Gay, Hotties, Reality TV, Survivor

Another Law Firm 'Survivor': Meet Charlie Herschel

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Things are looking good these days for Weil, Gotshal & Manges. For the sixth year in a row, it made the top 10 of the Vault 100. It took fourth place in the American Lawyer’s A-List rankings, and turned in a strong showing in the magazine’s midlevel associate survey (#11 out of 80+ New York firms).
And Weil attorneys are an interesting crew, too. Some plunge into rapping careers. And some compete on reality shows!
Meet first-year associate Charlie Herschel. He’s a contestant on the latest season of Survivor, premiering on September 25. From his bio:

Charlie Herschel has been a fan of SURVIVOR since the first season and has been training for it ever since. A lawyer for one of the top 10 most prestigious law firms in the world, Herschel is ready to try his persuasion skills on a different type of jury.

This 29-year-old, marathon-running attorney and University of Pennsylvania graduate says he is above nothing when he gets to the island. Charlie’s strategy is to be authentic but with a twist. “With high risks, come high rewards, but the risks must be calculated.” The middle son of three boys and a native New Yorker, the Ivy Leaguer is not afraid to claw his way to the top.

If Herschel can survive in the Biglaw jungle, Gabon should be a piece of cake. And there’s precedent for lawyers faring well on Survivor. E.g., Yul Kwon (winner of Survivor: Cook Islands, and a year behind us at YLS).
Now, large law firms can be a bit stodgy. Some don’t react well to their associates’ forays into reality television. See, e.g., David Otunga (from I Love New York 2, and no longer at Sidley); Jeremy Anderson (from The Bachelorette, and no longer at Hunton & Williams). But see Denise Gitsham (welcomed back by K&L Gates, after appearing on The Bachelor); Stacy Rotner (still at Sidley, after appearing on The Apprentice; guess it’s more respectable than I Love New York 2).
What was Weil’s response to Charlie Herschel going on Survivor? Find out — and ogle photos of a shirtless Herschel — after the jump.


Word on the street is that the firm was quite supportive of Herschel’s participation. We hear that he’s now happily back at 767 Fifth Avenue, working away. He still appears on the firm’s website. [FN1]
We reached out to the firm for comment. “He asked us for a leave to participate in an opportunity of this type, and we agreed,” said Mike Ford, spokesperson for Weil Gotshal.
Good luck, Charlie!
P.S. With his incredible good looks, prestigious (and lucrative) Biglaw gig, and freshly minted celebrity, Herschel is quite a catch. But ladies are out of luck. As noted in his contestant bio, “Charlie is a gay, single man.”
P.P.S. Hey Charlie, call us — especially if you won the million bucks…
[FN1] Because law firm websites are arguably attorney advertising, and therefore subject to the ethical rules governing such communications, firms tend to be scrupulous about updating sites to reflect departures. Removal from the firm website is often the first sign that a lawyer has left the building. See, e.g., Aaron Charney and Carlos Spinelli-Noseda.
Charlie Herschel bio [Survivor on CBS]
Charles Herschel [Weil, Gotshal & Manges]

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