Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.
Who Wins Each Category
Each row stands on its own. There is no overall winner; weigh what matters to you.
| Category | Cravath | Davis Polk & Wardwell |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay winsTie | $225,000 | $225,000Market base |
| Higher wins | $7.20M | $9.80M (wins this category) |
| Lower rank wins | #1 (wins this category) | #7 |
| Lower rank wins | #50 | #14 (wins this category) |
| Higher wins | $1.29B | $3.20B (wins this category) |
| More lawyers wins | 572 | 1,000 (wins this category) |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 4 | 12 (wins this category) |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 6 tables | 17 tables (wins this category) |
| 2L OpensEarlier date winsNot Comparable | Jan 4, 2027Summer 2028 | Open nowSummer 2028 (rolling) |
| 1L OpensEarlier date wins | No 1L Program | Expected early OctoberClass of 2030 |
Sources: Vault 2027 and Am Law 200 FY2025 rankings, Chambers USA 2026, first-year pay as each firm or the market reports it, and program dates from firm career pages on the Job Board. Missing data reads Not Reported and never counts as a loss.
Full Comparison
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Est. 1819
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Est. 1849
Est. 1819
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a mid-size firm of ~572 attorneys, Vault #1 / Am Law #50. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer Counsel, and Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Manager Counsel.
Est. 1849
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #7 / Am Law #14. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Banking & Finance, and Bankruptcy/Restructuring. Operates from 12 offices worldwide.
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP#1
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#7
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP#50
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#14
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP15 records
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP29 records
- #1
- #50
- 15 records
- Vault rank
- #7
- Am Law rank
- #14
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 29 records
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$225,000
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$225,000
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$7.20M
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$9.80M
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$1.29B
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$3.20B
Revenue per lawyer
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP$2.26M
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$2.59M
- $225,000
- $7.20M
- $1.29B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.26M
- First-Year Comp
- $225,000
- Profits Per Partner
- $9.80M
- Firm revenue
- $3.20B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.59M
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPNot Reported
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP7 years
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP3.4:1
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP3.5:1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP~550
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP~1,000
Offices
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP4
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP12
- Not Reported
- 7 years
- 3.4:1
- ~550
- Offices
- 4
- Billable target
- Not Reported
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- 3.5:1
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,000
- Offices
- 12
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP100%
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP99.4%
Class size
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP143 (year not confirmed)
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP220 (year not confirmed)
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPRotation
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPCentralized staffing
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPYes
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo
- 100%
- Class size
- 143 (year not confirmed)
- Rotation
- Yes
- Offer rate
- 99.4%
- Class size
- 220 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Centralized staffing
- Specific practice area
- No
1L program
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPNo 1L summer program
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo 1L summer program
1L applications open
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPNot Reported
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPExpected early October
2L applications open
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPJan 4, 2027
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPOpen now
2L deadline
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPNot announced
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot announced
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Not Reported
- 2L applications open
- Jan 4, 2027
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Expected early October
- 2L applications open
- Open now
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.
Shared rankings
Rank differences
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 2
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1 · Highly Regarded
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 3
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1 · Highly Regarded
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 2 · Elite
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1 · Highly Regarded
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPBand 1
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 2
Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.
See which of these firms are open on the Job Board
Data sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown. Chambers record counts can span years and reporting coverage varies; missing years or markets are not compared. Current Chambers bands were checked against each firm’s Chambers profile on Sep 26, 2026; where Chambers splits a table, every Elite firm ranks above every Highly Regarded firm. Missing values read “Not Reported”.
More head-to-head comparisons
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- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Firm data comes from each firm’s own publications, Chambers USA and Vault; see Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Davis Polk & Wardwell for sources and dates.