DLA Piper
London·Chicago
Corporate·Litigation·Real estate
Formed by a three-way UK/US/German merger in 2005, DLA Piper now has more than 5,000 lawyers across 90+ offices in 40+ countries, and in 2024 became the first UK-founded firm to pass £3bn in revenue.
Why this firm
The world's largest law firm by headcount
World's most active firm for M&A by deal volume: top of Mergermarket's global rankings for 16 years running
Runs New Perimeter, its own nonprofit affiliate: full-time lawyers doing pro bono rule-of-law work in under-served countries
Built Aiscension, an in-house AI tool for detecting cartel and bribery risk, named most innovative use of technology at The Lawyer Awards
What this firm looks for
Drawn from DLA Piper's own recruitment materials
Based on the firm's published recruitment materials, graduate recruitment commentary and stated values.
Fits DLA Piper's four named values
DLA Piper's recruitment messaging is built around its own four firm values (Be Supportive, Be Collaborative, Be Bold, Be Exceptional) and its graduate programme explicitly asks candidates to demonstrate these, e.g. thinking creatively and challenging conventional approaches.
Global mindset, grounded in local context
The firm's International Graduate Programme page states it wants candidates curious about global legal developments, regulatory shifts and geopolitical trends who combine a global mindset with appreciation of local contexts, reflected in real secondments to offices like Bangkok, Dubai and Singapore.
Resilient, reflective under setbacks
Direct quote from the firm's own careers page: candidates should be resilient, reflective, and always eager to learn, leveraging setbacks as an opportunity to sharpen their thinking.
Past applications
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