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What are the main cultural differences between the 2? Which one has a better FIG group?

It's September 21 and you don't know the answers to these questions?

Davis Polk has the stronger financial institutions practice, but you can't count 100% on getting into one of their smaller groups like FIG. S&C's GP offers a different kind of exposure. A lot of corporate folks get torn between these two firms; both do very strong securities and credit work, S&C has better project finance, DPW has heavier financial institution clientele and more sophisticated niche finance/securities groups, S&C has larger M&A, but I don't even think any of these distinctions matter more than fit from a junior perspective.

Anonymous User wrote:Davis Polk has the stronger financial institutions practice, but you can't count 100% on getting into one of their smaller groups like FIG. S&C's GP offers a different kind of exposure. A lot of corporate folks get torn between these two firms; both do very strong securities and credit work, S&C has better project finance, DPW has heavier financial institution clientele and more sophisticated niche finance/securities groups, S&C has larger M&A, but I don't even think any of these distinctions matter more than fit from a junior perspective.

This is a little disingenuous. S&C has a VERY strong FIG group, and with the recent developments in the drafting of living wills, S&C's FIG group has become even stronger. Also, at S&C if you want to do FIG work you will get to do FIG work, almost guaranteed.

I agree with the rest of what you are saying.

Anonymous User wrote:Davis Polk has the stronger financial institutions practice, but you can't count 100% on getting into one of their smaller groups like FIG. S&C's GP offers a different kind of exposure. A lot of corporate folks get torn between these two firms; both do very strong securities and credit work, S&C has better project finance, DPW has heavier financial institution clientele and more sophisticated niche finance/securities groups, S&C has larger M&A, but I don't even think any of these distinctions matter more than fit from a junior perspective.

Remind me again how many DPW FIG partners were portrayed in HBO's Too Big To Fail? Because last I checked S&C is the most prestigious television FIG practice.

^^^ YES. There are probably no two firms in the V5/10 that have cultures as different as DPW and S&C. It's one thing to be ambivalent about going to one of the two (a cultural chameleon?), but chances are if you liked interviewing at one firm you'll hate life at the other.

Anonymous User wrote:^^^ YES. There are probably no two firms in the V5/10 that have cultures as different as DPW and S&C. It's one thing to be ambivalent about going to one of the two (a cultural chameleon?), but chances are if you liked interviewing at one firm you'll hate life at the other.

Agreed. Which is ironic, because substantively, these two firms are probably more similar than perhaps any other V10s out there. They excel in almost all the same areas and have perhaps the strongest institutional client relationships (Goldman & Morgan Stanley) that exist in big law. One is direct, aggressive, and spends lavishly on associate perks, while the other is indirect, passive aggressive, and tends to be quite fiscally conservative.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Davis Polk has the stronger financial institutions practice, but you can't count 100% on getting into one of their smaller groups like FIG. S&C's GP offers a different kind of exposure. A lot of corporate folks get torn between these two firms; both do very strong securities and credit work, S&C has better project finance, DPW has heavier financial institution clientele and more sophisticated niche finance/securities groups, S&C has larger M&A, but I don't even think any of these distinctions matter more than fit from a junior perspective.

This is a little disingenuous. S&C has a VERY strong FIG group, and with the recent developments in the drafting of living wills, S&C's FIG group has become even stronger. Also, at S&C if you want to do FIG work you will get to do FIG work, almost guaranteed.

I agree with the rest of what you are saying.

What development is this? DPW did like 7 of the biggest 8 living wills and 14 of 17 or something.

LOL at living wills being desirable FIG work.

Seriously...have you guys ever worked on a living will? I worked on two as a summer associate, and it was enough to make me switch practice groups entirely when I started as a first year. That was one of the worst projects ive ever worked on.

Two words: Rodge Cohen

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/nyregion/15cohen.html