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Overview

Latham & Watkins has grown from its Los Angeles origins to establish itself as a global giant, currently the fifth-largest firm in the world by revenue and the second-largest in the US behind New York deal machine Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

Latham now has almost 2,500 lawyers in total and more than 165 fee earners in the City. That London launch, in 1990, kicked off a sustained push in Europe that continues to see the firm invest in international expansion.

Latham is also renowned as probably the most successful entrant in New York's hyper-competitive market after following a strategy that saw the firm lean heavily on its brand strength in leverage finance in general and high yield ('junk bonds' in the vernacular) in particular.

'Long hours but good work' is the message from one Latham contributor. "Some work is simply on a different plane from your typical magic circle firm." Others are not convinced. "The firm will be lucky to get anywhere near the magic circle ballpark in the next five years in Europe," scoffs one respondent.

However, the firm's 2007 results suggest it's doing just fine. with Latham emerging as a stellar performer in US results season. Fee income surged by 23% for the 12-month period, with partner profits also rising by more than a fitfh to reach a new high of $2.27m (£1.17m).

Unlike many global law firms, Latham has also built a reputation as a progressive employer, albeit one that expects its staff to put in the hours. The firm's European network remains to a certain extent a work in progress, despite heavy investment in recent years. Still, with massive resources and an unbeaten growth record over the last five years – during which the firm has more than doubled in size – Latham looks set to become a potent force in whatever market it operates.

History

Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles by Dana Latham and Paul Watkins, the firm grew steadily until the end of the 1960s before in 1972 opening its first branch outside LA in Orange County.

It was to be during the buccaneering 1980s that Latham made its name acting for one of the defining business figures of the age, junk-bond king Michael Milken and his firm Drexel Burnham Lambert. Latham acted for Drexel on some of the most high-profile and controversial deals of the age in the first leveraged buy-out (LBO) boom. The firm also took a lead role on the most infamous LBO of them all, the 1988 takeover of RJR Nabisco, which was immortalised in the book Barbarians At The Gate.

Once the takeover boom finished, however, Latham faced a tough period in the early 1990s, when the firm laid off 41 associates – a decision that was to dog the firm in the US for years.

However, the firm was to mount a highly successful fightback and swiftly move to diversify its practice away from relying on acquisition finance. The move saw the firm expand its practice nationally across the US, especially in its well-regarded Manhattan arm, and in practice terms to develop its litigation and M&A practices to complement its historic strengths in acquisition and real estate finance and projects.

By 1999 the firm was established as the US's fourth-largest law firm and Latham, under the leadership of well-regarded head Bob Dell, was beginning to turn its mind to international expansion. The firm had already launched a small London branch focused on project finance in 1990 but it was 10 years before it almost made a market-shifting entrance on the international stage after entering serious merger talks with Ashurst in 2000.

When the talks collapsed, Latham began to expand in earnest through a programme of team hires and targeted takeovers. The firm launched in Paris, Frankfurt and Hamburg in 2001, with offices opening in Brussels and Milan the year after. This expansive mode has continued ever since, with Latham over the last five years building a near full-service commercial practice in London.

In 2007 Latham launched a Spanish law practice in Barcelona and Madrid and recruited a much-touted team from top Italian firm Bonelli Erede Pappalardo to set up a local law practice. Barely into 2008 and Latham recruited a partner from Vinson & Elkins to lead its long-awaited debut in the Middle East.

With the firm last year hiring well-regarded IP litigator Larry Cohen from McDermott Will Emery's City arm, Latham at the start of 2008 had 39 partners in the UK and a total of 165 lawyers, making it one of the largest UK practices built by an American firm. Recent news that the firm has cracked the $2bn (£1.015bn) revenue barrier in its 2007 financial year has sealed Latham's status as one of the most confident members of the emerging global elite.

In October 2008, Latham sealed the hire of a seven-partner team from A&O in Hong Kong, including highly-rated Asia corporate chief Michael Liu and China group head Kenneth Chan.

Click here for more news, deals and comment on Latham

Culture

"[You] must be the self-starting, gung-ho type to succeed here," says one Latham contributor, who says the Los Angeles firm is not for the "bookish" type. "The hours are intense," the poster admits (note – in lawyer speak 'intense' means 'very long' but it sounds better) but demonstrates his own gung ho attitude with the boast that "[Latham does] a better job because we work on Goldman time, 24/7″.

You can almost hear the high-fives. Still, firm-wide, Latham has a reputation for making a good fist of that 'one firm' ethos people used to talk about so much. Indeed, one of Latham's key successes in recent years has been to successfully combine the global firm model with a relatively collegiate and supportive atmosphere to an extent that was, until recently, unparalleled among its peer group.

