Cravath/Davis Polk/Debevoise, NY, Corporare Forum

(Advantages vs Disadvantages, Big Law, Work-Life Balance, Hiring Practices, Company Culture, Hours and Compensation, Private Sector Firm Reviews & Experiences)
Gottaloveit

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Cravath/Davis Polk/Debevoise, NY, Corporare

Post by Gottaloveit » Tue Jan 26, 2021 8:40 am

Hi! Hoping anyone with insights can provide me some guidance. Looking into general corporate practice, but really concerned that I have some semblance of work/life balance. I've heard Cravath works their associates to death, but I really don't know anything about what actually goes on!

Anyone have any insight into
a) Whether the exit opportunities from Cravath are that much better than DPW or Debevoise?
b) Whether any of these three firms are far worse on their associates?
c) What the culture on the inside is like at any of these three?
d) Anything you might think would be helpful!
Thanks so much in advance!

BigLaw20152021

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Re: Cravath/Davis Polk/Debevoise, NY, Corporare

Post by BigLaw20152021 » Sat Feb 13, 2021 11:35 am

i'm at DPW (corporate)- culture in my group is okay. partners are human and are approachable but work is insane and as nice as some of the partners are there's just not much that can be done if the clients want deals wrapped up in two weeks. feels like i'm constantly on one of those spinning wheels that hamsters run on. there are a few afternoons where things free up after a deal closes but before you know it you get staffed on another deal. they do have a protected vacation policy (meaning that you get actual coverage and can take a vacation). i took all of my vacation last year (and hours were still over 2600...not that this is something to brag about it's just sad and at the expense of my health). sorry for not being encouraging; TLDR- people are nice but the work is insane.

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Re: Cravath/Davis Polk/Debevoise, NY, Corporare

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 17, 2021 3:33 pm

Depends on the flavor of work-life balance you want. Senior associate at a different V10 but started at DPW and have close friends at CSM and Debevoise.

First, all three firms share qualities that law students view as prestigious (including myself at the time) but can end up causing a lot of misery. Some examples: (1) Reluctance to hire laterals means you really feel the squeeze for a long periods when groups are crushed (especially beginning of the year after the mass post-bonus exodus), (2) old money firms with old money clients means that they're behind the ball with private equity shops and non-bank asset managers, so you end up missing out on those opportunities or suffering any consequences caused by partnership's anxiety of being behind (e.g., lots of pitch work that go nowhere or working extra hard for the shitty middle market clients you do have), (3) lockstep means that you have senior partners in less profitable support groups that make more than younger rainmakers in client-facing groups, ultimately means that specialist associates can live in utter misery as their own partners and partners in other departments seek to justify the pay difference, (4) partners are all the survivors of a system that promotes homegrown associates who buy into the kool-aid, can lead to a lot of eye-rolling moments but also means that there's a lot of bravado around perfection and "fixing" the apparently inferior work-product of other firms in a deal. If the other side sends you a document that the partners think is subpar, you're going to spend all night fixing it and getting it up to "quality"

On the differences, i think CSM is distinct from the other two. You'll endure soul crushing peaks at all three, but more likely to enjoy deeper and longer valleys at Cravath. CSM's size and client roster generally mean that your life will be completely consumed by 1-2 massive deals. It can be miserable but in my opinion is more tolerable than being consumed by 4-7 smaller deals, which is far likelier at DPW or Debevoise. When there aren't mega deals going on, CSM can be pretty chill and you're not really expected to be around. At DPW or Debevoise, more likely that something will be going on.

NeverEverGiveUp

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Re: Cravath/Davis Polk/Debevoise, NY, Corporare

Post by NeverEverGiveUp » Sun Apr 25, 2021 2:34 pm

This is very insightful. Can someone talk more about the difference in hours, staffing and stress level etc.. handling 1 big deal vs. a bundle of small deals? Would you say that the more established the name, the more likely the firm is to be in scenario #1?
I have heard of firms such as Skadden/large V10 doing #2.

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