4 Star Rating

4 Reviews

Sidley Austin LLP

Main Office: One South Dearborn | Chicago | IL | 60603

Phone: 312-853-7000 | Fax: 312-853-7036

4 Star Rating

4 Reviews

Year of establishment
1866

Number of partners
680

Number of offices
22

Partner to associate ratio
0.60

Biggest office
Chicago

Percentage of women attorneys
37.10

Number of attorneys
2021

Percentage of minority attorneys
16.90

Number of associates
1119

Percentage of LGBT attorneys
3.00

Sidley Austin LLP Reviews

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Reviewed on May 19, 2024

Current Employee Current Employee Mr. San Francisco

Advice to law firm management:
Work closer with your staff to find compromise.

Pros:
Listening is the Key

Cons:
I was never worried about losing my job or being replaced, however, there is very little opportunity to grow or advance in this firm. The management isn't too flexible when it came to working around my schedule with three young children.

Career Opportunities:

Compensation & Benefits:

Work/Life Balance:

Senior Management:

Culture & Values:

Current or former employee?:
Current Employee

Length of Employment:
10+ years

Reviewed on May 19, 2024

Former Employee Former Employee Mr. San Francisco

Advice to law firm management:
Raise the pay and benefits. Treat your workers better.

Pros:
The work was interesting at times. I enjoyed most of the people I worked with. There is room for advancement here. There are a good variety of practice areas.

Cons:
The compensation is not very good for the amount of work you do here. I didn't get along with everyone here. There are some cliques and office politics.

Career Opportunities:

Compensation & Benefits:

Work/Life Balance:

Senior Management:

Culture & Values:

Current or former employee?:
Former Employee

Length of Employment:
10+ years

   4

Overview

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world's leading law firms, providing legal services to clients in the Bay Area. Operating out of San Francisco, the firm provides a wide range of legal services, such as corporate, litigation, intellectual property, and tax, among others. At Sidley Austin LLP, attorneys will be given the opportunity to work closely with clients to provide effective and creative solutions to their legal needs. The firm’s diverse and talented attorneys have the resources, technological capabilities, and global reach to handle even the most complex legal issues. The firm also provides attorneys with the opportunity to develop professionally, with the support of experienced partners and mentors. Attorneys can also take advantage of a wide range of training and development programs, to hone their skills and knowledge. Sidley Austin LLP also offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package, addressing the needs of attorneys and their families. The firm’s benefits include medical and dental coverage, as well as life insurance and flexible spending accounts. The firm is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all of its attorneys. Sidley Austin LLP is dedicated to promoting diversity and belonging in the workplace, through a range of initiatives and programs. Working at Sidley Austin LLP in the Bay Area can be exciting for attorneys. The firm is committed to providing excellent client service, fostering a culture of cooperation and mutual respect, and creating opportunities for lawyers of all backgrounds. With a comprehensive benefits package and a range of training and development programs, attorneys can get the support they need to excel in their careers. Headline: Experience Exceptional Client Service at Sidley Austin LLP in the Bay Area

Practice Areas

Sidley Austin LLP practices law in the following areas and works with its clients to provide the best possible legal solutions.

Hiring Criteria

Sidley Austin LLP follows the set of hiring criteria outlined below.

Sidley Austin being a top-level Am Law 100 law firm sets a high standard for its associates and most of them are hired from the top 14 law schools (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report). The firm is not a regular visitor to career fairs, with only two visits to job fairs made in 2011.

Most of the campus recruiting is done in these schools:

Chicago-Kent College of Law
DePaul University College of Law
Duke University School of Law
Georgetown University Law Center
Harvard Law School
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
New York University School of Law
Stanford Law School
University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law
University of Chicago Law School
University of Illinois College of Law
University of Iowa College of Law
University of Miami School of Law
University of Michigan Law School
University of Minnesota Law School
University of Notre Dame Law School
University of Pennsylvania Law School
University of Virginia School of Law
University of Wisconsin Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School
Washington University School of Law
Yale Law School

Pro bono

Sidley Austin's lawyers have won many awards for their pro bono work as has the firm itself. The firm urges its attorneys to do at least 60 hours of pro bono work and even counts up to 200 pro bono hours towards the attorney's bonus consideration, on the condition that the attorney has done 1,800 hours of billable work. The firm has set a goal for itself to devote three percent of its billing hours every year to pro bono work.

In 2011, attorneys at Sidley Austin, along with other legal staff at the firm, did almost 100,000 hours of pro bono work.

The firm is especially active in the civil rights area in its pro bono work. It has fought several cases before the Supreme Court through its Appellate practice group. One of the more recent cases was the Grutter v. Bollinger, in which the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action at University of Michigan's law school.

The firm offers its associates a fellowship program through which they can work at nonprofits in the community before they start working for the firm. The firm's NY office even allows its associates to take up this offer while working at the firm. The firm pays the associate a fellowship stipend or pays the salary of the fellows so that they can work at the chosen nonprofit for 10 weeks.

Legal Jobs in Chicago and Near Locations
Notable cases

Sidley Austin LLP Awards and Recognitions Write a review

Sidley Austin has received 56 first-tier national rankings in the U.S. News- Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" survey in the 2011-2012 survey, more than any other law firm.

The law firm has been awarded the "Best International Firm for Talent Management" by Euromoney Legal Media Group in its inaugural Americas Women in Business Law Awards.

Sidley Austin will be receiving the 2012 Access to Justice Award at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California' 18th Annual Law Luncheon on June 8.

Sidley Austin has been named the "Best Onshore Law Firm - Client Service" at the HFM Week European Hedge Fund Services Awards 2012.

Diversity Write a review

One-fifth of the firm's partners are women and almost half the associates are women. The firm has a very active approach towards promoting diversity in its ranks and has been recognized for its efforts by the legal community repeatedly over the years. The firm has a Diversity Committee which works to address a wide variety of inclusion and diversity issues.

Summer associate program

Sidley Austin runs a 10-week summer program in its U.S. offices. Students are expected to complete on an average 11 to 15 assignments and are expected to do six hours of billable activity every day. Even though the legal sector was hit by the general recession, Sidley Austin managed to offer its entire summer class of 2010 fulltime job offers. In 2011, the firm also doubled its intake of its summer class bringing it closer to its pre-recession number.

In 2012, the firm was paying its summer associates $3,100 per week in compensation.

Working for the Sidley Austin LLP
Sidley Austin has always carefully nurtured a collegiate environment where firm lawyers feel

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References


http://www.sidley.com/
http://www.lawfirmstats.com/
http://www.nalpdirectory.com/
http://www.wikipedia.org/