Debevoise are back in town, with healthy slices of private equity-oriented practice plated up for new trainees…
Debevoise & Plimpton training contract review 2025
The Firm
With roots in the Big Apple, offices around the world and buckets of sector-leading, headline-making cases under its belt, it’s no surprise that trainees at Debevoise see the firm as a sweet deal for newcomers in the industry. Particularly in disputes, “we have a very strong reputation,” a statement that holds out with just a glance at the firm’s Chambers Global trophies, where it sits top of the podium for its investigations and enforcement work. Chambers UK similarly sings the firm’s praises, marking Debevoise king of the hill for financial crime in London. This New York native also gives a good showing in its UK-wide placements for commercial arbitration, investor state arbitration and construction international arbitration, but it’s important to note that its strength in disputes also extends to its corporate practices (“and when you show appreciation for everything the firm does in London, it looks good on your application…”).
“We’re a PE firm now – that’s the engine of growth.”
The acclaim doesn’t stop there: Chambers UK also awards the firm for banking & finance in London, and importantly, private equity (PE) investment funds across the UK. “We’re a PE firm now – that’s the engine of growth,” one insider commented, with another adding: “We’re doing innovating things on the fund finance side and M&A too. We’re all working with the same people, so it’s not a generalist finance practice: it’s in PE.”
Outside of the work, our interviewees were all drawn to the people at the firm, who “seemed to be more intellectually reserved in their approach – a bit less forward than some of the gun-swinging ones!” We heard that, despite the reputation of American firms in London, Debevoise’s size made it “so the people were approachable and it was easier to establish a sense of community.” Alongside this, the small size ensures that “you’re working in lean teams, so you have that visibility,” and “you’re thrown in the deep end – for me, that’s how I work best!”
The Seats
Seat allocation at Debevoise gives priority to those further on in their training contracts, so particularly for their first seat – where new starters can’t state a preference – trainees are placed in departments that second years haven’t chosen. “They do take into account some prior experience” so “people who have paralegalled in a team might be placed there for their first seat,” but for the most part, first seats aren’t very predictable. For the following three six-month seats, trainees do get to pick their preferences though; before each of these, they submit a ranking of the three seats they would most like a stint in and have informal discussions with the professional development team.
There are no compulsory seats, so the only requirement is that trainees do one transactional and one contentious seat across their training contract. “The biggest drawback is that, because it’s a smaller firm and some departments need more trainees, there isn’t a huge amount of agency on where you go,” one insider conceded, “so ultimately, not everyone can get what they want.” Regardless, those we spoke with were very positive about the firm’s attempts to line up seats with preferences, as “generally, people get at least one of their choices.” Secondments sit within the same allocation system as the typical seats, though we heard that Hong Kong is the only one. “It’s not super competitive,” so applicants can rest assured that there is a chance at doing a stint abroad because “most people prefer to have that extra seat in London.” Seats that do tend to be popular are litigation seats “because of the firm’s reputation.” However, on the other side of the scale, “I wouldn’t say people are queueing at the door to do a stint in insurance,” which tends to be a little less in demand.
Debevoise’s esteemed disputes practice is headed up by its litigation group, which is mainly driven by its commercial litigation team. The firm works on some headline cases in this space, such as acting for Shell in the Bille and Ogale proceedings – the largest litigation claims faced by the company – and covers a range of areas including employment, insurance, M&A, securities and antitrust. Rookies typically only work a couple of long cases in the seat, which can be across any of the five aforementioned areas but can also include work with the firm’s arbitration group. Here, trainees can dip their toes into public international law, commercial arbitration and treaty arbitration, working with colleagues in offices across the world. “You don’t come in with much experience” so “you’re not helping with the substantive drafting of pleadings,” but newbies do contribute to preparations for hearings with site checks, finding sources, and “a lot on the logistical side: organising witnesses, putting together the slide deck, and even getting everyone to the Hague!”Pro bono also plays a big part in trainees’ contentious seats as “it is very encouraged”; we heard insiders have worked on cases like the Windrush scandal, helping victims retrieve compensation, and a number of domestic violence matters. “As a trainee, you’re encouraged to do 100 hours for the year,” which are typically assigned through the dedicated pro bono coordinator, who trainees can reach out to at any point. Transactional pro bono cases are an option, but “disputes tend to do more pro bono.”
“Often, you’ll get asked to have a first go at something – that’s a real chance to impress them!”
Over on the transactional side of the firm, finance takes up a good chunk of the work – and a number of newbies (“typically three or four trainees”). As a seat, though supervisors usually work on either fund finance or leveraged finance, “you do a bit of both” to ensure that trainees build a diverse foundation in the practice. Most clients are “big private equity entities, so we’re putting in facilities to fund financing.” Of course, as new starters, trainees aren’t expected to take on any of the heavy lifting and instead play a central organisational role. “You’re driving processes,” one explained. “CP checklists, compiling signature pages, and a little bit of drafting of minutes.” Though there are those organisational elements, trainees do also coordinate with local counsel to get opinions, liaise with clients, answer legal questions about structuring and do markups for associates; “often, you’ll get asked to have a first go at something – that’s a real chance to impress them!” The group does have counsel in Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands, but “most of the work is sourced through London, so it’s English law.” Clients include the likes of Morrisons, who the firm acted for regarding its offering of senior secured fixed-rate notes relating to the financing of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s acquisition of Morrisons.
