DLA Piper

Don’t be DLAte to the party. As one of the biggest hitters in the US, DLA Piper is “a good place to put down roots.”

About the Firm

There aren’t many firms that are bigger than DLA Piper in terms of scale or global impact. The firm has sought to position itself right the epicenter of big business, regulation, finance and tech, and now operates in over 40 countries (with 26 offices spread across the US). That’s a level of expansion that even your sibling who’s managed to build a Monopoly hotel on Boardwalk and Park Place would be jealous of. As you might expect, DLA has built quite a reputation for itself, with top-tier Chambers USA rankings in almost 30 different practices.

This includes top nods for its corporate/M&A work in Arizona, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia, as well as strengths across healthcare, IP, investment funds, labor and employment, litigation: general commercial, product liability & mass torts, and real estate to name a few. For those not in the know about our sister’s guide’s ranking and how it works, that’s a performance well worth writing home about.

“Most of my cohort tell me they are in it for the long haul…”

As one associate highlighted,“most of my cohort tell me they are in it for the long haul. It seems to be good place to put down roots.” DLA Piper as we know it today was created around 20 years ago, rising from mergers between a handful of powerhouse UK and US law firms. As a result, the firm takes on a fairly big cohort of junior associates (86 in 2025). New York houses the largest number of junior associates, but there are also a significant number in the likes of Chicago, San Diego and Washington, DC.

Although we don’t recommend emailing them and asking for a selfie, it’s definitely worth mentioning some of star-studded figures that are also involved in more senior roles at the company. These include Senator Richard Burr and ex- UK prime minister David Cameron.

DLA Piper is recognized as a Strong Performer for Junior Satisfaction and a Strong Performer for Mid to Senior Satisfaction in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey. DLA Piper is also recognized as The Elite for Junior Satisfaction in Boston specifically.

Summer Program

Where summer associates used to be able to dip into work from all over DLA’s offering, summers now apply to specific practice groups they are interested in specializing in. As you might expect, a big part of the work as a summer associate involves legal research on billable work and writing memos. As one put it: “A lot of exposure and observation.” Those in litigation will also take part in trial prep relating to upcoming trials. More substantive tasks are available in a pro bono context, with summers working on family law and veterans discharge upgrade cases.

Strategy & Future

DLA Piper’s global managing partner, Richard Chesley, highlights the importance of attorneys at the firm acting as partners (with a small p) to their clients: “It's no longer sit there, sit at your desk (virtual or real), and wait for the phone to ring. We need to be looking around the corner. What's coming next for for our clients? What do we need to be prepared for?” Chesley also has strong words for those considering the possibility of AI ‘replacing’ young lawyers: “For us, nothing could be further from the truth... We continue to recruit very large classes out of very elite law schools, and we promote them all into our Associate ranks. We spend enormous effort to promote them within the firm to give them every opportunity they need to advance.”

Read more from Richard Chesley under the ‘Get Hired’ tab.

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

The Work

While there is no centralized staffing system and it does vary slightly between teams, we heard that partners dish out the lion’s share of the work. The firm also has attorney resource managers available to help guide juniors through the process. In the first year, juniors are not assigned to a particular group, but the work becomes more specialized over time. Litigation and corporate take on the largest portion of junior associates, but groups like finance, investment funds and private equity also take on a good number.

Career Development

Irrespective of how they view their chances of making partner, all the associates we spoke to felt like DLA Piper was a good place to base themselves in the long run. Many of the associates highlighted how good the internal programs were both for career networking and making new friends at the firm. “There’s always the opportunity to discuss and debrief why we’re making this change or doing this,” one associate explained, “pick up the phone, ask the questions.” The firm also offers a number of different formal training courses in the shape of multi-day programs. That said, it was the more informal side that really stood out: “I had great feedback from senior associates on my work. They spent two hours walking me through my first few assignments.”

“There’s always the opportunity to discuss and debrief why we’re making this change or doing this. Pick up the phone, ask the questions.”

DLA Piper also has a dedicated program intended to track people into becoming partner, named catalyst. For those who don’t necessarily have their sights set on becoming a partner, the general consensus was that the firm is very accepting of it: “There’s two sides to it,” one junior explained, “if you want to be partner, there’s the opportunity. But people also come to get the skills to go in-house. The firm will help you move towards that role.”

Hours & Compensation

There’s no doubt about it, there’s a bit of a reputation that comes with BigLaw, but DLA Piper’s associates were quick to point out that it’s not always the pressure cooker you fear it might be: “This devil isn’t that scary of a devil!” one told us, “it can at times be like a 9-5, but knowing that you might go back online later.” DLA associates are given a target of 2,000 hours which is broken down into 1,850 hours of billables and 150 hours of additional activities like pro bono, business development, training, and recruitment. We heard that out of the 150 hours, pro bono will often make up around 60. Obviously, during peak times, the typical junior associate experience is unlikely to be in step with a 9-5, with 10-hour days seemingly not uncommon during times when the company needs everyone to pull together.

The basic pay structure at DLA Piper follows a lockstep system. Associate bonuses are paid out after meeting the 2,000-hour requirement. We heard that this does come with challenges, in cases where associates hit the pro bono cap early on or good work fell just below the threshold, but we were told that partners want you to make your bonus and will help to push you to getting there. Interviewees highlighted that there were structures in place for additional hours above 2,000, but this wasn’t common among junior associates. Most associates described the bonus structure as “fair” or “competitive.”

Whilst working in the office seems to be encouraged, juniors told us that there was no stigma around remote working. The general expected in office attendance is three days a week, but this quota can differ from team to team. Interviewees also told us that occasional exceptions where needed wouldn’t cause any problems.

Culture

As one of the firm’s NYC attorneys explained, DLA Piper’s office in the city is “uniquely friendly. It’s a place where associates are respected and appreciated.” So, what does that actually mean in practice? “Partners and associates always say thank you and appreciate your input.” This atmosphere extends beyond the New York office too, with another associate describing “no awkward smiles in the hallway! Everyone knows everyone.” Last year, all the firm’s associates went to the Americas conference, which provided the opportunity to meet, socialize, and understand the firm’s strategy.

“At first it's intimidating, but you soon realize everyone is just a human and working together to get the job done.”

One interviewee highlighted that DLA has a “great culture of genuinely investing into your career. My personal mentor has been game changing.” We heard too that partners go out of their way to explain things in significant detail, so “you won’t be unsure what’s going on.” And if in doubt, “you can always pick up the phone and call. At first it's intimidating, but you soon realize everyone is just a human and working together to get the job done.” There are opportunities for juniors to build friendships too with regular opportunities to hang out outside of work such as specific holiday parties and food events. We also heard stories of fellow associates attending each other’s weddings. Some offices (though not all), also spoke of happy hour cultures and team specific meals out.

DLA Piper is recognized as a Strong Performer for Culture in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.

Pro Bono

Regardless of whom you speak to, it’s pretty clear that pro bono is a big part of life at DLA Piper. “There are a million different opportunities you can either do or seek out,” one junior told us, with previous examples ranging from upgrading veterans’ discharges to helping felons with spent convictions transition back. Of course, pro bono at the firm brings with it the opportunity for those in more junior roles to get exposure to more complex work than they might elsewhere, essential for developing skills, but it also forms a not insignificant part of the bonus structure (more on that shortly).

DLA Piper is recognized as an Excellent Performer for Pro Bono in our 2026 associate satisfaction survey.