Shearman & Sterling LLP provides legal services. Another stressed that “there is a definite progression in terms of responsibility. “Some of the smaller groups are more progressive and have embraced a working culture that allows people to work where they want,” whereas in the “more traditional groups like M&A there is very much a facetime culture and they expect you to be in.” This was part of the reason why some felt the firm is behind the curve in its approach to mental health. Beginning December 1, 2020 Shearman & Sterling LLP will begin accepting applications from first-year law students for our 2021 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Scholars Program. "Though it remains for you to take - nothing is handed to you on a plate". For example, we can leverage the advantages of having a presence across multiple time zones. Litigators remain generalists in their formative years, whereas corporate associates are now placed directly into a subgroup. Juniors’ practices remain “very general” in litigation. Hervé has extensive experience in IPO, public tender offers, public and private M&A, global securities offerings (equity, equity-linked, debt including high yield) and privatisations with a … DB: The US is the largest and most profitable legal market in the world, so to be a successful global firm it is essential that we have a strong base here. Advised Dow Chemical Company in its $130 billion business restructuring into three distinct public companies. Each new class of first-years flies out to New York for a conference; there's another for midlevels and a final rendezvous called the 'Associate Leadership Academy' aimed at sixth-years and above. “Currently, a lot of the conversations end up being ‘talk to your partners about it’. Sources did agree that “Shearman is very cognizant of the need to hire more ethnically diverse individuals.” The firm runs various diversity initiatives and groups, some of which “can feel disconnected from the leadership at times,” though we heard nothing but praise for women’s group WISER. They’re very receptive to ideas about socializing, though, and it feels like everyone is onboard with building this environment together.”, “I haven’t experienced a fratty or ‘hey bro’ culture, which is refreshing as a woman doing corporate work.”. DB: It’s no secret that law firms are operating in a rapidly evolving landscape. ■ Derivatives & Structured Products■ Emerging Growth When was your Shearman & Sterling interview? Our library used to be one of our main selling points in 1985, but obviously there is no need for bound volumes anymore. Although sources reflected that “it probably gets harder to hit at the more senior level,” we heard multiple accounts of juniors billing over 200 hours and most “aim to bill between 50 and 100 hours a year.” Collaborative cases with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund represent “good straightforward opportunities for corporate folks to get involved in pro bono.” We also heard reports of juniors taking on more substantial opportunities, such as tackling immigration cases at the Port Isabel detention center in Texas. The DC office has “its own partnerships, but we mostly do collaborations with local schools. We already had a strong energy practice in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia and are now focused on growth in the US. Report this profile; Experience. Shearman & Sterling LLP > Firm Profile . According to the National Law Journal's 2020 NLJ 500 ranking of firms based on size, Shearman Sterling has 849 attorneys and is ranked 51st in the United States. Interviewees in Houston felt “upward mobility is easily accomplished. We also successfully represented SS&C Technologies in its lawsuit against Clearwater Analytics and secured a total dismissal on the CDOR benchmark antitrust litigation for our clients Bank of Montreal & Bank of Nova Scotia. Shearman & Sterling's lawyers and staff were the most satisfied in private practice with their career development in 2020, out of 60 firms. This content is provided by Shearman & Sterling LLP. ■ Investment Funds■ Litigation ■ Mergers & Acquisitions Shearman & Sterling’s Asia Finance practice is an integral part of the firm’s global Finance practice, providing on the ground support to global and regional clients on debt financing transactions. “My experience is that every area of the firm is super-well integrated,” one junior stressed, adding that they “regularly work with colleagues in Toronto, London and Paris – communication is completely seamless.” New York takes on nearly all the firm’s incoming associates, while DC, San Francisco and the firm’s newish Austin and Houston offices (opened in 2018) welcome just a handful. ■ Finance■ Financial Institutions Advisory & Financial Regulatory■ Financial Restructuring & Insolvency Shearman & Sterling has 2,120 employees across 20 locations. As one M&A junior told us: “I’ve worked on public deals, private deals, very large deals, very small deals, some buy and some sell-side deals, all over