Wilkie (NY) vs. Milbank (NY) vs. Sidley (NY) vs. Shearman(NY Forum

[hooping43]

More corporate leaning but still unsure. Does anyone know about their previous summer offer rates? As much as I care about prestige, I want to work with fun people too.

[Anonymous User]

Any specific interests within corporate? Some of these firms do very different things in terms of their main strengths.

[Anonymous User]

Can you be more specific? I think Willkie is known for having more of a "Fun" culture out of these four firms. Sidley is a NO for culture, people there work really hard and it's definitely not fun.

[Anonymous User]

Can you be more specific? I think Willkie is known for having more of a "Fun" culture out of these four firms. Sidley is a NO for culture, people there work really hard and it's definitely not fun.

In NY office specifically?

[Anonymous User]

Can you be more specific? I think Willkie is known for having more of a "Fun" culture out of these four firms. Sidley is a NO for culture, people there work really hard and it's definitely not fun.

my gf just summered at sidley NY and said she loved it there -- people were nice and work was good. she's interested in fund formation work, though, which is their main corporate practice strength.

[Anonymous User]

Can you be more specific? I think Willkie is known for having more of a "Fun" culture out of these four firms. Sidley is a NO for culture, people there work really hard and it's definitely not fun.

Can you elaborate on this? I've heard just the opposite, that the people are nice and the workload is pretty reasonable compared to other NYC V20 firms. It definitely doesn't have the "work hard play hard" atmosphere of Wilkie but I would think whether that is a positive or negative comes down to preference.

[Anonymous User]

Can you be more specific? I think Willkie is known for having more of a "Fun" culture out of these four firms. Sidley is a NO for culture, people there work really hard and it's definitely not fun.

Can you elaborate on this? I've heard just the opposite, that the people are nice and the workload is pretty reasonable compared to other NYC V20 firms. It definitely doesn't have the "work hard play hard" atmosphere of Wilkie but I would think whether that is a positive or negative comes down to preference.

I too have heard just the opposite on Sidley FWIW. It seems like one of the best V20s for culture.

[Anonymous User]

Can you be more specific? I think Willkie is known for having more of a "Fun" culture out of these four firms. Sidley is a NO for culture, people there work really hard and it's definitely not fun.

Can you elaborate on this? I've heard just the opposite, that the people are nice and the workload is pretty reasonable compared to other NYC V20 firms. It definitely doesn't have the "work hard play hard" atmosphere of Wilkie but I would think whether that is a positive or negative comes down to preference.

I too have heard just the opposite on Sidley FWIW. It seems like one of the best V20s for culture.

I've heard the same. At least in their NY office.

[Anonymous User]

I'm the OP about the Sidley culture. I only speak based on the experiences of my close friends who are junior associates in both NY and Chicago. I just clarified with one of them and she said it depends on the group, but overall people work very hard and NY has to work harder to keep up with the reputation of the Chicago office (HQ). I think if you liked the people at Sidley then go there, to be honest these are all great firms that are going to be challenging and demand hard work. Even when you get down to the bottom V80-100 those attorneys are working long hours as well - there are no more "lifestyle" biglaw firms as one of my senior associate mentors told me recently..

[Anonymous User]

Interested as well whether there is a reputational difference in prestige here. Does NY Sidley (non CHicago or DC Sidley) garner the same respect as NY Millbank?

[Anonymous User]

.

[Anonymous User]

Bump?

[VeritasVlad]

I know you said you don't care about prestige, but Shearman definitely is way more prestigious that the rest. As for culture, just don't go to Milbank.

[Anonymous User]

I know you said you don't care about prestige, but Shearman definitely is way more prestigious that the rest. As for culture, just don't go to Milbank.

Can you explain your milbank comment?

[Anonymous User]

I know you said you don't care about prestige, but Shearman definitely is way more prestigious that the rest. As for culture, just don't go to Milbank.

