Our Family-Friendly Approach
Over 25 years ago, Cravath opened our Children’s Center, the first employer-run, on-site child care facility in New York City. Today, our Firm continues to champion leading-edge work/life balance programs and policies. In recognition of the importance of family, we offer generous paid child care leave. For both men and women, we provide four weeks of paid child care leave and, if applicable, an additional eight weeks of primary caregiver leave following a birth or an adoption. For women who give birth, these leaves are in addition to six to eight weeks of paid maternity leave, resulting in up to 18 to 20 weeks of paid leave benefits following the birth of a child. Children are an important part of daily life at Cravath. All attorneys can bring their babies to the Children’s Center full time for up to six months, space permitting. Parents may also use the facility as back-up child care when regular arrangements fall through. Children are a constant presence at lunchtime in the Firm’s cafeteria, which has a children’s menu, booster seats and high chairs. Through our Working Parents Group, we offer a wide range of programs for parents, which address topics such as financial and estate planning, school and camp information and tips for stocking your pantry during the work week.
We offer flexible part-time arrangements to lawyers who choose to work a modified or reduced schedule. Part-time lawyers may work some portion of their hours from home. To assist part-time lawyers’ ability to work from home, the Firm provides these lawyers with a home laptop, docking station, monitor, keyboard, mouse and a combination printer/scanner/fax machine.
Alumni Network
We take great pride in the success of our alumni and maintain a robust alumni network by hosting events and maintaining an online Alumni Center, which includes a directory of alumni contact information. Our alumni are also provided access to the Cravath Career Center, which includes a job board that is a helpful extension of the Cravath network for alumni who are exploring new career opportunities or are looking to fill a position and want to share it with the Cravath network. Our alumni include federal and state judges, political leaders, U.S. attorneys, partners at major law firms, professors, deans, leaders of not-for-profit organizations, investment bankers and entrepreneurs. You will find Cravath alumni in organizations such as the NBA, the Department of Justice, Amazon, The Legal Aid Society, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, McKinsey & Company, Morgan Stanley, the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Harvard Medical School. They hold senior positions in major corporations such as Time Warner, Viacom and Google. They are authors, curators, judges, general counsels and CEOs, many of whom return to the Firm to speak with current associates about their experiences as part of our “fireside chats”.
Wellness
As part of our continued focus on supporting our attorneys, we signed onto the American Bar Association’s Well‑Being Pledge. This pledge is a collaborative effort across legal employers that expressly reinforces our belief that our attorneys’ well‑being is of the utmost importance. From bringing in outside speakers who address well‑being from a variety of perspectives to incorporating a number of events that focus on physical fitness and self‑care, we want our attorneys to lead healthy and mindful lives. For example, we have brought in a speaker to present to the Firm on the topic of mindfulness; a psychology professor and expert in behavioral change, who shared insights and research regarding scientifically-validated strategies for living a more satisfying life; and a former lawyer and law firm executive who is now a recovery advocate who discussed her personal story and how it relates to the legal profession more broadly and how substance abuse and mental health disorders can be addressed in light of the current challenges.
Benefits
Associate life is enhanced by a range of employee benefits and support programs. Cravath offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive and flexible employee benefits package that includes:
- Medical, dental, vision care and life insurance for all eligible associates, spouses and their children
- Four weeks of vacation each year
- Short- and long-term disability benefits
- Child care leave for associates, following the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, consisting of four weeks paid leave
- Primary caregiver leave for associates following the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child if the associate is the primary caregiver, consisting of eight weeks paid leave
- Adoption leave for associates in connection with becoming adoptive or foster care parents, consisting of child care leave and primary caregiver leave
- Eligibility to make 401(k) contributions with pre-tax dollars and voluntary contributions with after-tax dollars
- Health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSA)
- Business travel and accident insurance
- Pre-tax mass transit program
- Pre-tax parking benefits
- Critical illness insurance
- Employee assistance program
- On-site emergency child care
- Three on-site nursing rooms and reimbursement of milk delivery service for nursing mothers traveling on Firm business
- No-cost on-site wellness checkup/exams
- Meditation benefits
- Subsidized corporate memberships at participating health clubs
- Subsidized bike share memberships
- Annual bar association membership dues and biennial registration
Additionally, we pay for a bar review course and bar examination fees and offer a generous relocation package, a starting bonus and an interest-free loan to incoming associates.
Additional benefits include:
- On-site cafeteria
- ID theft protection benefits
- Bank-at-work program, on-site ATMs and cashier
- Discount for medical transportation/evacuation membership program
- Student loan refinancing
- Discount for home (including renters) and/or auto insurance
- Discount for pet insurance
- Discount for defensive driving courses
- Will preparation and estate resolution services