Associates at the firm receive lock-step salaries.  Bonuses for junior associates are lock-step while mid-level and senior associates receive performance based bonuses.  Lateral Link Members say that the firm is a follower with respect to bonuses but agree that it always matches market.

According to Lateral Link Members, the firm has made "significant efforts over the past few years to increase associate development programs at the firm," and today, training is a "primary focus," with a "lot of opportunities" if attorneys choose to take advantage of them.  Junior associates at the firm are placed on formal rotations for six months to two years and are given the opportunity to work in an overseas office after their second year.  Associates receive assignments from an assigning attorney in each practice group.   According to one Lateral Link Member, associates "can take on a lot of responsibility for a transaction early on" if they "want it (and even if [they] don't)."  Some Lateral Link Members in larger departments complain their group can feel "disjointed" and can be a "sink-or-swim environment."  Although the firm has not announced official layoffs, Lateral Link Members report that there have been numerous performance-based layoffs in late 2008 and early 2009.  The firm has also offered associates a voluntary one-year deferral program, promising a $65,000 stipend to any associate who spends the year away from the firm in whatever pursuit they choose.  More than one Lateral Link Member complains about the "lack of transparency" and the "huge disconnect between partners and associates" at the firm.

There is no official minimum billable hours requirement, but Lateral Link Members say that the average is between 1,800 and 2,100 hours.

Lateral Link Members report that the pressure to put in face time "varies by practice group," with more pressure in the corporate practice groups than in litigation.  According to Lateral Link Members, face time is important for all associates "until [they]'ve been at the firm long enough to establish a reputation with the partners," since "partners make rounds" to see who is and is not in the office.  The firm provides four weeks of vacation time, which roll over with management approval.  Although Lateral Link Members say they rarely work on holidays or vacations, they do report regularly working on weekends, although they are usually able to do so from home.

In addition to assisting indigent clients within the U.S. through local pro bono efforts, the firm has developed an international pro bono practice, including human rights law.  Associates are required to perform a minimum of 25 pro bono hours, and 100% of associates at the firm do some pro bono work, averaging 72 hours annually each.  There is no limit on the amount of pro bono work associates may perform.  In addition to a pro bono counsel, the firm employs a full-time pro bono coordinator and specialist.

The firm has one partnership track, averaging seven to ten years to eligibility.  Although attorneys who do not make partner on their first attempt are allowed to remain at the firm and are reconsidered following year, most Lateral Link Members still think "partnership prospects are pretty slim."

Benefits at the firm include a subsidized cafeteria, annual retreats, monthly happy hours and breakfasts, subsidized gym membership, a formal client development budget for senior associates, a weekly coffee lounge, tickets to New York sporting events, backup childcare, and reduced rates for car and home insurance.  Associates receive their own office during their second year.  New associates receive a salary advance and relocation benefits, which may include direct billing with preferred movers, car transport services, closing costs on a new home, up to $1,500 in apartment broker fees, consulting services from professional house or apartment hunters, and temporary furnished housing during the search for a new home.

Lateral Link Members are the first to admit that Shearman & Sterling's summer program is "not a fun-and-games summer," but they say the chance to do "real work" and get "responsibility right off the bat" is worth it. About a third of the summer associate class spends part of the nine-week summer program working in one of the firm's overseas offices. Summer associates are required to rotate through more than one practice area and are expected to complete an average of 15 assignments during the summer. Trainings are held once or twice a week, ranging from "how to deal with clients" to "basic financial skills" to a "fun" negotiation role-playing. In addition to receiving "direct feedback" from partners, Lateral Link Members say they get "direct client contact" during the summer. Summer associates are expected to be in the office during normal working hours, and Lateral Link Members say that they are typically there until 8:00 p.m. The firm provides summer associates with BlackBerrys, which they are expected to check regularly. Members say the hours during the summer are "long" and most summer associates "work from home for at least a few hours on weekends." A "welcome to the summer" program is held each February during a weekend retreat in New York. The firm provides a $55 lunch budget, and summer associates can attend one attorney lunch per week in addition to occasional partner lunches and a weekly in-house buffet lunch. After-work social events are held once every week or two, and after-work drinks are held more often. Start dates of the incoming class of first-year associates have been pushed back to January and February 2010, and the firm has also offered $65,000 deferral stipend to those who take a voluntary year-long deferral until September 2010. Shearman has also offered a $65,000 deferral stipend to members of the Class of 2010, although it has not yet announced when their anticipated start date will be.