BEST TRAINING PRINCIPAL – BEN PERRY
someone watching over you making sure that you get the right experience.” The London office currently has a legal staff of around 80, made up of English, US and dual-qualified lawyers. Another bonus of this bijou size is the ability to take a nimble approach to decision making, as Ben explains: “We don’t have to overly formalise what we do; rather, we can observe how things run day to day. You can see what comes from that and change as necessary.” Both Abby and Victor have enjoyed close interaction with partners throughout their training – another corollary of a small office, which allows for a non-hierarchical set-up and working philosophy. “Partner mentorship is the most important part of the training contract experience here,” emphasises Victor. “The number of junior lawyers within any one department is low, so partner contact is high. There is a great willingness among the partners to teach and take a long-term view to our development. I had a great experience in the project finance/leveraged finance team, where both partners took their role as mentors very seriously. I was involved with every one of their matters, and there was never a sense that they were inventing things to keep me busy or that I was being shunted off out of the way. And there are all manner of different lawyering styles in the office to observe up close – they’re all successful in different ways, so there is no lack of role models. They are top- quality lawyers and people!” Abby concurs: “My first supervisor was great to work with; she explained things clearly and was a great source of support. I now share an office with a partner in my second seat and we work very closely; we talk every day about the things I’m working on, he lets me have a go at everything, and is happy for me to listen in on his calls. It’s a great way to understand how things work in terms of what clients expect of you and the level of advice you need to give. Trainees also get pulled onto all kinds of deal because these are
small teams, and we work closely with associates and partners – there’s not a massive chain of superiority. Many of my LPC friends get a lot of direct contact with junior associates at their firms, but less so with partners.” Kirsten adds: “Senior supervisors provide mentoring advice from day one and that is in place throughout the training contract. Because we’re a small office and there is a genuine open-door policy, anybody can go to speak to anyone. We want to bring out the best in our trainees.” Part of that imperative is making trainees feel part of the firm from the point of hire – often some two years in advance of their start date. “I stayed in regular contact with Kirsten throughout my GDL and LPC, including her regularly checking in to see how I was doing,” recalls Abby. “My intake was all on the LPC together, so that was an opportunity to get to know each other really well and made the first day at the firm much less intimidating.” There can be no doubt that the first couple of weeks in any firm can be daunting, but at Sullivan & Cromwell this is mitigated by a comprehensive induction process,
which features a week in New York – surely the envy of many new trainees across the City. Abby reflects: “I felt completely happy and confident when I started; we had a week of training in the London office and then went to New York for orientation week, with the new worldwide intake of associates and trainees. It was very exciting!” “We offer an extensive induction process, which dovetails with orientation in New York for all new starters,” adds Ben. “That has a great intangible benefit because it really helps the trainees feel part of the wider firm. I know this because I was lucky enough to do it when I joined!” He goes on to explain how the first couple of months are then structured in such a way as to ease the new recruits into the world of work: “The key thing is for them to find their feet with their supervisors and settle into the daily routine of actual work. The temptation is to offer day-long swathes of training, but it’s at a point when they are already overwhelmed, so we prefer to let them get stuck into work. Alongside their supervisors, there is also a strong informal support network among the other trainees and junior associates, which builds naturally.”
Ben takes the time to talk things through and explain things – his door is literally always open!
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