DLA Piper

Also Known As: DLA Piper, DLA, Piper

Law Firms

VAULT RANKINGS 2013

#39 Vault Law 100

#28 Summer Associate Program

View all Rankings #3 Real Estate

GENERAL INFO

Headquarters: New York, NY
77 offices
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THE BUZZ…

• “Mega-firm lacking true identity”
• “Friendly”
• “International firm with a great reputation for solid work”
• “Getting too big”

NEWS AND UPDATES

Vault's Scoop

Uppers

• “Great global platform”
• “The pay is solid”
• “Quality challenging work”

Downers

• “Internal politics”
• “Unclear associate performance criteria”
• “With a firm this big, it is easy to feel like a number”

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

THE SCOOP

With 4,200 lawyers in over 70 offices around the globe, DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms—as in sheer size—in the world.

Hunting and Gathering

DLA Piper is a law firm empire. Its massive growth is the result of 2005’s tripartite merger between U.K. firm DLA, Chicago/Baltimore-based Piper Rudnick and California’s Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich—and the whirlwind of acquisitions that followed.

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From the Community

DLA Piper REVIEWS

Inside opinions that matter, collected by Vault from employees at companies around the world.

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DLA Piper SALARIES

DLA Piper salary & compensation reviews include all signing and year-end bonuses, vacation time and other perks and reimbursements that make up total compensation.

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DLA Piper SURVEY SAYS

OUR SURVEY SAYS

Vault’s Verdict: At times, working at DLA Piper can make you feel like a small fish in a very, very, big pond, but associates are enthusiastic about a return to market salaries, cutting-edge international work and a stellar cross-border pro bono program.

Associate Life

Satisfaction
• “The clients and matters are larger than life, and the work is cutting edge. I love working cross-office and being ahead of the curve.”
• “We are understaffed. The firm is very lean. The reaction to demands for more resources is very slow. I would have more job satisfaction if I had time to think about and understand the work I do.”
• “Great work, great people, and pay is back up to market scale. Hours can be demanding and unpredictable, but that's to be expected.”
• “Work-life balance is challenging. Bonus levels not comparable to so-called ‘peer firms’ that firm leadership expresses interest in competing with.”

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DISCUSSIONS

New Topic: Should I give up Big-4 job to go to law school......or wait?
I am interested focusing on commercial litigation once I begin a legal career. I have accepted a position at a Big-4 accounting firm and I am in …

New Topic: Diversity at DLA Piper (2 replies)
Last reply: Honestly, I have to say that even though the search is on for a new Director of Diversity that has not changed they way DLA operates. The firm i …

New Topic: Diversity at DLA Piper (2 replies)
Last reply: I have a friend who is looking into an opportunity in NY but concerned about opportunities as a black male. Can anyone tell me anything about th …

Company Initiatives

Law Firm Diversity Programs, View from the Top: Legal Women Leaders, Pro Bono Programs, Green Programs

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