20 years ago, maybe. I'm making pretty much the same decision as OP, and multiple people I've talked to with knowledge of NY firms have mentioned, umprompted, that Shearman has been on the decline for a while and is continuing to get worse. This comes down to Milbank and Sidley.

[Anonymous User]

I know you said you don't care about prestige, but Shearman definitely is way more prestigious that the rest. As for culture, just don't go to Milbank.

20 years ago, maybe. I'm making pretty much the same decision as OP, and multiple people I've talked to with knowledge of NY firms have mentioned, umprompted, that Shearman has been on the decline for a while and is continuing to get worse. This comes down to Milbank and Sidley.

FWIW I interviewed with both Milbank and Sidley and just accepted a 2L SA with Sidley, which seemed like an all-around pleasant place with pretty normal people. The Milbank people were nice enough, but I didn't get the impression they were being wholly genuine - I felt like I got a lot of canned answers clothed in P.R. speak, and didn't really feel a connection with anyone I met. My $.02

[Anonymous User]

I know you said you don't care about prestige, but Shearman definitely is way more prestigious that the rest. As for culture, just don't go to Milbank.

20 years ago, maybe. I'm making pretty much the same decision as OP, and multiple people I've talked to with knowledge of NY firms have mentioned, umprompted, that Shearman has been on the decline for a while and is continuing to get worse. This comes down to Milbank and Sidley.

I ended up choosing a firm other than Shearman, but I think it is pretty much a fact that Shearman has a better reputation in NY and abroad than Sidley or Milbank. Like take a look at who's winning the poll if you don't believe me.

[Anonymous User]

Anybody speak to why Shearman is declining?

[Anonymous User]

Anybody speak to why Shearman is declining?

I spoke candidly with a partner and he/she said a large part of it is because of PPP. They continued promoting associates to partner during the downturn, which while nice of them at the time, has really done them no favors long term. The associates I've spoken to love the work though and are actually very optimistic about a vault increase next year. Apparently, quarterly profits were very strong.

[Anonymous User]

Anybody speak to why Shearman is declining?

I spoke candidly with a partner and he/she said a large part of it is because of PPP. They continued promoting associates to partner during the downturn, which while nice of them at the time, has really done them no favors long term. The associates I've spoken to love the work though and are actually very optimistic about a vault increase next year. Apparently, quarterly profits were very strong.

So it's not because they've had some exodus of super partners leaving the firm?

[Anonymous User]

Anybody speak to why Shearman is declining?

I spoke candidly with a partner and he/she said a large part of it is because of PPP. They continued promoting associates to partner during the downturn, which while nice of them at the time, has really done them no favors long term. The associates I've spoken to love the work though and are actually very optimistic about a vault increase next year. Apparently, quarterly profits were very strong.

So it's not because they've had some exodus of super partners leaving the firm?

it is.

[PaulThePrestigious]

I would narrow this down to Shearman or Sidley. If you like international work, Shearman is super crazy prestigious for that. For domestic, Sidley is extremely strong though.

[Anonymous User]

I would narrow this down to Shearman or Sidley. If you like international work, Shearman is super crazy prestigious for that. For domestic, Sidley is extremely strong though.

Not OP, but what type of deals and clients can one expect to do at Sidley NY?

[Anonymous User]

I would narrow this down to Shearman or Sidley. If you like international work, Shearman is super crazy prestigious for that. For domestic, Sidley is extremely strong though.

With 10 foreign offices, Sidley is no slouch for international work either.

[Anonymous User]

Having interviewed with these firms and also wanting corporate, I would pick Willkie (add an "l" in your title). The people are normal and enjoyable to be around and they have the best all-around corporate practice of these firms IMO. If you know you specifically would like to do more international leaning corporate work, project finance, etc., some of the other firms may be a better pick. Otherwise, I would pick Willkie and you, personally, should decide where you think you would be happiest and just go with your gut.