Debevoise & Plimpton LLP - True Picture

Debevoise & Plimpton training contract review 2026

The Firm

Across the pond, bigger is often considered to be better: bigger portions, bigger buildings, bigger… cohorts? Not necessarily, and certainly not in the case of Debevoise’s UK branch where it can achieve twice as much with half the manpower. “The smaller trainee cohort played a big role for me,” one source explained when asked why they were drawn to the firm; “I think being in a nice group of ten people ensures I could build a good relationship with everyone and not get lost in a group of 50 trainees.” It’s true – Debevoise knows bigger is not always better, electing instead for a smaller London cohort to ensure that its trainees can become the best they can be.

“I was interested in their disputes and litigation practice because they really stood out in that area.”

There are other factors that insiders found appealing about the firm as well, as this interviewee relayed: “I was interested in their disputes and litigation practice because they really stood out in that area.” That’s not the only place the firm shines; accolades from Chambers UK range into the double digits, receiving applause for banking and finance, public international law, tax, investment funds, international arbitration, and commercial and corporate investigations.

The firm also cleans up in Chambers USA, earning gold stars for its corporate crime and investigations, transactional and regulatory insurance, and trademark and copyright intellectual property prowess – among many others. So, it’s no wonder Debevoise’s juniors advised aspiring trainees to “keep an open mind coming in; it’s a really great firm with a lot to offer!”

The Seats

Upon joining the firm, trainees are allocated to their first seat depending on business need before submitting three preferences for each rotation thereafter. We heard the firm encourages everyone to try out one transactional seat over the course of their four-seat contract, while a stint in disputes is mandatory. When it comes to preferences, second-year trainees do get priority, but that wasn’t a point of concern for our interviewees: “It’s quite a small cohort, so it’s easier to get the seats you want.” There is also a competitive secondment to Hong Kong on offer for a mixed seat.

Pro bono was also a large aspect for our interviewees, with a reported 25-hour requirement that was far exceeded by most of our sources: “I think I’ve done over 100 hours this year,” one reflected, “it’s very common and very encouraged.” For those who do hit the 25-hour benchmark, the firm awards a plaque to commemorate their efforts, and those trainees can collectively choose a charity to donate £4,000 to on the firm’s dime.

Causes include the Windrush Initiative, Centre for Reproductive Rights, Afghan Pro Bono Initiative, and Domestic Abuse Response Alliance. “It’s a great opportunity to meet different people across the firm,” explained one pro bono enthusiast, “you get a lot more responsibility on those matters than you do on others as well.”

The finance department is largely split down the middle between fund finance and leveraged finance work. The former involves raising the funds to run the fund, and the latter has more to do with big acquisitions and things of that nature. Insiders were eager to highlight their time in the group as a standout of their contract, because “all the teams give you a lot of responsibility, but finance gives you the most!”

The client list is chock-full of banks, private clients, and private equity firms. An example of Debevoise’s fund finance work includes recently advising Bridgepoint Credit in a subscription line (TLDR: a loan taken out by a private equity fund secured by its investors’ capital commitments to the fund) with a syndicate of banks. The facility in question involves a quadruple sleeve structure, speaking to the complexity of the work the firm regularly undertakes.

“The team really puts you forward with clients on your matters,” beamed one junior, “it might feel daunting at first, but it’s a great way for you to see the life-cycle of a deal and understand the bigger picture.” Typically, trainees are taking board minutes, reviewing shareholder resolutions, drafting, running checklists (“checklists are really given to us as our Mount Everest”), handling ancillary documents and conditions precedents, and liaising directly with counsel. This all culminated in trainees feeling like they underwent a huge amount of development as a lawyer by the end, especially since “I’m running all of the matters I’m on and I’m always the point of contact, which is really cool.”

“You’re learning to swim and it’s hard, but if anything goes wrong, they have your life jacket.”

The corporate/M&A seat “is so broad,” we were told, “you can do so much while you’re here.” The bulk of the M&A work sees private equity clients looking to carry out direct or secondary investments, and, as one insider pointed out, there are “the classic ups and downs of M&A workflow.” For example, Debevoise represented the global manufacturing and solutions provider Dover Corporation in its acquisition of Marshall Excelsior Company, a cryogenic and flow control components provider, in a matter valued at $395 million.

When things get quieter, juniors can expect to get stuck in with work on bonds, capital markets, restructuring and IPOs. “I was happy with the responsibility,” pointed out one trainee, “you’re learning to swim and it’s hard, but if anything goes wrong, they have your life jacket.” Day-to-day activities include managing emails and checklists for transactions, working on first drafts of board resolutions and ancillary documents, collecting signatures, liaising with other teams, and general admin work. “When it gets busy, you have to be on top of everything,” revealed an interviewee, “you can really witness the team pull together and see the camaraderie that comes out of that.”

