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Latham & Watkins

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Vorlage:Redirect Latham & Watkins LLP is a global law firm, one of the largest in the world. Latham currently employs approximately 2,000 attorneys in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.[1] The firm was started in Los Angeles in 1934 and has extensive California roots, but its largest office is now in New York City.

Latham has historically been one of the most profitable law firms. In 2008, Latham & Watkins became the first US-based law firm to attain more than $2 billion in yearly revenue.[2] During 2009 the firm has been in the news for its financial difficulties and subsequent employee layoffs, likely the key factors in its precipitous drop from the 7th most prestigious firm as rated by Vault in 2009 to the 17th most prestigious firm as rated by Vault in 2010.[3][4]

Recognition

Recognition == The American Lawyer's 2008 "A-list" ranked Latham & Watkins 2nd in the nation out of more than 200 firms[1] taking into account factors such as revenue per lawyer, pro bono, diversity and associate satisfaction. However, Latham made the 2008 A list based on information that was gathered before the stealth and public layoffs in January and February of 2009. The authors of The American Laywer have noted that since the massive layoffs associate satisfaction has declined sharply. [2]. Latham ranked 17th in the 2010 Vault Prestige List, an "unprecedented" 10 point drop from their ranking as the 7th most prestigious law firm in the 2009 rankings. This "unprecedented" drop was likely caused by the revelation of the incredible flaws in Latham's business model which were brought to light by the recession. The mass layoffs in 2009, which particularly affected first year associates who did not have any written reviews, revealed management's lack of loyalty to the associates.[3] Partners at prominent law firms have criticized Latham's poor attitude towards its associates, opining that it will hurt the firm in the long run. [4]


Latham was ranked first by Legal500, along with two other firms in the U.S., for project finance. Latham was also identified in the December 2006 issue of The American Lawyer as the Am Law 200's "most admired firm." Legal Business magazine awarded Latham the coveted title "Law Firm of the Decade" for its ability to handle the immense challenges posed by the legal industry globally over the last ten years and its financial and strategic success during the period. Unfortunately, this occurred before the stealth and public layoffs, which revealed serious weaknesses in Latham's business model. Latham relied heavily on transactional work for its revenues. Once the recession hit, it was severely weakened due to the firm's failure to develop countercyclical practice groups. Also, unlike Latham's former peers (Skadden, Simpson, or any other firm in the V10 or V20), Latham simply refuses to stand by its associates during downturns. [5][6] Many are suggesting Latham's business model is to hire large numbers of associates in whatever is hot, with the intention of firing them when the work dries up. [7]

On October 10, 2007, Latham & Watkins was included in a ranking of law firms by the national law student group Building a Better Legal Profession.[5][6] The organization ranked firms by billable hours, demographic diversity, and pro bono participation. The results can be found on the organization's website, http://www.betterlegalprofession.org.[7]

At the 2008 ALB SE Asia Law Awards[8], Latham & Watkins was crowned:

  • Deal of the Year - Project Finance Deal of the Year
  • Deal of the Year - Equity Market Deal of the Year

At the 2008 ALB China Law Awards[8], Latham & Watkins was crowned:

  • Deal of the Year - Project Finance Deal of the Year

Layoffs

Latham has recently been in the news for its financial difficulties, prompting employee layoffs. Given Latham's heavy reliance on transactional work for its revenues, it saw major declines in 2008. In 2008, revenue fell by $100,000,000, approximately 4%.[9] Profits per partner fell by 21%.[10]

In March 2008, managing partner Bob Dell announced: "there will be no layoffs", and that it was not even on the table for discussion.[11] However the falling revenue prompted management to freeze associate salaries in December 2008.[12], and on February 27, 2009, Latham announced that it was laying off 190 associates, and 250 staff members.[13]. This is one of the largest layoffs by a major law firm in history.Vorlage:Citation needed. In the New York office, more than half the first year associates were laid off in February. A total of 130 New York associates, representing 45% of the office, were cut over January and February 2009. [14]

On the legal blog Above the Law, the term "Lathamed" has been coined to indicate mass layoffs and/or pay freezes among a law firm or company.[15] [8]

Notable clients and cases

Vorlage:Expand section Vorlage:Unreferenced section

Notable Latham & Watkins attorneys

Offices

Latham currently has 1,900 attorneys throughout its offices in: Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Brussels, Chicago, Dubai, Doha, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Newark, New Jersey, New York City, Costa Mesa, California, Paris, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley(Menlo Park), Singapore, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

Notable Latham & Watkins alumni

References

Vorlage:Reflist

  1. ↑ http://www.lw.com/Attorneys.aspx
  2. ↑ Ashby Jones, "Latham & Watkins Breaks $2 Billion Revenue Barrier", Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2008.
  3. ↑ [11]
  4. ↑ http://abovethelaw.com/2009/08/official_new_vault_rankings.php?show=comments#comments
  5. ↑ Amir Efrati, You Say You Want a Big-Law Revolution, Take II, "Wall Street Journal", October 10, 2007.
  6. ↑ Adam Liptak, In Students’ Eyes, Look-Alike Lawyers Don’t Make the Grade, New York Times, October 29, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/us/29bar.html?em&ex=1193889600&en=4b0cd84261ffe5b4&ei=5087%0A
  7. ↑ Thomas Adcock and Zusha Elinson, Student Group Grades Firms On Diversity, Pro Bono Work, "New York Law Journal," October 19, 2007, http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?hubtype=BackPage&id=1192698212305
  8. ↑ a b www.legalbusinessonline.com.au
  9. ↑ http://www.abovethelaw.com/2009/03/2008_revenue_numbers.php
  10. ↑ http://abovethelaw.com/2009/02/latham_watkins_profits_per_par.php
  11. ↑ http://www.abovethelaw.com/2008/03/whats_up_at_latham_watkinsmora.php
  12. ↑ http://abovethelaw.com/2008/12/latham_watkins_salary_freeze.php
  13. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022702751_pf.html
  14. ↑ http://abovethelaw.com/2009/02/nationwide_layoff_watch_latham_1.php
  15. ↑ http://abovethelaw.com/2009/08/fall_recruiting_open_thread_va_27.php?show=comments#comments
  16. ↑ Scott Reckard: Scientology groups to pay back $3.5 million, Los Angeles Times, 2006 November 8. Abgerufen im 2008 April 24 
  17. ↑ Tyler Gray: Anonymous on Trial? Scientology Steps Up Skirmish In: Radar, 31. März 2008. Abgerufen am 16. Dezember 2008 
  18. ↑ David Lat: Latham & Watkins to Free Stress Tests? In: Above the Law, 1. April 2008. Abgerufen am 16. Dezember 2008 
  19. ↑ [12]
  20. ↑ Lisa Bowman: Schindler heads toward life post-Mitnick, ZD Net, 1999 October 3. Abgerufen im 2008 April 24 
  21. ↑ Jamie Heller: Lawyer Pleas in Case Charging that He Bilked Firm and Clients, Wall Street Journal, 2008 March 28. Abgerufen im 2008 April 18 
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