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Hi all,

What do folks know/think about DPW DC? What sort of practice areas is it really strong in? Is it liable to grow? Where does it fit in the DC legal market (i.e. a player in DC on its own right or more of an appendage of it's NY practice?).

Anonymous User wrote:Hi all,

What do folks know/think about DPW DC? What sort of practice areas is it really strong in? Is it liable to grow? Where does it fit in the DC legal market (i.e. a player in DC on its own right or more of an appendage of it's NY practice?).

Appendage. Look at their website: the DC office only has 19 lawyers. Only one of them is Chambers-ranked. If you're talking about big players in DC, Davis Polk is not even in the conversation. Same goes for Sullivan & Cromwell, Simpson Thacher, Debevoise, etc., even though those are all great firms in NY.

Does DPW hire directly into this office? They don't have a summer program there, according to the website.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Hi all,

What do folks know/think about DPW DC? What sort of practice areas is it really strong in? Is it liable to grow? Where does it fit in the DC legal market (i.e. a player in DC on its own right or more of an appendage of it's NY practice?).

Appendage. Look at their website: the DC office only has 19 lawyers. Only one of them is Chambers-ranked. If you're talking about big players in DC, Davis Polk is not even in the conversation. Same goes for Sullivan & Cromwell, Simpson Thacher, Debevoise, etc., even though those are all great firms in NY.

This is correct. I interviewed at many of the D.C. branches of the NYC firms and they make no qualms about it. Two such firms specifically referred to their D.C. office functioning like "another floor of the NY office." You will not hear much about these offices in the D.C. legal scene, but if what you're looking to do is work on NYC matters with D.C. quality of life, these firms appear to be great options. You'll be very much integrated with the mothership and most likely cross-office staffed on work for NY partners.

To perhaps play Devil's Advocate a bit here, the poster above may be a little too dismissive of the atty's in the office - several have worked in various white houses and a lot of them are members of DPW's impressive FIG group, which has played a very prominent role in a lot of the Dodd-Frank activity. That's not to say the office might not still be an appendage of NY - it's just that an appendage doesn't necessarily mean the lawyers aren't top flight.

DPW's DC office seems to staff itself from DPW's NYC office. If you want to snag a job there out of law school or as a summer, I'd recommend trying to reach out to the partners in the DC office directly. I highly doubt the recruiting apparatus or anybody in the NYC office is going to have any helpful info about it.

Anonymous User wrote:To perhaps play Devil's Advocate a bit here, the poster above may be a little too dismissive of the atty's in the office - several have worked in various white houses and a lot of them are members of DPW's impressive FIG group, which has played a very prominent role in a lot of the Dodd-Frank activity. That's not to say the office might not still be an appendage of NY - it's just that an appendage doesn't necessarily mean the lawyers aren't top flight.

Yes, absolutely. Not saying they aren't V10 caliber associates and partners, because they quite clearly are. But OP asked where they rank among the D.C. hierarchy and the correct answer is that they don't even come close to placing. It's the difference between brand awareness and brand strength. If you go out to a bar in D.C. and say you work at Davis Polk, people won't think you're a bad lawyer, but they will think you're visiting from NYC and and/or will be shocked to learn that there's a D.C. branch.

Anecdotal proof: I did about 15 CBs in D.C. over the last month and when I got the obligatory, "so where else are you interviewing" question and I mentioned Simpson Thatcher D.C., most people didn't even know it existed. You would never, ever, get that reaction in this town when you mention the likes of Arnold & Porter or Williams & Connolly or Covington or any of the other "D.C. Elite" which have both brand awareness and brand strength in spades.

Davis Polk DC does not hire directly into the DC office, and they have never had a summer there before.

The post above about the excellent FIG practice is credited.