Latham & Watkins
London·Los Angeles
Private equity·Capital markets·M&A
Latham trails only Kirkland & Ellis for global law firm revenue, at around $8.3bn.
Why this firm
The world's second-highest-grossing law firm
Ranked #1 in the world by deal count across M&A, private equity, capital markets and banking (Bloomberg League Tables, 2025 and H1 2026)
Junior lawyers join the 'Unassigned Program': rather than being assigned to one practice group, they choose their own work across the firm's practices
Operates as one firm globally: a single shared profit pool across every office, no headquarters, and no office ranked above another
What this firm looks for
Drawn from Latham & Watkins's own recruitment materials
Based on the firm's published recruitment materials, graduate recruitment commentary and stated values.
"Excellence without ego"
Latham names this as a core cultural principle used to describe how it wants junior lawyers to contribute: input and pushback are wanted from all levels, not just partners, shaping who the firm recruits and how it runs teams.
"Incredible legal minds who are also incredible people"
This is the firm's own stated recruiting line, pairing raw intellect with an explicit personality and collegiality bar, alongside named values of transparency, respect, innovation and collaboration.
Early responsibility within a non-siloed firm
Latham markets itself as deliberately non-siloed globally (a single integrated partnership rather than a looser network) and ties this to wanting candidates comfortable with early client responsibility and judgment rather than narrow specialism from day one.
Past applications
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