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I know corporate is a really broad term, so taking M&A as an example

Is it better to go off Chambers rankings, or would a non-HQ office of a V5 always be "better" (higher-profile deals, more substantive experience, prestige, etc.)

Thanks!

Once you've interviewed places, the best ranking system is your gut.

I lived in SoCal before law school and will be doing transactional work at a V20 (though not in L.A.). While I was thinking about heading back, I talked to lots of lawyers out there, who all indicated the transactional pecking order is GDC & L&W and then everyone else. I didn't dig deep on the "everyone else" part of that, but I suspect it includes OMM, Paul Hastings, MTO, Skadden, Sidley etc.

alabamabound wrote:I lived in SoCal before law school and will be doing transactional work at a V20 (though not in L.A.). While I was thinking about heading back, I talked to lots of lawyers out there, who all indicated the transactional pecking order is GDC & L&W and then everyone else. I didn't dig deep on the "everyone else" part of that, but I suspect it includes OMM, Paul Hastings, MTO, Skadden, Sidley etc.

Thanks for this, I didn't expect Latham to be mentioned as high up on the list

I'm guessing this kinda means vault rankings don't really apply to v5 offices outside of NY

juzam_djinn wrote:

alabamabound wrote:I lived in SoCal before law school and will be doing transactional work at a V20 (though not in L.A.). While I was thinking about heading back, I talked to lots of lawyers out there, who all indicated the transactional pecking order is GDC & L&W and then everyone else. I didn't dig deep on the "everyone else" part of that, but I suspect it includes OMM, Paul Hastings, MTO, Skadden, Sidley etc.

Thanks for this, I didn't expect Latham to be mentioned as high up on the list

I'm guessing this kinda means vault rankings don't really apply to v5 offices outside of NY

With the exception of Skadden, the NYC based V10 all have really small offices in CA that tend to operate as "satellites" rather than substantial, independent generators of business.

Not sure why you thought Latham would be lower down the list, they are the most highly ranked native CA firm.

I second that Latham is probably the best (or one of the best) regarded firms in CA.

Depends on market.

San Diego #1= Cooley by leaps and bounds

Orange County #1= Latham by leaps and bounds

LA Entertainment Corporate #1: O'Melveny

LA General Corporate= Hard to say, but Latham and O'Melveny are both big players