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Where do you see yourself two years from now?
Shearman & Sterling furnishes exceptional training and mentoring for all legal assistants. In addition to the formal instruction received within each practice group, newly hired legal assistants attend orientation sessions, seminars, and workshops meant to familiarize them with the documents and legal issues they will encounter while at the firm. Moreover, most practice groups in the New York office hold regular meetings, touching on legal as well as administrative matters, to which legal assistants are invited. Legal assistants are encouraged to attend outside educational seminars on topics that will help them make the most of their professional experience at the firm.
Mentoring
At Shearman & Sterling, we recognize that a strong support network eases legal assistants’ integration into the firm’s work and culture. To guide them through this process, we have created a mentoring program that pairs new legal assistants with attorneys and/or experienced legal assistants. By sharing our time, ideas, and inspiration, legal assistants at all levels can achieve their maximum potential, both within and outside of the firm.
On-the-Job Learning Account
As a way of enhancing legal assistants’ overall view of the day-to-day workings of the legal profession, the firm has created an on-the-job learning account that allows them to attend meetings and negotiating sessions, join in on conference calls, and generally learn by observation. The training is designed and supported by the firm, rather than billing a legal assistant’s time to the client.
Career-Related External Development Program
Legal assistants in good standing and with three years of continuous employment with the firm may spend up to one month working for an approved non-profit, charitable or public interest organization. By tackling new areas of interest, legal assistants can develop skills that complement their work at the firm and connect them to the communities where they live.
Pro Bono Opportunities
Shearman & Sterling believes a commitment to pro bono work is an essential part of the professional staff’s practice. We strongly encourage our legal assistants to devote time to the broad range of pro bono cases available at the firm.
Our global presence provides opportunities to address pro bono matters wherever they might arise, whether at a San Francisco legal clinic or in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. We are the only US law firm engaged as pro bono counsel in this important international legal justice initiative. Furthermore, we have been recognized for winning groundbreaking political asylum cases and for our help in finalizing awards from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. In 2005, the firm devoted 48,140 hours to pro bono services. And as of October 31, 2006, the firm has already contributed 38,000 pro bono hours.
Law School Preparation
If you are considering law school, we offer an annual seminar during which legal assistants and attorneys meet to discuss law school programs and potential job opportunities following graduation. Discounts and reimbursements are available for individuals who want to take an LSAT preparation course. Arrangements can be made to hold the preparatory classes at Shearman & Sterling offices if enough legal assistants are interested in participating.
Diversity
Diversity is not simply a philosophy at Shearman & Sterling; it is who we are and how we do business, both with our clients and with each other. We strongly believe that diversity in perspective, background, and experience enhances the quality of our work and augments our lives. The firm’s professionals form a remarkable mosaic of backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations. This interplay of unique worldviews results in a firm culture that is both innovative and communicative.
Our Diversity Committee and Diversity Management Attorney work to promote the firm’s goal of maintaining an inclusive and respectful workplace where all are welcome. The firm is proud to have ranked No. 1 in the 2005 “Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity” survey conducted by Multicultural Law, and to be among the top ten in the Minority Law Journal's “Diversity Scorecard.”
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