New York secondment story

I am currently spending a year at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett ("STB") in the corporate department of the firm’s New York office. The office is very well located and easy to get to from pretty much anywhere in Manhattan - it is opposite Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building, and close to the UN and the Empire State Building. Walking to work as the sun rises, I pass through Times Square and the Rockefeller Centre (stopping to watch a bit of Good Morning America being filmed live) before getting to my office in a typical skyscraper.

STB has a large "International Associates" programme, which involves lawyers from Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and China, as well as other UK firms, so I have been introduced not only to New York and its legal system, but also to the laws and legal systems of these other countries. The International Group organises a lot of social events (which the US lawyers also join), many of which are connected with the home country of a particular international associate, so we get as near to an authentic cross-cultural experience as possible!

With over 800 attorneys, the STB corporate department is vast. It is divided into M&A, Securities and Financing, and international associates have the opportunity to work in each group. My main focus has been on private equity M&A, where clients tend to be very sophisticated and sure of what they are doing. Deals get done (or undone) quickly, so the pace of work is fast.

When not working, Manhattan at night is awesome, with so much going on all the time. And so, all in all, being seconded to New York is fantastic.

• Emma Walton
• Associate secondment