Davis Polk: It Ought To Be in Pictures?
Cadwalader isn’t the only New York law firm with a sideline in serving as a film location. As previously reported in the ABA Journal, the recent George Clooney film, Michael Clayton, was filmed in the offices of what was then Dewey Ballantine (now Dewey & LeBoeuf).
But did Davis Polk & Wardwell also get a piece of the action? This email was recently sent to an internal email group at the firm:
“A couple of friends of mine saw ‘Michael Clayton’ last night and said they saw a credit to Davis Polk at the end. Any idea why?”
Find out, after the jump.
Here are a few more details about the Davis Polk cameo:
From: [redacted]@dpw.com
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:43 AM
Subject: Clayton, P.S.Apparently the scene they shot was in the Word Processing Center. One of the “stars” was [an administrative assistant] and she says they filmed from the back of the room to the front where the clocks are, for only a few seconds, but everyone got paid! So now we can go see it to see both the Center and people we know!
And some answers:
From: [redacted]@dpw.com
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 1:15 PM
Subject: Michael Clayton - Verifying InformationAlthough a few “background” scenes for the movie “Michael Clayton” were, in fact, filmed at DP&W, we believe that they may have ended up on the cutting room floor. We are in the process of verifying this information and will advise as soon as we receive definitive word.
Why would you cut footage of Davis Polk’s attractive offices? As we previously wrote:
When we were in law school, Davis was known as “Land of the Beautiful People.” They had the most gorgeous offices, and the best-looking associates (and summer associates).
See also here. Rumor has it that the reason DPW doesn’t have lawyer photos on its website is because, back when they did, the beautiful female associates started attracting stalkers.
Anyway, if you have interesting tidbits about law firms hosting — or, like Paul Hastings, appearing in — recent or forthcoming movies, please share them in the comments.
George Clooney at Dewey Ballantine [ABA Journal]
Earlier: Cadwalader’s Strange Visitors
Some Thoughts on Michael Clayton and Senior Associates
A Law Firm Cameo in ‘Transformers’
(17) Comments
Comments
first
Good Lord... "Land of the Beautiful People"?
Let's suppose Davis Polk does have the best looking associates and summers (certainly that's not something I've observed, but I'll bracket my judgment for now). If that's the case, it still doesn't deserve to be known as "Land of the Beautiful People". As discussed here many times before, there's a huge difference between "law school hot" and "real-world hot". Oh the humanity!
third
Agree, 3:52. However, DPW itself promotes its BP reputation (and I, too, agree that it's not deserved even though the associates there seem more well-groomed than most, which can go a long way). It probably helps the firm in its recruiting: You may work ungodly hours and you'll never ever make partner, but at least you'll be spending all of your time with beautiful people (and we do mean ALL of your time, but again we only hire hotties!).
law-school fourth!
Agree with 3:52, although I didn't interview with Davis Polk due to my desire to live/work in Chicago, there were no "beautiful people" at my Top10 law school so where could they all come from??? On this same note, it is disturbing how different the standards are between my undergrad friends and law school/co-worker friends.
umm i thought they were average looking at best.
Ssssshhhhh, offeree! Don't give away their secret or hurt their feelings!
Fast-forward through a few years of sitting at a desk for 15 hours a day, mouse-induced carpal tunnel, blackberry-induced thumb disfigurement, going nearsighted from squinting at the screen, and unlimited seamless web calories.... still BP?
"Rumor has it that the reason DPW doesn't have lawyer photos on its website is because, back when they did, the beautiful female associates started attracting stalkers."
IIRC, the problem was misogynist idiots drooling in the comments on some website. Wait, wasn't it ATL?
Davis Polk got rid of its photographs right after the Yahoo GreedyAssociates board started a long thread posting photographs of female associates at different firms and rating them. There were a few firms that pulled their photographs in response, but all but DPW eventually put them back.
While I have not seen the movie, they did in fact shoot some scenes at DPW, shooting mostly in the word processing department and the like. They even used a few DPW personnel, like legal assistants, to be part of the background.
This is off topic, but related to 4:09's comment. What is the formula for making partner in one of these mega-firms? Is it just about billing massive hours? Is it about building a little book of business while an associate? Is it a combination of both? Does it take even more than that?
Part of "The Pelican Brief" was shot at Howrey in DC (the scenes at "Whyte & Blazevich" in the film). That's right, Denzel and Julia Roberts were there. That's the advantage of focus!
I worked at DPW as a paralegal when the filming took place. I actually looked up what movie Clooney was filming when they came to the firm, and forgot about it completely until this post. Anyway, my friend got chosen to be an extra sitting in word processing and she told me she indeed did get paid.
DPW's building at 450 Lex can often be glimpsed through Alec Baldwin's office window on "30 Rock," and through Eric Mabius's office window on "Ugly Betty." Several years ago, when DPW was still at One Chase, Melanie Griffith landed an associate's office at DPW at the end of the movie "Working Girl," after her triumph over Sigourney Weaver.
I remember them filming other scenes from the movie in the building where Linklaters and McGuire Woods are located. You may also recognize that building as the one that got destroyed in Spiderman 3.