Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP - The Inside View

We all know the story of David and Goliath: the little guy who takes down the big guy. It’s a story of overcoming the impossible, but what if that story was a little different? What if those two joined forces? Davis and Goliath, if you will. Enter Davis Polk – a full-service powerhouse operating out of just three domestic offices at home: New York, Northern California, and Washington DC, but collecting top billing in over 50 departments, in our sister guide Chambers USA, in practices includingcapital markets, finance, antitrust, corporate and litigation.

Even with its comparatively small footprint on home soil, a firm like this doesn’t go undetected on the global stage. The trio becomes a round ten when you factor in DP’s outposts dotted around the globe in São Paulo, London, Madrid, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo and Brussels. As one junior put it: “It’s such a well-rounded firm in every aspect across the board. You’re looking at departments that are reputable in all deal areas.” 

“People are really intelligent and focused, and everyone was the same kind of weird as me, which I loved.”

Joining the ranks of the BigLaw elite may prove intimidating to some, but for the juniors on our list, the firm culture was the cherry on top. “You can tell that everyone really cares about you as a person,” one source explained. Another confirmed that, “people are really intelligent and focused, and everyone was the same kind of weird as me, which I loved.”

Strategy & Future

Sitting down with managing partner Neil Barr, we heard that DP is looking to expand their practice even further: “We’re pursuing a growth strategy in a variety of areas, including investment management, private equity, our Northern California corporate practice, and our London platform.”  Associates also mentioned that the firm is very open with them about the direction DP is headed in: “The partners are very candid about the direction of the firm with us. It’s really refreshing.”

The Work

Most of the associates we spoke to were based out of New York City, with a few sources located in the DC and Northern California offices. Among those we spoke, most were in the litigation practice. Work allocation is mainly centralized, and this setup was embraced by our sources: “They’ll always find work when your hours are low, and they’ve been pretty darn good at allocating work that you’re interested in.”

Housing most associates at DP, the litigation department is split into four subgroups – IP, white collar, civil litigation and antitrust. Associates get to sample work from all four groups for the first three years. Sources told us the firm’s clients include Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions across all industries. Despite this, we heard work is varied: “I’m really grateful to get substantive work so far. I’ve been challenged to think critically and develop my skills.” Some of that substantive work includes reviews for work streams, first drafts of motions, research tasks, motions to dismiss, overseeing paralegals, drafting interview outlines, attending depositions and more. “Before I joined, I was worried I’d be stuck in the basement looking at hard copy, but it’s not been like that at all!” one associate exclaimed. Though, full disclaimer: doc review is still a tried and tested staple for junior associates in this practice as well. The healthy mix of tasks had a positive impact on our sources, one told us that “it’s really exceeded my expectations in terms of the responsibility I’d get in the first few years.” Insiders also praised the dedication of their superiors in the group and their commitment to building them up as attorneys, "The senior associate I worked with took to heart what it would mean to be a mentor so he made sure I was put on everything I could be.”

Litigation clients: Pfizer, Galaxy Digital, EnVen Energy Corporation. DP advised JPMorgan in connection with its lawsuit against Tesla in which JPMorgan alleged that the tech company breached governing warrants that JP Morgan purchased from Tesla.

“We hit the ground running; we’re given so much responsibility straight way.”

Those in the finance group will see both borrower and lender side work come through the door, and associates found themselves favoring one over the other or enjoying a split of both. The work ranges from project finance, M&A buyouts, fund financing and more, with sources telling us they’re given plenty to do from the get-go. “We hit the ground running; we’re given so much responsibility straight way,” enthused one insider. Those responsibilities involve tasks such as drafting ancillary documents, procedural tasks, research writing, and client calls. Sources tell us that “no day is the same as the one before. They put their trust in you and that really moves your development forward as a lawyer.” Being trusted meant all the more to our sources given the love they had for their department: “Davis Polk was a leader in developing a lot of these processes, so it’s a big deal to be on this team.” A testament to the team is their enthusiasm to learn and grow as attorneys in the group. “It’s great for those kinds of people who are intellectually curious and looking to unpick complicated and complex problems,” one helpful source surmised.

Finance clients: Coinbase, Capital One, Citigroup. The firm advised Morgan Stanley in obtaining approval from the Federal Reserve to treat a credit-linked note as a synthetic securitization for regulatory capital purposes.

