DLA Piper - Playbook (Summer Internship 2027)

Do you want a spot on the DLA Piper Summer Internship?

Here's the research you need to impress DLA!

This Playbook covers:

💰 Why private capital is key to DLA's growth
📈 How DLA became a private-equity powerhouse
🌎 How London became a Latin America hub
⚡ DLA's role in powering the energy transition
⚠️ The challenges and opportunities facing the firm

Plus how to use this information to stand out in applications and interviews!

⏰ Deadline: 23 October

Private Capital Is Key to DLA's Growth

What's going on?

DLA has been pushing to grow its private capital team:

• July 2025: DLA announced the hire of Chris Field, co-head of Dechert's private equity practice, to join in London in September 2025.
• March 2026: DLA launched a Global Capital Solutions practice with three partners from Akin: Ranesh Ramanathan and Alex Cushman in New York, and Daniel Wayte in London. Days later it added four partners in London and Luxembourg.
• June 2026: Andrew Bechtel joined the capital solutions practice in London, according to a DLA Piper press release announcing his arrival.
• July 2026: Jacob Durkin joined capital solutions in London from Simpson Thacher.

What's the signal?

Capital solutions is a hot practice area right now.

• 🤔 What is it? It means helping companies raise money in ways that sit between a bank loan and selling shares: loans from investment funds instead of banks (private credit), deals that mix debt and equity, and rescue funding.
• 📈 Why is it growing? Because stricter rules since 2008 made risky lending expensive for banks, so funds backed by pension funds and insurers have stepped in, offering faster and more flexible deals. Each one is tailored, which means more legal work and higher fees.

Rivals are making the same moves in London: Mayer Brown launched a London capital solutions team led by Dominic Griffiths and Michael Fiddy on 12 May 2026.

Quality + Quantity. DLA already leads on deal volume, having been Mergermarket's top M&A adviser by volume for 15 consecutive years. What it is buying now is higher-value, sponsor-side and credit-fund work, poached from US and elite firms. DLA is trying to shift its reputation from the firm that does the most deals to the firm that does the right deals.

How to use this in your application