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Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Side-by-side on the metrics that actually drive the student's call. Sources: Vault 2027, AmLaw 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.

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Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Est. 1965

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a ~272-attorney firm, Vault #2 / AmLaw #46. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, and Corporate/M&A: Takeover Defense.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Est. 1849

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #7 / AmLaw #14. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Banking & Finance, and Bankruptcy/Restructuring.

Rankings & prestige
Vault rank
#2
AmLaw rank
#46
Reported Chambers Band 1 records
8 records
Vault rank
#7
AmLaw rank
#14
Reported Chambers Band 1 records
29 records
Compensation
First-year comp
$450,000+
Profits per partner
$12.15M
Firm revenue
$1.39B
Revenue per lawyer
$5.09M
First-year comp
$225,000+
Profits per partner
$9.80M
Firm revenue
$3.20B
Revenue per lawyer
$2.59M
Work & scale
Billable target
-
Partnership track
-
US associates per partner
-
Firm size (rounded to 50)
~250
Offices
1
Billable target
-
Partnership track
-
US associates per partner
4.3:1
Firm size (rounded to 50)
~1,250
Offices
7
Summer program
Offer rate
-
Class size
-
How associates get work
-
Specific practice area
No
Offer rate
-
Class size
220 (year not confirmed)
How associates get work
Centralized staffing
Specific practice area
No
Chambers by practice, market and year

Shared results are listed once. Green marks only a lower reported Chambers band for the same exact practice, market and year. Records with a missing year or market are not compared. Historical records are retained; individual ranking verification status is not available.

Shared rankings

Antitrust · New York · 2026Band 1
Corporate/M&A · Nationwide · 2026Band 1 · The Elite
Corporate/M&A · New York · 2026Band 1 · The Elite
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation · New York · 2026Band 1
Tax · New York · 2026Band 1
Tax: Corporate & Finance · Nationwide · 2026Band 1
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation · Nationwide · 2026Band 2
Litigation: General Commercial · New York · 2026Band 2 · The Elite

Rank differences

Banking & FinanceNationwide · 2026
Band 4
Band 1
Banking & FinanceNew York · 2026
Band 4
Band 1
Bankruptcy/RestructuringNationwide · 2026
Band 3 · Elite
Band 1 · Elite
Bankruptcy/RestructuringNew York · 2026
Band 2 · Elite
Band 1 · Elite
Corporate Crime & InvestigationsNationwide · 2026
Band 5 · Elite
Band 1 · Elite
Financial Services Regulation: Financial Institutions M&ANationwide · 2026
Band 1
Band 3
Litigation: SecuritiesNew York · 2026
Band 2
Band 1
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government InvestigationsNew York · 2026
Band 3 · Elite
Band 1 · Elite
Securities: LitigationNationwide · 2026
Band 2
Band 1
AntitrustNationwide · 2026
Band 3
Band 2
Litigation: General CommercialNationwide · 2026
Band 4 · Elite
Band 5 · Elite

Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.

Data sources: Vault 2027, AmLaw 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown. Chambers record counts can span years and reporting coverage varies; missing years or markets are not compared. Current Chambers bands were checked against each firm’s Chambers profile on Sep 26, 2026; where Chambers splits a table, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm. Missing values shown as “-”.