a range of industries.” Varied indeed. In 2019, Shearman interviewed students from over 30 law schools – both on campus and through job fairs. Partner David Dixter is joining the US firm’s London office, after a decade at Shearman. Corporate clients: Nokia, General Electric, Intercontinental Exchange. Senior and junior advisors are assigned during each rotation and, depending on the group, summer associates may attend client meetings, court hearings, depositions or business trips. That’s just one example of the firm’s international character – another is its smattering of impressive rankings in Chambers Global, including a top spot in Africa for dispute resolution; two more in the Asia-Pacific region for capital markets and projects; another in Europe for arbitration; and top prizes in the growing Latin American market for banking, energy and projects. The firm also accepts resume collections and unsolicited submissions. Trainees have shaped our success story and played a pivotal role in the firm’s growth. It is engaged in the mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, project development and finance, complex business litigation & international arbitration, asset management, and taxation areas. “Be prepared, think of relevant, unique questions to ask your interviewers. Shearman & Sterling’s success is built on our clients’ success. “They are very frank about the challenges of balancing career and family.”. Shearman & Sterling advised Raytheon in its merger-of-equals with and United Technologies Corporation, a deal that is valued at more than $120 billion. The best way to discover if Shearman & Sterling is the right law firm for you is probably to come along and meet us. Past events have included a sailing event, a design-your-own-sneakers event, and a cooking competition.”  Prior to starting, incoming associates are asked to rank their practice group and office preferences, then “based on that information, and taking business needs into account, first-year practice placements are made,” says Nathanson. CA: What do you consider the greatest threat facing the firm? Vacation Scheme Please describe the interview process at Shearman & Sterling. We want to know whether the student has exhibited some of the competencies we feel are critical to be a successful associate.” Questions are more in-depth at this stage and students are expected to articulate why they are interested in BigLaw and why they are drawn to Shearman in particular. Shearman & Sterling “(a)cts on behalf of clients in cartel cases before American and European agencies. Shearman & Sterling is one of the world’s leading premier global law firms and was established over a century ago. We can have documents go back and forth between us and Singapore in the blink of an eye, and it means we can distribute the hours of availability we provide to our clients. The firm expects all of its associates to bill at least 25 hours of pro bono as part of its bonus criteria. Shearman and Sterling. Shearman senior partner Dave Beveridge explains that the firm “already had a strong energy practice in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia and are now focused on growth in the US. In addition to weekly or biweekly training programs, the firm hosts several social events to help summer associates get to know each other and the firm “in a more informal setting. The firm has been advising many of the world’s leading corporations and financial institutions, governments and … It’s very interesting to see attorneys of different seniorities collaborate.” While big deals require due diligence and proofreading, on smaller projects “we juniors work closely with a senior associate or partner. In some practice groups, attorneys have formed their own informal support networks. The firm is certainly […] Join to Connect. That is how you will learn the most and leave the best impression on those with whom you work.”. “You’re not expected to reply to emails instantly and if you wait until the next day, nobody is going to be mad with you – switching off is totally realistic.”, “I’ve taken ten days off and not had one request to do anything for work.”. “There used to be some issues where some associates were swamped and others didn’t have enough work,” so it's no surprise that most juniors were happy about the change and looked forward to “forging relationsh… 2011 Vault Ranking: 22 Overview. Most of the matters we work on are highly complex, cutting edge and nearly always cross border. Anna’s experience includes working on power, LNG, oil and gas, and petrochemicals projects. Lilieth Chambers Admin. This represents the largest ever offering by Ford and the largest ever deal of its kind. “At this stage, more so than the on-campus interview, we expect students to have done a fair amount of research on the firm and to have a clear idea of ‘Why Shearman?’”