How do Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP compare on first-Year Comp?

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: $225,000; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: $225,000.

How do Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP compare on summer class size?

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: 190 (2026); Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: 220 (year not confirmed).

How do Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP compare on summer offer rate?

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: 99.4%; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: 99.4%.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Q: How do Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP compare on vault rank?

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: #3; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: #7.

Q: How do Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP compare on am Law rank?

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: #5; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: #14.

Q: How do Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP compare on offices?

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: 21; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: 12.

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

+ Add firm

Who Wins Each Category

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

Category	Skadden	Davis Polk & Wardwell
Higher pay winsTie	$225,000	$225,000Market base
Higher wins	$7.01M	$9.80M (wins this category)
Lower rank wins	#3 (wins this category)	#7
Lower rank wins	#5 (wins this category)	#14
Higher wins	$4.07B (wins this category)	$3.20B
More lawyers wins	1,756 (wins this category)	1,000
OfficesMore offices wins	21 (wins this category)	12
Nationwide, Chambers USA 2026More Band 1 tables wins	14 tables	17 tables (wins this category)
2L OpensEarlier date winsNot Comparable	Opened Nov 2, 2026Summer 2028	Open nowSummer 2028 (rolling)
1L OpensEarlier date winsNot Comparable	Opened Nov 2, 2026Summer 2027	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

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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Est. 1948 · New York
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Est. 1849

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Est. 1948 · New York

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is a 1,000-plus-attorney firm, Vault #3 / Am Law #5, founded in New York, NY. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Asset Management M&A, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

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.

Rankings & prestige

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP#3
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#7

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP#5
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#14

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP40 records
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP29 records

: #3
: #5
: 40 records

Vault rank: #7
Am Law rank: #14
Reported Chambers Band 1 records: 29 records

Compensation

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$225,000
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$225,000

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$7.01M
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$9.80M

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$4.07B
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$3.20B

Revenue per lawyer

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP$2.32M
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$2.59M

: $225,000
: $7.01M
: $4.07B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.32M

First-Year Comp: $225,000
Profits Per Partner: $9.80M
Firm revenue: $3.20B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.59M

Work & scale

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP3.5:1

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP~1,750
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP~1,000

Offices

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP21
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP12

: Not Reported
: Not Reported
: Not Reported
: ~1,750
Offices: 21

Billable target: Not Reported
Partnership track: Not Reported
US associates per partner: 3.5:1
Firm size (rounded to 50): ~1,000
Offices: 12

Summer Program

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP99.4%
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP99.4%

Class size

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP190 (2026)
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP220 (year not confirmed)

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPCentralized staffing

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNo
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo

: 99.4%
Class size: 190 (2026)
: Not Reported
: No

Offer rate: 99.4%
Class size: 220 (year not confirmed)
How associates get work: Centralized staffing
Specific practice area: No

1L and 2L programs

1L program

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNo 1L summer program
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo 1L summer program

1L applications open

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPOpened Nov 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPExpected early October

2L applications open

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPOpened Nov 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPOpen now

2L deadline

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPNot announced
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot announced

1L program: No 1L summer program
1L applications open: Opened Nov 2
2L applications open: Opened Nov 2
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

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

Antitrust · New York · 2026Band 1

Capital Markets: Debt & Equity · California · 2026Band 1

Corporate/M&A · Nationwide · 2026Band 1 · The Elite

Corporate/M&A · New York · 2026Band 1 · The Elite

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation · New York · 2026Band 1

Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets: Transactional · New York · 2026Band 1

Litigation: Securities · New York · 2026Band 1

Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations · New York · 2026Band 1 · The Elite

Securities: Litigation · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Tax · New York · 2026Band 1

Tax: Corporate & Finance · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Securities: Regulation: Enforcement · Nationwide · 2026Band 2

Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations · District of Columbia · 2026Band 3

Registered Funds · Nationwide · 2026Band 4

Life Sciences · Nationwide · 2026Band 5

Rank differences

AntitrustNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Banking & FinanceNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 3

Band 1

Banking & FinanceNew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 4
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 4

Band 1

Bankruptcy/RestructuringNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 3 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Bankruptcy/RestructuringNew York · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 3 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Capital Markets: Convertible DebtNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: Equity: Issuer CounselNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: Equity: Manager CounselNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: High-Yield DebtNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer CounselNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Manager CounselNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 3
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1

Band 3

Band 1

Corporate Crime & InvestigationsNationwide · 2026

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPBand 2 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 2 · Elite

Band 1 · 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”.

More head-to-head comparisons

Firm data comes from each firm’s own publications, Chambers USA and Vault; see Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Davis Polk & Wardwell for sources and dates.