Latham v. Weil NYC Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey everyone. I'm feeling really lucky for these options. I am leaning towards litigation (soft IP ideally) but am interested in trying out corporate work especially as it relates to LatAm project finance. So far, here are the pros/cons of both that I've thought of.

Latham:
Pros – unassigned program (helpful for someone like me who is not set on a practice/industry); international presence; robust LatAm practice; name-recognition if I decide to move to CA with partner.
Cons - absolutely massive size of firm seems intimidating; tbt to Lathaming; seems like their corporate teams > litigation teams.

Weil:
Pros - their IP Media Litigation group is really appealing to me; LGBT affinity group strength; extra $ for diversity scholarship
Cons - IP Media Litigation group seems hard to break into (you start off @ CCL); seems to have no LatAm presence; got a weird vibe from two of my callback interviewers.

Am I missing other pros/cons? Should I be considering other metrics? Culture-wise both firms seems attractive to me, but this attraction comes through over Zoom and is curated. I care a lot about how these firms treat staff like custodial workers or legal assistants, especially during COVID (for example Hogan attys took pay cuts in order to pay staff), so any info on that piece would be welcome. I know they're both sweatshops but #biglaw. I also have Skadden as an option but they're in third place because of their assignment system post-summer and some horror stories I've heard from staff who worked there.

[Anonymous User]

I’m going to Weil and learned through independent research (I.e., not the people the firm sent in callbacks lol) that they treat people very well and that they make an effort to be nice to one another. Normally I’m skeptical of what firms advertise in recruiting, but this is what I was told well in advance of OCI.

[Anonymous User]

I’m going to Weil and learned through independent research (I.e., not the people the firm sent in callbacks lol) that they treat people very well and that they make an effort to be nice to one another. Normally I’m skeptical of what firms advertise in recruiting, but this is what I was told well in advance of OCI.

I have heard horrible incidents in both the above firms actually. I wouldn't bank on the anecdotal data point. I think they are both nice in that none of them are Kirkland kind of hostile level, other than that, can't really say their culture is better than the other typical NY shops. More or less the same, they are all LARGE in NY (both above 500 if I remember correctly)

[Anonymous User]

Latham junior associate here. The unassigned program is great, although after the first couple of months most associates will get their work organically through networking/reaching out to specific partners, rather than through "the book." I like that you can do unlimited pro bono and all of your pro bono hours count towards your bonus - there's basically no excuse for not hitting your hours and getting the full bonus. The training is absolutely fantastic, and practice groups really go above and beyond putting together training sessions for unassigned associates. The people here are also really great. Everyone I've worked with - and I've now worked across several different practice groups through the unassigned program - is approachable, friendly, and respectful. I've never been treated as "the lowly first-year" on any of my matters in any group, and people have really bent over backwards to help me and to make sure I have the proper knowledge and training to do my work.

Cons: Latham is a MUCH stronger transactional firm than litigation, and so opportunities for advancement are much more promising for transactional associates. I've also done a fair amount of work with the IP lit group, and the group is definitely skewed towards patent lit. The soft IP group is pretty small and isn't expanding the same way patent lit is. Soft IP is also almost exclusively in the CA offices. The IP group as a whole (both patents and soft IP) is pretty small in NY, and the vast majority of those people are patent-leaning.

[Anonymous User]

Latham junior associate here. The unassigned program is great, although after the first couple of months most associates will get their work organically through networking/reaching out to specific partners, rather than through "the book." I like that you can do unlimited pro bono and all of your pro bono hours count towards your bonus - there's basically no excuse for not hitting your hours and getting the full bonus. The training is absolutely fantastic, and practice groups really go above and beyond putting together training sessions for unassigned associates. The people here are also really great. Everyone I've worked with - and I've now worked across several different practice groups through the unassigned program - is approachable, friendly, and respectful. I've never been treated as "the lowly first-year" on any of my matters in any group, and people have really bent over backwards to help me and to make sure I have the proper knowledge and training to do my work.

Cons: Latham is a MUCH stronger transactional firm than litigation, and so opportunities for advancement are much more promising for transactional associates. I've also done a fair amount of work with the IP lit group, and the group is definitely skewed towards patent lit. The soft IP group is pretty small and isn't expanding the same way patent lit is. Soft IP is also almost exclusively in the CA offices. The IP group as a whole (both patents and soft IP) is pretty small in NY, and the vast majority of those people are patent-leaning.

OP here. This is insanely helpful, thank you for the insight. I was reading the bios of the IP lit lawyers and definitely got the patent feel, which is less than ideal for what I'm interested in. That said, it's just an interest (I have no music, production, etc. background), and the idea of going through the book for the first months or so continues to be appealing. Do you have any insight on the strength of the project finance team? Is it hard to "break into"? Thanks again!