. A free inside look at company reviews and salaries posted anonymously by employees. Applicants invited to second stage interview: undisclosed, When students visit for a callback interview, they typically meet with two partners or counsel and two associates. It’s common for associates to move in-house or to smaller firms around their sixth year. “One time it was logging in for just 30 minutes each day, while another I worked 13 hours (! Shearman & Sterling is among Manhattan’s oldest and most prestigious white shoe firms. Shearman & Sterling advised the underwriters on Ford Motor Company’s $8 billion senior notes offering. Associate salaries at Shearman & Sterling can range from $184,231 - $327,791. “It’s not unusual for the firm to fly us out to different places.”, Corporate newbies may be slotted into subgroups, but they can still expect a varied practice. “It makes it much easier to find a home this way.” Across all groups, task assignment follows a rigid format: “If there’s a matter that needs staffing, assignment partners will send an email asking for volunteers; if they don’t get any volunteers then they’ll start conscripting associates.” Shearman needs you! A place like Shearman & Sterling – one of the elite international law firms. The first stage: recruitment on and off campus. ■ Real Estate■ Tax, Lorna Xin Chen, Anil Motwani, Iris Wang, George Casey, Scott Petepiece, Cody Wright, Total 49 Articles, Highlights and Press Releases. One example is M&A where “a women’s roundtable meets to discuss specific issues. At this stage, Shearman is looking for candidates who are “prepared and engaged, who have confidence and can speak passionately about their accomplishments to date.” If there are other events surrounding the OCI (hospitality suite, reception, dinner), you should consider all of that as part of the interview process too. Firstly, I think what distinguishes us is that we are a truly global firm; we have 24 offices around the world working seamlessly together. “I would say that on average I bill 40 hours a week,” a corporate junior estimated, adding that “there’s also been a handful of weeks where I’ve worked up to 80 hours in a week where a deadline has moved up.” More happily, sources agreed that Shearman respects vacation time: “I’ve taken ten days off and not had one request to do anything for work,” one junior told us. We have wine and cheese events and open table lunches where we all eat together.” Socializing in DC was more limited – think once a month – because there’s a “more family-oriented culture,” while reports from Houston explained that “most of the partners here are in their late 30s or early 40s. ■Compensation, Governance & ERISA The London office opened over 40 years ago and quickly became one of the leading practices, covering all aspects of English, European and US corporate and finance law. He was named a leading practitioner for capital markets by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Chambers UK, The Legal 500, IFLR1000, Who’s Who Legal and PLC Which Lawyer. “‘The Shearman & Sterling team is very skilled in taking extremely complicated information and economic data and boiling it down into short, comprehensible and persuasive arguments.’” Chambers Europe, 2015. Shearman’s attempts are genuine but they’re struggling to build the same momentum everywhere in the firm.” In 2019  Shearman launched its ‘Barrier Blasters’ diversity and inclusion podcast series, available online. Weekends can be a different story: “I worked the last three weekends,” one busy bee lamented. The firm … Juniors in the Houston base explained that they “mostly handle energy work." Most of the work a summer associate receives comes from their advisors. As an example, we recently held our annual leadership academy for 6th and 7th year associates from around the world in New York. Litigation clients: Bank of America, Viacom, Credit Suisse. It’s definitely a learning on the job experience as you don’t typically get many funds classes at law school and the issues tend to be very specific.” That means “a lot of reading on the background of a deal” for newbies. 147 likes. Shearman & Sterling LLP. Shearman’s voluntary leave programme allows its lawyers to take a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months off work at a third of … David Beveridge: Two things. Shearman & Sterling represents many of the world’s leading corporations and major financial institutions, as well as emerging growth companies, governments and state-owned enterprises, often working on ground-breaking, precedent-setting matters. The typical Shearman & Sterling Associate salary is $200,377. Litigation is the most popular destination for new associates, followed by M&A and capital markets; finance, project finance, funds and governance teams also take on a fair share of juniors. Some of the challenges include the commoditization of legal services; people increasingly taking things in-house; and the growing influence of technology. “They put on monthly talks with a partner discussing how to build a book of business; and invite speakers to talk about their experiences. For example, we advised Dow on its separation and spin-off from DowDuPont, Raytheon on its combination with United Technologies and Viacom on its merger with CBS. Acted for fintech company SS&C Technologies in $44 million trade secrets litigation brought against Clearwater Analytics. Visit Shearman & Sterling's careers page for more information. 