Davis Polk partner and Capital Markets practice co-head Maurice Blanco discussed Davis Polk’s prominence in the IPO market, the increase in IPO activity this year, and how the market has become more concentrated with Bloomberg Law.  

The article notes that Davis Polk has been one of the busiest firms on company and underwriter-side representations for most of the past decade, and that a handful of top law firms, including Davis Polk, are advising on most of the new public listings.

Maurice explained that the IPO practice has seen a “pattern of concentration” among a small group of firms. He attributed the trend to investments in the practice by those firms and the shift in companies staying private longer.

“We’re seeing a lot of companies upgrade their counsel well before the IPO and begin to work with larger firms,” he said. “They’re just doing larger, more sophisticated and higher-value deals.”

“Big Law’s IPO Oligopoly Emerges as Market Roars Back,” Bloomberg Law (September 18, 2025) (subscription required) 

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