Latham & Watkins LLP vs. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP vs. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

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

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Latham & Watkins LLP
Est. 1934 · Los Angeles
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Est. 1849
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Est. 1884

Est. 1934 · Los Angeles

Latham & Watkins LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #4 / Am Law #2, founded in Los Angeles, CA. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Antitrust, Antitrust: Cartel, and Appellate Law. Operates from 34 offices worldwide.

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.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Est. 1884

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a 2,000-plus-attorney global firm, Vault #10 / Am Law #10. Jurisdiction-specific Chambers rankings include Band 1 in Asset Management M&A, Banking & Finance, and Capital Markets: Debt & Equity. Operates from 16 offices worldwide.

Rankings & prestige

Latham & Watkins LLP#4
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#7
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP#10

Latham & Watkins LLP#2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP#14
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP#10

Latham & Watkins LLP96 records
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP29 records
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP22 records

: #4
: #2
: 96 records

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

Vault rank: #10
Am Law rank: #10
Reported Chambers Band 1 records: 22 records

Compensation

Latham & Watkins LLP$225,000
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$225,000
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$225,000

Latham & Watkins LLP$8.65M
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$9.80M
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$8.57M

Latham & Watkins LLP$8.30B
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$3.20B
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$3.55B

Revenue per lawyer

Latham & Watkins LLP$2.23M
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP$2.59M
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP$2.02M

: $225,000
: $8.65M
: $8.30B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.23M

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

First-Year Comp: $225,000
Profits Per Partner: $8.57M
Firm revenue: $3.55B
Revenue per lawyer: $2.02M

Work & scale

Latham & Watkins LLP1,900
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPNot Reported

Latham & Watkins LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNot Reported
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPNot Reported

Latham & Watkins LLP2.7:1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP3.5:1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP3:1

Latham & Watkins LLP~3,700
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP~1,000
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP~2,000

Offices

Latham & Watkins LLP34
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP12
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP16

: 1,900
: Not Reported
: 2.7:1
: ~3,700
Offices: 34

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

Billable target: Not Reported
Partnership track: Not Reported
US associates per partner: 3:1
Firm size (rounded to 50): ~2,000
Offices: 16

Summer Program

Latham & Watkins LLP100%
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP99.4%
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP100%

Class size

Latham & Watkins LLP398 (year not confirmed)
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP220 (year not confirmed)
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP265 (year not confirmed)

Latham & Watkins LLPNot Reported
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPCentralized staffing
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPCentralized staffing

Latham & Watkins LLPNo
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPNo
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPNo

: 100%
Class size: 398 (year not confirmed)
: Not Reported
: No

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

Offer rate: 100%
Class size: 265 (year not confirmed)
How associates get work: Centralized staffing
Specific practice area: No

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

Banking & Finance · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Banking & Finance · New York · 2026Band 1

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

Capital Markets: Equity: Issuer Counsel · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Capital Markets: High-Yield Debt · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

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

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

Litigation: Securities · New York · 2026Band 1

Securities: Litigation · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Tax: Corporate & Finance · Nationwide · 2026Band 1

Investment Funds: Regulatory & Compliance · Nationwide · 2026Band 3

Rank differences

AntitrustNew York · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 4

Band 1

Band 4

Bankruptcy/RestructuringNationwide · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2 · Highly Regarded

Band 1 · Elite

Band 2 · Highly Regarded

Bankruptcy/RestructuringNew York · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 5 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Band 5 · Elite

Capital Markets: Convertible DebtNationwide · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Capital Markets: Equity: Manager CounselNationwide · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Issuer CounselNationwide · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Capital Markets: Investment Grade Debt: Manager CounselNationwide · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 2
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1

Band 2

Band 1

Corporate Crime & InvestigationsNationwide · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 3 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Band 3 · Elite

Corporate GovernanceNationwide · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Corporate/M&ANew York · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 2 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 1 · Elite

Band 2 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Environment: Mainly TransactionalNew York · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2

Band 1

Band 2

Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government InvestigationsNew York · 2026

Latham & Watkins LLPBand 1 · Elite
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPBand 1 · Elite
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPBand 2 · Elite

Band 1 · Elite

Band 2 · Elite

Firm-only and additional rankings remain available on each firm profile so missing coverage is not mistaken for a head-to-head loss.

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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”.