Latham & Watkins advises the businesses and institutions that power the global economy.
Who We Are
Latham & Watkins advises the businesses and institutions that power the global economy.
A career at Latham & Watkins will give you the opportunity to do some of the best work of your life. With more than 3,000 lawyers across our offices in Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia, the opportunities are boundless. Over 70% of the firm’s transactions involve five or more offices; our diversity fuels our understanding and innovation.
Latham provides the perfect balance of entrepreneurial spirit and career development support. The firm offers world-class training, where graduates and trainees can follow their intellectual curiosity to explore the firm’s market-leading practices before choosing a department, practice, or industry focus.
It is our unique collegiate and non-hierarchical culture that sets us apart. Our Associates Committee – boasting equal numbers of associates and partners – manages associate reviews, bonuses, and promotion to partnership and counsel, which leads to a remarkably transparent environment.
We are proud to be a world leading pro bono law firm. The firm gives billable hour credit for pro bono work, and doesn’t cap the number of pro bono hours that can be applied toward the billable hour target. Here, you are encouraged to bring your own unique perspective, and supported to take on pro bono matters of personal interest.
A career at Latham is an investment in your development and your future. It begins with you.
Main areas of work
Our award-winning London office is home to nearly 500 lawyers and recognised for its work advising some of the world’s leading corporates, financial institutions and private equity firms on market-shaping transactions, disputes, and regulatory matters.
Our leading finance practice has earned an exceptional reputation in the market, regularly advising on all types of leveraged, acquisition and project finance work. We have market-leading experience in M&A, debt and equity financing, high yield, restructurings, recapitalisations, divestitures, data privacy and cyber security, and outsourcing. We also offer comprehensive tax and environmental advice for complex multi-jurisdictional transactions and disputes.
With nearly 900 litigators located in 25 major business centers globally, we are one of the few firms capable of providing clients with immediate, high-quality legal expertise anywhere in the world, whether our clients’ needs are local or international.
We are committed to giving back to the communities where we live and work, with a longstanding pro bono programme as well as many community service initiatives. Over the last two decades, our lawyers have provided more than 4 million pro bono hours in free legal services to underserved individuals and families and the non profit sector.
Training Opportunities
Latham & Watkins recruits students with incredible legal minds who are also incredible people; the firm values transparency, respect, innovation, collaboration, and diversity. As a meritocracy, Latham seeks out candidates who have demonstrated they can contribute to the firm’s culture through their initiative, communication skills, complex thinking, willingness to assume responsibility, resilience, and judgment.
A Latham training contract combines real responsibility on global matters with supervision from world-class lawyers who foster professional development. In addition to a sophisticated training programme, our trainees also benefit from a core three week trainee foundation designed to bridge the gap between law schools and practice, as well as training in each seat. After induction, trainees complete four, six month seats - two of which will be in corporate and finance. Trainees have the opportunity to apply for a secondment on either their third or fourth seat.
Vacation Scheme
We run two vacation schemes over the academic year. These are an exciting opportunity not only for us to get to know you, but also for you to get to know us and be immersed in our unique culture. Over the course of your vacation scheme you will gain insight into two practice areas, participating in client calls, court visits, Q&As and training sessions, as well as group work and social events. You will also have the opportunity to interview for our training contract, taking the first step towards a career at Latham & Watkins
First Year Opportunities
Our annual first year scheme is the perfect opportunity to learn more about life as a lawyer at a global elite law firm, to help you determine if a training contract at Latham would be right for you. Over the course of three days you will have the chance to sit in on presentations delivered to you by our lawyers and business service teams, designed to give you an insight into our work and culture. You’ll also have the chance to spend one day working directly with one of our London associates, getting exposure to real life trainee work.
The first year scheme is open to all students in their first year.
Open Day
We’d love to get to know you, and have designed our open days to give you an insight into life at a commercial law firm and the unique culture at Latham.
Visit our careers website for more details on opportunities and application deadlines.
Penultimate year students, all final year students and graduates: October/November/December 2023
University Law Careers Fairs 2023
We visit campuses across the UK. Look out for us at law fairs, virtual events, in your careers services and working with your law societies. This year we are visiting: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff Durham, Exeter, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Kent, King’s, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, LSE, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary, SOAS, UCL, Warwick, York, , St Andrews,.
Visit our events page to find out when we will be visiting your campus.
