Ask Simpson Thacher Anything (26/27)

[nataliatsikriktsi]

Hi,
You emphasise that trainees will experience the full private equity lifecycle ‘from the beginning’. How would that work in practice? Has Simpson Thacher implemented any structures to ensure trainees are genuinely involved from an early stage?

 

[Naomi.Onyekuru]

Hi all,
Thank you for your time!
I just have a few questions.
1. Now that the training contract is brand new, what do you think the rotational structure gets right that a more traditional generalist TC misses for someone who already knows they want PE?
2. I noticed the firm advised Blackstone on the £lbn warehouse portfolio sale to Tritax Big Box last October, for a trainee, what does exposure on a deal of that size actually look like day to day, versus what you'd expect?

 

[takaxkatak]

I was also wondering about Simpson Thacher's reputation for private equity, what distinguishes the way the firm approaches private equity work from simply being a firm that does a lot of private equity transactions?

 

[Megan027]

Hi, thank you for your time. I came across multiple work that the firm has done for Blackstone across real estate, funds and portfolio acquisitions, I was wondering what considerations do PE lawyers have when looking at commercial news? Also, what about the work has stood out to you in your careers at the firm, making you consolidate your careers at STB.

 

[phoenix11_]

Hi everyone! Thank you for this opportunity to ask you some questions!

1. When you read or hear a candidate explain why Simpson Thacher is their first choice, what makes you believe that they genuinely understand the firm rather than simply repeating things they’ve read on the website?
2. If you were advising someone applying for the vacation scheme now, what would you encourage them to understand about private equity before they come to interview?
3. Who tends to thrive at Simpson Thacher?
4. If you were supervising a vacation-scheme student for two weeks, what would make you think, ‘I would genuinely want this person on my team’?
5. With the private equity market changing, particularly around financing conditions, secondaries, continuation vehicles and more complex deal structures, what change has most affected the work you’re doing as a lawyer

Thank you for your answers in advance!

 

[tldrba]

Hey, everyone, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! My question is specifically for Hugo. I can see that you qualified at STB after being a paralegal there for some time. What did that route teach you that you would want the first trainee cohort to replicate?

 

[yamini_iyer]

Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.
1. Simpson Thacher is known for working on very high-value PE deals. What do you find most challenging about working on these deals?
2. What is something about Simpson Thacher's approach to PE that you only really appreciated after joining and that you would not have understood from researching the firm online?

 

[lois.boothby]

Hey Christine! In the Investments Funds Team in the London office, what aspects of advising private equity sponsors have you found most commercially challenging, and how does Simpson Thatcher help develop the judgement needed to navigate this?

 

[vacattack]

Hi again, I also had two questions for Christine and Dilraj about how their practices operate in different contexts.

@Christine - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett , I noticed that you worked on Oakley Capital’s investment in Steer Automotive as part of the Funds team. What issues bring a funds lawyer into an acquisition, and how does that work differ from a conventional fundraise?

@Dilraj - Simpson Thacher , I noticed that you have acted on both sponsor-side and lender-side acquisition financings. What changes most in how you assess a deal when you switch sides, and has working on both sides influenced how you advise sponsor clients?

Thank you for your time!

 

[takaxkatak]

This is a question for Hugo and Dilraj from the banking & credit team.

From what I understand, Simpson Thacher's banking and credit practice works particularly closely with private equity clients. How does being part of a firm so deeply embedded in private equity change the way a banking and credit lawyer approaches a transaction?

 

[tan1963]

A further question is how has the current fundraising environment for private equity sponsors changed the type of work coming into the Investment Funds team over the last year?

 

[Valentina Chieppa]

Hi everyone, and thank you so much for this opportunity. I have two questions about STB's Training Contract:

1. if a trainee completed seats in both Investment Funds and Finance, which complementary capabilities would you expect them to develop from each seat?

2. in your experience, what would distinguish a lawyer trained through Simpson Thacher’s PE-focused model from someone who completed a broader generalist training contract?

 

[Nizca]

Hi,

I wanted to know what Trainees can expect in terms of support once they get accepted at STB? The US offices have the STBReady programme, but what can UK trainees expect? Thank you!Hi everyone,

A big welcome to the team at Simpson Thacher, who are live in the forum right now to answer your questions.

We are joined by:

• Paul Gascoyne, Associate Director, Early Careers
• Ediz Osman, Associate in the Investment Funds Team
• Christine MacVicar, Associate in the Investment Funds Team
• Hugo Yeung, Associate in the Banking & Credit Team
• Dilraj Rai, Associate in the Banking & Credit Team

Please use this thread to ask any questions you have about what it's like to work at Simpson Thacher, the application process, or anything in between.

Best,
Jays

 

[praveena_k]

Hi all! Thank you very much for your time. I am interested in the firm’s Investment Funds practice and would love to hear from @Ediz - Simpson Thacher and @Christine - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett about what drew them to the team, a particularly challenging matter they have worked on and how the first team of trainees would contribute.

Thank you.

Best wishes,
Praveena.

 

[theodoreaspiringlawyer]

Hi, my question is for Paul Gascoyne.

For those who applied to the open day, but were unsuccessful, would you recommend diverting time to other firms as our profiles perhaps aren't strong enough? Given that open days are easier to obtain than a vacation scheme?

What do you think?
Thank you

 

[Christine - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett]

Good morning everyone!

Thank you for being interested in applying to STB.

As a bit of background, I am an Associate in the Funds team in London, with 3 years' PQE. The team works on the GP/Sponsor side of fund formation, advising clients on the formation of their funds and negotiating with investors looking to participate in those funds. Private equity funds are the team’s bread and butter, but we do also work on private credit and retail funds and have a growing part of the team focussed on secondaries.

I trained at Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman), having made a career change after working in compliance for a number of years. I studied Classics at university, so rest assured you do not need to have studied law or gone straight into a training contract from university!

Happy to answer any questions you might have about STB.

Best,
Christine

 

[yujincho0869]

Hi,

For candidates who are unable to complete the vacation scheme with the firm due to legal restrictions (e.g. currently working at a different company under a work visa sponsorship), are there any other methods of applying to Simpson Thacher's training contract?

 

[Nizca]

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.

I wanted to know more about what UK trainees can expect in terms of support once they receive a TC from STB? The US offices have STBReady but what can UK trainees expect? Thanks!

 

[takaxkatak]

When you think about the skills that distinguish a really strong junior corporate lawyer not just technical legal knowledge... what do you think matters most when working on a demanding transaction or generally the work that you do?

 

[Stella0328]

Hi everyone, thank you for your time to answer questions. I have the following questions:
1. Simpson Thacher describes its training contract as giving trainees an understanding of the full private equity lifecycle. In practice, where do you think trainees most clearly see the advantage of Simpson advising sponsors across areas such as M&A, financing and funds, rather than approaching each transaction in isolation?
2. Because this is Simpson Thacher’s first London training contract, what have partners been able to design differently from a more established City training model?
3. When you read applications, what distinguishes someone who is genuinely motivated by private equity from someone who has simply researched the sector well?