Overview
Introduction
Known best for its extensive experience in labor and employment, Seyfarth Shaw is a big firm that offers its lawyers tremendous opportunities to take the reins. Friendly colleagues and the opportunity to work on cutting-edge matters create a team-oriented atmosphere and a supportive environment for attorneys to develop their careers. Attorneys seeking a firm that offers a unique combination of autonomy and collaboration will fit in well here.
Firm Stats
Total No. Attorneys (2024)
No. of Partners Named (2024)
Featured Rankings
No. of 1st Year Associates Hired (2024)
No. of Summer Associates (2024)
Base Salary
Vault Verdict
From humble beginnings in Chicago as a law firm focused on labor and employment law to a full-service firm with 18 offices worldwide, Seyfarth is a great place for associates. Small class sizes mean that hiring is competitive, and a premium is placed on academic achievement and prior work experience. Coworkers are pleasant and welcoming but professional and very work-oriented. Associates find partners to be approachable, candid with feedback, and committed to associates’ professional development. Partners and senior associates are great mentors, and the firm supplements hands-on learning with monthly CLEs and department-specific training events. Seyfarth seems to hire laterals frequently, and they are integrated appropriately. Associates can take on challenging work assignments an...
About the Firm
Seyfarth Shaw is home to more than 900 lawyers across 17 offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and China. Although it is highly regarded for its labor and employment practice, this full-service firm advises clients on a broad range of legal issues including litigation, tax, immigration, corporate, real estate, and employee benefits. The firm operates with a distinctive client service model called SeyfarthLean incorporating the Lean Six Sigma method into its practice.
Chi-town Trio
Seyfarth Shaw’s labor and employment roots run deep. The firm was founded in Chicago in 1945 by Henry E. Seyfarth, Lee C. Shaw, and Owen Fairweather as a labor and employment firm. Its attorneys helped draft the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and built strong practices in labor arbitration and pe...
2025 Vault Rankings
Associate Reviews
- “We are friendly. Some of us are very good friends. It's enjoyable in the office. We frequently have firm happy hours, lunches, and voluntary weekend family events.”
- “Everyone interacts quite pleasantly and politely. There are lawyers who socialize with one another on an individual basis. The firm-sponsored social events are typically well-attended.”
- “Seyfarth is a very friendly firm. The in-office environment is collegial among attorneys and between attorneys and staff. The firm also does a good job of connecting attorneys between offices.”
- “The firm takes building a collegial culture seriously. Each office varies, but there are a lot of social opportunities, and people are nice and friendly. There is not much hierarchy or pulling rank between lawyers and staff.”
Diversity at Seyfarth
Getting Hired Here
- “In order to avoid culling a large associate class and ensure that associates have long-term prospects at the firm, hiring is relatively competitive, and we do not hire large associate classes. Associates are hired into practice groups, so we prioritize collegiality and prior exposure to transactional or industry-related work alongside the normal requirements for good grades and typical law school credentials.”
- “Prior work experience, personality, and diversity are the most important. I've seen no preferences formally or informally expressed as to law school attended, grades, or journal experience. There is no formal training for interviews, but associates early in their careers regularly participate in interviews of new attorneys and staff where the post-interview assessment process plays a role as on-the-job training.”
- “Seyfarth primarily hires laterals, so substantive experience tends to be more important than school or grades.”
- “The firm values good grades and past work experience.”
Perks & Benefits