New York
Simpson Thacher’s New York office—our global headquarters—is the oldest and largest of the Firm’s eleven offices. Serving clients since 1884, our New York team offers best-in-class legal services across the full range of corporate and litigation practices, including mergers and acquisitions, banking and credit, capital markets, private and registered funds, real estate, restructuring, tax, employee benefits, complex commercial litigation, government and internal investigations and much more.
Our clients include many of the world’s leading and most innovative companies—from finance to energy, and from Fortune 500 companies to high-tech startups. We are a global leader in M&A, advising on blockbuster public and private transactions that span every industry segment and geographic region. We guided the five largest completed LBOs in history, among an extensive list of marquee transactions. Our uniquely balanced, top-ranked capital markets practice handles complex debt and equity transactions on behalf of issuers and investment banks, and our premier banking practice is similarly broad and well-balanced. We advise lenders and borrowers alike, helping clients finance the highest volume of transactions of all U.S. law firms. In addition, clients regularly turn to our top-tier litigation team in connection with bet-the-company disputes and investigations. Boasting a deep bench of talent that includes home-grown trial lawyers as well as former high-level government officials and prosecutors, we have one of the most well-regarded litigation practices in the country.
We believe the unique combination of market-leading global practices and the Firm’s trademark collegial atmosphere make our New York office the ideal place to start your legal career.
Summer Program
The goal of the New York summer program is to introduce you to life at the Firm—our practice, our people and our culture. Our summer program provides law students with a wide range of opportunities to experience the breadth of the Firm’s practice, meet and engage with our attorneys and experience the culture of New York.
Orientation and Training: Simpson Thacher is committed to the professional development of all of our attorneys, and this begins with our summer associates. Your summer starts with an orientation program designed to introduce you to the Firm’s work, resources and culture. You will also participate in a series of “STB 101” training programs throughout the summer in order to learn about each of the Firm’s practice areas and meet its practitioners. Finally, you will be encouraged to participate in the Firm’s general training programs, as well as interactive workshops hosted by external speakers.
Assignments: Our summer associates are assigned to active matters and work alongside partners and associates to obtain meaningful exposure to the Firm’s work and clients. We encourage summer associates to try different practice areas, and to that end, our assigning attorneys make every effort to offer assignments based on your expressed practice interests. These assignments will give you a realistic introduction to life as a Simpson Thacher associate, allowing you to work as a productive member of the team while developing your skills in legal analysis, drafting and research. Each summer associate is part of a small assigning group overseen by two mid-to-senior associates.
All summer associates are offered the opportunity to work on pro bono matters. Whether you want to fulfill the 50 hour pro bono requirement for New York Bar admission, or pick up a project that is personally interesting to you, the Firm offers a wide range of compelling pro bono opportunities.
Mentoring and Evaluations: To provide additional guidance and to foster relationship-building during the summer program, you will be paired with both a partner and an associate mentor. We create mentor matches based on practice groups, shared interests, and connections formed during the recruitment process. You will have the opportunity to work on a matter with your partner mentor during your summer.
We know that receiving feedback on your work is important for your professional development and growth. We encourage our supervising attorneys to provide real-time comments and ongoing practice pointers to augment your skill set. You will also receive a formal mid-summer review and a final review.
Social Events: Simpson Thacher’s New York office hosts many social activities throughout the summer, allowing you to spend time with our attorneys outside of the office and to experience life in New York City. Past summer activities have included a Yankees baseball game, our annual summer associate dinner with all New York partners, a reception for families at the Central Park Zoo, Shakespeare in the Park, meals at New York’s best restaurants, a farewell boat cruise and other fun-filled events.