The Assignment System

Simpson Thacher’s assignment system sets us apart from our peers, offering associates a centralized approach to staffing and development while providing ongoing support from assigning partners and professional development managers. The system is designed to accomplish four core goals:

• Provide associates with exposure to varied assignments, client matters and case, deal or advisory teams within their practice group
• Help associates develop legal judgment, technical expertise and client-service skills

• Encourage collaboration and a spirit of teamwork among lawyers throughout the Firm

• Support thoughtful staffing that balances client needs, associate development, workload and exposure to different leadership styles

Assigning Partners in each practice group work closely with Professional Development Managers to understand associates’ interests, experience levels and development goals, and to help identify assignments that provide meaningful opportunities for skill development and professional growth. The practice-specific Professional Development Managers carefully monitor associates’ workloads to ensure equitable distribution of work.

The assignment system includes frequent opportunities for feedback. Each department maintains open channels of communication with associates to help ensure that assignments run smoothly. Associates are not on their own; they are part of a group with a staffing team focused on helping manage their workload, experience and development.

Corporate

The hallmark of our New York Corporate Department is our rotation system. By working in multiple practice areas, first-year associates develop a deep understanding of the substantive work we do and the importance of collaboration across groups.

Our Corporate rotation program provides for two six-month rotations from among the following groups:

• Finance, which includes Banking & Credit, Restructuring, Funds Finance, Project Finance, and Capital Markets;
• Mergers and Acquisitions/Corporate, which includes M&A, Energy & Infrastructure, Financial Institutions Group (or FIG), Real Estate, Sports, Media and Entertainment, Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits (or ECEB), Environmental, Social & Governance (or ESG), and Personal Planning; and
• Funds, which includes Private Funds, Registered Funds and Funds Transactions, as well as Exempt Organizations

Through these rotations, associates are trained in, and gain exposure to, different practice groups and workstreams to develop a broad foundation of knowledge across multiple practice areas and to identify the practice group that best aligns with their interests and strengths for permanent placement.

The Firm also may allow first-year associates who have a clear interest in a particular practice area to directly place into that practice group at the start.

Our “Advisor Program” provides that our newest corporate associates will be paired with a partner for the first three months of each rotation to accelerate their development. The program encourages intensive training and a close working relationship with a partner advisor from the beginning of the rotation.

Litigation

Professional development and individual preference are the key drivers in the Litigation Department’s assigning process. Because our practice spans numerous subpractices, there are no required rotations. The Litigation Department strives to assign a range of matters to all associates while allowing them to focus more deeply on one or two practice areas as they become more senior.

Most first-year litigators start as general litigation practitioners and are typically assigned several matters in different areas—for example, a securities matter, an antitrust matter and a government investigation matter. Associates also are encouraged to take on a pro bono case of their choice. The cross-disciplinary nature of our department ensures regular exposure to many practice areas, as well as opportunities to work with a wide range of lawyers across the Firm.

Our Litigation Department includes many subpractices such as Securities Litigation, Antitrust and Trade Regulation, Government and Internal Investigations, Insurance and Reinsurance, Intellectual Property, and International Disputes and Arbitration.

Full Breadth of Firm Practices

Simpson Thacher’s specialty departments—including Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations, Personal Planning, Real Estate and Tax—offer associates opportunities to develop broad and sophisticated skill sets in closely integrated practice groups. These departments use more flexible assignment approaches that allow for individualized guidance, close working relationships and meaningful responsibility early in associates’ careers.

Each department has developed its own, tailored approach to assignments and associate development. For example:

• Tax associates are often informally paired with a partner for up to a year. Although these pairings are more flexible than a formal mentoring program, the partner remains available to answer questions, provide continuity and help associates navigate the practice.
• Real Estate is a close-knit group in which junior associates work side-by-side with senior associates and partners from the outset. Group lunches provide regular opportunities to communicate, discuss current issues and stay connected across the team.
• New Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits lawyers typically shadow a mid-level or senior associate during their first month at the Firm. The group also holds lunch seminars at least every two weeks to review practice-specific skills and substantive topics.