Dechert

A Decherated Philly hero with 150 years of heritage and plenty of finance strength? It couldn’t hert to read on…

About the Firm

Like a lot of industries, law is made up of a good mix of young pretenders and established institutions. With 150 years of heritage in its rear-view mirror, Dechert certainly isn’t a new kid on the block. The firm carries a hefty reputational weight for its “large and very reputable finance group” globally, which carries over to the US. Chambers USA awards the firm top acknowledgements in areas like capital markets: securitization (both CLOs and single family rental), product liability, registered funds and accountant and auditor liability nationwide.

That’s alongside strong rankings in areas like corporate M&A, investment funds, private equity and real estate. According to associates at the firm, ‘big city work’ absolutely happens wherever the Dechert ‘D’ logo goes.

The firm has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and nine other US locations, including in Philadelphia, Charlotte and Dallas. This is further supplemented by a wide-ranging network of international offices.

Dechert is recognized as The Elite for Junior Satisfaction and The Elite for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey. Dechert is also recognized as The Elite for Junior Satisfaction in Boston specifically.

Summer Program

Dechert’s summer program provides associates with the opportunity to get hands-on legal experience through a curriculum of both billable and pro bono work. Over the course of the program, associates help partners and senior attorneys with client work alongside training sessions and workshops covering the likes of time management and public speaking, as well as mock negotiations and depositions. Former summers explained that the program really helped them to decide the types of work they wanted to specialize in, with one interviewee noting that “exposure to different types of litigation really helped me to narrow down my interests.”

“When we all summered here, I saw that we were all like-minded individuals…”

Previous summers at the firm also pointed to an active social element on the summer program, which included the likes of boat cruises and baseball games. The consensus was that they gave associates a chance to bond with fellow future class year colleagues: “When we all summered here, I saw that we were all like-minded individuals.” In fact, one junior strongly urged aspiring associates to “make good friends that you can keep in touch with once you start.”

Strategy & Future

Dechert has long been a notable BigLaw player, but over the past few years the firm seems to be going from strength to strength, and this appears to be in no small part thanks to their co-chairs Mark Thierfelder and Dave Forti. The firm’s annual revenue has now reached over 1.6 billion dollars. Associates felt as if the firm seemed to be moving towards wanting more associates to be in the office. With this being said, associates did not report feeling like this was being implemented with an iron fist. One associate noted that “the people here are flexible, and I’ve never felt a real sense of rigid structure on that point.”

Dechert is recognized as The Elite for AI Integration in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

The Work

During your first two years as an associate at Dechert, you won’t be tied to a singular practice group; transactional and litigation associates have work funneled to them from a range of practice groups via the firm’s centralized system. This cover-all-bases approach will help inform associates where it is they want to end up come their third year when they get to choose a specific practice group. One associate arrived at the conclusion that this method “helps attorneys to find work if you are low on hours, and it makes sure people aren’t just siloed into one area.”

While the centralized system is a great tool for ensuring you’re being issued enough work, its existence does not stop associates from frequently being topped up with assignments from partners. As a result, it’s a system that encourages juniors to be entrepreneurial and allows them to develop key relationships with partners. One-way associates can do this is by being in the office. As one interviewee stressed: “Being in the office, you get exposure.” Juniors are expected to be in the office four days a week, moving to three days a week for more senior associates. With this being said, associates did not report feeling like this was being implemented with an iron fist: “The people here are flexible, and I’ve never felt a real sense of rigid structure on that point.”

Dechert is recognized as The Elite for Work Allocation & Autonomy in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Career Development

First year associates receive training three times a week, reducing to twice a week in their second year. Juniors can also attend weekly and quarterly practice group meetings which are held to go over current issues. Miss a training session? Forget one from a while ago? Dechert has associates covered with a portal containing all the information from past training sessions.

“Lots of the firm’s alumni work as general counsels elsewhere or in the government.”

