Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Back to winners

Sullivan & Cromwell’s mantelpiece is already groaning with awards in recognition of its stellar trainee recruitment programme which, remarkably, is still under 10 years old. S&C eschews the large trainee intakes at other City firms in favour of small cohorts, meaning that the level of investment in every trainee is first rate and that extensive exposure to high quality international work is guaranteed. That approach is mirrored in a best-in-class vacation scheme and the wider recruitment process – read on to learn more about this year’s Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City.

US outfit Sullivan & Cromwell has long been a byword for quality. So it should come as little surprise that the firm is adding the LawCareers.Net Award for Best Recruiter, US firm in the City to a trophy shelf already groaning with honours. What might cause a few eyebrows to rise is that this prize-winning scheme is not even 10 years old.

This recruitment and training programme is bespoke rather than off-the-peg and was cut for the unique needs of S&C’s London office. While it has a (relatively) modest cohort of 80 lawyers – half US-qualified and half English-qualified – its clients are globally recognised companies, who know and appreciate couture when they see it.

Sullivan & Cromwell – Best Recruiter - US firm in the City | Nadine Nijim and Ben Perry
Sullivan & Cromwell – Best Recruiter – US firm in the City | Nadine Nijim and Ben Perry

Ben Perry is one of the original designers of S&C’s recruitment and training scheme. The training principal has been with the firm for 19 years, joining in 2000 when there were only a handful of English-qualified lawyers in S&C’s London office. He became a partner in 2008 and shortly afterwards the firm decided to launch the programme to recruit and train its own English-qualified lawyers.

He was joined by Kirsten Davies, trainee solicitor recruitment manager, who was recruited by S&C in August 2010 specifically to help set up the programme. With a legal background– she read law in the United Kingdom and previously worked as a corporate paralegal – and experience in graduate recruitment, Kirsten brought the ideal combination of skills; hers and Ben’s is a working partnership that has stood the test of time and continues to offer something out of the ordinary.

The obvious difference between the training offered at S&C and other firms is the very small numbers involved. “We tend to find that candidates look at us and what we can offer in terms of the level of investment and expense,” Ben explains. “We encourage people who thrive in that environment.”

“We expect that every trainee will stay and become an associate,” he continues with disarming honesty. “Because of that we do not take on more than we can offer places for: in terms of numbers, that’s between four and six a year.”

Sullivan & Cromwell – Best Recruiter - US firm in the City | Office art
Sullivan & Cromwell – Best Recruiter – US firm in the City | Office art

It’s devastatingly simple, yet the courage to limit each year’s intake to such a small number has profound knock-on effects. If a firm is prepared to take the risk that its hiring choices are all good ones, this leaves it with a great deal more resources – in terms of support and attention – to lavish upon the chosen few. It also means that there is an abundance of opportunities for every S&C trainee. “All trainees have the opportunity to go abroad,” Ben confirms. “That part of the training contract is not a competitive process.” Global possibilities are a luxurious benefit of being part of a truly international firm, with offices in New York, Melbourne and Beijing – to name but a few.

While having such opportunities as a given is a pleasant perk for those who apply to the firm, it’s not the real draw. They come for the work.

Nadine Nijim is a trainee in the second seat of her first year, yet she can already talk about a level of involvement that would be the envy of many associates in other firms. In the very first week of her first seat – antitrust – she helped to draft an antitrust filing as part of a large merger. “After my draft I had one-to-one mentoring with senior lawyers, who marked it up and showed me how to improve it,” she recalls. The final antitrust filing that featured in the deal featured her work – a fact that she notes with obvious pride. Later in that same seat she attended client meetings around the world, including one at the European Commission.

It’s no surprise then that this is exactly what attracted her to the firm in the first place. “S&C has a stellar reputation, a good corporate department and it’s truly international, with a vast global reach,” she enthuses. “And the small intake guarantees a lot of high-calibre work.”

I have day-to-day involvement with all the trainees. This is simply not possible in a larger firm with a larger intake.

That quality is also partly down to the unusual way that S&C is structured. Whereas at many firms, a department such as corporate law is usually sub-divided into specialisms, S&C takes a bolder approach and runs it as a a generalist department. “I like it – it means that you don’t develop tunnel vision; you learn to take a much broader view of legal issues,” explains Nadine. “I think it leads to more innovative and creative lawyers”

Ben believes that this has benefits at every level. “In a rigidly departmental system, people can get bored,” he argues. “We’re a small office but we look at the bigger picture. If a trainee is in an area that is currently quiet, we have the flexibility to offer them work in an area where more is happening. It takes a lot of work but I think that it’s worth it.”

