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Davis Polk

Unique selling points

  • One of the original ‘White Shoe’ US firms (a term akin to the UK’s ‘Magic Circle’), with long-standing notable clients including JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. 
  • Chambers and Partners have awarded Davis Polk a ‘Band 3’ ranking for its Capital Markets: Equity department.
  • Trainees benefit from a small intake size of six, affording greater opportunities to get stuck into work and to receive a solid grounding in Corporate Finance. 
  • Davis Polk has integrated ESG work into its Capital Markets work, helping advise clients on more than $100 billion in ESG-related capital markets and finance transactions since 2020.
  • Trainees have the opportunity to apply for a secondment at the firm’s New York head office or its Brussels office. 
  • Notable clients of Davis Polk include WeWork, Honda, JP Morgan, Hertz, Delta Airlines, ExxonMobil and Elon Musk. 

We cover these selling points in more detail below, alongside other relevant firm facts and characteristics.

Practice areas / services

Davis Polk is a US law firm, with a notable office in London. The firm has a broad range of practice areas including: 

  • Antitrust & Competition 
  • Capital Markets 
  • Civil Litigation 
  • Data Privacy & Cybersecurity 
  • Derivatives & Structured Products 
  • Environmental 
  • ESG 
  • Executive Compensation 
  • Finance 
  • Financial Institutions
  • Investment Management 
  • IP Litigation 
  • IP, Tech & Commercial Transactions 
  • Liability Management & Special Opportunities 
  • Litigation 
  • Mergers & Acquisitions  
  • Private Equity 
  • Public Company Advisory 
  • Real Estate 
  • Restructuring 
  • Sponsor Finance 
  • Tax 
  • Trusts & Estates 
  • White Collar Defence & Investigations 

Chambers and Partners, a leading analyst of the legal market, has awarded Davis Polk a ‘Band 3’ ranking for its Capital Markets: Equity department. See here for more information 

Key sectors / industries

Davis Polk services a broad range of industries, with some of its highest-value clients operating in the following sectors: 

In addition, Davis Polk also services: Cleantech; Energy, Utilities & Mining; Healthcare & Life Sciences; Industrials; Sports; and Tech, Media & Telecom. 

Work

Davis Polk works with many noteworthy clients across a variety of sectors, including: 

  • Hertz: The firm advised Hertz on a billion-dollar financing deal. Hertz is one of the largest worldwide vehicle rental companies. 
  • ExxonMobil: Davis Polk advised ExxonMobil on its acquisition of Denbury Inc for $4.9 billion. ExxonMobil is one of the largest publicly traded international energy and petrochemical companies. 
  • Delta Air Lines: The firm advised Delta Air Lines on a $9 billion secured financing of SkyMiles IP Ltd. 

Offices / global footprint / expansion

Headquarters: New York, 450 Lexington Avenue. 

Offices: The firm has 10 offices in countries including the US, Brazil, UK, Belgium, Spain, Hong Kong, China and Japan. The London office is based at 5 Aldermanbury Square and has around 50 lawyers. 

Insights, internships and other opportunities

The principal way to gain an insight into the firm is to apply for a summer vacation scheme. These are offered at Davis Polk’s London and Hong Kong offices. It is a one-week experience, which includes a training contract interview. There are two vacation scheme weeks, with between 8-10 attendees per week. During the vacation scheme, attendees have the chance to benefit from a partner mentor and an associate liaison. The US summer programmes follow a similar structure and application process. 

The insights section of the firm’s website gives you the option to receive updates straight to your inbox about areas of the firm’s work which you may find interesting. Sign up for those insights here. The firm also has a resource hub dedicated to Crypto Regulation. 

Training contract

Since August 2023, Davis Polk has taken on six trainees per intake, which affords trainees more responsibility from the beginning of their training contract. Note that this comes with the expectations of being able to work as a junior lawyer. 

Davis Polk’s training contract is centred around the firm’s Corporate and Finance practices, although trainees must also spend time in a specialist area such as Tax, Executive Compensation, Financial Regulation or Antitrust and Competition. The training contract features four rotations of six months and a bespoke Corporate Finance training course. 

Secondments

International secondment opportunities include spending time at the firm’s New York head office or in Brussels. There are sometimes opportunities for client secondments.

Technology and innovation

Davis Polk is known for its support of the tech sector and the advice which it gives to this industry. Some examples that reflect the firm’s commitment to innovation include: 

  • LegalWeek Enabling Start-Up Success Award 2023 Finalist: The firm was a recognised finalist for its support helping clients in the start-up, pre-public and emerging company space to navigate significant legal challenges.
  • Tech Industry Team of the Year 2022: Davis Polk was named Tech Industry Team of the Year 2022, as it was instrumental that year in helping California’s thriving technology sector. For example, it helped with Amazon.com’s $18.5 billion note offering.
  • Davis Polk Leadership Initiative: The firm sponsors a fellowship and innovation grant in conjunction with Columbia Law School, which provides both professional and financial support to students to help them develop their careers and their lives, as well as produce innovations for the legal profession. 
Corporate social responsibility

The firm is committed to serve pro bono clients with the same “determination and legal excellence” that defines its broader culture. That commitment to pro bono is reflected in the following examples: 

  • SEO London: The firm sponsors SEO London, which delivers educational training and mentoring support to young people from underrepresented backgrounds. 
  • East London Business Alliance: The firm is also a corporate partner to the East London Business Alliance, which encourages the private sector to help build the capacity of local organisations, support young people in education, and place people into employment in London. 
  • Sanctuary for Families: The firm worked with Sanctuary for Families on a precedent-setting Hague Convention trial in the US. 

Diversity and inclusion

Davis Polk states that diversity “enriches” its workplace and as such, it has introduced a number of measures to ensure that its employees feel included. For example: 

  • Affinity Groups: The firm provides those from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to partake in networking, mentoring, career development and leadership opportunities. These affinity groups include Asian/South Asian/Middle Eastern (ASAME); Black Affinity Group (BAG); DPW Parents; DPWomen; First Generation; Hispanic/Latin American (H/LA); and LGBTQ+.
  • Mansfield 5.0 certification: After a yearlong certification process, the firm achieved Mansfield Rule 5.0 certification, which requires law firms to consider at least 30% historically underrepresented lawyers when promoting or appointing leadership roles. 
  • Diverse Talent: The firm participates in a number of programmes to identify and recruit diverse aspiring lawyers, including its 1L LCLD Scholars Programme and its Thurgood Marshall Summer Law Internship Programme, whilst also working with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.