Shearman & Sterling Hours Requirement Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all,

Does anyone have further information on Shearman & Sterling's billable hours requirement? I hear that they don't have an official requirement, but unofficially it's 2050.

Does anyone know if this 1) includes pro bono, and 2) is a prerequisite for end of year bonus? Has anyone failed to hit 2050 and still received bonus?

Thanks in advance for any responses!

[Anonymous User]

A former Shearman associate here. Speaking just about the corporate group, nobody in my class year that I know of billed over 2000 in a year at Shearman. I was one of the busiest folks among the associates in my class year and I was billing around 1800~1900 a year. I got a full market bonus every year. During my second year, some of my classmates that billed below 1500 got full market bonuses. But in that year, a few classmates that billed above 1800 got partial bonuses for some shady reasons which the firm never clarified. So at least in some cases, the lack of hours requirement enabled the firm to be completely black box with bonuses.

Also, I think you may have gotten that 2050 info from Chambers Associates. That website is full of bs and I wouldn't really trust what's on there fully.

[Anonymous User]

A former Shearman associate here. Speaking just about the corporate group, nobody in my class year that I know of billed over 2000 in a year at Shearman. I was one of the busiest folks among the associates in my class year and I was billing around 1800~1900 a year. I got a full market bonus every year. During my second year, some of my classmates that billed below 1500 got full market bonuses. But in that year, a few classmates that billed above 1800 got partial bonuses for some shady reasons which the firm never clarified. So at least in some cases, the lack of hours requirement enabled the firm to be completely black box with bonuses.

Also, I think you may have gotten that 2050 info from Chambers Associates. That website is full of bs and I wouldn't really trust what's on there fully.

OP here,

Thanks for the response! I should have clarified, I'm actually a current Shearman associate myself (in litigation). I've heard 2050 from lots of people (it's also the standard our hours are compared against for utilization percentage in intapp).

I haven't had issues hitting 2050 the past couple years, but I'm trying to take things easier this year and wondering if 2050 really is just aspirational. I've talked to others my class year, and no one's really sure how strict the 2050 target is (lit has been busy enough that most people hit it, whether they want to or not).

That's very helpful to hear about your experience in corp though.

[Anonymous User]

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