Law Students and Judicial Clerks

Visiting Lawyers Program

Founded in 1949, Sullivan & Cromwell’s Visiting Lawyers Program provides practical training in the United States to visiting lawyers who plan to return to their home countries to practice law.

With more than 440 alumni in 48 countries, the hallmark of the Firm’s Visiting Lawyers Program has been the substantive nature of the experience provided. Our visiting lawyers do not learn by observing others at work; they learn by active involvement in transactions. The Firm believes that it is difficult to provide meaningful exposure to U.S. practice in a short time. Accordingly, the program begins in the fall of each year and participants generally are at the Firm for a term of eight or nine months.

Visiting lawyers are actively involved in the work of the Firm. They are generally expected to perform legal work at the level of a regular U.S.-trained associate, and they join teams of S&C lawyers assigned to client matters. They also participate in the Firm’s formal associate training programs. Most visiting lawyers are assigned to our General Practice Group, which covers all the corporate, financial and other transactional practices of the Firm.

Like our regular associates, our visiting lawyers do not work solely with one or a few designated partners. During the course of their stay with S&C, they work with a number of different partners and many associates. Visiting lawyers receive their assignments through the same assignments system as regular associates, although the administrators of the program, particularly at the beginning of the year, make a special effort to ensure that the members of the program are actively engaged in the work.

Hiring Criteria

The principal criteria for hiring in the Visiting Lawyers Program are personal excellence and the candidate’s potential to become a leading member of the bar in his or her home country. Most successful candidates demonstrate the following:

fluency in written and spoken English
completion of a law degree in their home country at or near the top of their class
several years of home-country practice

A number of our successful candidates have completed or are in the process of completing a one-year LL.M. or similar degree from a U.S. law school.

If the candidate has practiced for one year or more, recommendations from the previous employer are required. If the candidate is enrolled in a U.S. LL.M. or similar program, we generally wish to see the student’s first-semester grades.

S&C encourages law firms around the world to propose candidates for the program, with the understanding that our ability to accept any particular candidate is constrained by the size of the program. Candidates recommended by non-U.S. law firms should meet the criteria set forth above. We also will generally ask the non-U.S. firm to confirm that the lawyer is on a career path likely to result in a permanent affiliation with that firm. We generally are unable to accept candidates for the program who are practicing in-house with a non-U.S. client. S&C generally does not hire visiting lawyers who do not have several years of home-country practice or who do not expect to return to their home country following completion of the program.

Applicants may apply through our candidate application portal.

Employment Arrangements

Members of the Visiting Lawyers Program become employees of Sullivan & Cromwell. For reasons relating to professional responsibility and confidentiality of client information, we do not normally accept lawyers who remain employed by another firm or employer (although they may, of course, be intending, or committed, to return to their former employer following their stay with S&C).

Members of the program are compensated at the same salary as regular U.S.-educated first-year associates. They receive the same benefits as regular associates, including health insurance. If necessary, our Talent Management Department can refer members of the program to brokers to assist with finding housing in New York City.

Candidates with visas that permit them to work in the United States should make us aware of this at the time of initial application. Please read the Firm’s Visa Policy for Lawyers for more information.