Data
Shearman & Sterling: 867 lawyers, 14 offices including New York, Hong Kong and London. Managing partner: Whitney Pidot.

History
The story began on 17 November 1873 when Thomas Shearman and John Sterling opened a law practice in New York's Fourth National Bank Building. Shearman, a former law rep-orter for The New York Times, and Sterling, who graduated first in his class from Columbia Law School, had worked for David Dudley Field, head of the New York bar. Together they brought a major client from Field's law firm, industrialist Jay Gould, who became the firm's main client.

Perky Shearman
In January 1999, Shearmans announced a new set of perks for its lawyers. First the firm set aside a minimum $2m (£1.39m) per year for an associate benefit fund. Associates will accrue bonus shares after three years at the firm, which start paying off in their fourth year. But Shearmans' reforms are not just about money – they also affect quality-of-life issues. A new initiative allows any associate who has spent at least two years at the firm to shift to a part-time or flexi-time schedule without hurting their partnership chances.