Gibson Dunn selects only the most highly qualified recruits and then, with guidance and training from the firm, you serve as the principal architect designing the course for your career. We believe that if you are given the power of choice and to pursue your passion, you will naturally maximize your performance and potential. This philosophy not only allows Gibson Dunn to create the winning team, but also a happy team.
Gibson Dunn believes that diversity among lawyers is essential. In an increasingly global world, we understand that it is crucial that we incorporate diverse competencies, experiences and viewpoints into our workforce. We are proud of our diverse partnership and look forward to developing a new and diverse generation of lawyers who will continue the long tradition of quality and excellence for which Gibson Dunn is known. To that end, we undertake extensive efforts to connect with and empower law students of color, female law students, and LGBTQ law students. We participate in and offer meaningful programs to create new pathways for diverse groups of law students, and constantly evaluate our own hiring practices to ensure that everyone is given an equal opportunity to show us why they would make fantastic Gibson Dunn attorneys.
Find out more about our efforts, including our 1L Fellowships and 2L Scholarships, at Diversity Recruiting.
Gibson Dunn’s ability to recruit the top talent is crucial to its continued success. Our summer program is the primary method through which new lawyers become a part of our firm. We continually attract the most intelligent, creative and personable legal talent in the world to participate in our Summer Program.
How to Apply: The primary method to apply for our 2025 Summer Program will be through early-application or early-interview programs that we have arranged with law schools. To preserve fairness in the hiring process, we ask that students apply through these programs. We plan on interviewing all students at the same school with similar (or the same) timing. In order to ensure that we are able to see all students who are interested in us, we anticipate conducting the majority of our interviews in June, in advance of on-campus interview programs. Please check with your law school’s career services office for details on when and how to apply. You may also find our specific timing for your law school here.
If we have not set up a formal application program with your particular law school, please submit an application via our applicant tracking system for a position in our summer program. That portal will open June 17. If you have any questions about the application process or our offices in general, please do not hesitate to reach out to the appropriate contact in the office in which you are interested in working. We look forward to meeting you!
Designed to facilitate a smooth transition from law school to legal practice, Gibson Dunn’s summer program provides practical training in the skills and techniques required to make top-notch lawyers. We offer substantive training in areas such as legal writing, depositions, and different facets of both corporate and real estate transactions, as well as introductions to our various practice groups and our own Free Market System of work allocation. In addition, we immediately involve summer associates in the highest profile legal matters in the world, matters on which the firm works every day. This includes a variety of litigation projects at the trial and appellate levels, as well as corporate transactions of all types, including financings, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and all forms of real estate acquisitions, dispositions, financings, and joint ventures. Through active involvement in client representations, we maximize our summer associates’ exposure to a variety of practical aspects of lawyering. Summer associates are also strongly encouraged to, and frequently do, participate in a wide range of pro bono matters.
Each summer, we hire some of the most accomplished and ambitious students from top law schools across the United States. In addition to the sophisticated and interesting client work they perform, summer associates enjoy many great social activities. These range from large-group receptions and outings (including sports games, legal lectures, theme parks, theater performances, and outdoor activities) to smaller-group dinners at our partners’ homes. Overall, these events give our summer associates the opportunity to get to know Gibson Dunn, its lawyers and its staff, and the cities in which we practice.
Gibson Dunn’s renowned Intellectual Property practice will be offering an IP Fellowship to a select number of rising 2Ls who have a passion for IP litigation. The fellowship program is designed for law students committed to pursuing a career in Intellectual Property and will provide the opportunity to work closely with our award-winning IP litigators for the duration of the summer program. Selected students will receive a summer associate position that is specifically-focused on IP litigation. They will effectively join our firmwide IP practice and make direct connections with partners across the firm. All 2L law students who have a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in intellectual property litigation and have a science background, or are eligible for the USPTO exam, are encouraged to apply. Find out more about our IP Fellowship, including how to apply, here.
Please note: While we offer an advance application period for this fellowship program, we also participate in law schools’ formal application programs (primarily preview programs and resume collections, in addition to minimal participation in on-campus interview programs). We will conduct the majority (if not all) of our interviewing through those programs. To that end, we ask that interested students applying for our fellowship program also apply to interview with us through those law school programs.