San Francisco Summer Program

See Yourself at Sidley. Take a Virtual Tour of our San Francisco office.

Established in 1971, Sidley’s office in San Francisco helps innovation-driven clients succeed in the increasingly competitive marketplace. Our partners comprise market-leading practitioners across the range of core disciplines important to companies in the region. We also harness the resources and experience of practices from the firm’s global reach, which encompasses 21 offices in the U.S. (including Palo Alto), Europe, and Asia.

Our litigation practice is expansive and encompasses matters involving antitrust, complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, patent litigation, and white collar defense. We also have a robust transactional practice that handles financings, mergers and acquisitions, technology transactions, hedge funds and other investment entities, and securitization.

Being a part of the San Francisco office affords you the opportunity to work in a small, close-knit environment while enjoying the resources and support of a large global firm.

Work Assignments

San Francisco summer associates perform work that otherwise would be handled by associates and have the flexibility to sample projects from a variety of practice areas. As a summer associate, you will be able to gain hands-on experience and demonstrate your skills on legal projects for Sidley clients. You may also have the chance to observe or participate in client conferences, negotiations, witness interviews, depositions, and court hearings.

Summer associates interested in transactional practice groups will be introduced to a variety of work including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, technology IP transactions, preparing for closings, assisting deal teams with securitizations, and other transactions. You will get a firsthand look at how a deal team works and how our lawyers devise creative and practical solutions to issues and problems that arise in today’s complex financing and business environment.

Summer associates interested in litigation practice groups will have the opportunity to work on substantive assignments that range from research, deposition outlines, and witness prep and drafting motions and briefs. You may also get to see our lawyers in action by observing court hearings and depositions.

Professional Development

We provide summer associates numerous opportunities to learn and develop their professional skills. Each summer associate will be paired with a partner and counsel or associate mentor, and will receive a mid-summer review and formal review at the end of the summer program. Formal training programs include a writing workshop, drafting workshop, mock negotiation exercise, networking tips program, and practice area discussions.

Summer Life

An important part of your summer experience is building relationships with members of the firm. Throughout the summer, you will be invited to a mix of social and networking events, and to participate in office-wide programming. Our summer associates will also be able to attend practice-specific presentations and other educational workshops. We give you a chance to get to know our lawyers and your fellow summer associates both professionally and personally.

As a summer associate in San Francisco, your calendar might include activities like:

• Enjoying America’s favorite pastime with a night out cheering for the San Francisco Giants
• Taking in the natural beauty of the Bay Area while kayaking and/or hiking
• Enjoying a night at the theater with Broadway’s finest
• Getting a taste of one of the country’s top food cities at lunches, happy hours and dinners with associates and partners
• Learning how to create a delicious meal with cooking classes led by professional chefs
• Getting those creative juices flowing with a professional artist during Paint Night
• Sweating it out with group fitness classes including Barry’s Bootcamp