practice, particularly the importance of never losing sight of the client’s commercial objective. While getting the law right is essential, he also learned to ensure “the commercial aspects of the deal are properly looked after and well advised”. “I was also encouraged to bring myself to work and bring myself into the deals,” he recalls, whether persuading a difficult counterparty or helping a client work through a concern.
What first attracted Sullivan to private equity and M&A was the opportunity to work with businesses across a range of industries, from financial services and healthcare to consumer goods, retail and increasingly technology and data centres. “No two days are the same,” he says. Just as rewarding is the variety of people he works with, bringing different ideas, perspectives and ways of working. “It makes you a better lawyer. It makes you a better adviser. And it keeps life interesting.”
The pace of the work
The work has its challenges, too. “One of the things that can catch people a little bit cold is just the pace with which we work, and the demands on your time” Sullivan says, pointing to competitive auction processes where multiple workstreams run in parallel. For trainees, the pace and complexity can be daunting at first, but experienced colleagues are on hand to help. “As a trainee you have the benefit of that experience, so there’s a safety net to what you’re doing, but getting up to speed quickly is important.”
Training at Paul, Weiss
At Paul, Weiss, Sullivan has helped shape the training experience himself. As the firm’s trainee principal, he worked with partners across the office to develop a programme combining structured learning in core skills, transaction documents and processes with hands-on experience on live matters. “We want trainees to have the opportunity to very quickly engage, work with, and advise our clients,” he explains. “We think that’s important; people should be client-facing as soon as they are ready.”
Paul, Weiss has recently welcomed its first cohort of London trainees, who have joined the private equity and M&A, debt finance and antitrust teams following a thorough induction. Sullivan describes their arrival as “an important statement about the firm and our differentiated training proposition and what we add to the profession”. The new recruits, he says, will have the chance to take on “cutting-edge work” for sophisticated clients, including US clients undertaking cross-border transactions.
In the private equity and M&A team, trainees are involved at different stages of a transaction, from scoping due diligence and preparing corporate approvals to assisting with management equity arrangements and drafting materials for prospective buyers. They also have opportunities to communicate directly with clients. “They have their dedicated roles and responsibilities, and they really are here right with us in the thick of it from day one,” Sullivan says.
Early responsibility is backed by mentoring. Sullivan believes junior lawyers should be given “stretch tasks” while knowing they can always turn to colleagues for advice and feedback. “Mentoring is about equipping people with the skills and the confidence to go out and challenge themselves,” he explains.
Junior lawyers are also central to Paul, Weiss’s longer-term ambitions in London. While lateral hires have helped the office grow, Sullivan stresses that “we’re absolutely committed and focused on organic growth here in London”. He hopes to “create Paul, Weiss DNA” by developing lawyers internally, with the prospect of seeing those he has mentored progress to partnership particularly rewarding. “That for me is success,” he says.
How to stand out
So, what does it take to stand out as a trainee? For Sullivan, curiosity, commercial awareness and a willingness to take responsibility matter more than arriving with extensive technical knowledge. He looks for “someone who’s going to roll up their sleeves, take responsibility and really wants to be involved”, adding that “we can train you in the rest”. Knowing when to seek guidance and being a good team player are equally important. “Even in some of the most stressful or challenging moments of transactions, we have a laugh, we have fun, and we enjoy it,” he says.
For prospective applicants, Sullivan’s advice is to look beyond the headlines and get to know Paul, Weiss firsthand. “Come and spend time with us,” he says, pointing to the firm’s open days and vacation schemes. “Don’t default to brochure speak,” he adds, encouraging students to explore what sets the firm apart, from its focus on private capital and strategic M&A to its entrepreneurial culture and ambitions for London. This, he believes, will help candidates articulate “why you want to be here and why you will fit into that culture and that team and what you will bring”.
For aspiring lawyers feeling the pressure of applications, Sullivan’s parting advice is to remember that “we’re all learning every day”. “Enjoy it, keep going, keep learning, embrace the challenge,” he says.
About Legal Cheek Careers posts.
