Ask Shearman & Sterling Anything!

[Jaysen]

Hi All,

I'm delighted to say that the Shearman & Sterling graduate recruitment team (Paul Gascoyne and Alexandra Roots) will be running this Ask Me Anything thread. A big welcome to them to the forum.

As with the other threads, feel free to post any questions you have at any time and they will respond at their convenience.

I'll leave this to you guys, but you might want to use this as an opportunity to better craft your applications to the firm, learn more about what it means to work at Shearman & Sterling, and/or ask any questions that you would have loved to ask at an open day.

Best,

Jaysen

 

[April]

Hi,

As part of the graduate recruitment team, I am sure that you get asked quite a wide range of questions. What is one question that you wish students asked you more often?

Kind regards,
April

 

[Mahesh]

Hi Paul and Alexandra, at this stage, what would be the best route into the firm for a TC?

I am a final year law student at Oxford for context, and am an international student, hence my visa expires soon after graduation.

Thank you very much ! The article of 100 tips has been most helpful !

 

[Sophia Adedoyin]

Hi Paul and Alexandra,

If one does not meet the minimum A-Level requirements, do you suggest students still apply?

 

[Faye]

Hi Paul and Alexandra, great to have you on the forum. Thank you Paul for all the application tips available online, I found Whiteboard Wednesdays particularly helpful!

I was wondering if I could ask you to clarify what you mean by recruiting on a non-rolling basis? A few of us on the forum applied for the Winter Vacation Scheme on or very close to the deadline, assuming that we would not be disadvantaged, but were told that all the places have been filled. Apologies if we misunderstood this!

Thank you!

 

[Reg]

Dear Paul and Alexandra,

I hope you are both well.

I note that one of the first questions in the application is whether you have achieved an ABB at A-Level or in an equivalent examination. I did a HND which technically equates to first and second year of university rather than A-Level. As a result, I went straight into third year of university. I have 2 AS-Levels (A&B) and an overall Merit for the HND. Please could you advise me on whether this would place me at a disadvantage and whether I would meet the minimum grade requirements?

Kind Regards,
Reg

 

[Paul - Shearman & Sterling]

Hi,

As part of the graduate recruitment team, I am sure that you get asked quite a wide range of questions. What is one question that you wish students asked you more often?

Kind regards,
April

Hi April,

Good question! People ask us a range of questions at events and during interviews.

I don't think there is 'one' question people should ask though - that would be pretty boring for us! The best questions are the ones people genuinely want to know the answer to - often information that you can only hear from people directly.

Paul

 

[Paul - Shearman & Sterling]

Hi Paul and Alexandra, great to have you on the forum. Thank you Paul for all the application tips available online, I found Whiteboard Wednesdays particularly helpful!

I was wondering if I could ask you to clarify what you mean by recruiting on a non-rolling basis? A few of us on the forum applied for the Winter Vacation Scheme on or very close to the deadline, assuming that we would not be disadvantaged, but were told that all the places have been filled. Apologies if we misunderstood this!

Thank you!

Hi Faye,

Yes, we recruit on a non-rolling basis. So, everyone who applies before the deadline will have their application reviewed in the same way. We make no decisions on who to offer vacation scheme places to until we have received all applications.

You are not disadvantaged by applying on or near the deadline.

Regarding your application - I think you are presuming that places had been filled by people who applied earlier than you. That's not the case. We simply filled our places via the typical recruitment process. Places might have been filled by people who applied at the same time, or after you.

I really want to stress that people don't need to panic and apply way in advance of the deadline.

I hope that explains!

Thanks,

Paul

 

[ABC2019]

Hi Paul and Alexandra,

Hope you're well.

I would like to apply to the Re-Start programme but want to make sure I'm not excluded as I have recent vac scheme legal experience?

For additional context I completed law school and worked in legal roles for c.3 years before progressing into a non-legal career in Government.

Thanks in advance
A

 

[Jessica Booker]

Great to have you on-board! Will be watching this with great interest to make sure my advice isn’t too out of date!

 

[Paul - Shearman & Sterling]

Great to have you on-board! Will be watching this with great interest to make sure my advice isn’t too out of date!

Thanks - your advice is always spot on Jessica!

 

[Paul - Shearman & Sterling]

Hi Paul and Alexandra, at this stage, what would be the best route into the firm for a TC?

I am a final year law student at Oxford for context, and am an international student, hence my visa expires soon after graduation.

Thank you very much ! The article of 100 tips has been most helpful !

