Debevoise & Plimpton

About the firm

Big-ticket work does not necessarily require a big trainee intake. For Debevoise & Plimpton’s London rookies, the firm’s combination of heavyweight matters and a cohort of around ten was the central attraction. “I liked the idea of not just being a number,” one explained, adding that “I wanted to work in a small team where everyone knows me and I know everyone,” rather than disappear into a much larger intake.

“I wanted to work in a small team where everyone knows me and I know everyone.”

Debevoise may have New York roots, but it has been building English and European law expertise since 1989 (the year, not the Taylor Swift album), and its London office is now the firm’s second largest. Its practice is split across high-end transactional and contentious work, with particular strength in private equity, insurance, finance, international disputes, and investigations. Chambers UK 2026 ranks Debevoise among the nation’s top firms for investor-state arbitration and public international law, as well as acknowledging its strong showings in fund finance, insurance, international commercial arbitration, commercial & corporate litigation, and several fields of private equity.

What united trainees who chose Debevoise was the prospect of technically demanding work without an aggressively competitive atmosphere. Trainees repeatedly described the firm as collaborative, academic, and team-oriented – useful qualities at a US firm where the expectations remain high.

Why trainees joined the firm

Small cohort

A group of around ten promised visibility, close working relationships, and less chance of getting lost in the crowd.

Practice area strengths

Applicants were particularly impressed by Debevoise’s disputes, finance, and insurance work. One reported being “really drawn to the type of work they do – I initially wanted to be a finance lawyer, and the Debevoise finance team is one of the best in the City.”

Culture of co-operation

The firm felt ambitious without being internally too cutthroat. “I was also drawn the firm’s values of collegiality and teamwork, which I always thought was important,” one source told us, noting that “no-one was overly aggressive or competitive within the firm – it felt very much like a team!”

Trainee satisfaction rankings

Training contract structure

Seat allocation

The training contract consists of four six-month seats. A trainee’s first rotation is allocated according to business need and is usually confirmed shortly before they start. From the second seat onwards, trainees submit three preferences by email around the midpoint of their current rotation. Sources described the system as refreshingly unfussy rather than heavily computerised, and felt the small intake made it easier for the firm to accommodate preferences.

Client secondments

Client secondments are a brand new introduction to the training programme. Trainees in the firm’s investment management group (IMG) have the opportunity to be seconded to a client during the rotation.

International secondments

A Hong Kong office secondment may be available during the second year, usually as a trainee’s third or fourth rotation. The opportunity is competitive and depends on business need.

Seat Experiences

Trainee life

Culture and environment

Data from our annual trainee survey

The most consistent verdict on Debevoise’s culture was also the simplest: “the people are really nice.” Trainees described colleagues as normal, down to earth, and able to communicate sensibly even when the pressure is on. Nobody pretended the job was undemanding – “we work at a US firm,” one source reminded us – but high standards did not translate into aggression. Mistakes were corrected without anyone being berated, while good work was noticed and praised. Overall, we heard that “people are very friendly and tend to be on the more academic side, rather than having the aggressive transactional feel you can get elsewhere.”

“People are very friendly and tend to be on the more academic side, rather than having the aggressive transactional feel you can get elsewhere.”

The London office has grown, but trainees still found it close-knit. Its social life tends to be based around teams: recent team outings included go-karting, an escape room, dinners, and post-deal trips to the pub, as well as off-sites with social elements. These sit alongside firmwide events such as summer and winter parties. The office itself sweetens long days with free breakfast, subsidised lunches, late-night Deliveroo, and a taxi home, plus a gym, games room, and occasional drinks trolley.

Working patterns

Data from our annual trainee survey

The formal policy is three days a week in the office, although some trainees choose four because it is easier to ask questions, have lunch with colleagues, and learn by listening in. Hours depend heavily on the seat and the stage of a matter. A typical workday starts about 9am, and one source described ordinarily finishing around 7 or 8pm, with 5.30pm exits on quieter days and occasional 11pm nights at either end of the scale. Trainee schedules naturally vary from seat to seat: for example, finance can bring urgent requests that need to be dealt with ASAP, whereas tax often works to longer timelines. Meanwhile, disputes may stay busy for sustained periods when a hearing or trial approaches, unlike corporate hours which fluctuate on a more day-to-day basis.

Pay

There were no complaints when it came to salary. Trainees felt that the pay was fair and competitive, especially when approaching qualification.

Supervision and training

Supervision is largely informal and consists of trainees working alongside their supervisors rather than formal check-ins. Trainees sit with their supervisors, which means a question can usually be asked by turning around rather than booking a meeting. Sources felt they could seek help before reaching the limit of what they could handle alone: “I can’t remember an instance where I’ve felt stranded,” one reassured us. Responsibility increases as each seat progresses, although every new rotation brings a brief reset while trainees learn the vocabulary and expectations of a different practice.

That day-to-day access is backed by formal mid-seat and end-of-seat reviews, with feedback also shared with the professional development team. Departments run introductory sessions on their core work, while wider practice meetings cover legal and market developments. The corporate team, for example, holds a monthly department meeting where lawyers present on new issues. Second-years also attend LAUNCH in New York, a two-week programme combining legal training, business and financial literacy, mentoring, and cross-practice collaboration. And with the adoption of AI across the industry, the firm hosts regular sessions on its use to keep everyone up to date.

Pro bono & CSR

Trainees described the firm having a “strong emphasis on pro bono,” rather than it being treated as an add-on; pro bono hours count towards trainees’ billable targets, and those who reach the firm’s annual threshold receive a plaque. Among the firm’s varied range of pro bono matters, sources highlighted reproductive rights work, Afghan asylum appeals, and Windrush claims, alongside advice for charities and social enterprises (such as a school for disabled children or a solar company in Sierra Leone). For trainees, these matters can provide unusually direct responsibility and a chance to work with lawyers outside their current department. The London programme also includes session at the UnLtd social enterprise clinic and Hackney consumer advice clinic.

Inclusion

Trainees pointed to active affinity networks, including a women’s resource group and an LGBTQ+ group, as visible parts of the London office.

Qualification

The qualification process begins with trainees submitting one or two department preferences. Sources generally have a sense of what the firm’s retention rates may be, but this is not formally set out. One recent cohort was told in advance exactly when decisions would be announced and ultimately received offers without interviews or additional partner chats. The wait was stressful, but our source did not feel the firm could realistically have provided more information. The mood after the process was notably loyal: “There is a feeling amongst trainees that we’d all like to stick together” as “we all get along and like the idea of having long careers here.”

And finally… their last social was Debevoise & Plimp-tons of fun!

Being new apparently offers no protection on the go-karting track: at one recent team social, a partner left the trainees in the dust and took first place.