Pipeline Programs

The students of Cristo Rey Brooklyn visit the Paul, Weiss New York office for a day-long conference with Street Law, Inc.

We are committed to expanding the talent pool and deepening the pipeline of diverse candidates for the firm and the profession more broadly. Our pipeline efforts begin in high school — earlier than most other law firms — and extend to pre-law programs and beyond.

We have longstanding relationships with the following programs:

Diversity Pipeline Programs

The SEO Law Fellowship Program provides diverse pre-law students the opportunity to intern at top law firms before starting law school.

• Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO): The SEO Program provides diverse pre-law students the opportunity to intern at top law firms before starting law school. In the past 15 years, 35 of our SEO Fellows have joined the firm as full time associates, with one promoted to partner.
• New York City Bar Diversity Fellowship: Paul, Weiss is the only law firm to have participated in the New York City Bar 1L Diversity Fellowship program each year since its inception (1991), a distinction for which we were honored at the organization’s 25th anniversary celebration. This program has served as a fruitful pipeline of diverse talent for the firm over the years. Seven of our last ten Fellows have joined the firm as associates.

High School and College Programs

• Street Law, Inc.: For almost 20 years, the firm has partnered with Streetlaw, an organization that works with high school students to teach them about law and government. Our relationship has grown to include full pipeline programs for high schools in New York and Washington, D.C, including offering students at Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School introductory courses in the law. More than 20 lawyers and paralegals facilitate lessons on topics as varied as Contracts, Torts, Social Host Liability and Cyberbullying. The program culminates with a “Law Career Conference Day” in our New York office. In addition, since 2015, several Cristo Rey students have also participated in an internship program at the firm.
• Posse Foundation: Founded in 1989, Posse is a widely recognized and highly awarded comprehensive college access and youth leadership development program, identifying over 7,000 students to date from urban public schools and awarding over $1 billion in leadership scholarships to top colleges and universities. As a Posse Career Partner, the firm hires an undergraduate Posse Scholar each year for a summer internship in our NY office.
• Student Leadership Network: Paul, Weiss supports the Student Leadership Network, which helps support young people growing up in diverse, underserved communities to gain access to educational opportunities that help them prepare to lead successful lives, and encourages them to consider a career in the law. Valerie Radwaner, Deputy Chair of Paul, Weiss, is on the Board of Student Leadership Network.
• The TEAK Fellowship: Paul, Weiss supports the TEAK Fellowship, which is a free NYC-based program that helps talented students from low-income families achieve their potential. Through intensive after school and summer classes, TEAK prepares middle school students to get into the nation’s most selective high schools and colleges. Amran Hussein, Corporate partner in the Funds Group, is on the Board of TEAK Fellowship.