129 Shearman & Sterling reviews. There’s a lot of trust within the firm, and we invest a lot into training on how to work as effectively as a team, looking at things like how to communicate effectively across generations. OCI interviews are typically conducted by a partner or by a two-person partner/associate team. Hervé Letréguilly is a partner in the Paris Corporate practice. Number of partners worldwide: 216 Partner George Casey, head of Shearman & Sterling’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions Group, has been named a “Dealmaker of the Year” for 2016 by The American Lawyer.. As one of the first law firms to establish a presence in key global markets, Shearman & Sterling has a long and distinguished history of supporting clients wherever they do business, from major financial centers to emerging and growth markets. The magazine praises Casey for his work leading the Shearman & Sterling team on The Dow Chemical Co.’s spinoff of its chlor-alkali and derivatives business. The London office opened over 40 years ago and quickly became one of the leading practices, covering all aspects of English, European and US corporate and finance law. IAM Patent 1000 recognized Shearman & Sterling’s IP Litigation and IP Transactions practices in its 2020 rankings Litigators of the Week: Shearman Trio Stands Up for Open Source Software Chambers USA rankings for our attorneys "Small teams mean plenty of opportunity to take responsibility and progress", said a senior solicitor. Be proactive about your career and take advantage of every assignment and every opportunity given to you. The firm. If you find yourself getting nervous, try to view the process as an opportunity to have a series of engaging conversations with interesting and impressive lawyers.” – John Nathanson, hiring chair. Building an energy presence in Texas helps the firm globally because we’re already getting work there from existing clients based all around the world; it’s really helped tie things together.”, “Building an energy presence in Texas helps the firm globally because we’re already getting work there from existing clients.”. Shearman & Sterling at KCL, London, United Kingdom. With more than 130 attorneys in the United States, Europe and Asia, our litigation team is ready to assist in any crisis, whether the adversary is a government regulator, a competitor, or a well-funded class action attorney. ■ Intellectual Property Transactions■ International Arbitration Secondly, is the nature of the work, where we can often be found working on market leading transactions and disputes, including some of the largest M&A deals in the world. This is why our culture of collaboration and inclusion is key, so that we can deliver the best results for our clients while continuing to support our people’s well-being. You start limited to document review and research but it ramps up and I found myself suddenly preparing deposition kits; second-chairing the depositions themselves; drafting letters; and even strategically thinking about whether we have a claim.” Sources also revealed that “it’s not unusual for the firm to fly us out to different places; one junior was recently sent to Europe for a few days.” Large financial institutions are a permanent fixture on Shearman's books but you'll find healthcare, retail and transport clients here too. Chambers Associate: How would you distinguish Shearman & Sterling from other BigLaw firms? To that end, we run lots of events all over the country, where you can see us face-to-face and, hopefully, have all your questions answered. “Work hard; try to learn as much as possible; be enthusiastic about the work and about the opportunities in front of you; meet as many lawyers as possible; take advantage of social opportunities (events, lunches, practice group outings, etc.) With a deep understanding of clients’ businesses and the industries they operate in, the firm’s work is driven by clients’ need for outstanding legal and commercial advice. to get to know your classmates who will be your future colleagues.” – John Nathanson, hiring chair. In practice, interviewees found that the policy varies by practice group. Two rounds, the first includes an interview and the second a proper assessment centre with a group exercise, a written exercise, a case study and another interview. Shearman & Sterling represents many of the world’s leading corporations and major financial institutions, as well as emerging growth companies, governments and state-owned enterprises, often working on ground-breaking, precedent-setting matters. February 2018 What was it for? 