Davis Polk is an elite global law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers in our offices in New York, Northern California, Washington DC, São Paulo, London, Brussels, Madrid, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo. Industry-leading companies and global financial institutions know they can rely on us for their most challenging legal and business matters.

The firm’s top-flight capabilities are grounded in a distinguished history of 170 years. Our practices are world-class across the board, spanning antitrust and competition, capital markets, civil litigation, data privacy and cybersecurity, derivatives and structured products, environmental, ESG, executive compensation, finance, financial institutions, investment management, IP litigation, IP, tech and commercial transactions, liability management and special opportunities, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, public company advisory, real estate, restructuring, sponsor finance, tax, trusts and estates, and white collar defense and investigations.

Our clients are engaged in many industries, including: cleantech, consumer products and retail; energy, power and infrastructure; fintech and cryptocurrency; healthcare and life sciences; industrials; sports; tech, media and telecom; and transportation and logistics. Davis Polk lawyers collaborate seamlessly across practice groups and geographies to provide clients with exceptional service, sophisticated advice and creative, practical solutions.

We have garnered many awards and top rankings, including:

• “Firm of the Year” – Law360, 2023
• “Americas Firm of the Year” – IFLR Americas Awards, 2022
• “Law Firm of the Year” – American Lawyer, 2021
• “Litigation Department of the Year – Finalist” – New York Law Journal, 2023

• “Practice Group of the Year” in Banking, Bankruptcy, Energy, Fintech, M&A and Media & Entertainment – Law360, 2023
• “Law Firm of the Year” in Banking – Chambers USA, 2023
• “Team of the Year” in Equity and Financial Services Regulatory – IFLR Americas Awards, 2023
• “Top 30 International Investigations Firms of 2023” – Global Investigations Review

As counsel of choice for many of the world’s leading U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, we ranked first in 20 of Bloomberg’s Global and U.S. capital markets categories for 2023, more than any other firm. Recently, we were awarded “M&A Deal of the Year” for our representation of UBS on its acquisition of Credit Suisse at International Financing Review’s 2023 IFR Awards and five of our corporate partners were named 2024 “Dealmakers of the Year” by the American Lawyer. In 2023, we advised on 183 financing transactions totaling over $328 billion, ranking the firm in the “Top 5” in 18 of 22 LSEG LPC syndicated lending categories (including #1 global legal advisor to lenders and borrowers according to deal value). We also represented a broad range of direct lenders in numerous direct lending transactions, including in one of the largest U.S. private credit deals ever.

Our lawyers continue to be involved in industry-impacting matters and advise on significant corporate transactions. Recent transactions include:

• ExxonMobil on its $59.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources
• Truist on its $15.5 billion sale of Truist Insurance to an investor group
• Japan Industrial Partners on its $15.2 billion acquisition of Toshiba
• Novo Nordisk on its $11 billion acquisition of certain Catalent sites from Novo Holdings
• Emerson on its $8.2 billion contested acquisition of National Instruments
• Roche on its $7.1 billion acquisition of Telavant
• Josh Harris and partners on the $6 billion acquisition of Washington Commanders
• Gilead Sciences on its $4.3 billion acquisition of CymaBay Therapeutics
• Owens Corning on its $3.9 billion acquisition of Masonite International
• PGT Innovations on its $3.1 billion acquisition by MITER Brands
• Campbell Soup on its $2.7 billion acquisition of Sovos Brands
• Alcoa on its $2.2 billion acquisition of Alumina
• JPMorgan Chase on its acquisition of First Republic Bank
• UBS on its $3.2 billion acquisition of Credit Suisse
• Silicon Valley Bridge Bank on numerous strategic and regulatory issues on its status as a bridge bank
• Signature Bridge Bank on various legal, regulatory and corporate governance matters related to its creation, operation and exit from bridge bank status
• 11 of the largest U.S. banks in making $30 billion in uninsured deposits into First Republic Bank
• Mizuho Financial Group on its $550 million acquisition of Greenhill & Co.
• Amer Sports $1.37 billion IPO
• Arm $4.87 billion IPO
• Bristol Myers Squibb $13 billion notes offering
• Cisco Systems $13.5 billion notes offering
• Kenvue $4.37 billion IPO
• Meta Platforms $8.5 billion senior notes offering
• Reddit $748 million IPO
• Vesta $445.6 million U.S. IPO
• Finastra Group $5.32 billion refinancing
• Enbridge $9.38 billion Dominion Energy assets acquisition financing
• Apollo Global Management $2.625 billion Arconic acquisition financing
• Advent International $2.25 billion Maxar Technologies acquisition financing
• Clearlake Capital / Insight $2 billion Alteryx acquisition financing
• EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure $1.9 billion green loan and project financing
• Instant Brands chapter 11 filing and $257.5 million DIP financing
• Revlon chapter 11 case and $575 million term loan DIP financing
• Party City chapter 11 case
• WeWork comprehensive debt recapitalization
• Bed Bath & Beyond ABL amendment and $1.025 billion equity offering
• Grupo Aeroméxico chapter 11 case
• Avianca $1.05 billion DIP-to-exit financing
• Lumen Technologies’ comprehensive debt recapitalization
• Digicel $3.8 billion cross-border consensual restructuring

Leading companies rely on our highly regarded, broad-based litigation practice for their most challenging matters. We provide strategic guidance and hard-hitting litigation support to our clients during critical times for their businesses across antitrust, civil litigation, white collar defense and IP litigation matters. Our litigators represent clients in trials, criminal and regulatory investigations, congressional inquiries, arbitrations, hearings, appeals and crisis management situations.

