Shearman & Sterling LLP is recognised as one of the leading international corporate and commercial law firms in London. Our ability to offer integrated English and US legal advice across a broad range of practices has made us one of the most successful US-originated firms in the UK market. Globally we have approximately 900 lawyers, spread across 20 offices, including around 100 in our London office.

The global office locations are:

·     Europe: Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome

·     Asia/Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo

·     Americas: New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, São Paulo, Toronto, Washington DC

Life in the London Office:

Established in London for approximately 40 years, we represent major UK and international companies and financial institutions. We are ideally placed to work closely with our offices in the Americas, continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia to advise clients on complex corporate transactions. As a trainee you’ll be working on a regular basis with colleagues from around the world, and you may have the opportunity to take an overseas secondment. These capabilities have contributed to substantial growth in the business and size of the office, making the London office instrumental to our European practice.

Our main areas of work are: Finance, European Corporate (including Mergers & Acquisitions, Intellectual Property & US Capital Markets), Project Development & Finance, International Arbitration & Litigation, Antitrust, Tax, Financial Institutions Advisory & Asset Management, Property and Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits.

Opportunities:

Summer scheme

Throughout June and July, we run a summer scheme that is designed to give participants a true insight into life at Shearman & Sterling.

We offer up to 30 participants (10 per scheme) the opportunity to spend two weeks with the Firm, getting to grips with the work a trainee may be exposed to, as well as seeing the social side of the Firm.  During the two weeks you will be assigned to one practice group, working with a partner contact, supervisor and mentor  providing you with a broad spread of work, and giving you the opportunity to really get your questions answered. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to see how a City law firm operates and the environment you could potentially be training in.

Programme dates

·     18 – 29 June 2012

·     02 – 13 July 2012

·     16 – 27 July 2012

Application information

Applications are open between 01 December 2011 – 31 January 2012 and can be accessed via the website.  Those candidates successful through the initial application form will be asked to complete an online verbal reasoning test and attend an interview at the London office conducted by a member of the graduate recruitment team and a senior lawyer/partner. 

Interviews will be conducted in February, so please do ensure you are available at this time.

Salary

£300 per week

For more information, please visit: http://ukgraduates.shearman.com/summer/

Training contract

During the two-year training contract, trainees have four seat rotations, with six months spent in each seat. At least two of these seats will be completed in our core practice areas:

·     European Corporate

·     Global Finance

·     Project Development & Finance

The remaining two seats will be allocated on trainee preference and business need, so you get to really consider which areas you may like to get exposure to. It may also be possible for one of the rotations to be completed overseas in offices such as New York, Abu Dhabi, Singapore or Hong Kong, reflecting the global nature of the firm.

In each seat you will be supervised and share an office with your supervisor, who will be a senior lawyer or partner.  In addition, you will select a mentor for the duration of your training contract who will be able to provide you with any support you may need for the two years.

To find out more about our current trainees/NQs, please visit: http://ukgraduates.shearman.com/profiles/

Application information

Applications are open between 01 January 2012 – 31 July 2012 and can be accessed via the website.  Those candidates successful through the initial application form will be asked to complete an online verbal reasoning test and attend an interview at the London office conducted by a member of the graduate recruitment team and a senior lawyer/partner.  Those successful through this stage will then be invited to an assessment centre.

Interviews and assessment centres will take place in August 2012, so please ensure you are available during this time.

Salary

£39,000 for the first year

£40,500 for the second year

£78,000 on qualification

For more information, please visit: http://ukgraduates.shearman.com/programme/ 

Trainee Profile: Shirin Lim, King's College London, Law, Graduated 2009

When applying to law firms for vacation schemes in the second year of my LLB, I cast quite a wide net and applied to any international firm with a stellar reputation. This was because all I knew was that I wanted experience in a top tier firm, and being a foreigner, I wanted to be in a place where my international background was an asset. My vacation scheme at Shearman & Sterling made it very clear to me what I would be looking for in a training contract. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and realised that what was most important to me was to feel valued and useful in the work place, as well as to work in a friendly and open environment. After numerous open days, applications and interviews with other firms, I learned that I preferred a relatively small intake, because I knew I would feel more motivated when I was remembered by name, and not as "the trainee". However, I knew I still wanted to be trained at a firm with high quality work and clients. I started to realise that London offices of American international firms seemed to best fit that criteria. Shearman & Sterling seemed to have the best of both worlds – the informal non-hierarchical nature of American firms, with the strong training and general support of British firms. The firm took care of us from our vacation scheme offers right up to our first day in the office, with plenty of opportunities to get to know our fellow trainees and the lawyers in the firm.

Choosing which firm to go with for your training contract is a difficult process, especially when you are still fairly early in your academic stage, and when all the top firms can boast of their high profile clients and quality of work. But what made it a lot easier for me was knowing that I was choosing a firm with a great reputation where I would not only be challenged and given responsibility, but where I would enjoy working with the people there