Sidley Austin LLP - The Inside View

“The goal is to develop world-class, business-savvy lawyers,” says partner and chair of the management committee Yvette Ostolaza, when telling us about Sidley’s new ‘Built to Lead’ training program. It’s an executive leadership program for associates that launched in early 2022 with the aim of adding “value to the career of  our associates, whether they want to make partner or counsel, become a judge or a CEO." (Or even run for president – Barack Obama summered at Sidley).This sense of opportunity appealed to our associate sources, with one commenting: “I didn’t want to get locked in early in my career. I got to know several types of lawyer at Sidley and saw that I could chart a path for myself.”

"I wanted a firm that would give me flexibility to try these different areas without committing early on.”

For other interviewees it was important to chart their path in practices that came with plenty of prestige. “Sidley is preeminent across its transactional and litigation practices,” said one, while another emphasized the firm’s prowess in all things finance: “I was attracted to the coverage of multiple areas within global finance, like traditional lending, securitization, and structured finance. I wanted a firm that would give me flexibility to try these different areas without committing early on.” Finance is certainly a strong suit for Sidley: Chambers Global rates the firm’s structured finance, securitization, derivatives, and hedge funds capabilities among the best in the world, while in the US Sidley collects 50 nationwide accolades alone (on top of many, many state rankings); these bestow praise on areas such as capital markets, appellate law, international trade, financial services regulation, insurance, life sciences, and transportation.

Despite its founding in Chicago, Sidley’s New York office was home to the majority of the juniors on our list (although both offices are a similar size and form the largest US offices in the network). Nonetheless, the Chicago office still took on a sizable number of entry-level associates, followed by the DC and Dallas bases. The Houston, LA, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Century City, and Boston offices all housed a significant group of juniors, too. 

Strategy & Future 

“You won’t be surprised to hear about our growth on the two coasts and in Texas,” Michael Schmidtberger, partner and chair of the executive committee, tells us. “New York, Boston, Texas, and the California offices have seen a fair bit of growth that’s been driven by the expansion of our private equity and financial services practices. We’ve also seen growth in our litigation and life sciences practices over the last 18 to 24 months, and our capital markets group has had an extraordinarily strong year.”

Ostolaza adds that “in terms of associates, we’re continuing to grow our numbers. We’re hiring in every office, so send over your resumes!” Both partners highlight that in 2021 the firm “had the largest summer and fall classes in a decade,” as well as “one of the largest partnership classes,” which saw 42 attorneys elected to partnership globally.

Career Development 

To make sure it can continue promoting large partnership classes, the firm is doubling down on talent retention. The ‘Built to Lead’ program is one way of enticing associates to stick around; it’s available to associates in their fourth through to eighth years of practice, and partly involves recognizing participants’ roles “through formal titles,” asOstolaza explains: “Fourth-year associates become managing associates; seventh-years become senior managing associates.” There’s also plenty of training involved, too: “We’ve partnered with two elite business schools, Northwestern and Columbia, to offer fourth-year associates  and above the opportunity to participate in professional development opportunities and earn certificates [...] when associates become senior managing associates, the program aims to give them leadership training with professional coaches and further business school programs.” 

"There are a good number of homegrown partners."

Our associate sources registered their excitement for the program, with an interviewee adding that “another thing that sets Sidley apart is the fact that you’re not forced to pick a very specific area or specialization early on. They want you to be happy where you are, rather than just trying to fill numbers in different groups.” Interviewees were keen to highlight that as well as being assigned a partner and an associate mentor upon joining, “there’s the ability to find more informal mentorship, especially among associates you’re staffed with – basically someone to review your work, and even help phrase an email.” Looking ahead to the partner ranks, associates gave the possibility of partnership a thumbs-up: “There are a good number of homegrown partners – some have been here for over 20 years!” 

