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Have offers from both. I have a slight preference for litigation but could also see myself enjoying transactional.

Any thoughts on how to choose between the two? I know latham is technically “higher ranked” on vault but don’t feel like that should sway me over other factors

Lit in LA? GDC and I don’t think it’s especially close, between those two.

(If you specifically wanted to do entertainment- or finance-specific work, Latham might have the edge.)

How to answer the question: look on Chambers.

Really depends on how sure you are of wanting lit and not corp.

GDC clearly better lit but LW clearly better corporate. This is off the cuff so no one come at me, but I feel like LW’s lit is closer to GDC’s than GDC’s corp is to LW’s. But honestly can’t go wrong, literally the most sought after offers in market

Agree with both posters above. Gdc for lit and Latham for corporate. Congrats on the offers!

I had to make the same decision last year, and I'm at one now for the summer.

Like others said above: GDC for lit and Latham for corporate. I'd also say GDC for real estate (it's basically the top shop in the country - if you're intent on transactional work, it's worth considering, even if it's not something that ever crossed your mind beforehand).

I also think they're culturally quite different. For what it's worth, I know corp-focused people who took GDC over Latham on those grounds, even though it's a weaker practice overall.

If you’re content to go lit or corporate, the decision is probably 100% a culture thing, so talk to people from both offices. Key difference will be Gibson’s free market system (which will either be a huge plus or a huge minus for most people) and I *think* Latham is more of an all-service firm (tho I’ve only dealt with them on deals so my judgment might be skewed).

OP here, that makes sense. How is Gibson LA culturally? I hear Latham is probably the most social/broey of the LA firms. Does Gibson still lean more social/outgoing than your average BL firm?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 27, 2022 12:53 am

OP here, that makes sense. How is Gibson LA culturally? I hear Latham is probably the most social/broey of the LA firms. Does Gibson still lean more social/outgoing than your average BL firm?

Gibson's free market system means most people *have* to be somewhat social and outgoing (you are supposed to ask partners for work on the projects and cases you want) and they definitely try really hard in recruiting to pick nice, friendly, interesting people with fun hobbies. I know a LOT of people who really wanted Gibson and definitely had the grades, and they all got offers or at least callbacks at most places, but not Gibson--almost definitely because the fit seemed off. Being social isn't being bro-y or super outgoing or talkative all the time, though, I don't think. I know some people who are at Gibson who are super nice and friendly but also introverts who would rather not attend happy hours, etc. I also know they're offering associates a modified free market rotation system where they get assigned to things to comfort some people who are freaked out about asking partners for assignments on Day 1.