Funds works closely with the finance team, with a lot of the work centred around regulatory and compliance support; “they ask if they can do something, then you look into if they can within the regulations.” Regulatory advice is often provided across US and European jurisdictions as a lot of the firm’s funds clients are recently established, but they do also represent established banking clients like Barclays, 17 Capital and Pemberton Capital. Though the regulatory side has trainee tasks focused mostly on research, fund formation – like finance – has trainees looking at the admin side of things, mainly keeping track of various documents.
Trainee Life
With American firms, “you often read horror stories expecting the worst” when it comes to hours, but for our interviewees, “the volume hasn’t been as bad as expected!” In fact, “when you come in, you really want more because work starts a little quiet,” but as trainees gain experience and responsibility, the volume can pick up pretty quickly – and that comes with the added bonus of speedy development. “Obviously hours can get long, things can get urgent quickly,” but even then, “you usually have a good idea of when things are going to get busy. It’s very rare something will come in on a Friday and ruin your weekend, so you can plan ahead.” On the rare occasion there have been workload issues, “supervisors have always been responsive – you just need to communicate with people and raise those concerns.”
“It’s easy to become very close to people at all levels of seniority; a lot of people will gun for you and look to give you opportunities…”
This empathetic but structured approach is mirrored throughout the firm’s culture, we heard, starting with the working environment itself. “It’s not open plan, so you have two people to an office – usually sharing with your supervisor,” one trainee explained, “so you can just spin around and ask them questions on even the most basic things, like how to use the system.” Sources were unanimous in their praise for their supervisors, who “go above and beyond to make sure you have the exposure and are learning,” but beyond this, “it’s easy to become very close to people at all levels of seniority; a lot of people will gun for you and look to give you opportunities once you’ve developed a relationship with them.”
When it comes to in-office expectations, “though nobody polices it, it’s three days a week in the office, and that’s something all levels of seniority take advantage of – it’s not the case that associates are in more than partners.” This, along with the fact that “the firm puts pressure on supervisors to come in a bit more,” ensures that trainees always have people to go to for that all important “learning by osmosis.” Although “the office can sometimes feel a bit quiet, especially on Mondays and Fridays when a lot of people work from home,” supervisors “do make an effort to come in when trainees are in.” The office itself is split into disputes upstairs and corporate downstairs, “and those cultures are distinct”; in disputes, “you come in smartly dressed and ready to be client-facing, so there’s a greater formality to communications that feels slightly stricter!” In contrast to upstairs, where “we’re trying to get people to mix more socially,” the corporate floor is “still busy, but partners are generally more approachable.” Across the board, trainees felt this was also reflected on the social side: “With team events it really differs,” one source contemplated. “Finance do a lot of non-drinking activities like axe throwing and table tennis; funds tends to be more after-work drinks; and disputes… I’m not sure on that front.” Regardless of that, we were assured that “every couple of weeks, there is some kind of event – like leaving drinks or a practice celebration” for those looking to wind down every now and then. “There isn’t a regular Friday night drinks kind of culture, but events are well attended,” one interviewee confirmed. Newbies also highlighted that the small intake helped them become “really good friends,” alongside the annual New York trip at the beginning of second year and a trainee budget for small gatherings throughout the year.
“It’s pretty much near the top of the market…”
On top of this, interviewees shared the sentiment, “We get paid way above what we should probably be paid!” Although Debevoise generally doesn’t lead with compensation increases, “it’s pretty much near the top of the market, and trainees get a bonus here – when you factor that in, it makes the compensation much nearer to the top.” It should come as no surprise then that those we spoke with were pretty confident about their intentions for staying at the firm through qualification and beyond. The qualification process is technically formalised, with trainees filling out an online application picking two qualification options and outlining what kind of work they’ve done and the feedback they’ve received. In practice though, we heard it’s a little more informal: “they tried to formalise it because they were worried too many of us would pick disputes! So, although there is a process, the way it happened was us basically just talking to the partners about our options.” In 2024, Debevoise retained all ten of its trainees.
Be a voise for change...
Every qualified lawyer has a 25-hour annual pro bono target.
How to get a Debevoise training contract
Open day deadline: 2 January 2025
Note: Candidates apply for an open day only, this is a gateway to the vacation scheme, which in turn is a gateway to a training contract. The firm does not accept direct applications for vacation schemes or training contracts.
Initial application
The process kicks off with a standard online application form. This includes a few questions that are tailored to Debevoise in order to see how the candidates think, and to assess their interests and motivations. While the firm says that there is no right answer, it does pay attention to the structure of the argument and how logical the responses are. It may sound obvious, but make sure you spell the firm's name correctly.
