Ask Simpson Thacher Anything (26/27)

[KabsS]

Hi,

What is your SQE resit policy? If a candidate is due to resit, will their application be considered or is it an automatic bar? Can the candidates set out mitigating circumstances alongside their application?

Thank you!!

 

[Paul@SimpsonThacher]

Hi @tanvijhunjhunwala @Mace2121 @nataliatsikriktsi @Naomi.Onyekuru @Isabelle36 @Stacy Adei

You have all asked questions about the private equity training contract, so here is some further information:

The clearest way to describe the programme is that it combines the breadth of a rotational training contract with a deliberate focus on the private equity sector.

We tend not to define our programme by comparing it with training contracts at other firms, because what feels “different” or distinctive will depend on what each candidate is looking for. Instead, we encourage candidates to focus on what Simpson Thacher offers and whether that aligns with the career they want to build.

Our programme is a two-year rotational training contract designed specifically for people who are genuinely interested in developing a career in private equity. Trainees complete four six-month seat rotations across the practice areas that support the full private equity lifecycle. This means that, although the programme has a clear private equity focus, trainees still build a broad understanding of the different legal disciplines involved in sophisticated private capital transactions. Thorough training will be provided throughout the training contract.

Private equity is much broader than simply acquiring and selling companies. A transaction can involve raising a fund, financing an acquisition, completing the investment, supporting a portfolio company during the period of ownership and ultimately achieving an exit. We advise across that lifecycle, including on fund formation, investments, mergers and acquisitions, financing arrangements and exit transactions.

The training contract offers trainees the opportunity to understand private equity from several legal and commercial perspectives, rather than experiencing it through only one practice area. For someone who already has a strong and well-researched interest in private equity, it provides the chance to begin building that specialist career with real direction from day one.

I would encourage anyone considering the programme to explore the private equity section of our early careers website, think carefully about what interests them about the sector and consider whether the work, learning environment and career direction we offer are right for them.

I hope that explains a little more.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Christine - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett]

For @Ediz - Simpson Thacher or @Christine - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Simpson Thacher is known for supporting sponsors as private-capital markets evolve, which is reflected in the growth of its secondaries practice. When an area such as secondaries develops quickly, what does that look like from inside the Funds team? How does the team distinguish between a short-term increase in client demand and an area in which the firm should build deeper capability? Also, what does that mean for junior lawyers working in the practice? How do juniors experience that evolution?

The firm tends to keep an eye on what clients are asking for help with, what type of work is consistently coming in, and general market trends when considering hiring and what resources it needs. With secondaries specifically, when I started at STB, there were maybe one or two associates that focused on secondaries and so the team would work on both fundraises and secondaries as needed, which was great for getting exposure to different things. As STB has done more and more secondaries, it has made sense for there to be a dedicated secondaries team, but the general funds team may still get involved in secondaries, particularly at the junior level.

 

[BloomSutton]

Hi, I’m a law student on track for a 2:1 overall, but I have had to resit a module.

The reason for the resit is that I accidentally missed an assignment deadline, despite having completed the work. I don’t think this would qualify as mitigating circumstances.

Would having a module resit in these circumstances be a concern for graduate recruitment applications, or is it still worth applying?

Thanks!

 

[badmintonflyinginsect]

Hi, I'm an Oxbridge Law student with a low 2.1. Does this put me at a serious disadvantage?

 

[Konstantinos Chatzopoulos]

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

Hello Christine,

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions today. Could you explain some of the key differences in the transaction documents and legal work between a traditional PE acquisition and a secondary transaction, particularly a GP-led continuation fund? Are there any documents or issues that are particularly unique to secondaries?

Thank you

 

[sagekensuke]

Hi, just wanted to add to my initial question on large-cap funds. Do you think there is anything specific that enables Simpson Thacher to win the mandates for these big funds. Is it, for example, a product of very longstanding relationships due to the firm’s involvement in private equity from the beginning?

 

[Christine - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett]

On the funds side, how much of a new fund structure is genuinely bespoke to a sponsor's commercial priorities, versus built from an established market template with minor tweaks? I'm curious how much of the work is novel structuring versus applying precedent.

Whilst we may include wording on certain topics (e.g. confidentiality, transfers etc.) that is similar across the funds we see, on the commercial side, the terms are bespoke to that investor and would reflect their commercial objectives. However, where a fund has a number of previous vintages, it would be unusual to significantly deviate from the position in those vintages as there will often be investors in earlier funds that will look to invest in the new fund and will expect the terms to be largely the same.

 

[Hugo - Simpson Thacher]

Hi all! Just to introduce myself: I joined the banking and credit team as an associate in March 2026 and work primarily on fund finance. I studied law at Warwick and UCL and qualified through the SQE whilst working as a paralegal. Happy to take questions about our finance practice or about careers in general!

 

[Prakhar]

Hi everyone, thank you to the team at Simpson Thacher for taking the time to answer our questions.

Given that data centres and digital infrastructure are the fastest-growing segments within the real estate practice, is the firm proactively guiding junior associates toward estate and infrastructure in this sector? What does the learning curve look like, given the significant technical and commercial differences from conventional real estate or M&A work?

 

[ni2608]

Hi all! Just to introduce myself: I joined the banking and credit team as an associate in March 2026 and work primarily on fund finance. I studied law at Warwick and UCL and qualified through the SQE whilst working as a paralegal. Happy to take questions about our finance practice or about careers in general!

Hi Hugo, thanks for your time! STB talks a lot about being “at the heart of private equity from the beginning”, and I was interested in what that looks like from the fund finance side rather than just the more obvious M&A perspective. In your day-to-day work, how closely does fund finance interact with the wider private equity/private funds practice, and has anything about that relationship surprised you since joining the firm?