The Work 

There’s a lot for newbies to potentially get involved in at Sidley: our list of juniors represented 13 practice groups that were further broken down into 28 subgroups. Litigation remains the area with the largest number of juniors, followed by M&A and private equity, and global finance. Most groups have a free-market assignment system, with work coordinators available as backup during slow periods. “I like it, as you get to choose which cases to take on, when to put the pedal to the metal, and when to draw back a little. On the flip side, it does require a bit of effort to set boundaries,” an insider reflected, mirroring the thoughts of others we spoke with.

Litigationat Sidley covers everything from general commercial disputes to securities cases to appellate matters to white-collar crime and government investigations work. Newbies were drawn to the breadth of expertise in the group, but commercial disputes was the most popular area for associates to test the waters. Our sources were by no means pigeonholed; take this interviewee for example, who had plied their trade on white-collar investigations, international arbitrations, product liability cases, and shareholder litigation, to name just a few areas. Others spoke of taking on complex appellate work, “which included writing an amicus brief, as well as contract disputes and bankruptcy appeals.” Naturally, the levels of responsibility imparted on our sources varied depending on the size of the team. “Teams with two to four attorneys are where you get the most experience,” an interviewee explained. “You’re doing anything that’s needed, from document production to client communication.” 

Litigation clients: Apollo Global Management, Morgan Stanley, Walgreen. Represented Beiersdorf in a putative class action alleging misleading claims on the packaging of a NIVEA product.

“Most investigations are leanly staffed, which means you’re working directly with partners and getting great exposure to clients.” 

The white-collar crime and government investigations group falls under the litigation umbrella, and it would be remiss of us not to shine a spotlight on it. Our junior sources found that they divided their time between internal company investigations and government investigations. The group serves Fortune 100 and 500 companies, and the government side involves a lot of FCPA regulatory work, as well as dealing with internal bribery allegations, ethical concerns, and anti-corruption diligence on deals that are in the works. A source said that “most investigations are leanly staffed, which means you’re working directly with partners and getting great exposure to clients.” Our interviewees were doing everything from doc review to witness interviews to prep for government and client presentations. “You really get to see the big picture of the matter,” we heard. One particular associate was able to channel their inner Sherlock Holmes during prep for presentations: “You have to look at the nuances and figure out the story. It’s the best experience in terms of understanding the partners’ perspective.” 

White-collar clients: Peloton, Grubhub, Ford. Acts as lead counsel for Huawei concerning criminal charges brought against the company by the DOJ in the Eastern District of New York.

The transactional side is “pretty broad,” a Chicago-based source told us. “The big allure of the corporate group was that there were a bunch of different buckets of work.” These buckets include M&A, capital markets, and corporate governance matters: “You can dip your toe into each of those three!” On the M&A side, juniors had worked on both public and private M&A deals; capital markets work involved handling securities offerings; and corporate governance matters enabled sources to advise clients on the election of boards of directors, as well as the chance to draft resolutions and annual reports. “Something that drew me in was the fact that there is a partner who is top of the field in pretty much everything you could want to work on,” a source gushed. To give you an indication of the range of expertise at the firm, Sidley’s transactional offering is split into 28 subgroups, including capital markets, global finance, M&A, and private equity. A global finance junior explained that “on leanly staffed deals I get to draft opinions, carry out novel transactions, and work on credit agreements. Obviously, you start on more ancillary documents, but I’m really impressed with the speed at which you start doing substantive work.” 

Global finance clients: BofA Securities, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities. Represented J.P. Morgan Securities regarding securitizations of mortgage loans.

Hours & Compensation 

Billable hours: 2,000 target 

Associates’ 2,000-hour billing target includes 1,800 hours of client-chargeable work which must be hit in order to become bonus-eligible. The remaining 200 hours can be made up of things like pro bono, DE&I, knowledge management, and observational training activities. Our sources were generally confident about their ability to hit the target, with a capital markets interviewee asserting that they’d “never been at risk of not making my hours,” while a global finance junior told us: “Should you want to qualify for a bonus, you’ll have no problem getting it here.” Juniors had no qualms about their market-rate base compensation, with some telling us that they’d been able to secure above-market bonuses for billing beyond the billing target.

