Davis Polk Reviews

Pros

Great place to get a good start. Especially as an Intern.

Cons

The commute was a bit much.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire more interns!

Pros

skillful, hardworking and talented lawyers

Cons

expectation is that you will out work over family

Advice to Senior Management

disclose expectations regarding need to put work over family to incoming lawyers

Pros

excellent client bases, prestige, international

Cons

long hours, long hours, long hours

Advice to Senior Management

good

Pros

Very smart people; great work, but you will likely be doing reviews.

Cons

Too much politics, hard to advance, very stiff.

Advice to Senior Management

See above. Make it easier to move from group to group.

Pros

Great place to work. Great people, very business casual. not too political....great pay

Cons

Lack of career advancement.
Not much room for growth.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat all of your employess as equals. Some partners need to learn how to communicate with other staff members as they can be very rude.

Pros

Nice people, very friendly and caring, always looking to help others and do a good job in their work, but can be stressed.

Cons

Long hours and tough lifestyle.

Advice to Senior Management

hire more staff

Pros

Prestige, pay, access to high-profile deals, some of the people there are cool, international offices

Cons

Lawyers don't know anything about managing people, very political, "nice" culture really means that people will just talk about you behind your back instead of letting you know what you're doing well and what you can improve on. Feedback is nonexistant or worthless.

Advice to Senior Management

There's nothing to say, the partners will do whatever they need to do to increase their profits and they know that the associates are easily replaceable. It's the nature of the beast.

Pros

DPW is a great place to start if you are trying to break into legal services. The responsibilities are wide and varied and you will learn from some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. They offer continuous training to help keep skills sharp and really believe in work/life balance although this varies widely among departments. The firm has phenomenal benefits especially regarding PTO. Definitely negotiate your salary upfront because once you are hired the pay increases are dismal. It is also very difficult to get fired if you are support staff so don't worry about making mistakes.

Cons

NO bonus! Small pay increases. It is extremely difficult to get promoted. A lot of senior managers have been with the firm since the dawn of time and you have to wait for them to retire before getting promoted.

Advice to Senior Management

DPW needs to be more of a meritocracy if it wants to keep and retain top talent. It is self-defeating to go above and beyond or try to be innovative if you know you will be stuck in the same position indefinitely.

Pros

This is a great opportunity to be introduced to the legal field and learn how a large international law firm functions. There are plenty of chances for overtime if so desired. The firm covers a wide range of different practice areas. Cases are assigned to legal assistants and document clerks, sometimes taking into account interest. You find out how you're doing on a regular basis with communication manager.

Cons

While work there you are one of many, so it is more difficult to stand out. Your qualifications tend to be at a higher level than the responsibilities and tasks.

Advice to Senior Management

n/a

Pros

Good facilities; open door policy; diversity; laid-back atmosphere for a law firm; great cafeteria.

Cons

Many stuck up and unreasonable attorneys; unchallenging work; low pay.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep atty's and la's abreast of firm and specific group developments; assign work according to people's interests; find few minutes every week to talk to the inferiors.