Why Sidley

More than 150 years after the founding of our firm, Sidley today comprises a diverse group of legal professionals from many cultures who are dedicated to teamwork, collaboration and superior client service. Forging enduring relationships with the business community, while remaining attuned to the dynamic legal landscape, we understand and work to fulfill the needs of our global clients. We are proud to serve this varied and high-caliber group of market leaders, many of whom are pioneers in their respective industries and professions.

Leadership in Law

The firm has built a reputation for successfully representing clients on complex transactional, regulatory and litigation matters spanning a range of legal areas. From our offices in the commercial, financial and regulatory centers of the world, we harness our knowledge to provide thoughtful advice for the myriad legal and business challenges that our clients face.

Committed to Positive Change

We strongly believe in creating opportunities for people of all backgrounds by retaining and promoting outstanding lawyers who reflect the global marketplace and communities that we serve. Our dedication to achieving greater diversity and inclusivity extends beyond our firm to the legal profession as a whole. We are passionate about making a meaningful impact by fostering positive change in many ways. Through our six firmwide pro bono projects, our lawyers and staff devote more than 100,000 hours annually to pro bono work, playing a vital role in people’s lives around the world. In addition, we partner with several charitable organizations as part of our corporate responsibility program, enabling our professionals to contribute their talents to a variety of volunteer projects that benefit communities in need.

Sidley has always understood that increasingly complex legal needs require a deeply integrated, collaborative approach. That understanding forms the basis of our commitment: an uncompromising dedication to top-tier talent, seamlessly connected by teamwork, focused on delivering successful results when and where our clients need them most.

We have long fostered a culture of collegiality and genuine respect that supports internal cooperation and rewards outstanding work. Our seasoned lawyers place a premium on collaboration, lending you assistance and experience on high-profile projects that can span multiple offices and practice areas.

Ultimately, we believe our culture sets us apart from many other law firms and will enhance the development and career satisfaction of you and your colleagues alike.

Associates are the future of the firm, and we are deeply invested in their success. At Sidley, associates at every level are encouraged to be visible within the firm and to challenge themselves every day. You will be pushed to cultivate detail, precision and nuance in your legal analytical skills while building deep knowledge of clients’ businesses. You will work side by side with partners on high-profile matters and have close client contact.

Compensation and Benefits

We offer associates an attractive and competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package that provides a variety of choices to meet our lawyers’ needs.

Benefits for associates include:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• 401(k) plan
• Flexible spending account program
• Disability, life and AD&D insurance
• Student loan refinancing resources
• Travel assistance program
• Relocation reimbursement
• Commuter benefits
• Bar association fees
• Periodic seminars on topics like hiring childcare and eldercare providers
• Support for nursing mothers through our Milk Stork program
• Fully equipped private workrooms for nursing mothers

Work-Life Benefits

Sidley provides a variety of benefits to help lawyers better manage their work and personal lives. These include subsidized backup child and eldercare, an employee assistance program, working parent career coaching, healthcare advocacy services, well-being initiatives and programming, a wellness program, and reduced schedules in which lawyers stay on the partnership track.

Parental Leave

The firm is committed to supporting our lawyers during significant life events, including the birth or adoption of a child. The firm provides up to 14 weeks of paid parental leave following the birth (including surrogacy) or adoption of a child. This paid parental leave is in addition to any applicable disability leave and is supplemented by concrete support for those entering or returning from leave, including up to 20 weeks of reduced schedules upon return from parental leave.

Sidley’s pro bono program is as varied as our commercial practice. We consider every one of our pro bono matters important, whether they are of local, national or global significance. We have six firmwide initiatives that expand our impact around the globe: the Capital Litigation Project; the Political Asylum and Immigrants’ Rights Project; the Veterans Advocacy Project; the Constitutional Rights and Civil Liberties Project; the Pro Bono Project for the Arts; and the Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program.

In addition to the work we do through our firmwide initiatives, we are proud of the diverse pro bono services we provide to address the critical legal needs of our neighbors and neighborhoods. We work on issues of national importance that bring our lawyers to the U.S. Supreme Court to advocate for human rights, and our international pro bono work is providing critical legal support to developing countries.

Becoming a successful lawyer and building a rewarding career means developing superior legal skills — and much more. Sidley provides the training and support to help you get there.

Through a robust professional-development curriculum, you will have access to comprehensive continuing education, skills training and career-development resources. Offerings include:

• Hands-on training for summer associates
• Tailored programming for new associates
• Ongoing substantive legal training by practice area
• Workshops and one-on-one coaching on critical skills, including writing, professional presence and presentation, and business development
• Finance and accounting training
• Firmwide conferences for new associates and mid-level associates
• Career-development workshops
• Management and leadership workshops
• Skill-building pro bono matters
• Structured learning-by-observation opportunities
• Online resources, including hundreds of recorded Sidley training sessions, plus valuable external resources, such as webcasts, podcasts, annotated documents and practice notes
• A centralized repository of current in-house job openings for those looking to continue their careers beyond the firm
• Built to Lead^® – Sidley’s associate development program

Sidley has been recognized as a “LearningElite” organization by Chief Learning Officer magazine every year since the award’s inception in 2011. Sidley is the first law firm to achieve this distinction, and the law firm with the most honors, including four Top 10 rankings in that time. The LearningElite is a peer-reviewed benchmarking program that recognizes the best in learning and development among global organizations.

We are dedicated to making a lasting difference in people’s lives. Through our Social Responsibility Program, our professionals apply their talents to projects that benefit people in the diverse cities in which we live and work. Together with local corporate partners, we participate in a variety of projects, some of which include mentoring students and promoting literacy programs; empowering women to pursue their career goals; and supporting food pantries and shelters that serve struggling families. In dedicating ourselves to such volunteerism, we hope to foster greater compassion and collegiality in communities around the world.