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Overview

Introduction

Get your passport ready—DLA Piper has more than 90 offices (including relationship firms) around the world and is home to more than 4,000 lawyers. These lawyers work across dozens of practices, and the firm is lauded for its Data Protection, Privacy, and Security. Collaboration and professionalism are key to this firm’s collegial culture. Associates enjoy working with collaborative, intelligent colleagues in a flexible environment.

Firm Stats


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Total No. Attorneys (2023)

4.5K - 5K

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No. of Partners Named (2023)

23

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Featured Rankings

Vault Law 100
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No. of 1st Year Associates Hired (2023)

49


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No. of Summer Associates (2023)

83 total (79 2Ls;4 2Ls)


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Base Salary

1st year: $215,000
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Vault Verdict

Few firms stretch as far and as wide as DLA Piper, both geographically and in practice areas. The firm fills its ranks with talented lateral associates and students from a diverse array of law schools. Each associate needs to dive in the deep end of the pool and handle substantive, important work from the get go. With a relatively flat hierarchy, firm partners work to develop and train associates by passing down knowledge and mentoring on case teams. Everyone from the top down is respectful, supportive, and kind. The firm sponsors social events, from lunches to coffee breaks to happy hours for attorneys to network and support one another. DLA Piper allows associates to work remotely, which allows for better work-life balance, and firm technology makes working from home seamless. W...

About the Firm

With approximately 4,300 lawyers in 90-plus offices (including relationship firms) around the globe, DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms—both by headcount and by revenue—in the world. 

From Big to Ginormous

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. Spurring the growth were healthy real estate, litigation, corporate, and private equity practices and the absorption of entire departments from rival firms. In September 2006, the firm cut its name from DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary to the concise DLA Piper, a change reflecting its new emphasis on global brand building. ...

Associate Reviews

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  • “The firm is large, so each office and practice group has its own culture. That being said, I have been at DLA for a few years, and I have always been impressed with the personalities that the firm has hired. Smart people, and everyone is kind.”
  • “The culture at DLA is fantastic! Attorneys and staff at all levels are respectful and professional—it is a very collegial environment. Attorneys have the ability, and are encouraged, to work on various teams and aspects of matters.”
  • “Lawyers socialize together whenever given the opportunity, and we all generally get along well—it's a very easy and comfortable environment. We are still hybrid, so when we come together for in-office events and meetings, we enjoy the time together. Lawyers and staff are very friendly and collegial with each other.”
  • “Lawyers often go for coffee or lunch together during the working day. The firm also hosts a number of networking events throughout the year, from a family-friendly Halloween party, to monthly birthday celebrations at the office.”

Why Work Here


We are, at our core, bold, exceptional, collaborative and supportive.

Our people are the backbone, heart and soul of our firm. Wherever you are in your professional journey, DLA Piper is a place you can engage in meaningful work and grow your career.

Diversity at DLA Piper

"DIVERSITY & INCLUSION At DLA Piper, our Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) mission is to emerge as a leader through insight, innovation, diversity and inclusion. We will put our people first as we work to deliver excellence in service to our clients. We accomplish this by working with firm leadership to integrate our goals and concepts into the way in which the Firm manages its people and business. OUR COMMITMENT Our D&I efforts are initiated and led from the very top of the global firm by our senior..."

Getting Hired Here

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  • “The firm is looking for hard workers. I don't believe that the firm overemphasizes the school that the applicant attended, which I believe is a good thing. The firm does value clerkships and prior work experience.”
  • “We have a strong lateral hiring program, and have onboarded very talented associates through lateral hiring. The firm is also re-investing and refocusing on its summer program, to try to focus on hiring and developing talent right out of law school.”
  • “The firm's hiring process generally focuses on the candidate's core legal skills, as well as their eagerness to learn and to be a contributing member of a team. To that end, I believe that all aspects of a candidate that speak to these traits are considered important.”
  • “I think the firm has one of the more welcoming recruiting processes among big firms. For example, I sit in an east coast office, and I was sent to a Midwest school to do recruiting on diverse candidates. It's not a big deal to be a non-traditional candidate, or to not have summered with the firm. Certain offices have ‘feeder schools,’ but that's really more representative of the geography than intentional, in my opinion.”

Perks & Benefits


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