Professional development

The S&C Approach

S&C is committed to helping our associates develop into the best possible lawyers. In return for their hard work and dedication to the Firm and our clients, our responsibility is to train and advise our associates and to provide them with an unparalleled foundation for their careers. The S&C Professional Development Program provides associates with a “holistic” approach to professional development by integrating our formal training curriculum, adviser program, assignment system, evaluation process and pro bono initiatives. See Pro Bono for more information about S&C’s pro bono commitment and initiatives.

From the moment you step through the door as a summer associate and continuing all the way through to the partnership level and beyond, S&C actively supports your development as a leading legal practitioner. Our approach to professional development is based on the philosophy of developing well-rounded practitioners who can be successful in a wide range of legal areas. This “generalist” approach provides each associate with the skills needed to become a successful lawyer and business person. We believe this cross-disciplinary approach also benefits our clients, by providing them with lawyers who have a broad perspective and a thorough understanding of the complex challenges they face.

The S&C Professional Development Program offers continuous education throughout your career at the Firm. You will learn much from formal classroom training, but your assignments and interactions with colleagues will also contribute significantly to your professional development. We maintain a low associate/partner ratio to ensure consistent, hands-on, partner-level engagement throughout the course of any matter, so associates have opportunities to work closely with partners and to take on significant responsibility, even at the junior level. Our unique combination of rigorous academic programs and customized partner-advising will help associates achieve their tremendous potential.

Prior to their arrival at S&C, associates elect to work in one of four practice areas: Estates & Personal, General Practice (Corporate), Litigation or Tax. S&C lawyers work very broadly within those areas and are trained to be generalists. However, because we recognize that not every associate has the same interests and goals, we seek to accommodate the particular interests of each associate in staffing our assignments within each of those four practice groups. As a result, a hallmark of our assignment system is flexibility, in contrast to many other firms that adhere to strict practice group rotations or partner rotations. Under our system, an associate’s professional training and career are not tied to a particular partner’s style, client base, or practice area, and our associates benefit from exposure to a broad range of matters within their practice areas.

Formal Training Programs

In addition to regular “on-the-job” training, S&C offers a robust curriculum of formal training programs designed to equip associates with the substantive legal knowledge, business acumen, and analytical, communications, and management skills required to have a professionally rewarding career at the Firm. Our training programs are taught by experts in their fields, including our own senior lawyers and well-respected business and legal consultants.

All incoming associates participate in an orientation program, which consists of a series of lectures and workshops designed to provide new associates with substantive knowledge and basic skills that they will use in their practice. Following the orientation program, all associates begin a junior associate training curriculum that introduces them to the breadth of the work handled by the four practice groups and provides more in-depth training on specific transactions, documents, and areas of law. After the completion of the junior associate training curriculum, training continues throughout the lawyer’s career through advanced programs on a variety of topics. A recent example of advanced skills training is Partner Perspectives, a series of programs launched in 2011 and designed to help associates build management skills by learning about the strategies and habits of highly effective managers within the Firm. Recent examples of substantive trainings on various areas of law include Comfort Letters Demystified; Privilege Review: Managing the Process; Taxation of RICs, REITs and other Business Conduits; and Life Insurance Trusts.

Associate Adviser Program

Our Associate Adviser Program is designed to provide associates with the support necessary to develop and pursue their career and professional development goals. Associates are paired with at least one partner adviser from his or her practice group or sub-group. The partner adviser and associate advisee meet at least semi-annually to discuss the advisee’s professional development plan, practice group milestones, current and past assignments, skills development and training, practice interests, and any other relevant matters that may arise or that the associate advisee may wish to raise.

Floor Wizard Program

This program pairs junior associates in the New York office with mid-level and senior associate “Floor Wizards” who have offices on the same floor and have volunteered to help the junior associates ease into life at S&C. The Floor Wizards are available to respond to “nuts and bolts” questions about office procedures and practice-related issues, as well as other matters that may arise as the junior associates adjust to life at the Firm. One of the primary objectives of the Floor Wizard Program is to help build and develop a sense of community across practice groups and among lawyers and administrative staff. To this end, Floor Wizards are given a budget to organize social events both on their floors and outside the Firm.

Assignments

Associates have the opportunity to work with talented colleagues on a broad array of interesting and innovative matters. Formal assignment systems are in place to ensure that associates receive not only an appropriate amount of work but also customized assignments that allow each associate to develop the qualities common to highperforming S&C lawyers and to meet key developmental milestones.

Evaluation

Our targeted evaluation process provides associates with candid feedback about their development as they progress at the Firm. All associates receive formal performance reviews from a partner. In most cases, these are conducted semi-annually during the associate’s first two years and then annually thereafter. Associates also receive informal feedback from colleagues on a regular basis. Mid-level and senior associates receive periodic feedback through an upward review process.