Pros
The friends made who were on the same ship of misery as I was.
Cons
By far the worst big law firm that I ever worked at. The pay is far less than the market rate, the support staff seems worn down after probably being abused and left in fear for years, and the partners are as selfish and maniacal as one would expect from Big Law. Do not trust anyone at Shearman. It's a cut throat environment where they'll pull the rug out from underneath you at anytime. Each practice area has a ridiculously ambiguous review mechanism tool that they use to push employees (especially associates) away so they don't have to pay their bonus because their getting a fresh crop of financially overburdened new associates the following year. Don't rely on the fake glassdoor posts that HR probably paid people to leave on this page or the Shearman website filled with propaganda of growth and a sustainable future. For every Attorney that they bring into the firm at least three attorneys are laid off and left without a means to survive.