Latham NY Office/Firm Thoughts?
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:22 am
Any thoughts on the Latham NY Office/Prestige/Culture, etc? Anything at all/any info on them at all would be helpful. Thanks all!
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Would you mind sharing what kinds of negative things you have heard? No worries if you're not comfortable doing so, just curious. Thanks!Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:33 amI have heard mostly negative things, as compared to its CA offices, but it is definitely a prestigious place to be for transactional work. If you are lit, I would choose almost any other relatively similarly-ranked firm.
I have a few friends at Latham NYC and they seem to like it. It’s obviously particularly strong in cap markets, though it has a lot of strong practices. One drawback is billable requirement for bonus, so you should give some thought to that if you have offers from other firms that don’t have a minimum, because that is a not-insignificant drawback.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:22 amAny thoughts on the Latham NY Office/Prestige/Culture, etc? Anything at all/any info on them at all would be helpful. Thanks all!
Seconding as I am deciding between them and another firm right now so the info would be helpfulchriswzheng9 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:53 pmWould you mind sharing what kinds of negative things you have heard? No worries if you're not comfortable doing so, just curious. Thanks!Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:33 amI have heard mostly negative things, as compared to its CA offices, but it is definitely a prestigious place to be for transactional work. If you are lit, I would choose almost any other relatively similarly-ranked firm.
Agree with all this. OP, do you have any other options you are considering? If not, Latham is a fantastic outcome!Anonymous User wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:21 pmI have a few friends at Latham NYC and they seem to like it. It’s obviously particularly strong in cap markets, though it has a lot of strong practices. One drawback is billable requirement for bonus, so you should give some thought to that if you have offers from other firms that don’t have a minimum, because that is a not-insignificant drawback.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:22 amAny thoughts on the Latham NY Office/Prestige/Culture, etc? Anything at all/any info on them at all would be helpful. Thanks all!
Re prestige, it is obviously a prestigious firm, but in the eyes of NYC-centric lawyers it will always be a step behind CSM/S&C/DPW/STB/Skadden/Cleary/Debevoise in prestige, to the extent that matters to you.
Thanks for the input everyone! I was considering Deb/PW/GDC/Latham but ended up going with GDC. I want to move to a different office eventually in the West Coast and maybe internationally so I was picking basically between Latham and GDC. But GDC felt like it was the strongest fit for me - really connected with everyone I spoke to, and I’ve heard great things about them. Hopefully it is a good choice!Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:29 pmAgree with all this. OP, do you have any other options you are considering? If not, Latham is a fantastic outcome!Anonymous User wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:21 pmI have a few friends at Latham NYC and they seem to like it. It’s obviously particularly strong in cap markets, though it has a lot of strong practices. One drawback is billable requirement for bonus, so you should give some thought to that if you have offers from other firms that don’t have a minimum, because that is a not-insignificant drawback.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:22 amAny thoughts on the Latham NY Office/Prestige/Culture, etc? Anything at all/any info on them at all would be helpful. Thanks all!
Re prestige, it is obviously a prestigious firm, but in the eyes of NYC-centric lawyers it will always be a step behind CSM/S&C/DPW/STB/Skadden/Cleary/Debevoise in prestige, to the extent that matters to you.
Not sure about Debevoise and Cleary, those two firms seem to be a step below the rest firms you mentioned, and when I was speaking to multiple partners from DPW and STB, they tend to think of K&E and LW as rivals, not so much for Cleary or Debevoise. I think PW is also better than the two in both corporate and lit.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:21 pmI have a few friends at Latham NYC and they seem to like it. It’s obviously particularly strong in cap markets, though it has a lot of strong practices. One drawback is billable requirement for bonus, so you should give some thought to that if you have offers from other firms that don’t have a minimum, because that is a not-insignificant drawback.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:22 amAny thoughts on the Latham NY Office/Prestige/Culture, etc? Anything at all/any info on them at all would be helpful. Thanks all!
Re prestige, it is obviously a prestigious firm, but in the eyes of NYC-centric lawyers it will always be a step behind CSM/S&C/DPW/STB/Skadden/Cleary/Debevoise in prestige, to the extent that matters to you.
I am not OP but tend to agree with the comment above. From what I know and have heard from partners & associates, it’s DPW/STB/CSM/Wachtell/S&C/Skadden and then comes K&E/LW/GDC/PW - although I have heard that Cleary has old prestige in NY but just isn’t what it used to be.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:52 pmNot sure about Debevoise and Cleary, those two firms seem to be a step below the rest firms you mentioned, and when I was speaking to multiple partners from DPW and STB, they tend to think of K&E and LW as rivals, not so much for Cleary or Debevoise. I think PW is also better than the two in both corporate and lit.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 12:21 pmI have a few friends at Latham NYC and they seem to like it. It’s obviously particularly strong in cap markets, though it has a lot of strong practices. One drawback is billable requirement for bonus, so you should give some thought to that if you have offers from other firms that don’t have a minimum, because that is a not-insignificant drawback.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:22 amAny thoughts on the Latham NY Office/Prestige/Culture, etc? Anything at all/any info on them at all would be helpful. Thanks all!
Re prestige, it is obviously a prestigious firm, but in the eyes of NYC-centric lawyers it will always be a step behind CSM/S&C/DPW/STB/Skadden/Cleary/Debevoise in prestige, to the extent that matters to you.
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:52 pm
Not sure about Debevoise and Cleary, those two firms seem to be a step below the rest firms you mentioned, and when I was speaking to multiple partners from DPW and STB, they tend to think of K&E and LW as rivals, not so much for Cleary or Debevoise. I think PW is also better than the two in both corporate and lit.
No shade or disrespect, but it seems like there’s a fair number of 2Ls out there who have (seemingly) asked attorneys, partners in particular, for a power ranking of NY firms ...? Seems a bit impolitic, no?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:46 pm
I am not OP but tend to agree with the comment above. From what I know and have heard from partners & associates, it’s DPW/STB/CSM/Wachtell/S&C/Skadden and then comes K&E/LW/GDC/PW - although I have heard that Cleary has old prestige in NY but just isn’t what it used to be.
the partners volunteered to help me compare (they are biased ofc), this is common and helps contribute data point to their recruiting team (they want to know what offers you have).Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 4:18 pmAnonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:52 pm
Not sure about Debevoise and Cleary, those two firms seem to be a step below the rest firms you mentioned, and when I was speaking to multiple partners from DPW and STB, they tend to think of K&E and LW as rivals, not so much for Cleary or Debevoise. I think PW is also better than the two in both corporate and lit.No shade or disrespect, but it seems like there’s a fair number of 2Ls out there who have (seemingly) asked attorneys, partners in particular, for a power ranking of NY firms ...? Seems a bit impolitic, no?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:46 pm
I am not OP but tend to agree with the comment above. From what I know and have heard from partners & associates, it’s DPW/STB/CSM/Wachtell/S&C/Skadden and then comes K&E/LW/GDC/PW - although I have heard that Cleary has old prestige in NY but just isn’t what it used to be.
Having just gone through this process, second looks, decided among multiple V10s, etc. — it never occurred to me to ask about that, at least not directly. Am I just being fuddy-duddy conservative about something that’s really not a big deal at all?