New York Secondment

[HMB]

Hello everyone,

I am interested in firms that provide international secondment opportunities. Has anyone any experience in this and willing to explain their journey and how they were successful in their application.

Thanks,

 

[Jessica Booker]

I have been heavily involved in international secondment selection processes so can explain how it works, if that’s the application process you mean (rather than applying for the training contract itself).

 

[HMB]

I have not yet landed a training contract however I keep finding it interesting to read about people's experiences and how it benefits their training at the firm.

The link below is for anyone interested but I would love to find more.

A Trainee Secondment to New York - what to expect - Shearman & Sterling

Joining Shearman & Sterling means you could have the opportunity to spend part of your training cntract on secondment in New York.

ukgraduates.shearman.com

 

[Jessica Booker]

I advise people to not get to fixated on the location of secondments at this stage.

The reality is a New York secondment is likely to be one of the most competitive in a trainee cohort, particularly where there is no need to have a second language, plus the prestige of the legal market and the glamour of the city.

Reality is, by the time you come to thinking about secondments you are needing to think beyond that. You probably won’t go to York if you want to be a competition lawyer, you probably won’t go to New York if you want to do Real Estate. You’ll be thinking much more about your qualification process (as most likely a secondment would be done in your final year) and trying to align your experience in your secondment seat to where you want to qualify.

For some trainees that will mean staying in London or going on a client secondment instead.

If secondments are important to you in where you are going to decide to apply to, then look at the range of secondments the firm has and think “would I be happy to go on most of these” because that’s really the attitude you need to take when applying for a TC. What I would strongly advise against is claiming you really want a NY secondment in a TC application, as this is super specific and even if you secure the TC is going to be unlikely given how competitive it is.

 

[psimoes]

I would be hugely interested in secondment application as someone who is looking to get my current firm to send me on secondment for 6 months. Please reach out to me!

I have been heavily involved in international secondment selection processes so can explain how it works, if that’s the application process you mean (rather than applying for the training contract itself).

 

[Jessica Booker]

I would be hugely interested in secondment application as someone who is looking to get my current firm to send me on secondment for 6 months. Please reach out to me!

Please feel free to ask any questions via this forum and I am happy to answer here.

 

[psimoes]

Please feel free to ask any questions via this forum and I am happy to answer here.

I have asked my firm to go on secondment as one of my seats. They don’t usually offer secondments unless it’s through a client - is there another way I can get a secondment ? Through applications or reaching out to recruiters / in-house practices. Please point me in the right direction.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I have asked my firm to go on secondment as one of my seats. They don’t usually offer secondments unless it’s through a client - is there another way I can get a secondment ? Through applications or reaching out to recruiters / in-house practices. Please point me in the right direction.

Any secondment would only be possible through your current employer/firm - it won’t be possible to explore these outside of the firm unless it is with an existing relationship the firm has (eg one of its clients/other law firms it partners with).

Does your employer have other offices outside of the country you are currently working in?

 

[stiggy]

Please feel free to ask any questions via this forum and I am happy to answer here.

Hiya, i'll be starting my training contract in Spring 2025 at a firm which guarantees secondments to all trainees however, international secondments seem to be more competitive than client ones. What advice do you have for strengthening an application for international secondments/ do you have any insights on how firms decide who goes where? How can I demonstrate a strong interest in a secondment-relevant practice beyond just performing well at my trainee tasks (as I assume everyone will be doing this)

For some context: I'm particularly interested in US markets (NYC/ silicon Valley) or emerging markets (Hong Kong/ Singapore/ China/ Vietnam) but would also be open to some European secondments. My practice interests are quite varied (part of why i chose a firm with 3 month seat rotations) but I think ill want to qualify in something more transactional/ corportate. I am a native french and english speaker with intermediate - advanced spanish skills.

Thank you!