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022-6069 Website www.shearman.com. Nathanson’s parting wisdom is to “come into the firm with an open mind and openness to learning. Shearman & Sterling’s head of EMEA capital markets is leaving the firm for Milbank, three years after former colleague Apostolos Gkoutzinis made the same move. Loose groups like that have been amazing for building connections and make you feel less isolated.” A DC source felt that “they do better in New York than they do here. The IFLR1000's financial and corporate law rankings for Shearman & Sterling - United Kingdom. Then one or two associates usually take the candidate to an informal lunch or coffee. Emerging markets Tier 2 Shearman & Sterling LLP 'brings its knowledge of solving similar problems in other jurisdictions to new emerging markets'.The firm has a strong bench of lawyers for emerging market project development and financings and an impressive track record in jurisdictions such as Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Brazil. ■ Project Development & Finance■ Public International Law With no billing requirement, most associates aim for 2,000 hours. DB: We have a real emphasis on teamwork; there are no lone rangers here. A partnership committee decides if each individual is in good standing to earn a bonus, a process judged “entirely independently” of billing numbers. Shearman & Sterling LLP is an international law firm composed of 24 offices worldwide and 850 lawyers. The firm may not be party-hard but “it’s still social. Shearman & Sterling’s Litigation Group is strongly positioned to counsel and protect clients in today ’ s challenging environment. Published April 2011. Nathanson tells us that: “Our callback interviews are a mix of conversational and behavioral interviews. However, with that comes more pressure to be available 24/7 and deliver an as efficient service as possible to clients. At the time of writing, three of six partners were in the project development and finance group, where attorneys were "mostly working on oil and gas deals.”, Reflecting on the success of the Texas openings, interviewees added that “the firm already has plans to move to a new Houston office in March 2020.”  The scope in Austin is a little broader with seven partners covering the key corporate disciplines including venture capital, M&A and private equity. Summer associates rotate through two practice groups. Admin. Shearman & Sterling LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City, United States.The firm's lawyers come from some 80 countries, speak more than 60 languages and practice US, English, EU, French, Spanish, German, Hong Kong, OHADA and Saudi law, as well as Dubai International Financial Centre law and Abu Dhabi Global Market law. CA: What motivated the opening of the firm’s Texan offices? “Similar to the on-campus interview, be prepared and engaged, and make sure you can speak passionately about your past work and your accomplishments.” – John Nathanson, hiring chair. Language skills aren’t a prerequisite, but our interviewees found the firm “an attractive place to leverage language skills.”  In several respects the firm has much in common with the British magic circle. Clients might often want access to an individual but really, it’s the resources of the whole firm they are buying into. “I think around half of my colleagues have something other than English as a first language,” one Shearman junior told us. Hervé Letréguilly Shearman & Sterling LLP. Shearman & Sterling LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City, United States.The firm's lawyers come from some 80 countries, speak more than 60 languages and practice US, English, EU, French, Spanish, German, Hong Kong, OHADA and Saudi law, as well as Dubai International Financial Centre law and Abu Dhabi Global Market law. Everyone is constantly having conversations about what you are interested in, which clients you want to work with and even about opportunities outside the firm.” Others in New York reckoned the path to partnership was harder, with bigger associate classes and not a large number of homegrown partners made each year. The team has the capability to execute transactions under English, Hong Kong and New York law under one roof. “Consistent with best practice, our interviewers ask behavioral questions to reduce implicit biases in the interview setting,” says Nathanson. Prior to joining Shearman & Sterling, Anna was at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, an Australian firm in the corporate and advisory practice, focusing on projects. S&S may be best known for its international practice, but the firm has big plans to power-up in the US of A... ELITE law firms aren’t hard to find in New York, but the outfit based at 599 Lexington Avenue has a few tricks up its sleeve to distinguish itself. The company was founded by Thomas Shearman and John Sterling in 1873 and is headquartered in New Yo rk, NY. Litigators tend to begin their careers as generalists; the same used to be true in corporate but now associates are placed directly into a subgroup. They’re very frank about the challenges of balancing career and family.” Other groups include BLAQUE for black lawyers and the superbly named AVALANCHE for Asian attorneys. We have a great team in Texas to support our global work, and I’m confident that once people in Texas get to know the firm, our culture and our people, that we will continue to attract talented individuals. Chambers and Partners No.3 Waterhouse Square 138 Holborn London, United Kingdom Investigations have been a hot pocket of the practice in New York and DC. You get a lot more drafting tasks and many more opportunities to learn.”