This support and care is apparent in every part of the training scheme. “I have day-to-day involvement with all the trainees,” Ben explains. “This is simply not possible in a larger firm with a larger intake. In addition, in larger firms it’s likely that someone would only want to be in my role for a couple of years before handing over to someone else.”

Nadine was awarded her place on the training programme after a vacation scheme, which – no surprise – shares the same focus on quality, with an enormous amount of partner buy in. “We have a very hands-on approach with our vacation schemes,” Kirsten confirms. “I believe that at some other firms there can be a great many in-house presentations and a lot of project work. We don’t do that. They get real work at a real firm – it’s the only way they can get a sense of what they’re getting into.”

Nadine agrees wholeheartedly. “Right from the start of my vac scheme I felt that my contributions were being valued,” she recalls. “From the beginning, I was doing real work on real cases.” Crucially, she felt that this level of trust cut both ways. It was not about S&C presenting an idealised shop window to sell the firm – rather it was an honest insight into what potential trainees could expect. “The vac scheme did reflect the reality of life at the firm and the level of work expected from trainees,” she explains. “S&C never said it would be an easy life, but they did show me that the work would be interesting and rewarding.”

While the vac scheme functions as a prime recruiting tool, S&C also recruits from open applications in order to ensure as wide a pool of talent as possible. “We receive applications and recruit from people from all life paths,” Kirsten shares. “We consider what they have submitted and judge each application on the merits.”

Applicants for both the vac scheme and the graduate training scheme must both send a CV and personalised cover letter in the first instance – but don’t be fooled by the simplicity. That letter needs to stand out from the crowd. “We get a lot of blind applications,” Kirsten says drily – needless to say, form letters do not win their senders any further contact. “We want people who have really researched the firm and who can demonstrate this; people who want to succeed at Sullivan & Cromwell.”

Sullivan & Cromwell – Best Recruiter - US firm in the City | Nadine Nijim
Sullivan & Cromwell – Best Recruiter – US firm in the City | Nadine Nijim

She is sympathetic that at first glance, all international firms may appear the same to students. “We go on campus law fairs and initially students do struggle to differentiate between firms – we all have the same brilliant brochures, we all have the same engaging websites,” she concedes. “Where we come into our own is being able to offer that individual, personal appeal.”

The route into S&C is meant to be relatively undaunting – there are no all-day assessments, group presentations or assessment centres. Instead, those invited to interview can expect a tour of the office followed by the interview itself. What sets it apart is the involvement of lawyers from every levels of the firm and the fact that every candidate will be interviewed by at least two partners. “We are recruiting a much smaller cohort than most firms,” Kirsten points out. “This enables us to take this intimate, personal approach. It also helps us get the best information from people, so that we can make the best possible decisions.”

So if you want to make the cut, what is the S&C looking for? “A consistent record of achievement and excellence,” Ben explains. “A level of engagement with the profession and the world within which we find ourselves working.” He also emphasises the need for dynamism and drive, qualities that can be demonstrated in a variety of different ways: “People are making a long-term commitment by signing up to a training contract. In the legal profession it’s very easy for people to get swept along without thinking ‘is this what I want?’ It’s a big decision. You want people who will give it their all – but for whom it’s the right choice.”

We interact extensively with our future trainees before they start their training contract – we give them opportunities to get to know our practice and our lawyers.

“Like every other firm we’re looking for exceptionally bright individuals,” Kirsten  confirms. “People who are articulate and driven and who are interested in our firm and our practice.”

And once they have those people, S&C looks after them. “We consider the transition from the academic world to the legal world to be quite significant,” Ben admits. “We interact extensively with our future trainees before they start their training contracts – we give them opportunities to get to know our practice and our lawyers. It’s important to nurture that connection.”

And this care and investment is paying off – S&C now boasts a cohort of associates who have trained and qualified at the firm and have chosen to make it their home. “There is great value in that,” Kirsten confirms. “They know first-hand what our trainees are going through and they’re on hand to give their views and offer their support.”

However, the biggest prize is the retention numbers. “If we get our recruitment right from the outset, retaining people is not a problem,” says Kirsten with satisfaction. And that is exactly what is happening. “Now we have several years of associates,” reports Ben. “We’re coming up to our fifth year of associates who trained with us.”

