Professional Development
S&C is committed to helping its associates develop into the best possible lawyers and to providing them with an unparalleled foundation for their legal or other careers. We develop well-rounded professionals who consistently become successful in a wider range of legal areas or professions.
Incoming associates elect to work in one of the Firm’s four practice areas—Litigation, General Practice (Corporate), Tax, or Estates and Personal. Working broadly in those areas, our associates are trained to be generalists. We address the specific interests of each associate by staffing assignments within and across the four practice groups. With a strong foundation as generalists, our lawyers excel in a myriad of areas.
Associates at S&C typically acquire leadership skills as lawyers more quickly than they would at other law firms. They have decision-making authority and client responsibilities as early as practicable.
Broad Experience
A hallmark of our assignment system is flexibility. In contrast to the practice at other firms of adhering to strict specialized group or partner rotations, at S&C the associate’s professional training and career are not tied to a particular partner’s style, client base or practice area. As a result, our associates benefit from exposure to a broad range of matters within their practice areas and across practice groups.
At the same time, we have formal assignment systems that ensure associates receive a balanced level of work as well as a customized mix of assignments that allow them to develop the qualities common to high-performing S&C lawyers and to meet key development milestones. This cross-disciplinary approach—which combines S&C’s assignment system, formal learning curriculum, advisor program, performance evaluation process and pro bono initiatives—makes its lawyers better counselors to their clients.
S&C’s generalist approach carries through to each of its 13 offices. Lawyers in our California; Washington, D.C.; European; and Asia-Pacific offices are staffed on matters alongside their colleagues in New York, and vice versa. 90 lawyers have rotated through S&C’s offices around the world during the past five years. Further, the Firm maintains a low associate/partner ratio to ensure consistent, hands-on engagement throughout the course of any matter, providing associates opportunities to work closely with partners in virtually every S&C office and to take on significant responsibility from the very start of their careers.
Teamwork
We share a belief that our clients’ interests are the responsibility of all our lawyers and that, by working together, we are best able to provide the highest quality advice.
At S&C, associates have the opportunity to work with a variety of lawyers who think differently, act differently and approach problems differently. Our associates are able to observe, select and apply those attributes that work best for them, providing them with the tools and confidence to advance their careers in the way that best suits them. We benefit, as well, from the Firm’s commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment.
We conduct our work through our offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Palo Alto in the United States; Brussels, London, Frankfurt and Paris in Europe; and Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne in Asia Pacific. All offices work together as an integrated whole, almost as if they were all located in a single building, making it possible for our lawyers to develop exciting practices in the United States, Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America. Assignments to particular offices are open to associates who have a specific interest or relevant skill, for short-term tours or on a more permanent basis.
