Overview
Introduction
Reed Smith LLP is the perfect fit for associates who want to take on challenging legal work in a laid-back, welcoming environment. Partners are active mentors, and on-the-job training is supplemented with courses through the firm’s learning and development programs. The social sphere encompasses all 13 international offices and 18 domestic offices, and attorneys work side-by-side regardless of their locations. Reed Smith takes the responsibility of advising some of the largest companies in the world.
Firm Stats
Total No. Attorneys (2024)
No. of Partners Named (2023)
Featured Rankings
No. of 1st Year Associates Hired (2023)
No. of Summer Associates (2024)
Base Salary
Vault Verdict
Years with multiple mergers have made Reed Smith a major legal player where associates do high-quality work with engaged partners. Hiring focuses on academic prowess and work experience, as well as proximity to the hiring office. Coworkers are supportive, approachable, pleasant, and respectful of personal lives, making work-life balance possible. Respect also describes associate/partner interactions, as partners are interested in associate development. Assigned associates and partner mentors, along with vigorous formal training programs, ensure that associates learn and grow as attorneys. Laterals are appropriately integrated and quickly given work. Associates lead on interesting, challenging projects, and they’re encouraged to take on additional responsibilities as they’re ready....
About the Firm
A Pittsburgh firm with ties to the city’s industrial kingpins, Reed Smith LLP joined the crowd in globalizing its practice via international mergers in the 21st century. With litigation at the forefront, the firm’s practice strengths include cross-border transactional and regulatory work.
Steel City Origins
Reed Smith’s rise to prominence can be at least partly credited to a symbiotic relationship with an American industrial tycoon. Attorney James Reed, who founded the firm with Philander Knox in 1877, cultivated strong relationships with the one man most responsible for giving the Steel City its blue-collar identity: Andrew Carnegie. In addition to leading the firm’s representation of Carnegie at the peak of his empire-building, Reed served as a charter director of Carnegie’s U.S. Ste...
2025 Vault Rankings
Associate Reviews
- “The firm's culture is one of its best features. The attorneys are generally wholesome and respect work-life balance. Working on the weekends is rare depending on the circumstances of your cases and is not a default expectation. Partners and senior associates seem to care about our well-being and ensuring that the firm is meeting our expectations personally and professionally.”
- “I think our culture is excellent. Attorneys support each other and socialize at firm-sponsored and non-firm-sponsored events. One thing that I think really emphasizes our culture is that almost every time I get an assignment I am first asked if I have the time/capacity to take it on. There's something really great about being a junior and being given that autonomy and respect in each assignment.”
- “Everyone is extremely approachable and friendly. I have not had a single negative interaction yet. I think most people here respect your life outside of law and are interested in helping you stay happy and motivated.”
- “Firm culture is generally positive. Many attorneys are friends both inside and outside the office. Post-pandemic has been challenging with a slow return to office, but the in-office culture among those who attend is positive.”
Diversity at Reed Smith LLP
Getting Hired Here
- “The firm is likely looking for someone with excellent academic credentials and/or experience in a relevant field.”“
- “Reed Smith is interested in competitive, intellectually curious individuals who want to grow as lawyers. While there may be local schools that each office considers more when recruiting, there does not seem to be designated feeder schools. The firm does provide guidance to anyone conducting an interview.”
- “Depends on the office. Ours does a lot with the local community and likes the summer class to be a mix of students from local and top law schools.”
- “The firm hires from local law schools and not the T14.”
Perks & Benefits