Is Shearman in decline? Should I not accept their offer? Forum

FranFang · Post by **FranFang** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:12 pm

I received an offer from Shearman & Sterling which does work in an area I'm interested in- but the news that they are "in decline" makes me very wary to choose them. Does anyone have any insight into how the firm is doing?

BendAndSnap · Post by **BendAndSnap** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:19 pm

Gross rev down by 8.6% from FY 2008 to FY 2009, Revenue per lawyer down by 3.4%. Not good, but not horrible

Profits per equity partner up 4.2%, increased in equity partners by 1.6% (meaning partners didnt get laid off, good sign)

Equity partners as % of all lawyers = 23% which is pretty high = good for young associates (there are only 3.41 associates per partner, so they need you more and you're less likely to get laid off than a firm that has like 6 associates per partner)

overall i'd say you're safe

NYAssociate · Post by **NYAssociate** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:22 pm

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:23 pm

Nevermind, I saw your other post (w/ the poll about which offer to accept).

dbt · Post by **dbt** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:32 pm

The biggest thing that worries me is the deferral thing, but they did have near 100% offer rate last summer (according to NALP).

NYAssociate · Post by **NYAssociate** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:35 pm

imchuckbass58 · Post by **imchuckbass58** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:26 pm

What are your other options?

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 11:30 am

Shearman is adapting very well to global changes and their strategy is in place, but it's definitely not a place for the weak-hearted.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 11:37 am

They have a pretty strong presence in Asia and Brazil, but in New York they are less renown. But this is all psychological - check out the bonuses that everyone gets and its pretty similar across the board. I think your career depends much more on your own effort, networking skills, and building up an expertise... and much less if any on the perceptions of other associates (many of whom hate their jobs and their firms) about other law firms (which the Vault rankings are based on).

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 2:54 am

how's shearman doing lately?

Kikero · Post by **Kikero** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:20 am

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:02 am

BendAndSnap wrote:Gross rev down by 8.6% from FY 2008 to FY 2009, Revenue per lawyer down by 3.4%. Not good, but not horrible

Profits per equity partner up 4.2%, increased in equity partners by 1.6% (meaning partners didnt get laid off, good sign)

Equity partners as % of all lawyers = 23% which is pretty high = good for young associates (there are only 3.41 associates per partner, so they need you more and you're less likely to get laid off than a firm that has like 6 associates per partner)

overall i'd say you're safe

Just because I would like to calculate this for the two firms I'm debating between, mind sharing where/how you got these figures? Thanks!

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:33 am

AntipodeanPhil · Post by **AntipodeanPhil** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 1:05 pm

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/09/ ... eal-maker/

Hasn't Shearman been in decline for half a century? I remember reading somewhere that Shearman was the largest and most prestigious of the old white-shoe firms, at least through the 1960s.

FSK · Post by **FSK** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 1:07 pm

Do you have another option?

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:25 pm

dbt wrote:The biggest thing that worries me is the deferral thing, but they did have near 100% offer rate last summer (according to NALP).

when are they deferring until?

hoos89 · Post by **hoos89** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
dbt wrote:The biggest thing that worries me is the deferral thing, but they did have near 100% offer rate last summer (according to NALP).
when are they deferring until?

That post was written in 2010...

patogordo · Post by **patogordo** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:57 pm

hoos89 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
dbt wrote:The biggest thing that worries me is the deferral thing, but they did have near 100% offer rate last summer (according to NALP).
when are they deferring until?
That post was written in 2010...

That's a long deferral

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