Our survey respondents recorded an estimated average of 51 hours worked in the previous week, while at the top end a transactional junior told us that “you can be working 60 to 70 hours if a deal is closing, but that is uncommon.” Weekend work can happen, with this source saying that on occasion they would work “around three hours on Sunday, but if it’s busy I would do up to five hours each day.” Vacations were felt to be respected, as this interviewee was pleased to report: “I didn’t go on my computer at all. I told my group in advance and the partners were very understanding – they told me I wasn’t expected to respond to emails.”

“On pro bono cases, you have free range to really feel like a fully-fledged lawyer – you’re doing everything from soup to nuts.” 

Pro Bono 

Our sources agreed that pro bono was strongly encouraged by the firm, but a few acknowledged that “it can be difficult to fit into your day.” Nonetheless, our interviewees spoke of multiple pro bono opportunities they engaged with, including working with Lawyers for the Creative Arts to assisting people forming corporations and setting up LLCs. “It’s really rewarding as it’s easy for us to read these complex, weird legal forms, but it makes such a difference for someone else,” a junior reflected. A corporate source added that “it’s often hard to find pro bono opportunities related to corporate, but we have a full resource page that covers just that.” Other pro bono opportunities included asylum and veterans matters, and compassionate release cases. An interviewee noted that “on pro bono cases, you have free range to really feel like a fully-fledged lawyer – you’re doing everything from soup to nuts.” 

Pro bono hours 

• For all (US) attorneys: 117,718
• Average per (US) attorney: 69

Culture 

“What seals the deal on firm culture is how people interact with each other,” an associate reflected. “I have yet to find someone who’s a jerk.” Another quipped that they’d “never encountered your stereotypical BigLaw partner screaming at 3am!” Phew.Our sources attributed the firm’s non-cutthroat nature to its “grounded and respectful” Midwestern roots – the effect of which could be felt across the US offices. But BigLaw is BigLaw, and heavy workloads come with the territory, but not at the expense of a helping hand: “Associates would sit with me way past 6pm to walk through a document, even though they had a million other things on their plate.”

"We’re jump-starting the social calendar!”

And among their busy schedules, attorneys would make sure they found time to attend happy hours to keep up firm culture. Those in New York were especially keen to reboot the social scene as the world began to spring back into action in 2022: “We’re having a big rooftop bar gathering – we’re jump-starting the social calendar!” This junior added that “partners are aware of the benefits and drawbacks of working remotely, so they send out emails about getting lunch together in the cafeteria, and every Thursday there’s a happy hour as more people start returning to the office.”

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

“They’ve recruited more heavily out of diversity groups in law schools, and they are now shifting more and more attention toward retention,” an insider disclosed. As with much of BigLaw, “once you start looking at the higher levels, you see less diversity.” Many associates felt positive about the representation of women at the firm, as well as partners with young families: “It’s promising to see that a lot of female partners are able to manage being a parent and working at the same time.” Another stride forward for the firm is Ostolaza’s election to a high-level management position: "I am the first woman to be elected management committee chair, and it’s exemplary of how our firm values diversity and inclusion.” 

Get Hired 

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus 

OCI applicants interviewed: 2,202 

Sidley interviews at more than 30 law schools and 15 job fairs across the US. Each office decides on which schools it will interview at and how many students it will aim to see. 

