Davis Polk traces its origin to a one-man practice in Manhattan opened by a 21-year-old lawyer, Francis N. Bangs. The firm changed its name several times to account for new partners, using names such as Bangs & Stetson; Bangs, Stetson, Tracey & MacVeagh,, Stetson, Jennings & Russell, and Davis, Polk, Wardwell, Gardiner & Reed.[2] Towards the end of the 19th century, J. P. Morgan hired Francis Stetson, then name partner of the firm, as his chief counsel. During Stetson's tenure, the firm helped Morgan to restructure the Pennsylvania Railroad as well as create General Electric. The modern incarnations of Morgan's business, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, have remained key clients of the firm. Among other high-profile lawyers, President Grover Cleveland served as a member of the firm during the interval between his two non-consecutive presidential terms.[3]
In 1971, Lydia Kess was the first woman to be promoted to partner, becoming the second female partner at a major Wall Street law firm.[4]
In November 2023, amid a wave of protests calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War at elite U.S. law schools, Davis Polk & Wardwell was among a group of major law firms who sent a letter to top law school deans warning them that an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish students would have corporate hiring consequences: "We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses."[8]
In September 2024, Davis Polk & Wardwell, along with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, and Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, announced their leadership roles in Tokyo Metro's upcoming initial public offering (IPO) valued at JPY 319.6 billion (approximately USD 2.24 billion). Tokyo Metro is set to list on the prime market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on October 23, 2023, having received IPO application approval on September 20.[9]
Race relations
John W. Davis's legal career is most remembered for his final appearance before the Supreme Court, in which he unsuccessfully defended the "separate but equal" doctrine in Briggs v. Elliott, a companion case to Brown v. Board of Education. Davis, as a defender of racial segregation and state control of education, argued that South Carolina had shown good faith in attempting to eliminate any inequality between black and white schools and should be allowed to continue to do so without judicial intervention.[10]
He expected to win, most likely through a divided Supreme Court, even after the matter was re-argued after the death of Chief JusticeFred M. Vinson. After the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against his client's position, he returned the $25,000 (equivalent to $300,000 in 2023),[11] that he had received from South Carolina, although he was not required to do so, but kept a silver tea service that had been presented to him.[12] It has also been reported that he never charged South Carolina in the first place.[13] He declined to participate further in the case, as he did not wish to be involved in the drafting of decrees to implement the Court's decision.[12]
In Guinn v. United States, as Solicitor General, while he argued against the legality of the "grandfather clause", he conceded the legality of the literacy tests, which was used to disenfranchise African Americans and others.[14][15][16]
Recognitions
In March 2007, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) awarded Davis Polk its Heroes Honors 25th Anniversary Award for the corporate pro bono work the firm has done on the organization's behalf.[17] In October 2008, a Davis Polk team working with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund won a $4.6 million judgment[18] on behalf of immigrant workers who were being paid below the statutory minimum wage by their employer, a popular Manhattan restaurant.[19]
In 2010, Davis Polk was ranked third in Revenue per Lawyer by the American Lawyer's top 100 National Firms.[20] In 2012 and 2013, Davis Polk was named America's Law Firm of the Year by the International Financial Law Review.[21]
The firm placed 15th on The American Lawyer's 2021 AmLaw 200 ranking,[1] and, on the 2021 Global 200 survey, Davis Polk ranked as the 20th highest grossing law firm in the world.[1]
^Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Mattu, Ravi; Warner, Bernhard; Kessler, Sarah; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2 November 2023). "Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
