Meet Rishi

Graduate’s name: Rishi Raval

Graduate’s job title: Trainee Associate

Name of graduate scheme: Training Contract at Weil, Gotshal & Manges

University attended: University of Nottingham

Degree qualification and year of graduation: First Class, 2022

What is your role, when did you join the firm?

My journey at Weil started as a paralegal in the Antitrust team, where I gained valuable, hands-on experience before I commenced my training contract with the firm in September 2025. Having spent the first year of my TC sitting with the Structured Finance and PEMA teams, I have now returned to the Antitrust team for my third seat.

During my first seat in Structured Finance, I split my time working on Collateralised Loan Obligations (CLOs) and derivatives agreements. This provided a valuable insight into more complex financial transactions. 

During my second seat in PEMA, I worked on a number of deals at various stages of the pipeline. Tasks varied from conducting preliminary legal due diligence to managing signing and closing processes at the end of a deal. 

My work in Antitrust mostly involves carrying out multi-jurisdictional analysis of whether merger control / FDI thresholds are triggered by a transaction – and helping to advise clients looking to engage in cross-border M&A.

What makes this law firm a great place to work?

Training at Weil has been an incredible experience. As a trainee, you are forced into the detail of a deal, and will often be responsible for managing the process, coordinating local counsel teams across jurisdictions and running the day-to-day of a transaction. This can often involve grunt work and learning to navigate heaps of emails, but over time this helps to build up a breadth of knowledge about how transactions work in practice. You will often be pushed outside of your comfort zone, but in my experience, this is where you truly learn and refine your skills. 

The great thing about a training contract with Weil is that, although you are working on fast-paced matters in lean teams (which naturally means you will be assuming more responsibility than counterparts at some other firms), there is ample guidance from more senior members of the team. This balance of on-the-job learning with a mix of formal training sessions and informal guidance means that Weil is a great place to hone your craft.

What is the single most important thing you have learned so far as a trainee?

In an environment where you are surrounded by seasoned operators, standards are high and mistakes will be made. It is important to remain resilient, not to be afraid of making mistakes and to learn from them when you do. The point of a training contract is to learn and develop your skills, and most people are more understanding than you think (they were all trainees at some point too!). Other than that, it is important to stay positive and take everything in your stride.

Are you involved with any of the Firm's networks?

I’m part of the Asians at Weil network, where lawyers from Asian backgrounds meet up in a more social setting. It’s great to be able to meet up with people from a similar background, and in October I’ll be heading off to New York to attend Weil’s global AAW conference where lawyers across the firm’s global offices meet in one place. 

What are your top tips for someone applying to this law firm?

The biggest tip I have is to think about what it is about the firm in particular that distinguishes Weil’s from its counterparts – and why that motivates you to apply. This could be to do with our practice areas, the deals we work on, our training programme, etc. There is an abundance of resource available online, and I would strongly encourage you to apply to insight days at the firm to see for yourself.