Simpson Thacher’s leadership across multiple practice areas sets us apart from our peer firms.  We do not have one “star” partner or “showcase” practice group – all our lawyers work on headline cases and transactions involving myriad substantive issues.  As such, summer associates can feel comfortable selecting the Firm as a whole and then choosing a particular department to join at the end of the summer.    

We have seven main departments:  corporate, employee compensation and benefits, exempt organizations, litigation, personal planning, real estate and tax.  The corporate department is further divided into banking and credit (which includes project finance and bankruptcy and restructuring), capital markets, and M&A (which includes private equity and fund work).  The litigation department hosts several practice groups and specialties, including antitrust, insurance, intellectual property, international arbitration, labor, securities and white-collar crimes.  The five other departments also offer a broad variety of work experiences.  The Firm’s “generalist” philosophy of associate assignments ensures that each associate has a well-rounded experience in his or her chosen department.