Sullivan & Cromwell LLP - True Picture

Sullivan & Cromwell training contract review 2025

The Firm

In many ways, Sullivan & Cromwell is the quintessential American firm, featuring: a trainee intake “so small you’re going to be visible no matter what;” top-tier finance practices; and a hefty serving of hours to boot. Accurate though this may be, S&C’s prestige spills well beyond the binary of its strong US roots. “It’s situated at the epicentre of the financial world,” so “it has that international dimension – the fact that it’s based in New York makes it ideally positioned to do global work with international clients.” As a result, the firm racks up honours in Chambers Global, particularly with its multi-jurisdictional work in energy and projects and corporate/M&A. The firm’s rankings in debt equity capital markets, corporate investigations and tax are also reflective of the international focus of the matters where “we advise on English law aspects of cross-jurisdictional deals that are typically based in Asia, the US, and Europe.”

“Secondment opportunities, client and international, are pretty much guaranteed!”

Closer to home, our sister guide Chambers UK recognises the firm in similar practices like corporate/M&A, projects, debt capital markets and energy, but trainees we spoke with insisted that “they have a generalist approach – you don’t box yourself in too early because there are not super niche seats.” That being said, they also cautioned that Sullivan & Cromwell is certainly not a destination for those looking to do litigation or arbitration – “we don’t do that here!” – but “you do get a good diet of work” at any rate. Speaking of destinations, those looking to do a stint abroad or with a client should rejoice – “secondment opportunities, client and international, are pretty much guaranteed!”

The Seats

Luckily for S&C trainees, because intakes are pocket-sized, seat allocation“isn’t bureaucratic at all!” Like most firms, the first year is split into two seats of six months, but the second year is split roughly into three four-month seats. Between each seat, trainees pick their top three preferences – those we spoke with tended to get their top choices. And with regards to secondments? “There is no competition,” one insider reported, with another telling us, “The option to do a client and an international secondment is there for everyone.”Client secondments are usually to Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan, but international secondments are generally dependent on a trainee’s interest in location as you complete a specific seat in a specific office. New York was the most sought-after international secondment for newbies, but those on our list also did stints in Sydney, Paris and Palo Alto.

While currently a “very small” team in London, the competition and foreign investments group is growing and, like many of the firm’s practices, is intrinsically linked to S&C’s global network. “There’s a lot of work with Brussels on most of the EU competition work,” one interviewee outlined, adding that the group works with Frankfurt, Paris, “and depending on the deal, DC.” In the past, S&C advised Credit Suisse on the non-US antitrust aspects of its merger with UBS. The team also presently advises long-standing client Goldman Sachs on numerous acquisitions and investments. We were told that newbies spend a good amount of time on market research and multi-jurisdictional analysis where “you look at potential merging undertakings and which jurisdictions they need to file in.” On this, trainees help with drafting antitrust and foreign direct investment filings. Investigative work was a little less common for those we spoke with, but rookies do get to help with due diligence and drafting responses to the commission or other investigating institutions.

The M&A seat gives trainees “the best of both worlds, to quote Hannah Montana,” with people able to work across public, private and private equity deals, the lattermost of which the firm is trying to build out a separate subgroup. “At the start of M&A matters, you’re doing primarily due diligence,” moving more into transaction and document management as the deal ages. “When you say document management, nobody is going to be thrilled,” one interviewee joked, “but it really does help with the deal, and it’s the best value add you can give as a first-year trainee.” The more administrative tasks also give newbies “insight into the weeds of a deal and serve as the building blocks for down the line,” and coordinating with colleagues and local counsel alike allows trainees to work on the international aspects of a deal. One of these deals was the team’s recent work with Apax Partners in its acquisition of co-controlling stakes of Palex Medical from funds advised by Fremman Capital, as well as Palex management and other minority shareholders. Of the work they are allowed to undertake, insiders stressed that “it’s not just churning out stuff on precedent” when drafting waivers and notices though – “I was surprised by how much actual law we used.”

“You’re working on projects in Mongolia, Madagascar, Mozambique, the Middle East, Africa… and there’s quite a bit of client contact!”