Hi Mahesh,

At Shearman & Sterling, we recruit exclusively via vacation schemes. Applications are currently open for our vacation schemes in Spring and Summer.

https://ukgraduates.shearman.com/opportunities/vacation-schemes/

As a final year law student, you can apply now. We don't limit certain vacation schemes to people at a certain stage in their education - I know some law firms do this e.g. Winter Vac Schemes only for final year students or graduates.

In terms of your VISA - you will need to look into this yourself, but typically you'd move from a Tier 4 student visa to a Tier 2 working visa.

I'm glad you enjoyed the 100 tips!

Paul

 

[Paul - Shearman & Sterling]

Dear Paul and Alexandra,

I hope you are both well.

I note that one of the first questions in the application is whether you have achieved an ABB at A-Level or in an equivalent examination. I did a HND which technically equates to first and second year of university rather than A-Level. As a result, I went straight into third year of university. I have 2 AS-Levels (A&B) and an overall Merit for the HND. Please could you advise me on whether this would place me at a disadvantage and whether I would meet the minimum grade requirements?

Kind Regards,
Reg

Hi Reg,

Sounds like you just need to work out what your A-Level equivalent score is. This should help:

https://www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator

I don't have enough info to say how your application will look and compare against other applications. Play to your strengths though.

Here is some advice on how to complete the online application form - it also explains how to complete the education section if you have a range of qualifications:

https://ukgraduates.shearman.com/20...ct-application-through-apply4law-with-images/

Good luck!

Paul

 

[Soliha]

Hi Reg,

Sounds like you just need to work out what your A-Level equivalent score is. This should help:

https://www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator

I don't have enough info to say how your application will look and compare against other applications. Play to your strengths though.

Here is some advice on how to complete the online application form - it also explains how to complete the education section if you have a range of qualifications:

https://ukgraduates.shearman.com/20...ct-application-through-apply4law-with-images/

Good luck!

Paul

Hi Paul,
Interestingly I could not use that calculator as I am an international student and our education system is quite different from UK system. I had achieved the highest possible grades across all subjects at secondary school and high school. What should I do in these circumstances?

 

[gricole]

Hey Paul,

Thank you for joining the TCLA community. I applied to Shearman & Sterling's Winter Vac Scheme and I got an email stating that you were impressed with my application so I should re-apply in September 2020. Is that a generic email response?

Thank you!

 

[Camilla]

Hi Paul and Alexandra

I have been interested in applying to Shearman & Sterling for a while now but I have always been put off because I know that one of the key things you look for when reviewing an application is 60% or above in contract law. My grade is a little shy of this.

I graduated in 2012 with a 2:1 and I have a lot of non-legal work experience, so I am classed as a career changer now. Do you look at applications from career changers any differently? Is it worth me applying or will my application likely be unsuccessful due to not meeting your fair and reasonable grade requirements?

Thanks
Camilla

 

[IntrepidL]

Hi Paul and Alexandra, thank you so much for answering our questions!

I was wondering with regards to the work experience section in law firm applications, would you recommend listing law firm events/open days/exclusive dinners with the firms?

I often see people listing them on the work experience section of LinkedIn, so I have always assumed that it would be acceptable to include them in firm applications as well.

Would love to hear your input on this!

 

[Ella55]

Hi Paul and Alexandra,

I’m currently a first year studying Anthropology at the University of Durham. I have a huge passion for a future law career but my worry is that firms wouldn’t consider me as they might not view an anthropology degree as something which has enough transferable skills in comparison to other non - law degrees such as business, history or English. What is you view of this? Is it worth considering changing courses for better recruitment prospects?

 

[Paul - Shearman & Sterling]

Hi Paul and Alexandra,

Hope you're well.

I would like to apply to the Re-Start programme but want to make sure I'm not excluded as I have recent vac scheme legal experience?

For additional context I completed law school and worked in legal roles for c.3 years before progressing into a non-legal career in Government.

Thanks in advance
A

Hi,

It sounds like you already know a lot about the legal industry and how to enter the profession - so you might find that Re-start covers information that you already know...

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Paul - Shearman & Sterling]

Hey Paul,

Thank you for joining the TCLA community. I applied to Shearman & Sterling's Winter Vac Scheme and I got an email stating that you were impressed with my application so I should re-apply in September 2020. Is that a generic email response?

Thank you!

Hi,

I'm not quite sure what the question is...

Are you asking whether you should re-apply in September 2020?

It might sound obvious, but if that's what it said in the email, then yes, you should!

Paul