NEW YORK- LAWFUEL – Law Jobs Network –Sept. 12, 2006–Citigroup Global Wealth Management has unveiled “CitiSelect,” the first of its kind recruitment program aimed at providing graduating law students with a new way to set their careers on the fast track. Breaking the mold, Citigroup Global Wealth Management has paired up with top-tier law firms and law schools to cast aside traditional recruitment techniques and offer students a newfound opportunity to build a successful career.
Much more than a summer- or first-year associate program, Citigroup and forward thinking law firms are working together to groom the next generation of legal executives. Investing in students from day one, a highly select group of CitiSelect participants will be employed by Citigroup Global Wealth Management and work at a top-tier law firm in New York City for a two-year period. The CitiSelect career track provides students with unmatched benefits that include top law firm compensation and a $35,000 signing bonus.
After receiving two years of on-the-job training with a top law firm, qualified participants will be offered a vice president position with Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management legal department. Global Wealth Management includes three Citigroup businesses: Smith Barney, The Citigroup Private Bank and Citigroup Investment Research.
The CitiSelect program is initially targeting second-year law students at Columbia University, Howard University, New York University and the University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, students who join the CitiSelect program will spend two years working with one of the following law firms: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Bingham McCutchen LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Plans to expand this program to other schools and law firms are already underway.
“Citigroup is continually focused on hiring and retaining the best talent. Our new CitiSelect program is the first of its kind to offer law students a new twist on an innovative, smart and attractive way to build a successful career,” said Michael Sharp, General Counsel for Global Wealth Management. “Students will receive the much sought after training and experience that comes from working at a top law firm and then put those well-honed skills and talents to work at Citigroup, one of the world’s leading financial institutions.”
According to Irene Dorzback, the Assistant Dean of the Career Services Office at NYU School of Law, “The program provides a well-defined pathway for law students who wish to make the transition from legal practice in a law firm setting to a corporation legal department.”
“The innovative nature of the CitiSelect program appeals to us,” states Bingham McCutchen’s hiring partner Mary Gail Gearns. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to help Citigroup recruit and train the next generation of legal executives.”
The Dean of Career Services at Columbia Law School, Ellen Wayne, praised CitiSelect, saying, “This program is not only unique but also provides the students with an opportunity to plan and map the progression of their legal career. CitiSelect has created a process and a path giving them the best of both worlds.”
To learn more about the CitiSelect program, visit the Web site at www.citiselect.citigroup.com .
Global Wealth Management is a business of Citigroup Inc. and comprises The Citigroup Private Bank, Citigroup Investment Research and Smith Barney Global Private Client Group (Smith Barney is a division of Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Member SIPC). Citigroup and the Umbrella device are trademarks and service marks of Citicorp or its affiliates and are used and registered throughout the world. The Citigroup Private Bank, one of the largest private banking businesses in the world, provides personalized wealth management services for clients in more than 30 countries, including a full range of portfolio management and investment advisory services, structured lending and banking services. Smith Barney Global Private Client Group (known as Citigroup Wealth Advisors outside the U.S.), a leading provider of wealth management services to individual investors, foundations, companies and institutions, offers a full suite of investment services, including asset allocation, private investments and lending services, hedge funds, stock and retirement plan services, cash and portfolio management, as well as philanthropic, education and estate planning. Citigroup Investment Research covers companies representing 90 percent of the market capitalization of the major global indices. Additional information may be found at: www.citigroup.com.
Citigroup (NYSE: C), the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage, and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup’s trademark red umbrella include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at: www.citigroup.com
