Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP vs. Cooley 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 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | Cooley |
|---|---|---|
| Higher pay wins | $225,000Market base | $255,000+ (wins this category) |
| Higher wins | $9.80M (wins this category) | $4.58M |
| Lower rank wins | #7 (wins this category) | #22 |
| Lower rank wins | #14 (wins this category) | #24 |
| Higher wins | $3.20B (wins this category) | $2.37B |
| More lawyers wins | 1,000 | 1,304 (wins this category) |
| OfficesMore offices wins | 12 | 19 (wins this category) |
| Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins | 17 tables (wins this category) | 9 tables |
| 2L OpensEarlier date winsNot Comparable | Open nowSummer 2028 (rolling) | Opened Oct 31, 2026Summer 2028 |
| 1L OpensEarlier date winsNot Comparable | Expected early OctoberClass of 2030 | ClosedSummer 2027 |
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
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Est. 1849
- Cooley LLP
Est. 1920
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.
Est. 1920
Cooley LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #22 / Am Law #24. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Artificial Intelligence, Capital Markets, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity. Operates from 19 offices worldwide.
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#7
- Cooley LLP#22
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#14
- Cooley LLP#24
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP29 records
- Cooley LLP24 records
- #7
- #14
- 29 records
- Vault rank
- #22
- Am Law rank
- #24
- Reported Chambers Band 1 records
- 24 records
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$225,000
- Cooley LLP$255,000+
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$9.80M
- Cooley LLP$4.58M
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$3.20B
- Cooley LLP$2.37B
Revenue per lawyer
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$2.59M
- Cooley LLP$1.82M
- $225,000
- $9.80M
- $3.20B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $2.59M
- First-Year Comp
- $255,000+
- Profits Per Partner
- $4.58M
- Firm revenue
- $2.37B
- Revenue per lawyer
- $1.82M
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
- Cooley LLP1,950
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP3.5:1
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP~1,000
- Cooley LLP~1,300
Offices
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP12
- Cooley LLP19
- Not Reported
- Not Reported
- 3.5:1
- ~1,000
- Offices
- 12
- Billable target
- 1,950
- Partnership track
- Not Reported
- US associates per partner
- Not Reported
- Firm size (rounded to 50)
- ~1,300
- Offices
- 19
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP99.4%
- Cooley LLP98%
Class size
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP220 (year not confirmed)
- Cooley LLP100 (year not confirmed)
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPCentralized staffing
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo
- Cooley LLPCase by Case
- 99.4%
- Class size
- 220 (year not confirmed)
- Centralized staffing
- No
- Offer rate
- 98%
- Class size
- 100 (year not confirmed)
- How associates get work
- Not Reported
- Specific practice area
- Case by Case
1L program
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo 1L summer program
- Cooley LLPNot Reported
1L applications open
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPExpected early October
- Cooley LLPExpected fall 2026
2L applications open
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPOpen now
- Cooley LLPOpened Oct 31
2L deadline
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot announced
- Cooley LLPJan 29, 2027
- 1L program
- No 1L summer program
- 1L applications open
- Expected early October
- 2L applications open
- Open now
- 2L deadline
- Not announced
- 1L program
- Not Reported
- 1L applications open
- Expected fall 2026
- 2L applications open
- Opened Oct 31
- 2L deadline
- Jan 29, 2027
Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.
Shared rankings
Rank differences
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cooley LLPBand 5
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cooley LLPBand 5
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cooley LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cooley LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cooley LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 5 · Elite
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 5
- Cooley LLPBand 1
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Cooley LLPBand 4 · Elite
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 3 · Highly Regarded
- Cooley LLPBand 1 · Elite
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
- Cooley LLPBand 2
- Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 2
- Cooley LLPBand 5
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
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore vs. Cooley
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz vs. Cooley
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom vs. Cooley
- Latham & Watkins vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Latham & Watkins vs. Cooley
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Sullivan & Cromwell vs. Cooley
- Kirkland & Ellis vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Kirkland & Ellis vs. Cooley
Firm data comes from each firm’s own publications, Chambers USA and Vault; see Davis Polk & Wardwell and Cooley for sources and dates.