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 lawyers and/or experienced legal assistants. By sharing our time, ideas, and inspiration, we help legal assistants at all levels achieve their full 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. A few other examples of pro bono work our legal assistants have been involved in include groundbreaking political asylum cases and assistance to holocaust survivors seeking payments for work done in German-controlled ghettos. As of October 31, 2011, the firm has devoted almost 37,050 hours to pro bono efforts.

Law School Preparation
If you are considering law school, we offer an annual seminar during which legal assistants and lawyers meet to discuss law school programs and potential job opportunities following graduation. Discounts are available for individuals who want to take an LSAT preparation course. Arrangements may be made to hold the preparatory classes at Shearman & Sterling offices.

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 our lives, as well as promoting a culture of innovation. The firm’s professionals form a remarkable mosaic of backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, races, and sexual orientations.

Our Diversity Committee and Director of Diversity work to promote the firm’s goal of maintaining and promoting an inclusive and respectful workplace. The firm employs diversity best practices and has received awards in recognition of its demonstrated and sustained commitment to diversity.