Women Partners Committee. All women partners of Shearman & Sterling are members of the Women Partners Committee. The Women Partners Committee meets regularly to discuss external and internal initiatives at the Firm.

ShearmanWomen Council. The ShearmanWomen Council is a working group of partners and associates who act as a steering committee for women-related initiatives at the Firm in three key areas:

• Partner-led external initiatives, including existing client development, new client pitches, professional organization participation and leadership

• Partner-led internal initiatives, including recruiting, community building, professional development and sponsorship

• Provide guidance to associate-led initiatives

WISER. WISER (Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention) is our associate-led women’s network that supports mentorship, professional development, and awareness for lawyers across offices and practice groups.

Women Partner Mentoring Circles. In 2020, we launched our Women Partner Mentoring Circles. This program provides women partners with the opportunity to mentor women associates in small group circles. These mentoring circles are global in scope, creating connections between practices, offices and seniorities throughout the firm. This structure provides our women associate participants the opportunity to self-select a mentoring circle.

By giving participants the ownership to choose which group they would like to join as opposed to assigning groups, we empower our more junior women to engage with women partners in a way that resonates with them. By creating mentoring circles – as opposed to mentoring pairs – mentees can learn from one another as well as from partner mentors. Mentees imbue the environment with more openness and encourage the sharing of best practices.

Office Hours. Our women partners host office hours that provide women attorneys with support and resources to navigate their roles. Women attorneys are encouraged to reach out to women partners for guidance.

Social Events. Informal quarterly gatherings hosted by our women partners are opportunities for connection and conversation in our offices.

Shearman & Sterling holds events and programs, both formal and informal, to develop and maintain connections between our people, our clients, and our alumni with a focus on professional development, networking, and mentoring.

Women’s General Counsel Forum and Senior Counsel Bootcamp. Our GC Forum brings together women leaders in law to share experiences, enrich and inspire one another as they learn best practices that will help them lead their organizations more effectively. Our Women's Senior Counsel Bootcamp was developed to support the career advancement and professional development of women assistant general counsels and deputy general counsels.

The Shearman Coffee Club for Women in Law. These virtual fireside chats provide an intimate forum for networking and sharing of best practices among our women lawyers and clients.

Collaboration with our Clients. We collaborate both formally and informally with women’s initiatives at our clients, hosting joint programming, exchanging ideas, and working together to support women in our community.

We value our relationships with organizations that support professional development for women in the law including WILEF (Women In Law Empowerment Forum), a member-organization that is dedicated to advancing women in law firms and corporate legal departments.

Recognizing the need that low-income women and women-oriented organizations have for access to legal services, we offer pro bono services to groups whose mission is to defend women’s rights across the globe. We also partner with service organizations that are focused on empowering women and girls in their communities.

• Women Advancing Microfinance International — A global network of and for the advancement of individual women in the microfinance industry
• Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights — A global women’s fund that protects, strengthens and sustains women’s human rights
• Muslim Women’s Institute for Research and Development — A community service organization, committed to working for the needs of new immigrants
• Her Justice (formerly inMotion) — Provides free legal help in family law, divorce and immigration to low-income women living in New York City
• Sanctuary for Families — Dedicated exclusively to serving domestic violence victims, sex trafficking victims, and their children
• MFY Legal Services — Provides free legal assistance to New York City residents, prioritizing vulnerable and under-served populations and working to end the root causes of inequities
• Dress for Success — An international non-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women
• Grace Institute — A non-profit organization that provides tuition-free career training and job placement services to economically disadvantaged women throughout New York City
• Girls on the Run (GOTR) — A local non-profit organization that organizes "running clubs" at public schools for girls ages 8-13 to encourage healthy living habits and positive self-esteem in young girls
• Girl Rising — A global campaign for girls’ education and empowerment with a groundbreaking documentary film at its center
• Free to Run – Founded by a Shearman alumna, their mission is to use running, physical fitness and outdoor adventure to empower and educate women and girls who have been affected by conflict
• Refuge – UK charity supporting victims of domestic violence through a range of services, including refuges, independent advocacy, community outreach and culturally specific services
• G.O.A.L.S – Non-profit providing low income women with culturally competent counseling services
• Lower Eastside Girls Club – Non-profit in lower Manhattan dedicated to the advancement of girls, and the neighborhood at large

New Parent Program. Our New Parent and Caregiver Mentoring program matches expectant and new parents and caregivers with colleagues who also have children or are caregivers. Mentees receive advice and assistance with navigating issues while managing professional responsibilities and goals. This program is a joint effort between Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Professional Development.

Family Resources. Our resources include:

• Developmental Assistance Program for Parents and Caregivers, a research-based program that supports families raising children of any age with learning, social or behavioral challenges or developmental disabilities - regardless of their diagnosis
• Access to a nationwide network of high-quality care solutions for children and adult family members when regular care arrangements break down
• An individual assistance program that provides around-the-clock assistance to help alleviate the pressures of managing everyday work, family, and personal responsibilities
• Complete feeding support including domestic milk shipping, virtual and on-demand pumping and lactation consultants, private spaces within our offices and milk nutrition testing
• A networking group that allows parents and caregivers to connect, share information and resources and create collaborative solutions to challenges facing working families