All corporate and tax associates are assigned an associate and a partner advisor when they arrive at the firm. For first-year associates, the primary advising relationship is with an associate advisor. Second year and more senior associates participate periodically in a formal advising program with their partner advisor. This formal program includes an orientation session and regular individual and confidential meetings about career and practice development issues with the partner advisor where the agenda is set primarily by the associate.

Litigation associates in the firm’s New York office have individual associate and partner advisors and are also assigned to advising groups with partners, counsel and associates at all levels of seniority. The advising groups host discussion meetings on professional development topics and enjoy social activities.

After the third year, the firm expects that most associates will have formed one or more advising relationships—through the formal and informal programs and/or through work assignments—so that at this stage of associates’ careers, advising discussions can be more informal.

The firm monitors the formal advising relationships and, if necessary, changes advising assignments to ensure that associates have at least one active advising relationship available to them.