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Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP vs. Morrison & Foerster LLP

Category by category. Sources: Vault 2027, Am Law 200 FY2025, and reported Chambers records from the years shown.

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Who Wins Each Category

Each row stands on its own. There is no overall winner; weigh what matters to you.

CategoryDavis Polk & WardwellMorrison & Foerster
Higher pay winsTie$225,000Market base$225,000+
Higher wins$9.80M (wins this category)$3.29M
Lower rank wins#7 (wins this category)#27
Lower rank wins#14 (wins this category)#42
Higher wins$3.20B (wins this category)$1.54B
More lawyers wins1,0001,021 (wins this category)
OfficesMore offices wins1216 (wins this category)
Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins17 tables (wins this category)9 tables
2L OpensEarlier date winsNot ComparableOpen nowSummer 2028 (rolling)Opened Oct 1, 2026Summer 2028 — combined 2027 1L + 2028 2L program; first-year applicants
1L OpensEarlier date winsNot ComparableExpected early OctoberClass of 2030Opened Oct 1, 2026Summer 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

Rankings & prestige

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#7
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP#27

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#14
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP#42

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP29 records
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP15 records
Compensation

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$225,000
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP$225,000+

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$9.80M
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP$3.29M

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$3.20B
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP$1.54B

Revenue per lawyer

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$2.59M
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP$1.51M
Work & scale

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP1,950

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPNot Reported

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP3.5:1
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPNot Reported

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP~1,000
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP~1,000

Offices

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP12
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP16
Summer Program

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP99.4%
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP98.6%

Class size

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP220 (year not confirmed)
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP78 (year not confirmed)

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPCentralized staffing
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPNot Reported

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPYes
1L and 2L programs

1L program

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo 1L summer program
  • Morrison & Foerster LLP1L summer program

1L applications open

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPExpected early October
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPOpened Oct 1

2L applications open

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPOpen now
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPOpened Oct 1

2L deadline

  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot announced
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPFeb 28, 2027
Chambers by practice, market and year

Green marks the stronger for the same practice, market and year. Shared results are listed once. split some top tables.

Shared rankings

Corporate/M&A · California: San Francisco, Silicon Valley & Surrou · 2026Band 3 · The Elite
International Trade: CFIUS Experts · Nationwide · 2026Band 3
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations · District of Columbia · 2026Band 3
Registered Funds · Nationwide · 2026Band 4

Rank differences

Banking & FinanceNationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 5
Bankruptcy/RestructuringNationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 3 · Elite
Bankruptcy/RestructuringNew York · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 3 · Elite
Capital Markets: Equity: Issuer CounselNationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 4
Corporate Crime & InvestigationsNationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 4 · Elite
Corporate/M&ANationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 4 · Elite
Corporate/M&ANew York · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 3 · Highly Regarded
DerivativesNationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 4
FCPANationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 2
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 1
Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance)Nationwide · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 4
Intellectual Property: Patent LitigationCalifornia · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 4
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 1
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government InvestigationsNew York · 2026
  • Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
  • Morrison & Foerster LLPBand 3 · Elite

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”.