A mix of partners and associates conduct the OCIs. “We try to engage alumni of the law school where we are doing OCI,” says Jennifer Connelly, Sidley’s national legal recruiting director, “as we feel that fosters a natural connection with the students.” Interviewers use behavioral based questions, which, according to Connelly “allows us to best understand past decisions and how those decisions can help gauge future performances.” Interviewers also want to see candidates who can demonstrate their leadership skills. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“I'm looking for someone who I can see myself working late nights with.” – a second-year junior associate 

“Come prepared to talk about anything listed on your resume and be thoughtful regarding questions about the firms in which you are interviewing.” –Jennifer Connelly, recruiting director 

Callbacks 

Applicants invited to second stage interview: 972 

Callbacks also vary office to office, but candidates typically spend two to three hours in one-on-one interviews with partners and associates. There may also be a lunch or dinner with some junior associates. Behavioral questions are still on the table at this point, but interviewers will likely want more detail on candidates’ practice area interests. Connelly says that at this stage “we’re looking for candidates who stand out from the crowd – those who are able to best articulate their interest in the firm, while also demonstrating that they bring exceptional experiences and skills to their practice areas of interest.” 

Top tips for this stage: 

“Reach out to the lawyers you met at OCI or to Legal Recruiting with any follow up questions you have about your visit.” –Connelly 

Summer program 

Offers: 649 

Acceptances: 241 

Sidley summers are encouraged to get experience in different practice groups – again, the program varies office to office. Connelly advises associates to “use every opportunity during the summer to meet as many lawyers and learn as much about the firm and the practice as possible.” There’s a centralized assignment system but summers can also take work directly from attorneys. At the end of the program, associates’ assignment to a particular practice group will vary – you guessed it – by office. 

Top tips for this stage: 

“It’s always a lot of fun, but it’s good to make sure all the summers know that they don't have to attend every single event.” – a second-year junior associate 

“Work on projects that interest you the most, but also take a chance to do something in a practice area that is unfamiliar to you.” – Connelly 

Interview with partners Michael Schmidtberger and Yvette Ostolaza

Chambers Associate: How would you describe the firm’s current market position?

Michael Schmidtberger, partner and chair of the executive committee: We’re just where we want to be. Like a number of elite firms, we’ve come through the pandemic well. It’s been really extraordinary to see the world split in two – on one side, the world of information, consulting, finance, etc., all managing with little operational difficulty, while the world of hospitality, teaching, medical care, food service, etc., have been absolutely crushed and are struggling to get back. It’s two different worlds, and our firm has performed exceptionally well through it all.

Yvette Ostolaza, partner and chair of the management committee: We are very fortunate to be in a strong financial position. After the growth in revenue and profits per partner last year, we’ve emerged from the pandemic even stronger. We’ve seen a flight towards quality and stability by clients, partners, and associates. This year, we will reach $3 billion in revenue, a revenue number that only a handful of US firms have reached.

CA: Are there highlights from the past year or in the firm’s immediate future you think our readers should be aware about?

YO: We launched the associate executive leadership program last year, called Sidley’s Built to Lead program. The program came into effect on January 1, and the goal is to develop world-class, business savvy lawyers. We have always been competitive from a compensation standpoint — we pay one of the highest base salaries as well as bonuses, but the idea behind the program is we want to add value to the career of  our associates, whether they want to make partner or counsel, become a judge or a CEO.

The program has various aspects. We recognize their seniority in roles through formal titles – as they get to a certain benchmarks, associates receive new titles.

Fourth year associates become managing associates; seventh years become senior managing associates. It’s not just about giving out new titles, it’s also about gaining a skill set and having the recognition that associates at a certain level manage teams and interact closely with clients. In connecting with their new roles, we’ve partnered with two elite business schools, Northwestern and Columbia, to offer fourth year associates and above the opportunity to participate in professional development opportunities and earn certificates 

The program also offers associates to later participate in a passion project with a non-profit. 

When associates become senior managing associates, the program aims to give them leadership training with professional coaches and further business school programs.

Our Built to Lead program is an investment in our talent and our clients. We want to encourage our associates to be lifelong learners and to grow as leaders and professionals.

MS: We’re really trying to create expectations for associates to be “captains of their career ships” and pursue opportunities for growth with intention. We want to support our talented associates so they can be the best version of themselves.

