Latham & Watkins

Turnover in Latham’s City office was a major driver of this growth, surpassing $1 billion for the first time and making it only the second US firm to reach that milestone in London. Meanwhile, the firm’s London team continues to expand, promoting seven partners in its latest round, and is gearing up for a major office move – but more on that later.

This is not quite the Wild West environment of some of the small US firm London offices, where UK trainees can be something of an afterthought. Latham’s London office is in fact its largest outside of the US. With around 32 training contracts a year up for grabs, Latham offers more London graduate opportunities than many sizeable British firms and as such has a fairly well-developed (if minimalist) training infrastructure.

Unsurprisingly, life at Latham is not for the faint-hearted: “There are quite a few late nights and [it] sometimes feels like it doesn’t stop.” That being said, finishing teams are said to be “wildly unpredictable… had months of very low hours then was at 300% pace for others” revealed one insider. Others noted that it’s all “dependent upon practice areas and stages within a deal. Signings can be fairly intense but a great feeling when it’s done”. Another echoed this sentiment, offering this experience: “It depends on market performance especially for transactional seats, there are days when I have finished all work at 5pm, and others when I’m having to work weekends. In specialist advisory seats, the general working hours as a trainee is from 9am to 9pm, and is generally busy on a day-to-day basis, though weekends are more respected.” Others were less philosophical on the topic, offering shorter snippets of wisdom such as “long hours”.

Overall, the consensus is that whilst it can be “non-existent” at times, the firm has a “very positive approach to having a life outside of work”. One source stresses “you are encouraged to take a break when you have earned it and there is no facetime culture of hanging around when you don’t need to”.

When it comes to training, our sources tell us to expect the typical “US firm experience of being thrown in the deep end” alongside “more structured formal training”. Larger teams such as finance offer “simulated signing and negotiation exercises” and trainees in corporate get two weeks of induction training which insiders reckon is “probably the same if not better than MC training”. However, in smaller practice areas such as data and technology, “there is no formal training” one insider claims, “just doing”. Another adds: “You are very much left out on your own at times, this is a good learning curve for the most part and forces you to think on your feet and use your initiative. Other times it can be the most scary experience of your life.”

That said, the more formalised training is said to be “comprehensive” and trainees are also encouraged to suggest their opinions. “Senior associates (and sometimes partners!) also engage in training in the form of mock exercises that are very entertaining and instructive,” one recruit adds. Generally, Latham’s newbies seem happy with this approach: “The firm strikes the right balance between giving you the substantive training you need to hit the ground running without spoon-feeding and still giving you the opportunity to learn by doing,” one spy explains. “There is such a thing as too much training and that is definitely not the case here.”

In addition, fellow trainees are on hand to help. “I could not fault my cohort for being supportive, friendly and an inevitable shoulder to cry on at 2am after a long and gruelling day. It is more like a friendship circle than anything else,” one reports. “At a minimum they are supportive and professional colleagues, and in most cases they are also good friends” added another. These friendships go beyond the office, with our L&W sources telling us that they “celebrate each other’s birthdays together and on special occasions like Chinese New Year, people host parties or dinners at their places”. There’s also said to be a “very generous” trainee social budget, with the usual events including office-wide summer parties, ad-hoc after work drinks, regular socials across Latham’s affinity groups and a corporate ski trip which is subsidised for trainees!

Partners, meanwhile, are generally of the matey and direct variety. “My current supervisor is an absolute legend and most people I have worked with are cool too,” one Latham rookie reports. “In general, very approachable, although I can’t comment on every department. There are some partners I would be nervous to speak to, but then you do and they’re always very friendly,” another revealed. This can, however, vary between departments. One trainee told us: “You get the odd associates who aren’t as friendly or approachable but there are so many who are super lovely and happy to answer questions. One of my corporate supervisors is just amazing. He is incredibly busy but never fails to answer my questions with careful thought. He doesn’t make me feel like a bother. That’s incredible for my learning.”

In keeping with Latham’s ultra-lean model, the work (much of which is high-end corporate finance-related) spans everything from the mindless to the mind-bending. “It really varies on department and what stage of a work process you are in, overall you get thrown in at the deep end and are expected to coordinate with opposing counsel and clients from the outset, with plenty to keep one stimulated,” was the review from one happy camper. Others stressed the need to be pro-active as a trainee: “if you seek more work and show you want to do harder work, they receive that well here,” according to one current recruit. There is still the inevitable “simple and monotonous” trainee tasks to cut your teeth on, but “actual work and deals” are said to be never too far away.

Latham’s client roster is as broad as it is impressive. From those at the forefront of the AI boom, advising Nscale on its $2 billion Series C funding round (the largest ever in Europe), to headline-making deals like Ulta Beauty’s acquisition of Space NK and Duolingo’s strategic team acquisition, alongside sovereign work such as representing the underwriters in the Republic of Poland’s $6 billion bond issuance.

On the perks front, juniors praise “generous mentoring budgets” that “offer a lot of flexibility with connecting across the firms and meeting new people. It’s also nice to be able to connect with peers and seniors outside of a large networking event or for deal related matters”. Other sweeteners in the past have included the latest iPhones, a retreat to Barcelona in the first three months, free manicures, spin classes and pilates with mentors, free concierge service and a ski trip in Austria, that’s alongside the usual gym subsidies and cycle to work schemes. And while the sizeable salary of around £173k isn’t to be sniffed at, a few fitness fanatics claim the “gym membership offers and subsidies are better elsewhere.”

As for the office, Latham has secured around 270,000 sq ft at 1 Leadenhall, just a few doors down from arch-rival Kirkland & Ellis. The new base is over 50% larger than its current Bishopsgate home and a stone’s throw from the bustling Leadenhall Market, offering an array of food options and plenty of spots for post-work drinks. Stay tuned to Legal Cheek for more details as our insider get settled in.

As for working from home, the firm provides a “small stipend to get a monitor” as well as the basic equipment such as keyboards and mouses. The firm also has its own in-house ChatGPT-style AI,’LathamAssist’, though rookies do still complain of “slow computers” which can’t handle basic tasks.

Further afield, Latham offers a handful of secondments to popular destinations like Dubai and Paris, though the offering available to new recruits is said to have lessened in recent years: potentially a consequence of rookies in past cohorts choosing not to go on international secondments to have better qualification options at NQ level. At the end of the day, however, Latham continues to post high retention rates and it appears that juniors feel a strong attachment to the firm: “I really admire my law firm and can’t think of a law firm that’s comparable to it”.