Davis Polk
| Company type | All-equity partnership |
|---|---|
| Industry | Legal services |
| Predecessor | Bangs & Stetson (historical) |
| Founder | Francis N. Bangs |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussels, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, São Paulo) |
Key people | Neil Barr (Managing Partner) |
| Products | Corporate law, litigation, tax matters, financial regulatory issues |
| Owner | Partners (all-equity partnership) |
| Website | www |
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, commonly referred to as Davis Polk, is a prominent American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. It maintains additional offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussels, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, and São Paulo. The firm is distinguished for its expertise in corporate law, litigation, tax matters, and financial regulatory issues. Functioning as an all-equity partnership, Davis Polk consistently ranks among the world’s most profitable law firms, with profits per partner surpassing $7 million.
History
The origins of Davis Polk trace back to a solo legal practice established in Manhattan by the 21-year-old attorney Francis N. Bangs. Over time, the firm’s name evolved to reflect new partners, including iterations such as Bangs & Stetson and Davis, Polk, Wardwell, Gardiner & Reed. In the late 1800s, partner Francis Stetson was appointed chief counsel by financier J. P. Morgan; under his leadership, the firm played a pivotal role in reorganizing the Pennsylvania Railroad and founding General Electric. Successor institutions of Morgan’s empire, namely JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, continue to be among the firm’s principal clients. Additionally, former U.S. President Grover Cleveland practiced at the firm during intervals between his presidential terms.
Between 1945 and 1965, Davis Polk was recognized as a predominantly White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) firm that excluded Jewish lawyers from its ranks. A significant milestone occurred in 1971 when Lydia Kess became the first female partner at the firm, marking a breakthrough among major Wall Street law firms.
During the financial crisis of 2008, Davis Polk served government entities such as the United States Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The firm was heavily involved in key matters concerning AIG, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and Citigroup, and contributed to drafting legislation known as the Dodd–Frank Act.
To enhance its capabilities in financial regulatory law, Davis Polk recruited several former officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2009. This group included Commissioner Annette Nazareth, Director of Enforcement Linda Chatman Thomsen, Deputy Director Robert Colby, alongside other regulatory specialists.
In November 2023, amid protests at prestigious U.S. law schools linked to the Gaza conflict, Davis Polk joined other leading firms in alerting law school deans that a rise in antisemitic incidents could influence corporate recruitment decisions. This position faced criticism from Muslim bar associations accusing it of fostering Islamophobia and limiting free expression.
By January 2025, Managing Partner Neil Barr outlined the firm’s transition from a strictly lock-step compensation system to one based on performance metrics. He emphasized that increasing employee mobility required incentive-driven pay structures to maintain competitiveness while preserving the firm’s culture.
Recognitions
In March 2007, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) honored Davis Polk with its Heroes Honors 25th Anniversary Award in recognition of the firm’s corporate pro bono contributions.
In 2010, Davis Polk achieved third place in Revenue per Lawyer among American Lawyer’s top 100 National Firms. The International Financial Law Review named it America's Law Firm of the Year in both 2012 and 2013.
The firm ranked 15th on The American Lawyer's AmLaw 200 list for 2021 and was positioned as the 20th highest grossing law firm worldwide according to the 2021 Global 200 survey.
