Sidley Austin LLP

Overview

Sidley Austin LLP is a large, global full-service US law firm with a long heritage and a reputation for handling complex, international transactional, regulatory and litigation matters. The firm emphasises integrated, cross-office teamwork on multijurisdictional deals and disputes and positions itself as adviser to market-leading businesses, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Sidley presents a strong associate development and learning offer (Built to Lead/Built to Succeed) and a London office that combines international work with a collegial, meritocratic environment.

• Lawyers: 2,300+ (as stated on the firm's website)
• Trainees: 19
• Offices: 21

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Energy & Natural Resources
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Sports Law
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Investment Funds
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Corporate & M&A
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Tax
• International Arbitration
• ESG & Sustainability
• Financial Services & Regulation

Geographic Focus: Strong presence in major international financial, commercial and regulatory centres — notably London and Geneva in Europe — supported by a global network of offices across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The firm focuses on cross-border, multijurisdictional mandates and leverages coordinated teams across its 21 offices to handle international trade, capital markets, finance, life sciences and complex disputes.

Training Contract

London trainees are recruited primarily from the firm’s vacation schemes and spend time in at least four practice groups during their training contract. Each seat is supervised by a partner or associate and supplemented by a structured timetable of cross-subject training. Final-seat trainees are eligible to apply for three-month pro bono fellowship secondments before qualifying. The programme emphasises early responsibility, international experience on multijurisdictional matters and a flexible, merit-based approach to how much work a trainee can undertake in each seat.

• Starting Salary: £60,000 (first year trainee salary)
• NQ Salary: £175,000 (newly qualified associate salary)
• Trainee Intake: 19
• Academic Requirements: Minimum A-level requirement: AAA; minimum degree expectation: 2:1 (the firm states it looks for AAA at A-level and anticipates at least a 2:1). The firm considers mitigating circumstances and uses the Rare Contextual Recruitment System.

Seat Options

• Banking & Finance
• Capital Markets
• Energy & Natural Resources
• Infrastructure & Projects
• Sports Law
• Global Finance
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Investment Funds
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation
• Corporate & M&A
• Private Equity & Venture Capital
• Regulatory & Compliance
• Insolvency & Restructuring
• Tax

Sponsorship

Financial assistance is provided for the PGDL conversion course and for SQE preparation: the firm covers course fees and provides an annual maintenance grant of £20,000 for PGDL studies and £20,000 for SQE studies. The London Undergraduate Bursary provides a £3,500 award on commencement of a 2027 law degree (paid in three instalments) with potential renewal in subsequent years conditional on attainment and engagement.

SQE Support

The firm provides financial assistance for SQE preparation courses: course fees covered and an annual maintenance grant of £20,000 for SQE studies.

International Opportunities

Trainees have the opportunity to apply for international secondments and to work on multijurisdictional matters; Geneva and other European, US and Asia‑Pacific offices are involved in cross-office matters and Geneva roles describe collaboration with Sidley offices across Europe, the United States and Asia‑Pacific. (Supplementary data indicates chances of secondment abroad ~7%.)

Client Secondments

Ad hoc client secondments are available; (supplementary data indicates chances of client secondment ~7%).

Mentorship

Each trainee seat is supervised by a partner or associate; trainees are paired with supervisors for individual training. Bursary recipients are paired with a current trainee solicitor as a mentor/buddy. The firm also runs trainee networks and formal training timetables.

