Latham & Watkins

1271 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Phone number: (212) 906-1200

Visit Website: www.lw.com

Summer Program: Learn More

Overview

Introduction

You know you’ve made it in the legal industry when you’ve landed a spot at Latham. The firm is a global leader across dozens of practice areas, with over 3,000 lawyers in 15 countries, and recruits the best of the best. This globalization allows Latham to service clients with the finest legal resources, regardless of location. Those seeking autonomy to shape their practice plus extensive training and support will be pleased with their opportunities at this legal giant.

Firm Stats

Total No. Attorneys (2022)

3K - 3.5K

No. of Partners Named (2022)

Featured Rankings

Vault Law 100

No. of 1st Year Associates Hired (2021)

288

No. of Summer Associates (2021)

240 total (223 2Ls; 17 1Ls)

Base Salary

Base Salary, U.S. (2022)1st year: $215,0002nd year:...

Vault Verdict

Founded in Los Angeles in 1934, Latham Watkins has become a multinational behemoth and is entrenched as one of the world’s elite firms. Candidates from top law schools and lateral hires can expect a rigorous hiring process that emphasizes academic achievement, cultural fit, and diversity, and can anticipate a smooth integration to the firm. Latham offers a welcoming, pleasant atmosphere in which associates enjoy collaborative relationships with partners and even take part in mandatory and confidential “upward” performance review of partners. Training opportunities for associates are plentiful, and associates benefit from assigned and de facto mentors. There is no shortage of work, though it is fairly distributed among associates and there is flexibility in when and where it gets d...

About the Firm

Latham is one of the world’s largest law firms. With more than 3,000 attorneys in 31 offices around the world, Latham practices in all the major jurisdictions in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and regularly represents companies doing business in Latin America and Africa. The firm is a global leader in corporate transactions, environmental law, finance matters, litigations and trials, and tax services.

Small Shop Gets Super-Sized

Dana Latham—former commissioner of the IRS—and Paul Watkins founded the firm in 1934 to focus on tax and employment law. In the latter part of the 20th century, the firm began aggressively and steadily expanding around the globe. The firm’s largest office is its New York location, an iconic new space on Avenue of the Americas. Despite its sprawlin...

2023 Vault Rankings

#5

Vault Law 100

#1

Best Law Firms in Southern California

#2

Best Law Firms for Antitrust

Associate Reviews

“Real people and compassionate leadership make the job something more than just tolerable, I couldn't imagine doing the job with different people. The folks at the top engender real loyalty from associates, which is rare in such a fungible/commoditized profession (at the associate level). Generally, people are very friendly and work to help you succeed.”
“People are very high quality in terms of both lawyering and personally. Latham lawyers seem to actually enjoy each others' company and it is a welcoming and open environment compared to a lot of other law firms. Most people are kind and understanding and like to socialize together in and out of work.”
“Team culture. I lateralled to learn from and be trained by the best in the field and that's exactly what I'm getting. I expected that substantively, but I'm also learning what being a member of a team of a well-managed group looks like, and how to contribute effectively as a specialist in a highly collaborative environment.”
“I continue to believe that Latham has the best mix of culture and opportunity available in BigLaw. Coworkers are friendly but still work hard. Throughout the pandemic, flexibility has also become embedded in the firm's culture, and I expect a hybrid approach to in-office working throughout the next couple years.”

Why Work Here

We Are Driven by Our Values and Culture. We have a unique and special culture, based around our core values of transparency, inclusion, innovation, and collaboration.

We Are Enriched by Our Diversity. Our firm reflects a rich mixture of races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, religions, culture, socioeconomic backgrounds, and primary languages. This diversity makes us who we are.

We Build Careers. From day one, we provide our associates with the mentoring, training, feedback, and career guidance, they need to be at the top of their field.

We Are Flexible. We recognize that our lawyers have varied interests outside of the office, so our policies reflect a commitment to fostering a healthy work-life balance. We provide generous parental leave policies, a reduced–pace program, and cutting-edge technology that helps help lawyers manage their workload.

We Give Back. As one of the world’s largest providers of pro bono legal services, we take seriously our commitment to give back to the communities where we live and work.

Diversity at Latham & Watkins

"Latham is a leader in developing, promoting and implementing processes to ensure lawyers are hired, trained and promoted fairly, consistent with our goals of equal opportunity and diversity in the practice of law. To enhance opportunities for our lawyers from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, we continually and critically assess all facets of our lawyer programs —from initial recruiting through progression to partnership— to ensure that all of our lawyers can develop into top practitioners and succeed at the firm...."

Read the Diversity Report

Getting Hired Here

“The firm was extremely selective in the hiring process, with some of the longest callback interviews I have experienced during the hiring process. The firm seems to focus heavily on the right personality fit and culture, as well as excellent academics and work experience.”
“Latham is highly competitive. Coming out of law school, one must have very good grades and perform well in interviews to stand out. Clerkships are helpful, especially for litigation, but many associates choose to clerk after starting here and then return. Latham also recruits heavily in the lateral market, so if one doesn't get the nod out of law school (like yours truly), there's always a chance at getting hired later with more experience.”
“Latham has put a lot of thought into its recruitment process, and recently (a few years ago now) updated its guidelines to emphasize behavioral interviewing to try to avoid unconscious bias in the hiring process. I'm not involved in recruitment myself, but I know there is a lot of focus these days in hiring diverse classes of associates. Latham also emphasizes high grades and fit.”