Current legal professionals
Prominent partners and counsel consist of:
- Uzo Asonye – previously Deputy Chief overseeing Financial Crimes and Public Corruption in the Eastern District of Virginia; served in special counsel Robert Mueller's team
- Jon Leibowitz – ex-chairman of the Federal Trade Commission
- Gary Lynch – former head of the Enforcement Division at the Securities and Exchange Commission; held Chief Legal Officer roles at Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Bank of America
- Neil MacBride – prior U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Annette Nazareth – past commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission
- Howard Shelanski – former head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
- Linda Chatman Thomsen – ex-director of the Enforcement Division at the Securities and Exchange Commission
Judicial appointments
Prominent former attorneys who advanced to judicial roles include:
- Ronnie Abrams – Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Thomas J. Aquilino – Senior Judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade
- Richard M. Berman – Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum – Senior Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- Denny Chin – Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Hardy Cross Dillard – Judge at the International Court of Justice
- Warren Eginton – Senior Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
- Thomas P. Griesa – Senior Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- Cheryl Ann Krause – Judge on the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- J. Michael Luttig – former Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge
- Amy J. St. Eve – Judge on the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Louis L. Stanton – Senior Judge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- John M. Walker Jr. – Judge on the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Lawrence Edward Walsh – former U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York
Political offices
- John Danforth – former United States Senator (R-MO) and Ambassador to the United Nations
- Kirsten Gillibrand – United States Senator (D-NY)
- Ben McAdams – U.S. Representative for Utah's 4th congressional district
- Terri Sewell – U.S. Representative representing Alabama's 7th congressional district
- Chen Show Mao – Singaporean Parliament member for the Aljunied Group Representation Constituency, affiliated with the Workers' Party of Singapore
- Mondaire Jones – former U.S. Representative from New York's 17th congressional district
- Zellnor Myrie - New York State Senator for New York's 20th State Senate district
Roles in law enforcement and financial oversight
- Jerome Powell – chairperson of the Federal Reserve
- Randal Quarles – vice-chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve
- Paul S. Atkins – former commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission
- Roger W. Ferguson Jr. – ex-vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve System; President & CEO of TIAA-CREF
- Robert B. Fiske – Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
- Samuel Hazard Gillespie Jr. – Former U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York
- Charles E. F. Millard – previous director at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
- Ogden Livingston Mills – former Secretary of the Treasury
- Lawrence Edward Walsh – served as Deputy Attorney General and Independent Counsel during Iran-Contra investigation
- Kenneth Wainstein – former Assistant Attorney General in charge of National Security Division at the Department of Justice and previous Homeland Security Advisor
Other government roles
- John Bridgeland – previously led the United States Domestic Policy Council
- John W. Davis – former United States Solicitor General and 1924 Democratic nominee for President
- Reuben Jeffery III – served as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State
- Charles MacVeagh – ex-United States Ambassador to Japan
- Richard Moe – chief executive of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Jennifer Newstead – legal counsel at the U.S. Department of State; previously General Counsel for the Office of Management and Budget
- Frank Polk – former acting head of the U.S. Secretary of State
- Peter Tufo – previously served as United States Ambassador to Hungary
- John E. Zuccotti – former deputy mayor of New York City; eponym of Zuccotti Park
Corporate leadership
- Alexander Cushing – established and chaired Ski Corporation
- Eli Whitney Debevoise – co-founder of law firm Debevoise & Plimpton
- Tom Glocer – chief executive officer at Thomson Reuters
- Steven Goldstone – past president and CEO of RJR Nabisco
- Robert Harrison – leads the Clinton Global Initiative as CEO
- Lewis B. Kaden – held vice chairman position at Citigroup
- H. F. Lenfest – founder of Lenfest Communications
- Charles Li – Chinese banking executive, former CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
- J. Michael Luttig – general counsel for Boeing
- Axel Miller – chairman and CEO of Dexia S.A.
- David Schwimmer – chief executive officer of the London Stock Exchange
- Francis Lynde Stetson – legal representative for John Pierpont Morgan; past president of the New York State Bar Association
- Andrew Yang – entrepreneur, founder of Venture for America, and 2020 presidential contender
- Reshma Saujani – established the organization Girls Who Code
Media and arts
- He Li – poet from China
Higher education
- George Bermann – heads the European Legal Studies Center at Columbia Law School
- Charles Black – faculty member at Yale Law School
- Brian Casey – president of Colgate University
- Noah Feldman – professor at Harvard Law School
- Victor Fleischer – teaches at the University of California, Irvine School of Law
- Barry E. Friedman – vice dean at the New York University School of Law
- Linda Lorimer – vice president at Yale University
- Jane B. Korn – dean at the Gonzaga University School of Law
- Julie O'Sullivan – professor at the Georgetown University Law Center
- Saule Omarova – faculty member at the Cornell Law School
- Jeannie Suk – professor at the Harvard Law School
- David Schizer – professor and dean at Columbia Law School
- David E. Van Zandt – president of The New School; formerly dean at Northwestern University School of Law
See also
Further reading
- Oller, John, White Shoe: How a New Breed of Wall Street Lawyers Changed Big Business--and the American Century, Penguin Random House, 2019.