Apply on the Sidley Austin LLP website →

Programmes & Schemes

What Sidley Austin LLP Looks For

Key Competencies

• Commercial awareness
• Analytical ability and attention to detail
• Teamwork and interpersonal skills
• Drive, initiative and perseverance
• Leadership potential and maturity
• Communication skills and client interaction

Evidence Signals

• Strong academic record (minimum expectations: AAA at A‑level and a 2:1 degree)
• Relevant commercial or practice-specific experience (e.g., international trade/arbitration experience for Geneva roles)
• Pro bono and community engagement (mentoring, PRIME participation)
• Leadership or demonstrable initiative (student societies, projects)
• Participation in structured vacation schemes, summer associate programmes or scholarship applications (Built to Succeed)
• International exposure or languages for cross-border practice

Benefits & Wellbeing

• Trainee salary: £60,000 (Year 1) and £65,000 (Year 2)
• Newly qualified salary: £175,000
• PGDL grant / maintenance: £20,000
• SQE grant / maintenance: £20,000
• London Undergraduate bursary: £3,500 initial payment (three instalments)
• Visa sponsorship for vacation scheme applicants who require a visa to work in the UK
• Paid community investment days: up to two days per year for London personnel
• Market-leading benefits package (link to full benefits)
• Medical, dental and vision coverage (noted on US benefits pages)
• Parental leave and return-to-work support (US parental leave details provided on US benefits page)
• Relocation reimbursement and commuter benefits (US benefits noted)
• Access to extensive learning & development resources and leadership programmes

Wellbeing

Employee assistance programmes, well‑being initiatives and programming, mentoring and inclusion events; US offices provide Headspace access and other wellness supports. London runs environmental and CSR groups and allows two community investment days.

Awards & Recognition

• Recognised as a LearningElite organisation by Chief Learning Officer magazine every year since the award’s inception in 2011 (firm has multiple top rankings).
• Legal 500: 27 ranked practice areas; Tier 1 ranking for Worldwide Capital Markets.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Sidley promotes inclusive recruitment and invests in mentoring, training and affinity initiatives; it uses contextual recruitment tools and scholarship programmes to widen access. The firm also commits significant pro bono hours globally through firmwide projects.

• Two global inclusion committees with direct lines to the Management and Executive Committees
• Inclusion at Sidley / 'One Firm, Many Voices' initiatives
• Environmental Awareness Group (London)
• YMCA London City and North five-year flagship charity partnership (London)
• PRIME Commitment work experience week (London)
• Rare Contextual Recruitment System used in selection
• Built to Succeed / Built to Lead scholarship programmes aimed at diverse leadership
• Pro Bono Fellowships and firmwide pro bono initiatives

Pro Bono

Firmwide pro bono programme with six named firmwide initiatives (Capital Litigation Project; Political Asylum and Immigrants’ Rights Project; Veterans Advocacy Project; Constitutional Rights and Civil Liberties Project; Pro Bono Project for the Arts; Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program). The firm states lawyers and staff devote more than 100,000 hours annually to pro bono work. London trainees are encouraged to engage in pro bono from day one and final-seat trainees may apply for a three-month pro bono fellowship secondment.

Innovation

Sidley invests heavily in learning and development and leadership programmes (Built to Lead, extensive recorded and live training). The firm uses assessment tools (Suited) in recruiting and publishes related audit results; trainees and associates access structured skills training, online learning resources and firmwide conferences.

• Built to Lead® associate development programme
• Built to Succeed® Scholarship and Foundations programming
• Sidley Learning & Development (centralised recorded training repository, webcasts, podcasts)
• Use of the Suited Assessment in recruiting (AEDT audit published)

Quick Application Angles

• Highlight international experience and an interest in multijurisdictional work — Sidley stresses cross-office, international matters (London and Geneva roles explicitly mention global collaboration).
• If eligible, reference the firm's PGDL/SQE support and maintenance grants (£20,000 each) or the London bursary when applying — these concrete programmes show the firm’s investment in widening access.
• Target your vacation scheme application: Sidley recruits most trainees from its vacation schemes (around 19 training places), so treat scheme applications as the primary route into a training contract and prepare for partner/counsel 1:1 interviews.
• Demonstrate commercial curiosity and client-facing skills — the firm values candidates who are 'genuinely intrigued by the commercial world' and can interact with clients; use examples of teamwork and real commercial insight.
• For Geneva or arbitration roles, emphasise specific technical experience (WTO/international trade, international arbitration or EU/ESG law) and strong written English — Geneva trainee adverts call for exceptional academic results and practice‑specific exposure.