Perhaps the true marker of success lies with the end user – in this not the client, but the trainees receiving this level of attention. “I consider myself the luckiest of all my contemporaries at other firms,” Nadine laughs. “I have varied, interesting work and I feel really trusted and able to get on with it – I don’t think this level of training is an industry standard. These are great people, news-breaking deals, fantastic clients – and I’m only in my first year. I can’t wait to see what the next year holds!”

By Liz Rutherford-Johnson

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

I particularly noticed the amount of support and contact between accepting the training contract and starting at the firm. I hadn't expected this and it was a welcome surprise to feel as though your progress was being monitored before you had even begun.

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher UK LLP

Back to winners

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Cooley (UK) LLP

Back to winners

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Winston & Strawn London LLP

Back to winners

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP

Back to winners

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Cooley (UK) LLP

Back to winners

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Back to winners

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Vinson & Elkins RLLP

Back to winners

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Vinson & Elkins RLLP

Back to winners

The recruitment process is geared towards creating a long-term fit, from both the firm’s and the candidate’s point of view.

It’s hard to know what to believe these days. Claims of ‘fake news’ echo around the corridors of power, opinion polls offer misleading projections and spurious financial statements even decorate the sides of buses. TV stars and pop singers aren’t to be trusted with their tax returns and apparently some adverts don’t always tell the whole truth; it’s even been mooted that there are members of the legal profession who can (and sometimes do) apply the facts in rather creative ways (perish the thought).

We really wanted to create a training contract that would allow trainees to feel they were not actually trainees but junior lawyers from day one

It’s refreshing, therefore, to discover that one of the overarching principles of the recruitment process at Vinson & Elkins (V&E) is to provide potential future lawyers with a full and honest impression of what life would be like should they be offered a place at the firm. While the vacation placement gives participants the chance to get stuck in to real work and impress from day one, the training contract is specifically designed to allow trainees to see cases and transactions through to completion.

Vinson & Elkins RLLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Office
Vinson & Elkins RLLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Office

“We really wanted to create a training contract that would allow trainees to feel they were not actually trainees but junior lawyers from day one – to have that feeling of responsibility and really being part of the team,” explains Mark Beeley, who was the firm’s first London trainee, the architect of the current training programme and V&E’s current training principal. “A pretty integral part of that was the idea of keeping them on a case or deal from the day they arrived through to that case or deal concluding.”

This is achieved through an unusual, non-rotational training contract. Although trainees will sit in several different practice areas during their two years, they are encouraged to accept work from any number of the firm’s departments. Crucially they do not leave matters they are working on behind when they move; this allows them to see those matters develop and, in the process, gain an understanding of the way more senior lawyers handle complex issues.

“When I first started at V&E, I was sitting in energy transactions and projects and got involved in a particular matter,” recalls Lucy Preston, a second-year trainee. “I’m still working on it now, more than 18 months later and it’s been very interesting. When you work on a case long-term, for example, you see partners make decisions and often you wonder at the time why those decisions were made. It’s only later, when you see the full picture as the case develops that you come to understand their reasons. It’s difficult to understand things in a vacuum. The more experience you have of working through the whole process, the more you understand the decisions that are made, you can react more quickly and engage with matters more. It’s been really beneficial, in fact, invaluable for me.”

Of course, the process doesn’t only favour the trainees, it also helps the firm to ensure it gets the maximum return for its efforts – especially given the relatively small size of this century-old US firm’s London office. “We don’t take many trainees on and we really invest in those that do come here,” claims Sarah Stockley, previously a V&E trainee and senior associate, and now a member of the graduate recruitment team. “That is not just financially, but in all aspects of their training. The ideal result is for them to remain with the firm: to become associates and then make partner. We want to start that process very early on – so, we say: ‘this is what we’re like, warts and all, either you like it or you don’t.’ I think it is far better for us to be honest from the start than for someone to come here and realise that it’s not quite what they thought it was going to be.”

The preferred method for recruitment is via the vacation placement scheme, which – as mentioned above – is also designed to offer an authentic taste of the V&E life and find those who savour it. To obtain a place on the scheme, the first stage is the now ubiquitous online application form. While everyone knows that most applicants apply to multiple firms, Lucy stresses how important it is to avoid generic answers.