. “Partners tend to specialize in an industry or institutional clients but as a junior you get to try out pretty much everything.” The firm’s practice extends to equity carve-outs and Reverse Morris Trust transactions; derivatives is a specialty of the capital markets team. Number of lawyers worldwide: 896 Co-Global Managing Partners: George Casey, Adam Hakki Funds sources suggested: “You get more drafting experience compared to in M&A,” but it comes with a “steeper learning curve. Main Areas of Practice:■ Antitrust■ Capital Markets The firm takes pro bono very seriously.”, Some in New York suggested that there “are still some more old-school senior partners who are more traditional and expect deference from juniors and associates.” There were also some complaints from the Big Apple about office space, described by many as “comfortable but dated – it has very much a 90s or 2000s feel to it.” The good news is that “we are starting our renovations in the next couple of years – it’s going to be all glass and shiny!”, We heard that “there aren’t any screamers at the firm either; we don’t have partners that shout at associates for doing something wrong.” BigLaw toxicity was nowhere to be found at Shearman: “I haven’t experienced a fratty or a ‘hey bro’ culture, which is refreshing as a woman doing corporate work,” one female source observed. Firm Overview: follows the set of hiring criteria outlined below. ■ Privacy & Data Protection■ Private Client Shearman has recently revised its flexible working policy – all associates are now entitled to work from home two days a month. For well over a century, the firm has been one of the elite corporate players in areas of capital markets, finance, and mergers and acquisitions. ), but on average it’s normally two to three hours per day.” As the firm sticks closely to the market with salaries and bonuses, it was no surprise that associates were happy with their lockstep compensation. Shearman & Sterling LLP. And it’s no surprise. Programs have covered the likes of legal research & writing, negotiation skills, a corporate bootcamp and a deposition workshop. Beveridge earned his BA from Washington & Jefferson College and his JD from the University of Texas at Austin. “We do have more specialized antitrust and arbitration groups but there are partners who do both at once.” One source told us they’d “done trade secrets matters, antitrust cases, an investigation and smaller contract disputes” in their first few years. To be best placed at the beginning of your legal career, you need to be in the best place. CA: What measures are in place to alleviate stress for individuals? Corporate welcomes the largest chunk of rookies, followed by litigation; smaller groups include tax; real estate; and compensation, governance and ERISA. Senior Partner: David Beveridge We have some very good attorneys tied to our key industries there including in the energy, technology, life sciences and private equity industries. “Having everyone remain generalists was great in theory, but we found that associates were either finding it hard to stay busy or would be going crazy trying to juggle two M&A and two capital market deals simultaneously,” sources revealed. There’s also Shearman’s ‘Summer Associate University,’ a formal program that delivers training on a variety of topics throughout the summer. Now there’s video conferencing, distribution emails, and the increasing use of AI and machine learning to conduct research and tasks such as doc review. “Partnership is such a long track, but the firm would support me if I wanted to go down it,” a junior concluded. They can feel a bit tone deaf.” Others were more optimistic: “I know the firm has started the process of changing policies around mental health and acknowledging burnout culture.” The firm has an initiative called Thrive@Shearman which provides resources to support attorneys, including a monthly newsletter focusing on different topics such as nutrition and financial wellness. A conversation with John Beahn, partner, Robert LaRussa, counsel, and Lisa Raisner, head of government relations, in the Washington DC office of global law firm Shearman & Sterling, on key issues on the CFIUS regime for controlling foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States of America. Interviewees highlighted the benefits of getting to see both smaller multimillion-dollar deals and billion-dollar behemoths: “Working on a big public deal the teams are larger and there are lot of specialists involved, you’re trying to fit moving pieces together.