It was this quality that led a prominent US directory to memorably describe the firm as "a cult – but a happy cult". Latham also gets plaudits for being one of the most transparent major law firms and has a hard-earned reputation for taking its associates' views seriously. Everyone might be copying the model now but Latham – intent on ditching the 'slasher' tag that dogged it after some painful job cuts in the early 90s – got there first.

Key departments

A genuinely full-service firm, in the US at least, Latham is probably still best known for its expertise in high-yield debt, an area practically synonymous with the firm, and LBO work in general.

Its capital markets teams are strong in both debt and equity work, while tax and project finance are also highly-rated in the US. The firm has also made considerable strides in M&A in recent years, even if it is yet to be classed near the top players in the US or Europe.

National/international coverage

With 25 offices around the world – 10 of which are in the US – Latham is a genuine giant on the international stage. The firm launched in London in 1990 in the first step of its European expansion and now has three offices in Germany (Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich) as well as further branches in Paris, Brussels and Moscow.

At the beginning of 2007, Latham made its long-awaited Spanish debut after hiring a senior corporate partner from domestic leader Cuatrecasas, simultaneously launching offices in Madrid and Barcelona in a move indicative of the firm's unashamedly ambitious style. It made an even bigger splash the same year with the recruitment of a five-partner team from Bonelli to launch its Italian law practice.

In Asia, Latham has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, while Middle East coverage came in early 2008 with the launch of offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. The firm is expected to be investing heavily in the region this year.

Key clients

Major clients advised out of London include:

• Deutsche Bank;
• JP Morgan;
• RBS;
• the Carlyle Group;
• Exxon Mobil;
• Alliance Boots;
• Reebok; and
• Diageo.

Leading partners

Latham's London arm is led by respected IT and outsourcing partner Andrew Moyle (pictured above right), while former City head David Miles is a well-known name in project finance. Other noted partners include:

• Christopher Hall and James Chesterman (banking);
• David Mulliken and John Hull (litigation);
• Robert Volterra and Philip Clifford (international arbitration);
• John Houghton (restructuring);
• Bryant Edwards and Michael Immordino (corporate); and
• Lene Malthasen and Olof Clausson (capital markets).

Career prospects

Excellent if you fit the bill. Latham has by common consent been America's most upwardly-mobile law firm of recent years and is set to be investing heavily in its European and Asian networks for years to come. However, UK assistants interested in joining the firm should remember that Latham's global brand is often confused with its local practices, particularly in London. Despite having made massive strides in the UK the firm, which has laterally recruited 13 London partners over the last five years, still has a long way to go before it can really worry the City's finest, especially in M&A, where the firm has struggled to make a mark. That said, given Latham's size and all-around quality, greater success is probably only a matter of time.

Salaries

First-year trainees begin on £37,500. On qualification, this goes up to a massive £96,970 as the firm operates an artificial currency exchange that shields UK associates from the current weakness of the dollar. This means UK associates are paid on a higher scale in sterling terms than their US counterparts, whose pay starts on standard Wall Street rates of $160,000 (the poor lambs).

Latham also has a reputation for being generous with bonuses for proven performers and also being transparent about how they are dished out. Those making full equity partner this year will be in line for average take-home of $2.27m (£1.17m), which puts them broadly in magic circle terrain.

Recruitment

Contacts in London are Tracy Davidson (graduate recruitment) and Halina Kasprowiak (associate recruitment). The firm began taking on London trainees in 2006 and is currently expecting to take on between 10 and 15 trainees in 2009.

Awards and third party citations:

Latham has consistently been one of the highest-ranked corporate law firms in The American Lawyer's closely-watched "A-List". The ranking is a composite that judges law firms on a range of factors including associate satisfaction, prestige, pro bono commitments and financial performance. The firm also typically ranks well in The Vault Prestige List, which is, likewise, influential in the US.

This side of the pond, Legal Business recently handed Latham a 'Law Firm of the Decade' award.

Work-life balance

As mentioned above, the firm asks plenty of its junior lawyers – responsibility, quality of work and big money only come in exchange for gruelling hours.

Pro bono/corporate social responsibility

Click here for information on Latham's pro bono activities.

Diversity

Latham has a diversity committee to deal specifically with issues of that nature, with representatives joining the team from all the major strands of the business. The London Women's Group meets quarterly and has arranged a number of events with female clients, while the LGBT Group also meets regularly, holding development events for clients and staff of any sexual orientation.

Latham also carried out a firmwide diversity training programme, which concluded in London in the summer of 2007.

Click here to post your comments on the firm, or alternatively email [email protected] with any information you think should be added to this page.