Though two practices, finance and restructuring take up one seat. On the finance side, the firm covers both project and leveraged finance where “you work on several matters at one time” and “you could be given the whole spectrum of work.” This includes a fair bit of research – “looking into political insurance requirements, things like that” – largely drafting ancillary documents, NDAs and diligence reports. “With leveraged finance, you help a lot with smaller documents” understandably, as well as with closing trackers and keeping everyone in the loop on matter progress. In this seat, our sources were particularly fans of the projects side because of “how tangible it is, and the international aspect; you’re working on projects in Mongolia, Madagascar, Mozambique, the Middle East, Africa… and there’s quite a bit of client contact!” For example, the group recently advised Amgen in its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.

Restructuring  “can be quite a lot more academic legal work, research and analysis” on both lender and borrower side. Though S&C doesn’t offer a litigation seat in London because “there isn’t scope for doing a sustained period of contentious work in London,” matters do tend to be a little more contentious on the restructuring side. “There are bits and bobs,” one insider explained, “where a restructuring involving a court procedure can become contentious, so you do get some exposure.” One recent in-court matter the team worked on was their representation of Barclays Bank as administrative agent and sole bookrunner to Cineworld plc in its Chapter 11 restructuring.

The “baptism of fire” that is the capital markets seat grants trainees “a lot of new concepts to wrap your head around,” given the highly technical nature of securities laws. “There’s a lot of regulation and guidance, and a lot of time the government’s guidance is unclear,” one amused trainee confessed, “so it’s challenging, but it does keep things interesting!” We heard that reviewing selling restrictions is the main thing for rookies, alongside helping to prepare and draft prospectuses. In this seat, there is also a fair bit of legal research; “clients will come with particular questions about the law on whether they can do X, Y, Z, so we’ll do discrete points of research on that.” Recent highlights include S&C’s work with Ferrari on its IPO and numerous euro-market debt offerings.

Trainee Life

“Everyone here goes out of their way to speak to you, and there are no tyrants!”

“When you hear about American firms, the way it’s depicted on certain websites makes it sound like they work you to the ground and you get no daylight,” one source mused, “but everyone here goes out of their way to speak to you, and there are no tyrants!” Everyone we spoke with shared this sentiment about the firm’s culture, alongside a long-embedded facet of the firm: its “academic” reputation; “there’s a massive emphasis on actually understanding deals as a whole – everyone here is genuinely intellectually curious, so people discuss developments in law so thoroughly.” Though we also got the impression that “it’s less extroverted,” everyone was full of praise for the helpfulness of those at the firm. “There is an obvious hierarchy,” one insider admitted, but multiple interviewees told us that managing partners and senior associates will even slide in next to newbies in the canteen while having lunch. On the topic of the canteen, “it’s a no-brainer to go in – breakfast and lunch are free, you get a hefty Deliveroo allowance, and there’s just lots of free food in general!” So, S&C’s expectation for trainees to work in the office more than they work from home was a non-issue for our sources, their enthusiasm driven in part by “the cakes, cookies, desserts – anything you can think of!” but also by the opportunities to collaborate more closely with other fee-earners. It’s also not open plan; trainees share an office with another person, “so you get your own space to chill in. If you need to shut the door, you can.”

Insiders were all on the same page when it came to events where “there’s no forced socialising” but there are opportunities to get together, “so it feels a bit more genuine.” From the outset, newbies are typically introduced to S&C with a visit to the New York office for a firmwide orientation for US associates, and the firm’s international presence is also felt through the European Legal Seminar where associates from offices around Europe congregate at the London office for a day of seminars, giving colleagues a chance to network in person. It was noted that trainees don’t get a social budget, but “there’s usually a Thursday night drinks with various events through the year; we’ve been to virtual clay pigeon shooting, an F1 arcade, and the Chelsea Flower Show!” Again, trainees stressed that “it’s not party animal central” though: “I’ve never gotten drunk with my colleagues, and I really like that – you’re still colleagues at the end of the day, which as a junior is a comforting feeling.”