Open days
For those that are successful in their initial application, the firm runs three ‘open days’ (assessment days really), usually in February and/or March, to which around 100 candidates are invited. The day involves an introduction from the Training Principal during a welcome breakfast, followed by a tour of the office (usually with a junior lawyer). There's also a networking lunch, followed by a short commercial assessment. Participants are given an article to read, then it’s discussed during the interview. The aim of the exercise, according to the firm, is to assess how you assimilate information and how you present and analyse it.
Vacation scheme
Around 45 successful candidates (give or take a couple) make it onto the vacation schemes. Debevoise usually runs three schemes: one in the spring and two in the summer, each lasting two weeks. Vacation schemers are assigned a mentor for their time at the firm, but they are also encouraged to explore other parts of the firm – “if for example their mentor is in finance but they are interested in arbitration work, they are encouraged to spend time with lawyers from the International Dispute Resolution Group as well ,” All of the vacation scheme students sit together, so that they can get the opportunity to work together as a team while getting to know each other.
Candidates also have a number of assessments during their vacation scheme. There is usually a group white-collar crime exercise, as well as a pro bono written project. There are also interviews similar to the ones during the open days. The firm notes that it has a small trainee group so it's important that everyone is able to work together.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
65 Gresham Street,
London,
EC2V 7NQ
Website www.debevoise.com
Email LondonRecruitment@Debevoise.com
Website www.debevoise.com/careers/london
Debevoise & Plimpton is a leading international law firm with market-leading practices with offices in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The London office works on many of the highest profile and most complex transactions in Europe and worldwide. We do this by virtue of our English and New York law expertise and our close integration with our other offices. Our clients look to us to bring a distinctively high degree of quality, intensity and creativity to resolve legal challenges effectively and cost efficiently. The firm’s culture fosters a collaborative approach across disciplines and regions, and, as a result, clients benefit from the dedication, cohesiveness and superior quality that we bring to all of our work worldwide.
In developing our practice in London, we have sought to replicate the core strengths of our practice worldwide. Our focus is on private equity, insurance, international disputes and investigations, financial institutions, M&A, finance, capital markets and tax.
One of Debevoise’s basic principles is that each of our associates should become a ‘well rounded’ lawyer – an effective counsellor, advisor, and advocate – who can combine specific legal knowledge with the ability to deal with a broad range of situations. We believe that lawyers best develop their skills through a combination of formal training and on-the-job experience, in a respectful and collegial environment. The two years are split into four six-month seats and trainees have the opportunity to gain experience in at least three distinct areas of law with a mandatory seat in litigation/arbitration. Trainees may also have the opportunity to spend time in the Hong Kong office.
Debevoise offers vacation schemes which run in the spring and summer each year. We look for students whose personal qualities, academic records and other achievements demonstrate exceptional ability, motivation and potential for growth. The vacation scheme is open to both law and non-law graduates. We are looking for individuals who have consistently high levels of achievements both at A level (or equivalent) and at university. Applicants should be expected to achieve a 2:1 in any degree discipline and have a minimum of 144 (new tariff) UCAS points at A level (or equivalent). Apply online between 1 September 2023 and 1 January 2024 for open days and spring and summer vacation schemes in 2024. An online application form will be available on our website during these times. Anyone interested in a training contract with Debevoise should apply for a place on our open days which act as a gateway to our vacation schemes. We hire all of our Trainees from the vacation scheme. Vacation scheme students are paid £500 per week.
• Private health care (medical, dental, and private GP)
• Life and Income Protection Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Group personal pension plan
• 22 days vacation
• Cycle to work scheme
• On-site subsidised café
• Interest free season ticket loan
• Discretionary qualification leave on completion of your training contract
• Tech allowance
The firm holds open days to recruit for the vacation schemes, normally in February and/or March. Around 100 candidates will be invited to attend. On the day, candidates will meet the graduate recruitment team and the firm’s Training Principal, will spend time with a mentor and will participate in an informal networking lunch attended by trainees, associates and partners. There will also be a commercial assessment. The day is intended as much for candidates to get to know the firm as the other way around.
This Firm's Rankings in
UK Guide, 2024
Ranked Departments
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London (Firms)
- Banking & Finance: Fund Finance (Band 2)
- Banking & Finance: Sponsors (Band 4)
- Commercial and Corporate Litigation (Band 2)
- Financial Crime: Corporates (Band 1)
- Tax (Band 4)
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UK-wide
- Construction: International Arbitration (Band 2)
- Insurance: Non-contentious (Band 3)
- International Arbitration: Commercial Arbitration (Band 2)
- International Arbitration: Investor-State Arbitration (Band 2)
- Investment Funds: Private Equity (Band 2)
- Investment Funds: Private Equity: Credit Funds Spotlight
- Investment Funds: Private Equity: Secondaries (Band 2)
- Public International Law (Band 2)