Davis Polk & Wardwell

What Davis Polk & Wardwell does

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is a global, full-service law firm headquartered in New York, founded in 1849 and organized as a limited liability partnership under New York law. The firm serves Fortune 500 corporations, major financial institutions, and large private clients across an integrated set of practices including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and IPOs, litigation, tax, executive compensation, investment management, intellectual property litigation, and regulatory matters. Notable 2025-2026 mandates include acting as advisor to the underwriting syndicate on SpaceX's $75 billion IPO (the largest IPO on record, generating approximately $25.5 million in fees), the Cintas $5.5 billion acquisition of UniFirst, the Comcast separation of Versant Media Group, Antares Capital's $8.5 billion Senior Loan Fund III closing, and CoreWeave's $2 billion equity raise and NVIDIA collaboration framework.

The firm operates from nine offices across the United States (New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Northern California, Los Angeles), Europe (London, Brussels, Madrid), and Asia (Hong Kong), and is expanding its U.S. footprint with a planned Boston office. Its business model is professional services revenue generated through hourly billing, fixed fees on discrete matters, and multi-year retainer arrangements, with go-to-market driven entirely by partner-led business development, referrals, and reputation. Davis Polk is investing aggressively in talent and capabilities, having launched a Supreme Court and Appellate practice with litigators from Paul Weiss, opened a Los Angeles office anchored by a former Skadden partner, and added senior laterals from Cravath, Hogan Lovells, and Goodwin Procter across M&A, executive compensation, IP litigation, and emerging-company practice areas. The firm is recognized as Law360 Technology and Tax Practice Group of the Year for 2025, ranked in Vault 100, and holds ISO/IEC 27001 certification for global document and email infrastructure.

Name

Davis Polk & Wardwell

Legal name

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Website

https://davispolk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Davis Polk & Wardwell is a global, full-service New York-headquartered law firm advising Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and major corporates on M&A, capital markets, litigation, tax, and regulatory matters across nine offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital) (BPAHAOAE)

Keywords

• Corporate legal services
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Capital markets advisory
• Securities litigation
• Executive compensation

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Legal Services: Davis Polk generates revenue through providing legal services to corporate clients including M&A advisory, capital markets transactions, litigation, regulatory compliance, and other legal matters. Revenue is generated through hourly billing, fixed fees for specific matters, and retainer arrangements with major clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Davis Polk & Wardwell is a global law firm providing legal advisory services to corporate clients on complex matters including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and IPO transactions, securities and commercial litigation, tax controversy and planning, executive compensation, investment management, and intellectual property litigation. Revenue is generated through hourly billing, fixed fees for specific matters, and retainer arrangements with major institutional clients such as SpaceX, Comcast, Cintas, and CoreWeave. The firm delivers these services through partner-led teams out of offices in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Northern California, London, Hong Kong, Brussels, and Madrid.

Product overview

Davis Polk & Wardwell is a full-service international law firm that provides legal services across multiple practice areas including mergers and acquisitions, litigation, tax, executive compensation, investment management, intellectual property litigation, and regulatory matters. The firm does not offer technology products; it provides legal advisory services to clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mergers and Acquisitions Legal advisory on M&A transactions for corporate clients, including strategic acquisitions, divestitures, sale of control transactions, and joint ventures. Represented clients such as Cintas in the $5.5 billion UniFirst acquisition and advised on the San Diego Padres sale of control to a new ownership group.
• Capital Markets and IPO Advisory Legal counsel for capital markets transactions and IPOs, including acting as advisor to underwriters and issuers. Advised on the $75 billion SpaceX IPO (the largest IPO on record) and the CoreWeave $2 billion equity raise and collaboration framework with NVIDIA.
• Tax Controversy and Planning Tax advisory and litigation services for corporate clients on complex tax matters and disputes. Recognized as Law360 Tax Practice Group of the Year 2025.
• Securities and Commercial Litigation
• Executive Compensation Advisory
• Investment Management
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation
• Sports Law Advisory
• Emerging Companies and Venture Capital
• Corporate Separations and Spin-offs

Quantifiable outcome

• Handled SpaceX $75 billion IPO - the largest IPO on record
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SpaceXflagshipOthers · 18 June 2026Davis Polk served as legal advisor to the underwriting syndicate for SpaceX's historic $75 billion IPO, the largest IPO on record. The firm worked alongside lead counsel Gibson Dunn & Crutcher on the transaction valued at approximately $1.78 trillion.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom: Major global firm with leading M&A, capital markets, and litigation practices. Davis Polk recently hired Jason Russell (former head of Skadden's LA office) to lead its new LA office, illustrating direct talent competition between the two firms.
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett: Premier New York firm with leading M&A, capital markets, private equity, and financial-services practices. Competes with Davis Polk on the largest public M&A and IPO mandates and is similarly ranked in the top tier of Am Law 100 firms.
• Cravath, Swaine & Moore: Historic elite New York transactional firm with strengths in M&A, capital markets, and executive compensation. Directly competes with Davis Polk on the same premier mandates and is one of the firms from which Davis Polk has hired lateral partners (e.g., Amanda Hines Gold).
• Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton: Top-tier global law firm with strengths in M&A, capital markets, and international regulatory matters. Overlaps with Davis Polk on cross-border transactions and financial-institution mandates, and shares a similar New York-anchored, partner-led model.
• Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison: Elite New York firm with strengths in M&A, litigation, and white-collar defense. Davis Polk recently poached Kannon Shanmugam and Masha Hansford from Paul Weiss to launch its Supreme Court & Appellate practice, making them a direct competitor for both clients and partner talent.
• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz: Elite New York-based law firm and the dominant advisor on the largest public M&A transactions. Directly competes with Davis Polk on premium M&A and corporate governance mandates for Fortune 500 boards and is consistently benchmarked against Davis Polk in the Vault and Am Law rankings.
• Sullivan & Cromwell: Premier Wall Street law firm with a top-tier capital markets, M&A, and financial-institutions practice. Competes head-to-head with Davis Polk on major IPOs, securities offerings, and bank M&A mandates for global financial institutions.

Broad incumbents

• Kirkland & Ellis: The largest law firm in the world by revenue, dominant in private equity M&A and complex transactions. While broader and PE-focused rather than public-M&A-focused, Kirkland competes with Davis Polk on the largest deals and aggressively recruits from the same elite partner pool.
• Hogan Lovells: Major global law firm with strong M&A, capital markets, and regulatory practices. Davis Polk hired Bill Curtin (former Global Head of M&A at Hogan Lovells with $100B+ transaction experience), reflecting direct competition at the partner level for major-deal talent.
• Latham & Watkins: One of the largest global law firms with a top-tier M&A, capital markets, and technology transactions practice. Competes with Davis Polk on large public M&A, IPOs, and tech-company representations, but operates a much broader global footprint with higher headcount.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/davis-polk-&-wardwell-llp
• Xx.com/DavisPolkReg
• Facebookfacebook.com/davispolkllp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Davis Polk & Wardwell