We have a very flat hierarchy here so on a daily basis our trainees interact with partners, senior associates, associates, other trainees and support staff

“It is very obvious in an application if you have copied and pasted answers,” she points out. “Conversely, it’s also obvious when you have put a lot of effort into an application. What I found helpful was to sit down and ask myself what I was really looking for in a firm using the Training Contract and Pupillage Handbook, LawCareers.Net and other similar resources. By the time I had that shortlist it was clear that only four or five firms would fit the bill. So I wrote totally bespoke applications for each of them. By the time I did the one for V&E, which was my preferred choice, I was well practised.”

The myriad application forms are whittled down to between 50 and 60 candidates who get invited to attend an interview, conducted by Mark, Sarah and another member of the graduate recruitment team, Emilie Stewart, who is also an associate in the firm’s finance department. At interview, it is helpful to demonstrate that you know the sort of work the firm does and how that fits into the relevant industry markets and the wider business world.

Vinson & Elkins RLLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Meeting Room
Vinson & Elkins RLLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Meeting Room

“You don’t need to reach the most polished business conclusions,” suggests Lucy, “but if you can create a starting point for a conversation, it really stays with interviewers. It stands out when we meet the people on open days and vacation schemes that have done their research and have something to say. It’s as if they’re engaging with what you do not just talking about what they want, which is always good.”

The need for engagement is echoed by both Sarah and Mark. “Before the actual interview, candidates are given a problem question and time to prepare an answer, which then forms the beginning of the interview itself,” explains Sarah. “It’s not always getting the answer right that is important, it is how they present it. How they come across when they are talking to us, whether they make eye contact, what they do with their hands, those sorts of things. Obviously, you will get slightly different answers from people who are lawyers and non-lawyers, so we take that into account. If law students have had some experience of contract law, for example, then we will be looking for them to pick up on any relevant points in that area. It’s about them showing their strengths, whatever those strengths may be.”

While Mark agrees, his criteria are often much more related to how he sees the candidate operating as part of a team. “At interview we are looking for a combination of things,” he points out. “Like everyone else we want exceptional academics, but also some evidence of real-world experience. It’s very difficult in half an hour to make an assessment of the person, but – as we all work really long hours, in very close quarters – one of the tests in my head is that if I have to sit next to you on a long haul flight for 14 hours, am I going to want to reach out and strangle you at the end of it? It may be a tough test, but it’s the reality of the process. We can work cases locked in a hotel with a team for two weeks on end – I have to be sure that we are going to function and gel.”

The vacation scheme itself is once again designed to be as much like working for V&E as possible. The work allocation system is the same as that used on the training contract – meaning that work can come from three or four different departments. This gives candidates a sense of what it’s like to juggle different demands and be involved on different things at the same time. Mark is also clear that although there is a social side to the vacation placement, the firm doesn’t overdo things – once again, honesty prevails.

“We don’t do what some US firms in the City do and take them out to the ballet or sports every evening,” he explains. “We just don’t think it’s representative of what real life is like here and we want people to understand that. We feel that, as much as we are testing the candidates, they are also testing us. With a programme of just four trainees every year we can’t afford to get the wrong people and that works both ways – they have to be as comfortable with us as we are with them.

“The vacation scheme is also about making sure that the sense I wasn’t going to hate sharing an office with  them after our first half-hour meeting was correct and that they can get on well with a range of people. We have a very flat hierarchy here so on a daily basis our trainees interact with partners, senior associates, associates, other trainees and support staff. We want to make sure that not only are they not going to go to pieces the first time a senior partner talks to them, but also that they are not rude and dismissive to their secretary, and really are going to be a good fit.”

It seems that honesty really is the best policy. Not only has Vinson & Elkins won the LCN Award for Best Recruiter in its category, but for the last few years the firm has also been able to offer all of its trainee solicitors a position at the firm – something of which Lucy is justifiably proud.

“Personally, I love working at V&E. I love the people and I love the work,” she exclaims. “I’ve been offered and have accepted a job at the firm and start in the disputes department in September. In fact, everybody in my year has been offered a role at the firm. They take on the number of trainees they think they can accommodate and the point is that you are training to be an associate at V&E, that is the aim throughout the entire recruitment process: the interview, the vacation scheme, the training contract – they are all quite rigorous processes and those that make it through them are pretty much V&E to the bone.”

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

The recruitment process is geared towards creating a long-term fit, from both the firm's and the candidate's point of view.

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Back to winners

I enjoyed the recruitment process at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP the most out of all those I applied to. It was straightforward and transparent. The interviews with a partner and counsel were informal and conversational, focusing on commercial awareness and my CV.

