Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell has approximately 1,237 attorneys across 7 offices. Founded in 1849.
$225,000+
Market base, no firm announcement (as of Sep 2026)
Not reported: partnership track.
2L Summer 2028 · Class of 2029Open
rolling
New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Northern California
Opens
Opened Sep 15Deadline
Mar 1, 2027
1L Summer 2028 · Class of 2030Opening Soon
Opens
Expected early OctoberDeadline
Not announced
No 1L summer program on the firm’s page. Today’s 1Ls (Class of 2029) apply for the 2L Summer 2028.
About Davis Polk & Wardwell
Davis Polk advises on corporate transactions, financing and disputes, with financial institutions forming a particularly visible part of its practice. Its work for banks and other financial businesses connects transactional questions with the regulatory requirements that shape how those businesses raise capital and combine with one another.
In capital markets, the firm represents financial-sector issuers and underwriters on debt, equity, preferred stock and other securities. Its published practice materials identify regulatory capital, liquidity and related requirements as part of that work. Capital-markets and tax lawyers work with financial-institutions specialists on these transactions, illustrating the interaction between commercial structure and regulation.
Its financial-institutions M&A practice similarly combines knowledge of business combinations with banking and financial regulation, drawing on the firm's M&A and restructuring lawyers. Davis Polk also identifies pro bono service and community involvement as continuing institutional commitments. The firm's financial-services work offers a concrete example of how several legal disciplines
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contribute to the same business decision.
Rankings
Latest published editions. Each links to its source.
Size and Standing
- $3.2B gross revenueAm Law 100, $3.2B gross revenue: #14 (opens in a new tab)
- Lawyers in 7 countriesGlobal 200, Lawyers in 7 countries: #17 (opens in a new tab)
- 1,237 attorneysNLJ 500, 1,237 attorneys: #36 (opens in a new tab)
- PrestigeVault Law 100, Prestige: #7 (opens in a new tab)
Vault Practice Rankings
- Banking & Financial Services: #2 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities/Capital Markets: #2 (opens in a new tab)
- Bankruptcy/Restructuring: #4 (opens in a new tab)
- Project Finance: #4 (opens in a new tab)
- General Corporate Practice: #6 (opens in a new tab)
- Tax Law: #6 (opens in a new tab)
- Mergers & Acquisitions: #7 (opens in a new tab)
- Securities Litigation: #8 (opens in a new tab)
Practice strength by market
Every band below appears on this firm’s Chambers USA 2026 profile, checked September 26, 2026. Where Chambers splits a table into The Elite and Highly Regarded, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm.
Scroll sideways to see recognition.
| Practice | Market | Recognition |
|---|---|---|
Antitrust | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Banking & Finance | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Banking & Finance | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Bankruptcy/RestructuringThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Bankruptcy/RestructuringThe Elite | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Convertible Debt | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Debt & Equity | California | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Equity: Issuer Counsel | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Equity: Manager Counsel | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: High-Yield Debt | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer Counsel | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Manager Counsel | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Capital Markets: Structured Products | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate Crime & InvestigationsThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate Governance | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Derivatives | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Environment: Mainly Transactional | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance) | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Patent: Transactional | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets: Transactional | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: Securities | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government InvestigationsThe Elite | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Private Credit | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Securities: Litigation | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Tax | New York | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Tax: Corporate & Finance | Nationwide | Chambers Band1 Reported year: 2026 |
Antitrust | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Antitrust: Cartel | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Environment: Mainly Transactional | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
FCPA | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Enforcement & Investigations) | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Broker Dealer (Compliance & Enforcement) | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialThe Elite | New York | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Private Equity: Fund Formation | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Private Equity: Secondaries | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Securities: Regulation: Advisory | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Securities: Regulation: Enforcement | Nationwide | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Technology | New York | Chambers Band2 Reported year: 2026 |
Antitrust | District of Columbia | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Bankruptcy Litigation | New York | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Corporate/M&AThe Elite | California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrounds | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Financial Services Regulation: Financial Institutions M&A | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Hedge Funds | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: CFIUS Experts | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
International Trade: Export Controls & Economic SanctionsThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Investment Funds: Regulatory & Compliance | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations | District of Columbia | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Private Equity: Buyouts | New York | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Private Equity: Buyouts: High-end Capability | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
Intellectual Property: Patent Litigation | California | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Real Estate: Mainly Corporate & Finance | New York | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Real Estate: Mainly Dirt | New York | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Registered Funds | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Sports Law | Nationwide | Chambers Band4 Reported year: 2026 |
Life Sciences | Nationwide | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Litigation: General CommercialThe Elite | Nationwide | Chambers Band5 Reported year: 2026 |
Privacy & Data SecurityHighly Regarded | Nationwide | Chambers Band3 Reported year: 2026 |
61 reported ranking rows
Facts verified by BigLaw Bear, narrative by the firm. Figures carry a source link where we hold one; prose is Davis Polk & Wardwell’s own.
Firm highlights
Summer program
Program features
- Summer pay
- $225,000+Market base, no firm announcement (as of Sep 2026)
- Total summer associates
- 220Reporting year not confirmedSource
- Early interviewing
- YesApplications for the 2028 Summer Program are accepted on a rolling basis, with main interview periods in November and January. Students submit one application to their preferred office with a cover letter naming a preferred department; the application is complete, and offer decisions are made, only after the first-semester law school transcript arrives.Source
- 1L applications
- Not mentioned by the firmSource
- Assigned practice areas
- Case by case, through a staffing coordinatorCentralized staffingSource
Practice areas
Each year Davis Polk picks two or three associates to step away from practice as full-time Summer Program Coordinators who distribute assignments by interest. The firm describes "an open and flexible assignment system which means you can dig deep into an area of particular interest if you want, or you can work on assignments from multiple practice areas throughout the duration of the summer program."
Inclusion
Davis Polk says it hosts or sponsors more than 80 events a year focused on building community and promoting an inclusive work environment, backed by a learning and development strategy for business professionals and lawyers at every level.
Pro bono
- Summers can take pro bono
- YesSource
- Average hours per attorney
- 46.3 hoursAm Law pro bono rank #73
How pro bono work is assigned
Summer associates work on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, trials, and transactions and advice for nonprofits and small businesses, on existing matters and on new matters the firm accepts specifically for the summer program. In New York, select summer associates can take two-week externships at local public interest organizations, decided in the spring. A dedicated pro bono team is led by a Chief Pro Bono Counsel.
More about Davis Polk & Wardwell
Each summer associate is matched with a partner mentor and an associate liaison (usually a first- or second-year associate), with formal feedback at midsummer and exit reviews. The firm runs over 25 practice overview and professional development sessions plus a multiday Corporate Immersion deal simulation. Most summer associates sit in New York; the firm also runs summer programs in Los Angeles, Northern California and Washington DC.
Schools Davis Polk & Wardwell Hires From
7 schools name Davis Polk & Wardwell on its own employer or placement pages. These lists are not exhaustive.