CA: Would you characterize the firm as in growth mode?

MS: We are growing. You won’t be surprised to hear about our growth on the two coasts and in Texas. New York, Boston, Texas, and the California offices have seen a fair bit of growth that’s been driven by the expansion of our private equity and financial services practices. We’ve also seen growth in our litigation and life sciences practices over the last 18 to 24 months, and our capital markets group has had an extraordinarily strong year.

YO: In terms of associates, we’re continuing to grow our numbers. We’re hiring in every office, so send over your resumes! There’s a talent war out there and we want to win. We’re doubling down on increasing our associate ranks; this year we had the largest summer and fall classes in a decade. Bankruptcy/restructuring is an area we’re intending to increase our practice size– we've had a few recent hires in that space.

MS: We’ve also had one of the largest partnership classes too. We’re in growth mode.

CA: How has the pandemic affected the firm’s remote working policies?

MS: We’ve always had a flexible approach to remote working. We want our partners and associates to work together. Associates get a variety of experience through observing the way partners work and solve problems for clients. Finding a balance between remote working and being in person is important for associate development.

CA: What is the greatest challenge facing the legal market in the next decade?

YO: For the first time in a while, many top firms experienced true market growth in demand, rather than just growing revenue through laterals or rates. We want to make sure we’re keeping talent to be able to serve the growing legal needs of our clients.

Another challenge and opportunity we’ve seen during the pandemic is that we are living in a remote world. We need to look at how we train ourselves and our associates when we’re not physically next to each other; how we can recreate those ‘in between’ moments, like being next to a partner during a meeting, or having conversations in the hallways. Part of our new associate leadership program is making sure we can retain and train our associates to be the best attorneys and leaders.

MS: We’ve taken a market leading step in addressing the biggest challenge. We want people to grow and develop, and we want to be rewarding them. With the Built to Lead program, we’re trying to foster a better environment in the way associates view their professional development, as well as management of stress, time, and wellbeing. We want to create a more professional dynamic around the development of the whole associate, and address the substantial challenges we saw pre-pandemic of just falling into the grind. We have to be intentional about developing talent.

CA: How has the rise in legal technology affected the firm? Are you implementing any specific programs/initiatives with regards to technology?

MS: If this pandemic occurred ten years ago, I think that law firms would’ve found themselves more in line with the hospitality sector, and other deeply challenged sectors. Technology is what allowed us to not only survive, but thrive through the pandemic. In terms of legal technology, knowledge management is critical for a large platform like ours. We require both technology and human resources. We’re putting resources into knowledge systems, like tagging data and making sure it’s available across the platform, supplemented with knowledge management attorneys so we can have the best intelligence about deals and courts and judges.

CA: Does the firm have any set targets with regards to diversity? What policies are in place/what new policies are the firm implementing to ensure that the firm meets these targets?

YO: Our target is to be the best in the class. Our recent awards show that we are being recognized for our efforts in various D&I categories. I am the first woman to be elected management committee chair,  and it’s exemplary of how our firm values diversity and inclusion. I was attracted to Sidley’s platform, in part,  because I met many women who were leading practice groups or offices. Our management committee is 38% women and 13% diverse. Our executive committee is 39% women and 20% diverse.  One of Sidley’s superpowers is attracting diverse talent to the platform. There aren’t many top firms that have the same diversity of leadership in place.  Our clients benefit from our being able to recruit such talent 

MS: Right now, half of our associates are women; our last summer class was 60% women, and our entering class is 60% women. Our numbers are good and we’re continuing to improve.

CA: Any advice for those about to enter the legal industry?

MS: Be intentional about your development. Have high expectations of the firms you join in terms of the opportunities for growth. Avail yourself of those opportunities. Think also of non-linear career paths. Life is long and there are a variety of ways to gain experience and skills.

YO: Invest in learning about your area of practice every day and in getting to know your clients’ business. Mentor junior lawyers.