Sullivan & Cromwell is a multiple winner of LawCareers.Net awards over the last few years; a fact that is made all the more impressive by the fact that its first intake of trainees only started in 2013. Now fully bedded in, the programme goes from strength to strength, this year winning for ‘Best Recruiter – US firm in the City’.

The firm was founded in New York in 1879, with the London office opening for business in 1972 and English qualified lawyers first joining in 1999. The firm prides itself on its home-grown lawyers; the London office currently has around 80 lawyers and trainees based in London, with approximately 50% of these being English qualified lawyers or trainees, and the remainder being US qualified lawyers. These figures are germane, in that the size of the office, and the balance between its English- and US-law practices, is one of its defining characteristics – and one of its main drawcards to future trainees. Lillie Peichl, who joined as a trainee in 2017, comments: “For me, a key thing was that it is a US firm, which I assumed would typically mean a small intake and greater responsibility from the start. I also grew up in the States, so that had resonance for me – and I was keen on the transatlantic and international work that was on offer.”

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Office
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Office

Size also has an influence on the type and magnitude of work on offer to trainees – being one of an annual cohort of between four and six trainees has its benefits, as trainee Marielena Doeding, who also joined in 2017, explains: “My experience as part of a small intake is in stark comparison to those of my peers who’ve gone to big firms, where you’re often actively competing against the other trainees, especially at the point of qualification – there is no sense of that here. The small intake also means that we’ve bonded quickly, helped by being on the LPC together. It’s so nice to have that support system when you first start.”

The small intake also means that we’ve bonded quickly, helped by being on the LPC together.

Trainee solicitor recruitment manager Kirsten Davies confirms Marielena’s point on responsibility: “I believe that our trainees get the chance to punch above their weight work-wise by virtue of there only being four of them. I can’t speak for other firms, but I imagine if you’re one of a large number, the available work can become somewhat diluted. Being in smaller teams also means that they receive a very personal and supportive approach – having one-to-one mentoring really helps.”

Ben Perry, partner and training principal, credits the size of the office with the nimble approach the firm can take to decision-making in relation to the trainee programme. “We don’t have to overly formalise what we do; rather, we can observe how things run day to day,” he explains. “We also listen to what people have to tell us in relation to all aspects of recruitment and training. Being a small office, with a small cohort of trainees, allows for that – we’re in a fortunate position, and I think that’s part of what is different about what we have to offer. We want to maintain that flexibility, particularly around how we organise things, such as seat changeovers, induction, and managing the transition from trainee to associate.”

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Lillie Peichl
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Lillie Peichl

The number of individuals taken onto the firm’s vacation scheme is a reflection of the ultimate intake size and carries with it the associated benefits. “The scheme was very hands on, we were given real work and people seemed genuinely interested in us as individuals,” Marielena recalls of her experiences, when she was just one of two. “On the last day Ben and I had a very informal chat, and I received my offer pretty quickly thereafter. I was very happy about that!”

I believe that our trainees get the chance to punch above their weight work-wise by virtue of there only being four of them.

Kirsten is quick to offer a reassuring note to those who don’t secure a place on the scheme: “While it’s a great chance to gain insight into, and get a feel for, the office culture and work that our trainees do, we also recruit beyond the scheme via an entirely separate application process. So if you don’t get a place, it’s by no means a closed door.” Lillie is the perfect example of this route in: “I applied via the training contract route; it was a very straightforward process, involving a CV and cover letter, which gave me the chance to express who I am and why I was applying to Sullivan & Cromwell. I then had a partner interview and an interview with HR, and everyone was very friendly.” The process concluded with a tour of the office and coffee with a trainee, and a sense that it had been “a very positive experience, especially when compared with assessment centres, which can get very competitive – here, it felt like they really wanted to get to know the real me.”

Taking that personal approach to recruitment is one of the things that the firm does best, as Kirsten explains: “Although it’s just me and an assistant in the graduate recruitment team, we have huge HR and partner support, which really comes into play when we’re recruiting. From the moment candidates are shortlisted, they have access to everyone here. Again, that’s something that is made possible because of the size of the office.”