 

[Christine - Simpson Thacher & Bartlett]

Hi all! With very large funds, I imagine there can be a much greater number of stakeholders and more complex negotiations. Does that necessarily translate into more interesting work for junior lawyers, or can smaller fundraisings sometimes offer greater exposure to the substantive structuring and commercial decisions?

This is such a lawyer response, but it really depends on what you find interesting! With a larger fund, the juniors can really take responsibility for the process and get to know the nuts and bolts of a fundraise as well as getting involved with investor negotiations. With a smaller fund where the team is often leaner, juniors work across more of the tasks and issues that come up, but these may be less complex than where a sponsor has multiple different products that all interact. Associates in the funds team tend to work on a mix of different types of funds, so everyone gets exposure to a whole range of work.

 

[Mehbub]

Hi all, thanks for your time.

A question for @Paul@SimpsonThacher regarding the second VS application question, which asks how our extracurricular activities have helped us develop skills for a career in corporate law. Is full-time employment considered an ‘extracurricular activity’, or is this restricted to activities such as university societies and sports?

Many thanks.

 

[Dilraj - Simpson Thacher]

Given the firm's recent lateral hires in leveraged finance, has the day-to-day workflow or deal exposure for junior associates changed much over the past year or so?

Hi Neha - thanks for your question. The finance practice has expanded rapidly over the past couple of years and so juniors are exposed to a wider variety of finance transactions. The practice now comprises of fund finance, leveraged finance, private credit, infrastructure finance and special situations and so juniors are able to get involved a broad spectrum of financings. We are also encouraged not to "specialise" into one vertical too early allowing us to have a solid foundation of the various products.

 

[Paul@SimpsonThacher]

@Paul@SimpsonThacher

I completed Birkbeck's Certificate of Higher Education in Legal Studies, which allowed me to progress directly onto the LLB at Birkbeck, University of London instead of taking A levels. Would you recommend mentioning this in the mitigating circumstances section, or is there somewhere else in the application where I should explain it?

Thank you.

Hi - Thanks for the question. It's not a mitigating circumstance. You can enter this qualification as an A-Level equivalent in that section on the form.

 

[Paul@SimpsonThacher]

Hi all, thanks for your time.

A question for @Paul@SimpsonThacher regarding the second VS application question, which asks how our extracurricular activities have helped us develop skills for a career in corporate law. Is full-time employment considered an ‘extracurricular activity’, or is this restricted to activities such as university societies and sports?

Many thanks.

Hi @Mehbub - yes, anything that is not academic can be considered extra-curricular for this question.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Paul@SimpsonThacher]

Hi, I’m a law student on track for a 2:1 overall, but I have had to resit a module.

The reason for the resit is that I accidentally missed an assignment deadline, despite having completed the work. I don’t think this would qualify as mitigating circumstances.

Would having a module resit in these circumstances be a concern for graduate recruitment applications, or is it still worth applying?

Thanks!

Hi - yes, it's worth applying!

 

[Paul@SimpsonThacher]

@Paul@SimpsonThacher

Hi Paul, given that the training contract is specifically focused on private equity, to what extent do you expect applicants to have prior private equity experience? Is it more important to demonstrate a genuine understanding of and interest in the sector, even where someone’s previous legal experience has been in other practice areas?

Hi @Mace2121

Good question. We recognise that most students and recent graduates will not have had the opportunity to gain direct private equity experience, so this is certainly not something we expect applicants to have.

What is more important is that you have taken the time to understand private equity, can demonstrate a genuine interest in building a career in the sector, and can explain why this particular route appeals to you. We would encourage applicants to research the work, the clients and the broader commercial context so that they can articulate an informed and personal motivation for applying.

Experience in other legal practice areas can still be very valuable, particularly where you can reflect on the skills and insights you have gained and explain how these have shaped your interest in private equity. Ultimately, we are looking for potential, curiosity and a well-researched motivation, not a particular type of previous work experience.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Dilraj - Simpson Thacher]

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!

Hey - thanks for your question! When acting sponsor side, we're primarily concerned with ensuring that the borrower and the group has the flexibility to go about their general business with as few restrictions as possible whereas lenders seek to tighten the conditions before the group is able to do something i.e. make a further acquisition or pay a dividends etc. So it is the matter of finding the correct balance of flexibility/restriction, and we will assess the borrowing strength of the group to guide those decisions, when we are acting both lender or sponsor side.

Working on both sides has definitely influenced how we advise sponsor clients. We are able to anticipate certain issues that may be raised by lender counsel (having been in their position) and address them pre-emptively.

 

[Paul@SimpsonThacher]

Hi Paul, thank you for being here again. My question is specifically for applicants who have qualified in another jurisdiction and are currently undertaking postgraduate studies in the UK.


On the vacation scheme application form, are we able to include extracurricular activities from our undergraduate studies and prior legal training, even where these took place several years ago? And in terms of how we present them, do you prefer applicants to go into depth on a select few activities or to cover a broader range briefly, highlighting the skills gained from each?


Thank you.
Ejiro Ayara

Hi @Winifred

Yes, absolutely. We're interested in understanding the experiences that have helped shape you, so if extracurricular activities from your undergraduate studies or previous legal training are relevant and demonstrate skills, achievements, or interests that are important to your application, you should feel free to include them, even if they took place several years ago.

In terms of how you present them, there's no single right approach. Some candidates choose to focus on a smaller number of experiences and discuss them in greater depth, while others highlight a broader range of activities more concisely. Both approaches can work well.

Ultimately, we're much more interested in the quality of the examples and the reflection behind them than the number of activities listed.

Thanks,

Paul