Our Survey Says
VAULT'S VERDICT:
Associates come to Simpson Thacher for many reasons, including its people, opportunities to engage in high-quality work, and maybe even the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. The hiring process focuses on well-rounded people who will fit in with the rest of the firm, along with law school attended, grades, activities, and work experience. Firm settings are friendly and supportive, and employees socialize together but not to the detriment of family or vacation time. Partners treat associates well and support their development, and associates learn through formal training programs like STBReady (for first years), hands-on guidance, and assigned associate and partner mentors. Laterals and clerks appreciate integration efforts, especially those from practice groups and deal teams. Associates get meaningful, challenging work that is critical to project completion, and centralized staffing helps with fair work distribution, though some work is doled out based on previous connections and performance. Associates appreciate that, busy as they may be, the firm has no formal billable hour policy. Salaries are top of the market, and lockstep bonuses limit internal competition. Firm tech is adequate, with improvements coming, and wellness offerings abound but could be promoted more than they are. Simpson Thacher strongly promotes pro bono involvement through weekly newsletters and expects associates to put in 20 hours (or more) of pro bono work a year. Diversity efforts are good in terms of hiring, affinity groups, and other resources, but retention and upper-level promotion could be better. Making partner is challenging, while opportunities to be promoted to counsel or exit to another firm, in-house, or government position are strong.
425 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 455-2000
Chairman of Executive Committee: Alden Millard
Hiring Partners: Peter Gilman, Juan Naveira, and Jessica Tuchinsky
Total No. Attorneys (2023):
1K - 1.5K
No. of Partners Named 2023:
28
1st year: $215,000
2nd year: $225,000
3rd year: $250,000
4th year: $295,000
5th year: $345,000
6th year: $370,000
7th year: $400,000
8th year: $415,000
Summer Associate: $4,134 per week
Ann Bjornstad
Director of Legal Recruiting
(212) 455-7633
legalrecruiting@stblaw.com
No. of U.S. Offices: 5
No. of International Offices: 6
Houston, TX
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY (HQ)
Palo Alto, CA
Washington, DC |
Beijing
Brussels
Hong Kong
London
São Paolo
Tokyo
Banking and Credit
Capital Markets
Executive Compensations and Employee Benefits
Exempt Organizations
Financial Institutions
Government and Internal Investigations
Intellectual Property
International Regulatory and Compliance
Investment Funds
Labor and Employment
Litigation
Mergers and Acquisitions–Corporate M&A and Private Equity
Personal Planning
Private Capital and Special Situations
Public Company Advisory Practice
Real Estate and REITs
Restructuring and Bankruptcy
Tax
*See firm website for complete list of practice areas and industries.