A department that has quite a bit of overlap with the M&A group is insurance, where we heard trainees are often “an M&A resource during the seat, but we’re broadly specialist.” With a lot of buying and selling in a regulated industry such as insurance, it justifies its existence being separate from the traditional corporate group. Of the responsibility here, we were told that rookies are “given a fair amount of autonomy; you’re across all the documents in a transaction, and you have direct contact with the clients who know you by name.”

Trainees find themselves reviewing complex documents, drafting pages of reports and letters for regulators, liaising with local counsel, preparing checklists, and leading legal assistance. “You’re generally just pushing everything along and keeping them on track,” explained one newbie, “you’re expected to be on top of things throughout so that senior people can refer to documents in the right order.” Rightly so, as the firm takes on extremely high-value matters. Take Debevoise’s representation of Stone Point Capital in its investment in the independent insurance distribution platform Ardonagh; the transaction involves customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals, and the investment is valued at $14 billion.

“I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me I’d be doing this kind of stuff when I joined the firm!”

Over on the commercial litigation side of things, juniors recommended buckling up for a high-octane experience: “It’s quite the busy seat,” one confessed, “it’s a fantastic learning curve though.” The firm works on a lot of high-profile, headline-making matters. Try this on for size: the firm is advising Shell in the largest litigation claim it has ever faced – the Bille & Ogale proceedings. Part of this involves handling a major case management conference, a four-day hearing at the Court of Appeal, and a four-week trial of Nigerian law. The matter is so complex that it is expected to keep the firm busy through 2026.

It’s understandable to worry that trainees might get a little lost in all the (Debe)noise, but we were quickly reassured by trainees that “you’re very much part of the team, and you need to be there. We’re leanly staffed, so you’re relied upon heavily.” They laughed: “I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me I’d be doing this kind of stuff when I joined the firm!” Pray tell, what stuff? Trial prep, sight checking, proofreading, bundling, and huge amounts of research are on the cards for juniors. One thing sources praised was the fact that they got to witness the fruits of their labours as well: “After you do a big research task,” one laid out, “you can see your conclusions feeding into later decisions, which is really cool!”

Trainee Life

Supervision evolves as time goes on, with insiders pointing out that they’ll receive more hands-on management at the start of their contract that quickly loosens up a few months in. “They’re extremely supportive and attentive,” a junior nodded, “but they treat you like an adult; there’s no oppressive handholding here.” While sources benefited from an assortment of training sessions on offer, the firm emphasises that there’s no learning quite like doing. “It’s quite the well-oiled training programme really,” an interviewee highlighted, “they put a lot of effort into our standardised training,” such as soft skills sessions for all new joiners and department-specific training that we heard everyone is invited to.

“They put a lot of effort into our standardised training.”

In recent months, Debevoise has ventured forth into a new office space, which most trainees found to be “so much better; it’s a huge improvement compared to where we were before.” Split across three floors, said upgrades include standing desks, improved technology, an outdoor seating space, and a canteen (which was especially popular with our sources). For those who want to pair fitness with finance, there is also a free-to-use gym onsite, along with showers and bike racks.

Trainees are expected to be in the office for 60% of the year, with most averaging three days a week… albeit slightly more than that as of late: “I think we’re all still enchanted by the new office,” a rookie grinned, “so we want to make the most of it!”Hours largely depend on the flow of work, with some insiders reporting 6pm home times while others were speaking with us coming off the back of a 3am finish that same day. Luckily, the salary softens the blow of those occasional late nights, as we were told that “it’s one of the perks of the firm; trainees get a bonus too, and when you qualify, the salary skyrockets!”

For those worried about a potentially cold and intimidating work culture, our sources were eager to put that notion to bed. “You hear scary stories about US firms, but it’s not been the case here at all,” one smiled; “people here are smart, and they want you to learn and get involved.” This leads to a “friendly and supportive” environment that allows trainees to mingle and network freely.

This is all supplemented by the various events that pop up throughout the year, including ad hoc drinks, Christmas and summer lunches and dinners, weekly drinks trolleys, and firm-wide quizzes. The finance group even had an overnight off-site event where the group participated in workshops in West London. The cohort were also keen to highlight the inclusivity of the firm, praising the gender diversity and affinity groups available: “It’s definitely something the firm keeps a close eye out for,” one noted, “it’s not perfect, but at the same time, there’s a big emphasis on growing talent.”

When qualification comes around, insiders were pleased to report the process was especially smooth, as “they always try and learn from the year before to make it easier for everyone.” That translates to simply putting in a preference for up to two departments they are interested in qualifying into before interviews are held. Not long after that, decisions are made, and that’s that!

Suddenly, trainees jump from a bicycle with stabilizers to driving a Rolls Debe-Royce as NQs. A good thing too, as that was the hope for all our interviewees: “We want to stay on, and they want to find a space for us; it’s the ideal end goal for everyone!” Looks like they did just that! The firm retained a full house of qualifying trainees in 2025.

How to get a Debevoise training contract  

Open day deadline: 1 January 2026

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.