Recent litigation matters include:

• Securing a unanimous affirmance in the Second Circuit of the dismissal of a RICO suit brought against our client, Josh Harris, by fellow Apollo co-founder Leon Black.
• Winning a major trial victory for Comcast in a nine-figure patent litigation brought by WhereverTV.
• Securing a ruling at trial that LG Electronics invalidly removed our clients from the board of directors of Alphonso, a smart TV ad tech company.
• Successfully opposing a preliminary injunction in a trade-secret dispute on behalf of Signify Health.
• Securing numerous wins in securities litigations in 2023 on behalf of issuer and underwriter clients including Weber, Lucid Motors, Tencent Music Entertainment and Zhangmen Education.
• Secured coordinated resolutions for Grupo Aval and its subsidiary Corficolombiana in FCPA investigations by the DOJ and SEC.
• Secured a non-custodial sentence for a former Fiat Chrysler engineer, who initially faced over 20 years in prison, in an emissions case.
• Achieved a favorable settlement for Coinbase in an investigation by the New York Department of Financial Services into its BSA/AML compliance program.
• Achieved a favorable settlement for Spectrum Brands Holdings in a DOJ Antitrust Division challenge to ASSA ABLOY's $4.3 billion acquisition of Spectrum’s Hardware and Home Improvement Division. The original transaction successfully closed following the settlement.
• Secured a favorable outcome for a global advertising company in a two-year DOJ criminal antitrust investigation in connection with hiring practices.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At Davis Polk, our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is a core value that permeates everything we do. We are a firm of unique, well-rounded individuals who are united in our commitment to inclusion, mentoring the next generation of Davis Polk lawyers and service to society.

Our approach to DEI is guided by four strategic pillars: recruiting, retaining and advancing our talent; ensuring equitable systems for all those who work at the firm; cultivating an inclusive culture; and demonstrating a commitment to these values outside the firm. We believe that diversity of backgrounds, experiences and ideas enriches our workplace culture and enhances our ability to provide creative solutions tailored to our clients’ most challenging business needs. We are proud of the wide range of perspectives and backgrounds our lawyers bring to our work, and the collaborative culture that makes each of them feel included and valued. We are known for our tradition of excellence and rigor, and we bring those same high standards and expectations to DEI. Notably, Davis Polk has achieved Mansfield Rule Certification. Our certification – which we seek annually – demonstrates the firm’s commitment to creating an inclusive workplace. In 2022, Davis Polk received the awards for “Career Development International Firm” and “Gender Diversity International Firm” at Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Awards and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) Compass Award, which honors law firms and corporations that show a strong commitment to DEI.

Our team is comprised of top legal minds, but more than that, we gain a competitive advantage thanks to the creativity and superior problem-solving that diverse perspectives have been proven to deliver.

• Our lawyers come from more than 50 countries and speak more than 50 languages.
• 39% of our U.S. lawyers a have self-identified as racially/ethnically diverse and/or LGBTQ+.
• 48% of our associates and 23% of our partners in the U.S. have self-identified as women.
• More than half of our partners promoted in the past five years self-identify as diverse.
• Partners from diverse backgrounds lead two-thirds of our global offices and chair or co-chair 60% of our firmwide committees.
• Our 2024 summer associate class included 51% women and was 57% racially/ethnically diverse and/or LGBTQ+.

We are committed to providing targeted professional development opportunities for our lawyers, including:

• New York City Bar Association’s Associate Leadership Institute (ALI), a program intended to help increase the representation of diverse and women attorneys in law firms’ top ranks. In 2022, four associates were accepted into this prestigious program and one was selected into the ALI LITE program for junior lawyers.
• LCLD Fellows and Pathfinders programs, which provide trainings for career and personal development. Every year, one lawyer is selected as the firm’s Fellow, and two associates are selected to participate as Pathfinders.

In partnership with the firm’s affinity groups, Davis Polk sponsors lawyers to attend in-person conferences focused on the advancement of diverse lawyers in the legal industry.

Pro Bono

Pro bono work is another critical part of the firm’s culture and ethos. We devote tens of thousands of hours to pro bono cases, and our people are dedicated to corporate social responsibility and volunteering in our communities around the world. Our work spans many areas, including asylum and immigration, civil rights, corporate, criminal justice, domestic violence, election protection and voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, sustainability and veterans assistance.

A dedicated pro bono team works with the firm’s Pro Bono Committee to offer a variety of opportunities to address the legal needs of the communities in which the firm works, provide services to individuals who would otherwise not have access to legal representation, and enhance the training of associates across practice areas. As this practice continues to rapidly grow, we have recently expanded our team to include pro bono counsel for both racial justice initiatives and humanitarian immigration matters, enhancing the firm’s ability to combat racial and social justice and inequality and support refugees, asylum seekers, survivors of human trafficking and others fleeing persecution.

Many organizations have honored the firm and our lawyers for our pro bono work, including the Lawyers Alliance for New York, the Legal Aid Society, Sanctuary for Families, the New York State Bar Association and Volunteers of Legal Service.