We heard that speaking about a future working in-house is not a taboo at the firm. As one associate put it: “Lots of the firm’s alumni work as general counsels elsewhere or in the government.” Partners at Dechert talk openly and candidly about career trajectories and often offer informal advice. The firm also offers client secondment opportunities, an external job posting board, and a career coach who can dispense wisdom for your career’s next steps. In summary: “I feel like I’ve got supportive people around and I feel well supported by partners too.”

Sources highlighted that the firm had taken strides towards making the partnership process more transparent and cited an orientation to talk about the firm’s structure. Some associates however offered a slightly different picture and seemed to think there wasn’t an official firm policy on partnership, pointing out that it wasn’t until long after you start that the steps to partnership are laid out. As a general rule, in order to make partnership, “you need to bill a lot and make yourself indispensable to a few client groups.”

Dechert is recognized as The Elite for Career Development in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Hours & Compensation

Salaries at Dechert increase on a lockstep basis and follow the Cravath scale. The firm’s overall compensation package was perceived to be very competitive, especially in more regional offices. The consensus amongst associates was that eight and a half hours work a day was about average. That said, we did hear tales of quite large variation in workloads. Juniors assured us however that these busy periods are generally easy to predict far in advance. Of the 1,950 hours target, associates are required to do at least 25 hours of pro bono.

“Partners and coordinators will be mindful when dishing out work to associates that have had a particularly busy period.”

When the hours do get tough – which they inevitably do at times – associates were quick to highlight the nice coffee machines, flavored water, snacks and fruit to soften the blow. We heard that the firm also provides virtual support tools to help associates take care of their mental health. Dechert prides itself on being receptive to associates feedback on their workloads too: “People have a good idea of when I have bandwidth or when I’m overloaded. Partners and coordinators will be mindful when dishing out work to associates that have had a particularly busy period.”

Dechert is recognized as The Elite for Benefits & Quality of Life in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Culture

While associates didn’t sell Dechert to us as a lifestyle firm per se, they were quick to reassure aspiring associates about the realities of the firm’s workload: “This is a firm where you work very hard, but it’s not a firm that steals your soul. My weekends aren’t miserable; I’m still able to find time at the weekend to do the things I enjoy doing”. A sense of community amongst Dechert associates appeared to be very strong too: “A community feel was something I really wanted and I’m glad that I found it. People make a genuine effort to be present and will check in with you.”

“A community feel was something I really wanted and I’m glad that I found it.”

We heard that associates at Dechert receive a free lunch on Wednesdays (and whenever they have completed a training session). In some offices, the firm also organizes formal office floor socials which aim to celebrate recent birthdays of associates. Associates at the firm do not just socialize through firm organized events though. One associate reported “we work hard but people are good at doing informal get togethers” and others pointed to sports events with their fellow associates during their free time. Reflecting on their relationship with partners, associates revealed that they come across as “regular people” and are easy to get along with. And, more often than not, happy to go over first drafts of documents and provide good feedback: “Partners are very open and I appreciate how intentional they are in taking associates under their wing.”

Dechert is recognized as The Elite for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Pro Bono

As one put it: “People here take pro bono to heart.” The firm has a dedicated partner who oversees pro bono assignment at the firm, and those who go over their pro bono target felt that it was never an issue. We heard pro bono matters often provide partners and junior associates opportunities to work more closely together in collaboration, often on interesting and complex matters. Previous examples of the work on offer includes non-profit mergers, wills and estate documents for the elderly, housing court matters and immigration cases.

Dechert is recognized as The Elite for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Inclusion

As one associate put it: “I think especially at the moment, it’s a hard balance. They try to do a great job and I’ve felt super supported in my time here.” The current crop of juniors described the firm’s inclusion initiatives as organized and respectful. Examples of these initiatives include the Latin American affinity group, the family-oriented affinity group, and the disability affinity group. Partners were said to be easily reached when it came to inclusion-related matters and juniors noted that they were always happy to give up their time to provide a few minutes of informal advice.