Work in the corporate department is made up of the classic offering of M&A, capital markets, finance, investment management and restructuring. Smaller groups include equity derivatives, executive compensation, IP and tech, and real estate to name a few. As is the trend in many of the firm’s departments, associates are given a great deal of responsibility right off the bat and we heard there’s scope for associates to be “staffed alone on the smaller matters.” This is on top of typical tasks like due diligence, drafting and leading client calls. As one insider told us, “There are not really any tasks that aren’t touched by juniors in this group.”

Corporate clients: ExxonMobil, Airbus, GSK. Advised Altair Engineering on its $10.6 billion acquisition by Siemens.

Career Development

We heard that Davis Polk’s professional development team is focused on ensuring growth among the associate cohorts. For example, the firm will assign an associate liaison to all first years at the firm. Sources also noted that they can attend occasional lunches on a new topic each session which all helped enhance associates’ wider learning at the firm.

We did hear that partnership, on the other hand, was slightly more unclear to some of our more junior interviewees, who noted it was difficult to know how to reach that specific goal. Though, other optimistic associates told us this promoted a sense of proactivity among them: “It depends on you as an associate going for those connections and mentorships that will grow you and put you on the path to partnership.”

Hours & Compensation

Davis Polk is one of the few firms in our guide that does not have yearly billable targets. But if you think that means you’re in for a lighter ride, you’d be mistaken. Take it from this particularly busy source: “It may be an uncharacteristically busy time for the firm, but I’m billing several hundred more hours than my friends with billable targets at other firms!” Those within the firm’s litigation practice tended to report longer hours than others. Despite this, the lack of a target did ease some anxiety among interviewees. One commented that “it’s just not on my mind, so I don’t have to think about it.”

Associates did feel the firm provided a good amount of support when hours did pick up. For example, everyone has fully covered vacation, so “someone will always cover your work while you’re away, there’s no stigma around taking it as well.” In addition, though associates are expected to be in the office for four days a week, a remote working policy known as ‘remote bank’ allows for 16 annual days a year to be taken remotely whenever an associate needs to. Working patterns were definitely sweetened by the salary: “Davis Polk is one of the market leaders in that area!” beamed one associate. There is also a bonus up for grabs for those in good standing at the firm.

Pro Bono

In line with the approach to billable targets, there’s no cap on how much pro bono an associate can log at Davis Polk. Plenty of insiders had taken on this work and we were told that “it’s taken really seriously and valued as much as other work.” The firm focuses on a range of causes ranging from veterans’ matters, domestic abuse, and family matters. We heard that staffing is both formal and informal and the firm is very open to associates making clear specific areas they’re interested in. “I’ve never been denied the opportunity to work and there’s no geographic boundary for us either,” noted one associate. Though pro bono is widely encouraged, associates snowed under with other matters never felt under pressure to put more on their plate: “Pro bono is viewed as an opportunity to dedicate time to do something different, but if you’re busy, then you’re busy.”

Pro bono hours

• For all US offices: Undisclosed
• Average per US attorney: Undisclosed

Culture

“It’s a very collaborative feel, and that helps as we’re all respecting each other while we work hard.”

Underlying what makes work tick over smoothly at Davis Polk is a warm and respectful culture. “People love to describe it as collegial,” one source told us, and we sure hear that term plenty of times here at Chambers Associate. “But what also comes to mind is the positive attitude here,” they added.Another commented that, ‘“it’s a very collaborative feel, and that helps as we’re all respecting each other while we work hard.” In addition, associates were also pleased with the firm’s inclusion efforts. The female representation at the firm was praised by interviewees, as was the overall feeling of community shared by other insiders: “The firm places an emphasis on ways to show that we value people from all different backgrounds here.”

It always helps when you make friends along the way too, something not all our insiders expected before joining the firm: “people are actually shockingly kind and understanding!” This led to associates enjoying each other’s company at the occasional happy hour and lunches, even if outside of work socializing is slightly rarer at DP: “we’re not super social at the firm, we don’t go out on the weekends or anything. But there is no 'us and them' in terms of hierarchy.” When associates do get to catch up, many of them could be found in the cafeteria. “It looks like a high school sometimes with all the first years!” joked one source. They added that “for the first half of lunch, we talk about our lives and the second half we will ask each other about practice areas and really novel legal questions, which can be so interesting!”

Coming soon...