Davis Polk puts $25k on the table to lure future lawyers

Davis Polk is paying future lawyers to do public service, literally.

The firm has announced a $25,000 payment for first-year law students in the US who spend their summer in public-interest work and later join its 2027 summer programme - the US equivalent of an extended vacation scheme.

The new incentive applies to those who take roles in government, academia or at non-profits, and marks a shift in how top-tier firms are thinking about attracting the best junior talent.

For a firm long associated with Wall Street polish and transactional prestige, the initiative suggests an effort to marry social contribution with commercial success.

Among Big Law rivals, Skadden also offers a route for public-interest legal work through its two-year fellowship programme for law school graduates.

For our American readers, applications for Davis Polk’s 2027 summer programme are open on a rolling basis, and offers will be made once first-semester transcripts are in. The $25,000 is paid when successful candidates arrive at the firm in 2027.

High pay, high expectations

Davis Polk is regarded as one of the top-paying firms with first-year US associates (the equivalent of NQs in the London market) on $225,000 salaries, in-line with other market-leading firms following the Cravath scale.

Its summer programme functions much like the UK’s vacation schemes, serving as a key recruitment pipeline. In London, the firm runs a week-long placement for 12 students each year, with all participants guaranteed an interview for one of five available training contracts.

Successful candidates join one of the joint best-paying firms for trainees in the City, earning £65,000 in year one, rising to £70,000 in year two.