Training Contracts at Debevoise & Plimpton

Debevoise & Plimpton can afford to be fussy, picking candidates from top universities and law schools, especially Oxbridge. But due to the London office's expansion, the firm is now recruiting in greater numbers and has therefore broadened the range of institutions it picks from. Nevertheless, owing to the firm’s excellent reputation and very high compensation package, Debevoise still receives a myriad of applications every year, making the process extremely competitive.

The interviews themselves are described as friendly, informal and relaxed. Expect an interview with partners, followed by a meeting with associates to assess whether the shoe fits.

Debevoise & Plimpton Graduate Recruitment Info

Contact:
Email: London-recruit@debevoise.com

Application Deadlines: Training Contracts: 31st July 2012

How to apply: www.debevoise.com/workinginlondon/

Debevoise & Plimpton Profile & Stats

Since first opening its doors and taking a bite out of the Big Apple in 1931, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has risen to the top of US law. Thriving corporate and litigation practices, combined with a collegiate culture and a unique partner compensation structure – that favours seniority over billable hours – has established Debevoise & Plimpton as a formidable international firm that spans the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Worldwide, the firm now employs more than 700 lawyers, with the London outpost boasting 19 partners and 80+ lawyers, half of which are now US qualified. And although the City’s branch may be a relatively small cog in the large global wheel, it nevertheless finds itself working as a hub for international deals and is the second largest office after its New York progenitor.

D&P’s London office, opened in 1989, duplicates the firm’s global core strengths. The corporate department dominates the various practices, and encompasses the full range of corporate, transactional and regulatory work, with M&A taking the lions share. The private equity expertise doesn’t trail far behind, and insurance, capital markets, finance & restructurings, tax planning and dispute resolution add the finishing touches to a mighty arsenal of expertise.

However, the London office isn’t the firm’s first enterprise in Europe; D&P first opened its doors on the Continent in Paris, in 1964. After finally settling on UK shores in 1989, the firm opened up in Moscow in 1997, and Frankfurt in 2001. Debevoise then turned to the Orient and has made its presence felt in Shanghai and Hong Kong since the mid 1990s.

Debevoise & Plimpton ranks as one of New York’s most influential law firms and is one of the most lucrative in the world. It has advised on colossal deals, such as the cross-cultural £6.45 billion restructuring of Eurotunnel, and its client list also packs a heavy punch: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, American Express, Air France-KLM, Deutsche Bank, Chase and YUM Brands, to name a few.

Debevoise also earns bonus points for its pro bono work, running projects from the London office – a practice that‘s sometimes neglected by other US firms in the UK. The list of causes covers everything from human rights to housing, asylum seekers to reproductive rights, and even death penalty cases.

The firm more recently represented Sudanese and Yemeni detainees from Guantánamo Bay (Cuba), filing habeas corpus petitions for the detainees’ release and to improve the global practices of detention.