Our two-year London training programme provides you with a wealth of experiences and excellent training to ensure a successful career as an English law-qualified lawyer. We will recruit our 2026 trainee intake from participants in our summer 2024 vacation scheme.
How to apply
2024 Vacation Scheme
We will be accepting applications for our summer 2024 vacation scheme from penultimate-year law undergraduates and law postgraduates between 1 December 2023 and 6 January 2024. If you would like to apply, please email a cover letter addressed to the Training Principal setting out the reasons for your application, along with a CV and detailed breakdown of your academic results to londonrecruiting@davispolk.com when applications open on 1 December 2023 and close on 6 January 2024. We will hold interviews in mid-January 2024.
What to expect
Our vacation scheme offers a perfect introduction to a career in law and to Davis Polk. We expect to host two groups of between eight and 10 law students per group. Each group will spend a week with the firm, with scheme dates in June or July. You will work on international transactions for some of our major clients and learn about our practice, culture and distinctive approach to client care, receive £750 to cover expenses and be interviewed for our 2026 training programme. We look to offer around six places.
If you are selected as one of our trainees, we will provide you with training and full sponsorship to help you through the first and second stages of the SQE in the year after you graduate from university. In the two-year training programme that follows, you’ll experience our corporate and finance practices, spend time in a specialist area of law such as tax, executive compensation, financial regulatory or antitrust and competition, and have the opportunity to work in our New York or Brussels office. You will share an office with a more senior colleague, receive tailored training and have extensive contact with and access to our partners. With a first year base salary of £60,000, rising to £65,000 in the second year and then £165,000 on qualification, you will receive a comprehensive benefits package including 25 days’ holiday.
Find out more
If you would like to find out more about Davis Polk and training with us, please join us for our Open Days:
- Second-year law students and law postgraduates from 2 p.m. on 16 November 2023. Applications open on 1 October 2023 and close on 3 November 2023.
- First-year law students from 2 p.m. on 28 March 2024. Applications open on 1 February 2024 and close on 15 March 2024.
Apply by emailing the Training Principal at londonrecruiting@davispolk.com with a copy of your CV.
Alternatively, we will be attending the following law fairs this autumn:
- Legal Cheek’s Virtual Law Fair series: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. on 5 September, 10 October and 21 November 2023
- University of Oxford Law Fair: 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on 21 October 2023
- University of Cambridge Law Fair: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. on 24 October 2023
- King’s College London Law Fair: 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. on 21 November 2023