In April, Davis Polk & Wardwell managing partner Thomas Reid gathered the associates in the Hong Kong office for a PowerPoint presentation on the firm’s recent performance, based on a more detailed version shared with partners.
In one slide, Reid sought to highlight how the firm was able to capitalize on good luck and minimize bad. As an example of the former, he cited how low U.S. interest rates had boosted leveraged finance activity across the firm. An example of bad luck? Asia capital markets, 2011 to 2013.
