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*[[Sean Berkowitz]] - Federal prosecutor in the trials of [[Enron]] executives [[Ken Lay]] and [[Jeffrey Skilling]].
*[[Sean Berkowitz]] - Federal prosecutor in the trials of [[Enron]] executives [[Ken Lay]] and [[Jeffrey Skilling]].
*[[Kirk Davenport II]] - [[High-yield debt]] attorney.
*[[Kirk Davenport II]] - [[High-yield debt]] attorney.
*David Gordon - Managing partner of the struggling New York office which recently laid-off 40% of Associates with a day's notice. According to Dave Gordon, the New York office is still, however, "well diversified."
*David Gordon - Managing partner of the struggling New York office which recently laid-off 40% of Associates with a day's notice. According to Dave Gordon, the New York office is "well diversified" despite the need for massive layoffs.
Bill Voge - [[project finance]] attorney.
Bill Voge - [[project finance]] attorney.
*[[John Kirby (attorney)|John Kirby]] - [[Intellectual property]] attorney, in honor of whom [[Nintendo]] named its "[[Kirby (Nintendo)|Kirby]]" character after a series of high-profile cases
*[[John Kirby (attorney)|John Kirby]] - [[Intellectual property]] attorney, in honor of whom [[Nintendo]] named its "[[Kirby (Nintendo)|Kirby]]" character after a series of high-profile cases

Revision as of 09:38, 16 May 2009

Latham & Watkins LLP is a global law firm. Although most recently in the news for mass employee layoffs,[1] it is one of the largest law firms in the world and historically one of the most profitable. It currently employs more than 2,100 attorneys in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.[2] The firm was started in Los Angeles in 1934 and has extensive California roots, but its largest office is now in New York City.

In 2006, Latham was the 5th largest law firm in the world by revenue, and the second largest in the United States. In 2008, Latham & Watkins became the first US-based law firm in history to announce more than $2 billion in yearly revenue.[3]

Recognition

The American Lawyer's 2008 "A-list" ranked Latham & Watkins 2nd in the nation out of more than 200 firms[2] taking into account factors such as revenue per lawyer, pro bono, diversity and associate satisfaction. It ranked 7th in the 2009 Vault Prestige List, a survey which asks law firm associates to rank the perceived prestige of the major law firms[3]. Further, in 2007 the Vault ranked Latham as one of the "Best 20 Firms to Work For," one of only three large firms with New York offices to make the list.[4]. However, this was before the slowdown in transactional work, and the mass layoffs that occurred at Latham. In the New York office alone, Latham laid-off 130 associates in 2009. Furthermore, because Latham made Vault surveys due the day before it laid-off hundreds of associates, the most recent associate surveys will not truly reflect how Latham associates feel about their firm. Latham was ranked first by Legal500, along with two other firms in the US, 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.

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.[4] [5] 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.[6]


At the 2008 ALB SE Asia Law Awards[7], 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 for which it has been sharply criticized. 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]

This prompted management to freeze associate salaries in December 2008, a move designed to prevent the need for layoffs.[11] But on February 27, 2009, Latham engaged in significant layoffs, announcing that it was laying off 190 associates, and 250 staff members.[12] This is one of the largest layoffs by any major law firm in history.

The February layoffs were particularly focused on first year associates in the New York office, where Latham laid-off more than half the first year class. From all class years, Latham New York laid-off 90 associates in February. Combined with the January layoffs in New York, a total of 130 associates were cut from the New York office in 2009. That number represents 45% of associates in New York. This move followed a "no layoffs" promise in 2008.[13]


Additionally, Latham made Vault surveys due on February 26, 2009, the day before the February 27, 2009 mass layoffs, in what some have criticized as an attempt to prevent the enormous layoffs from influencing their Vault ranking.

Notable clients and cases

Notable Latham & Watkins attorneys

  • Sean Berkowitz - Federal prosecutor in the trials of Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.
  • Kirk Davenport II - High-yield debt attorney.
  • David Gordon - Managing partner of the struggling New York office which recently laid-off 40% of Associates with a day's notice. According to Dave Gordon, the New York office is "well diversified" despite the need for massive layoffs.

Bill Voge - project finance attorney.

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

  1. ^ http://abovethelaw.com/2009/02/latham_lays_off_440.php?-show=comments#comments
  2. ^ Internet Legal Research Group — 250 Largest Law Firms in the US
  3. ^ Ashby Jones, "Latham & Watkins Breaks $2 Billion Revenue Barrier", Wall Street Journal, February 11, 2008.
  4. ^ Amir Efrati, You Say You Want a Big-Law Revolution, Take II, "Wall Street Journal", October 10, 2007.
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ www.legalbusinessonline.com.au
  8. ^ 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://abovethelaw.com/2008/12/latham_watkins_salary_freeze.php
  12. ^ http://www.abovethelaw.com/2009/02/latham_lays_off_440.php
  13. ^ http://abovethelaw.com/2009/02/nationwide_layoff_watch_latham_1.php
  14. ^ [1]
  15. ^ Bowman, Lisa (1999 October 3). "Schindler heads toward life post-Mitnick". ZD Net. Retrieved 2008 April 24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ Reckard, Scott (2006 November 8). "Scientology groups to pay back $3.5 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008 April 24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ Gray, Tyler (2008-03-31). "Anonymous on Trial? Scientology Steps Up Skirmish". Radar. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  18. ^ Lat, David (2008-04-01). "Latham & Watkins to Free Stress Tests?". Above the Law. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
  19. ^ Heller, Jamie (2008 March 28). "Lawyer Pleas in Case Charging that He Bilked Firm and Clients". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008 April 18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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