Training Contracts at Davis Polk

Davis Polk & Wardwell is one of the toughest firms to get into as a young lawyer, with competition especially fierce at the entry level. While several other US law firms have built up a home grown staff of UK lawyers over the past several years, Davis Polk has no plans to launch a trainee scheme.

The London office practises US law only, so lawyers trained outside the States will also need to be qualified to practise in New York. Therefore the majority of recruits will have attended a top US law school, although the firm is definitely willing to consider extraordinary candidates from other international institutions.

Hiring for all of Davis Polk’s overseas sites is coordinated from the New York office. US based summer associates are offered opportunities to spend up to four weeks in the London office during their summer; full-time lawyers are a mix of those who wish to be based in London for the long term and those who rotate for two or more years from the New York or Menlo Park office.

Interviews at Davis Polk are strongly focussed on a candidate’s character and judgement, as well as their interest in law. Associates and partners interviewing a candidate are looking primarily at one thing, ‘Do I want this person on my team?’

Davis Polk Graduate Recruitment Info

How to apply: www.davispolk.com/careers/why-davis-polk/

Davis Polk & Wardwell Profile & Stats

Davis Polk & Wardwell first opened its doors in 1849 in New York, making it amongst the oldest law firms in the US. The firm has finance coursing through its veins, with one of the world’s finest corporate departments. The capital markets, M&A, bankruptcy and tax practices are all standout. Last but certainly not least, the firm’s litigation practice is likewise revered, thanks in large part to its founding partner, John Davis, who, over the course of his long and illustrious career, argued numerous cases before the US Supreme Court.

The firm takes its current name from three 20th century partners: John W. Davis, Frank Polk, and Allen Wardwell. The trio recognised early on the growing importance of corporate work and developed close ties between the firm and the J.P. Morgan companies, for example, helping Morgan restructure the Pennsylvania Railroad and knit together several electrical companies to create General Electric.

Over the course of the last decades the firm has established offices in major centres across the globe: first Paris in 1962, followed by London in 1973, and after a quick unsuccessful stint in Frankfurt, Davis Polk opened a Beijing outpost – the firm's third Asian office, after Hong Kong and Tokyo.

While the firm does not practise English law, and although the London office sometimes take a back seat to its New York headquarters (home to more than 80% of the firm’s lawyers), Davis Polk consistently ranks among the City’s top law practices. The firm has positioned itself as one of the main go-to outfits for the world’s equity and security underwriters and issuers – and London, as its largest international office, plays a pivotal role. In addition, the London office, which is also the firm’s European headquarters, regularly secures some of Europe’s largest M&A deals. If that wasn’t enough, the City office advises on US financing techniques to European technology firms in cross-border capital markets and private equity deals. And whenever the work requires local legal input and expertise, Davis Polk works with a network of so-called ‘best friends’: law firms that do not compete directly.

Many of Davis Polk’s biggest rivals – the likes of New York’s Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Los Angeles’ Latham & Watkins – have built sizeable London operations that do practise English law, and can in turn offer clients a one-stop shop. But while 40% of Davis Polk’s clients are based outside of the US, the firm remains resolute in its commitment to focussing its practice on US law. The sole exception is Paris, where its lawyers are certified to handle both French and American legal issues. This kind of strict specialisation appears to have done the firm little harm.

Davis Polk chooses to give the fiercely competitive London market a wide berth. Therefore, it has not attempted to hire English-trained solicitors. Instead, the firm primarily staffs its office with lawyers from its three US offices – New York, Silicon Valley and Washington – making up the numbers with some London specific hires. And although all London solicitors operate as US qualified lawyers, the office is cosmopolitan: roughly half of London solicitors are not Americans – many of which received their primary legal qualification outside of the United States.

The pro bono programme is also well-established and something to behold: many lawyers volunteer for bar associations, charities, and educational or religious organisations. Davis Polk funds a permanent summer fellowship at the Sanctuary for Families Centre for Battered Women’s Legal Services, in honour of a former associate who worked closely with the group. London solicitors have done non-legal work with the His Majesty the Prince of Wales’ Trust and community-based charities, working closely with lawyers from other US firms.