It also allows for the early building of relationships with recruits, which gives the firm an edge in the crowded recruitment market. Marielena describes her experiences: “Before I’d even started, the firm put on several events; for example, we were invited to a new joiners’ dinner, which also included the current trainees and those on the LPC. We were also asked by Kirsten to come to the firm’s stand at our university law fair, which was great because we were encouraged to do so, but weren’t made to feel obliged.” Lillie adds: “The pre-LPC dinner was a great way to get to know everyone and a helpful way to establish a connection before starting. Then, during the LPC, we were invited to the firm’s Christmas dinner, which was really nice.”

“If we’re at a law fair, we invite the recruits to come and join us on the stand, so that they feel part of the firm from an early stage,” explains Kirsten. “We also hold dinners at universities during the year and ask our future trainees to help with those. In many ways, they’re our representatives on campus.”

Ben adds: “Because we only make offers to a small number of candidates, we are able to have a huge amount of personal contact with our future trainees long before they join the firm. For example, we recently hosted our 2019 intake here at an event that involved presentations from each of the practice groups, training sessions with a know-how lawyer, and a nice dinner. The feedback we get is that our trainees feel part of the Sullivan & Cromwell family from the moment they get their offer.”

The scheme was very hands on, we were given real work and people seemed genuinely interested in us as individuals.

There can be no doubt that the first couple of weeks in any firm can be daunting, but at Sullivan & Cromwell this is mitigated by a comprehensive induction process, which features a week in New York – surely the envy of many across the City. “Our new trainees go on a firmwide orientation to New York, with the new first-year associates worldwide,” explains Ben. “It’s a really important way of making people feel part of the firm and is a terrific opportunity. And they have a great time!” This is something with which both Marielena and Lillie agree – Lillie recalls her time in the Big Apple: “It was a great way to get to know people; I ended up working with some people I’d met from the Paris and Frankfurt offices, so it was really nice to have met them beforehand – it made calling them up about work much easier!” Marielena concurs: “The week in New York really helped because we got to know people from all the other offices, many of whom I’ve since worked with – it really helped having that early connection.”

That link with the US side of the firm manifests itself not so much in the style and format of the UK training programme, but in a sense of being part of – and supported by – a global firm. Ben elaborates: “When we had the future joiners’ event a few weeks ago, the London office managing partner, deputy managing partner, and I all gave talks about the firm and the office, followed by representatives from the various practice areas, including multiple partners. All our lawyers have fully embraced the training programme and want to get to know those who are coming to join the firm.”

One example of that is the firm-wide effort to help new trainees manage the transition from academia to professional life, starting with matching each trainee with a supervisor who will support their efforts. “Mentoring, coaching and training, both on the job and more broadly by practice area managers, is all in place – we think that’s critical to the transition,” says Ben. Lillie recalls her first-seat experience in project finance: “I wasn’t thrown in the deep end.  I felt well supported, but I was also given lots of responsibility. The firm struck a good balance between the two.” And again, having just one trainee per department helps: “I feel valued as part of the team; compared to a firm with a much larger intake, there is a sense that you get greater responsibility here.”

Both Marielena and Lillie mentioned as a highlight having the opportunity to visit the European Commission as part of their time in the competition department. Marielena describes the experience: “I felt very much part of the team on that trip – the fact that I had the chance to go as a trainee was amazing.”

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Ben Perry
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP – Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City | Ben Perry

Access to interesting work and early responsibility are both key themes underlying S&C’s training contract, as Kirsten affirms: “Trainees here get big City work and lots of responsibility in a very supportive environment. They’re working with and observing some of the best lawyers in their various fields, which is a massive opportunity. They take on high-quality work, with fantastic clients, all of which adds to their experience.”

And that experience clearly engenders a sense of loyalty, as the firm has now welcomed 15 of its trainees in total into its associate ranks since 2015. Kirsten notes that “our programme has evolved as a result, as we ask for feedback from trainees who have been through it, and for comparisons to other experiences they might have had, for example on other vacation schemes.”

This wealth of knowledge also helps the way the programme has been adapted, and the pastoral care offered to each new cohort. Ben says: “One advantage we have now is that the majority of our English-qualified associates have been through our trainee programme, so there is great value in that – we have a body of people who’ve been through it and are on hand for our current trainees. That stability has allowed us to build on and improve the programme every year.”

By Isla Grant

Best Recruiter – US Firm in the City

I enjoyed the recruitment process at [this firm] the most out of all those I applied to. It was straightforward and transparent. The interviews with a partner and counsel were informal and conversational, focusing on commercial awareness and my CV.

Latest Tweets

Fetch Tweets: Could not authenticate you. Code: 32