With “studious” seemingly finding itself as the word of the feature, you won’t be shocked to read that trainees were positively beaming when it came to the extensive training opportunities at S&C. “I had the impression that you do all your formal education at law school and that was it,” one interviewee told us, “but that was a misconception.” Training sessions are typically held at lunchtimes and led by a dedicated know-how lawyer, running a little bit like seminars. One source did voice frustrations that “training sessions in the middle of the day when you have other commitments” can be a little inconvenient, but “you’re not obliged to go, just strongly encouraged.”

“If you think you are suited to an environment with a lot of guidance, this isn’t the place.”

The hours themselves can vary quite a bit as “sometimes you can have nothing to do, so a supervisor might tell you to finish early at like five and enjoy yourself,” but admittedly, those times seemed to be few and far between. Ultimately “you know what you’re signing up for” so trainees weren’t surprised by the hours. “No one puts the pressure on you,” one trainee elaborated, “but you just don’t want to be the one who lets everyone down!” So, insiders did caution that “if you think you are suited to an environment with a lot of guidance, this isn’t the place,” as with the long hours during intense periods, “even as someone who likes being thrown in the deep end, it can be overwhelming.” Nevertheless, “I never felt I was the only one online at 4am – the trainee goes to bed first, so you’re never alone working late.”

Despite the few long hours scattered throughout the year, everyone we spoke with felt the compensation makes up for that; “there is a curious jump between the trainee and associate salary… but I definitely feel well compensated – S&C pays top of the market!”  Qualification itself is “an informal affair,” as there is no real application process whereby trainees need to interview or submit a form detailing where they want to apply. In 2024, Sullivan & Cromwell retained three of its four qualifiers.

How to get a training contract at Sullivan & Cromwell

Vacation scheme deadlines (2025): January 10, 2025

Training contract deadline (2025): July 11, 2025

Application

Sullivan & Cromwell's award winning trainee programme takes up to eight candidates a year. Sullivan & Cromwell has recently moved to an online application form and these need to be tip-top perfect to stand out from the crowd, too – the firm gets 550 to 600 applications for its training contracts as well as an additional 550 to 600 applications for its vacation scheme.

So, what's the secret to getting to interview? The firm's trainee solicitor recruitment manager Kirsten Davies explains that “some candidates copy and paste deals from our website, but we know that information already because, of course, we worked on those deals. What's more helpful is to let us know why they interest you, and how they match what you want from the job.” She also adds that candidates should write a “punchy letter of motivation, covering no more than one side of A4 to accompany their online application.”

Interviews

Candidates called back to the next stage come into the firm's offices for a morning or an afternoon session. This starts with an informal chat with Davies. Candidates are interviewed by two partners separately and have a tour of the office conducted by trainees, including introductions to key members of the office. Davies explains that “our assessment process is very collaborative, so I will speak to the partners about my time with the candidates, and we'll also speak to the trainees who took them for coffee. More often than not everyone's on the same page.”

Vacation scheme

Candidates for the vacation scheme go through the same process – online application and interview session as direct applicants for the training contract. Up to twelve candidates a year are selected to go on a two-week placement at the firm in June or July. Davies tells us that “they are allocated a work coordinator and mentor and are fully immersed in the firm. We aim to have a good balance between work and social activities.” Vac schemers get the generous sum of £750 a week for their trouble, as well as being considered for a training contract. Around two-thirds of Sullivan & Cromwell trainees so far have been through the vacation scheme.

Trainee profile

Sullivan & Cromwell plays particularly close attention to grades. As Davies tells us, “We take grades quite seriously, so that means we're looking for at least a high 2:1. We ask for a full percentage breakdown of academic results right the way through. We understand if there's the odd blip along the way, but we do look for consistency.” Grades aside, she adds that the firm looks for “common sense, commercial aptitude, analytical skills, enthusiasm, resilience, initiative, and motivation to be part of the team at Sullivan & Cromwell. We have relatively small intakes, so people are given a much higher level of responsibility, so it's also important trainees have the level of confidence to handle that level of work.”