Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Simpson Thacher holds Band 1 rankings in Chambers USA for Private Equity, Corporate/M&A, Banking & Finance, and Capital Markets. The firm represents many of the largest private equity firms in the world, including Blackstone, KKR, and Apollo, on leveraged buyouts, fund formations, and portfolio company transactions. Its banking and finance team handles the debt side of these transactions, and its capital markets group leads equity and debt offerings connected to the PE ecosystem. Simpson Thacher's tax practice and disputes groups also earn high marks from Chambers.

Simpson Thacher uses a rotation-based training model and is rated The Elite for Quality of Life by Chambers Associate, one of only a handful of firms to earn that designation. The firm does not impose a billable hour target, and associates receive unlimited credit for pro bono work. Training includes multi-day conferences at the first, third, and fifth years to mark key career transitions, along with internal and external coaching programs. Associates describe the culture as down-to-earth and say they felt genuinely valued during the recruiting process. The summer class is approximately 230 associates.

Notable alumni include former Yale Law School Dean Guido Calabresi (who later became a federal appellate judge), and numerous leaders across private equity, corporate law, and government. Simpson Thacher's position as the go-to counsel for the largest PE sponsors gives it a distinctive market identity that sets it apart from firms with broader but less concentrated practices.