Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Debevoise & Plimpton

The lowdown - Trainees (in their own words) on Debevoise & Plimpton

Why did you choose this firm over any other? ‘Culture, remuneration, prestige’, ‘the disputes practice’, ‘the culture, quality of work and pay’, ‘top-level work across a broad range of departments, in particular in disputes’, ‘the small trainee intake means high levels of responsibility at an early stage’, ‘its practice areas had most overlap with my interests’, ‘it has an emphasis on disputes, but also has other well-rounded practice areas’, ‘its reputation as the “nice” US law firm in London’, ‘its reputation for dispute resolution’

Best thing about the firm? ‘The people here are nicer (and less crazy) than what I’ve heard about some other firms’, ‘the high-profile clients’, ‘no billable hour targets’, ‘the people are fantastic. All are operating at the top of their game and are always willing to get trainees involved and explain things’, ‘everyone is very smart’, ‘the culture within certain teams’, ‘people are very friendly’

Worst thing about the firm? ‘It’s not particularly social’, ‘the tech!’, ‘the work/life balance’, ‘the expectations and hours can be high’, ‘the approaches to work/life balance differ a lot between teams and lawyers’, ‘there are different cultures between different teams’, ‘there isn’t much seat variety’

Best moment? ‘An out-of-the-blue e-mail from an associate recognising the work I had done’, ‘writing submissions and witness statements’, ‘a trip to New York for a business course taught by Columbia University’, ‘the opportunities for drafting and receiving good feedback on this’, ‘winning the firm-wide quiz’

Worst moment? ‘Making mistakes and feeling like I let my supervisor down’, ‘occasional long nights’, ‘working long hours through holidays’, ‘late nights with signatures and corporate authorisations’, ‘sending the wrong version of a document to the client for signature’

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Debevoise & Plimpton

Debevoise has a ‘strong focus on disputes’ but without compromising on ‘other well-rounded practice areas’ such as finance and funds. Known as ‘the nice US firm in London’, Debevoise’s ‘friendly, engaging culture’ was the reason many trainees chose the firm. A small intake means ‘high levels of responsibility at an early stage’. In terms of training, ‘it’s a lot less structured’ than at some larger (non-US) firms, but on the upside, trainees ‘definitely seem to have more responsibility, whether this is high levels of client contact, or opportunities for substantive drafting’. The people at Debevoise are ‘genuinely nice’, and ‘rarely get frustrated’; on the contrary, they are ‘always eager to teach and explain’. That ‘everyone is very smart’ and ‘at the top of their game’ also helps to motivate junior lawyers at the start of their careers. As is perhaps to be expected of a US-headquartered firm, the pro bono offering is plentiful, with trainees ‘highly encouraged to get involved’ in ‘opportunities to attend court and draft pleadings’. One downside of working at Debevoise is that there are ‘different cultures between different teams’, so ‘approaches to work/life balance can differ a lot’. And for one trainee, a series of ‘late nights involving signatures and corporate authorisations’ were not enjoyable. Much more gratifying though was a ‘trip to New York for a business course taught by Columbia University’. For ‘top-level work, in particular in disputes, across a broad range of departments’, research Debevoise.

About the firm

The firm : Debevoise is a leading international law firm. The London office works on many of the highest profile and most complex transactions in Europe and worldwide. It does this by virtue of its English and New York law expertise and its close integration with the other offices.

The clients: AfricInvest Group; AIG Inc; AXA; B&M European Value Retail S.A; Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Credit Suisse Asset Management Limited; Park Square Capital; Rolls-Royce plc; The Ocean Foundation; United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights.

The deals: Advised Pantheon on an equity investment as part of the proposed £2bn public takeover by KKR of John Laing Group plc; advised Park Square Capital, one of the world’s most established credit investment firms, on its fourth subordinated debt fund, resulting in total investable capital of €2.2bn; among eight leading law firms involved in a new pro bono initiative with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants to launch a free legal advice clinic for applications to the UK government’s Windrush Compensation Scheme; advised a satellite capacity provider in arbitration proceedings and domestic court proceedings brought by another satellite company; advised a major oil and gas company in a multijurisdictional dispute concerning the ownership of interests in a services group in Russia and the CIS.

Managing partner:  Alan Davies

Senior partner:  Lord Goldsmith KC

Other offices:    New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Frankfurt, Paris, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Who we are: Debevoise is a leading international law firm. The London office works on many of the highest profile and most complex transactions in Europe and worldwide. We do this by virtue of our English and New York law expertise and our close integration with our other offices.

What we do:  In developing our practice in London we have sought to replicate the core strengths of our practice worldwide. Our focus is on private equity, insurance, international disputes and investigations, financial institutions, M&A, finance, capital markets and tax.

What we’re looking for:  Minimum qualifications – 2(1) degree in any discipline and 144 UCAS points at A-Level (or equivalent). Students whose personal qualities, academic record and other achievements demonstrate exceptional ability, motivation and potential. Applicants will make a significant contribution to our firm and thrive in our unique culture. We look for an ability to listen actively, think creatively and interact successfully. We also look for maturity and leadership qualities

What you’ll do: Each of our associates should become a ‘well-rounded’ lawyer – an effective counsellor, adviser and advocate – who can combine legal knowledge with the ability to deal with a range of situations. Trainees develop their skills through formal training and on-the-job experience. The two years are split into four six-month seats with an opportunity to gain experience in at least three distinct areas.

Perks: Bonus, private medical and dental insurance, private GP, life assurance, income protection, pension, computer allowance, cycle scheme and subsidised onsite café.

Sponsorship

SQE+ £15,000 maintenance grant per academic year.