This year marks the 75th anniversary of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Visiting Lawyers Program. Since 1949, our Visiting Lawyers Program has provided practical training in the United States to non-U.S. lawyers who plan to return to their home countries to practice law. The hallmark of the program has been the substantive nature of the experience, as our visiting lawyers learn by active involvement in client matters. The program also creates opportunities for the visiting lawyers to establish strong professional and personal ties with each other and the Firm’s lawyers.
Today, the program counts more than 440 alumni/ae from 48 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, many of whom are leading members of their bars.
This month, 93 former visiting lawyers from the classes of 1969 to 2023 reunited with S&C lawyers in New York to celebrate the Program’s 75th anniversary. They shared stories of nervous interviews, late-night projects, snowy New York winters, invitations to the opera and, for a few, how S&C lawyers helped them cope with their second day in the office on September 11, 2001.
The partners overseeing the program have included Christopher Mann, John Estes, Neal McKnight and, currently, Werner Ahlers and Brian Hamilton.
“As Sullivan & Cromwell approaches the Firm’s 150th anniversary in 2029, we are proud that our Visiting Lawyers Program has been a vital contributor to the Firm’s culture, history and work for over half the Firm’s existence,” says Werner.
“The global vision and commitment to excellence that led to the founding of the Visiting Lawyers Program in 1949 continue to drive Sullivan & Cromwell today, and we look forward to the Program’s ongoing vitality,” says Brian.
We thank all the visiting lawyers who have enriched the Firm.