Latham Forum

[Anonymous User]

Any news on CBs? Thoughts on them this year?

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed in NY recently...the ppl I met seemed very nice...but I'm wondering about all the layoffs...I heard they want to keep the summer class the same size as last summer (25 or so). Who knows? Maybe they cut all the fat from the NY office with those massive layoffs in Feb, and now they are ready to weather the rest of the storm with a more conservative outlook.

I also heard that they gave all but one of their summers offers...

[reasonable_man]

Not that its something you would want to consider... But they were by far the best about severance packages for their staff and attorneys.. They really did way more than they had to for the lawyers and staff they cut loose and far more than peer firms had done to that point. That says something (positive), about the firm.

[Anonymous User]

i received an offer from them and I actually love the firm. The layoffs were truly unfortunate and after talking to people, it seems like management realizes they cut too many and everyone truly feels bad for it. This was a top 10 firm a year ago and a firm most would have loved to work for. They're really the same firm, just with SLIGHTLY less prestige (still a V20 and presumably will inch its way back to V10)

[Anonymous User]

i received an offer from them and I actually love the firm. The layoffs were truly unfortunate and after talking to people, it seems like management realizes they cut too many and everyone truly feels bad for it. This was a top 10 firm a year ago and a firm most would have loved to work for. They're really the same firm, just with SLIGHTLY less prestige (still a V20 and presumably will inch its way back to V10)

Agreed, my experience from my CB was very positive as well. However, none of the partners and senior associates I met with mentioned layoffs at all. I would have liked to hear their takes on the topic. Maybe if I get an offer, then I can ask those tough questions, lol.

To play devil's advocate some more:
I'm wondering about a couple of things: (1) what about the fact that Bear and Lehman, which were two of Latham's biggest clients, are not ever coming back; and (2) is the "25 or so" summer class size smart, conservative planning or should it be looked at as a firm that is only able to hire 25 summers, and possibly only hiring that many at all so as to save face?

[Anonymous User]

I have also heard that they laid off too many people. This may be either a plus or a minus. On the one hand, they won't need to fire any more people any time soon. On the other hand, do you really want to work for a firm that would rather fire too many people than too few?

[Anonymous User]

Just because they fired too many people in hindsight doesnt mean they knew at the time they were doing so

[Anonymous User]

i received an offer from them and I actually love the firm. The layoffs were truly unfortunate and after talking to people, it seems like management realizes they cut too many and everyone truly feels bad for it. This was a top 10 firm a year ago and a firm most would have loved to work for. They're really the same firm, just with SLIGHTLY less prestige (still a V20 and presumably will inch its way back to V10)

If you don't mind me asking, what are the chances you accept the offer from Latham? (I know this depends on so many other factors unique to your personal situation, but I'm trying to gauge how much you really liked the firm because I'm debating if I would accept if they give me an offer).

[Anonymous User]

...I accepted. They were the best firm i got a callback with by a pretty good margin. I loved the people, loved the unassigned system, and people there are very very busy right now. By the time we graduate, i think its reputation will have recovered (though i dont expect it going back to 7 any time soon) and the hours will have found a happy medium between what it was pre-layoffs, and what it is now due to its current understaffing. Like i said before, a year ago most people would have loved to work there and I anticipate that being the case again by the time we would potentially start there full time. Also, pretty sure last year's summer got at or near 100% offer rate.

[Anonymous User]

Not that its something you would want to consider... But they were by far the best about severance packages for their staff and attorneys.. They really did way more than they had to for the lawyers and staff they cut loose and far more than peer firms had done to that point. That says something (positive), about the firm.

This is really twisted. And considered in context, it simply isn't true. Latham laid off an overwhelming share of its first and second year classes, particularly in NY. The fact that they compensated these people in a way that was near the top is akin to saying: "The kid stole my lunch money, but he did so more nicely than the other bullies." The severance packages are small comfort and little use to the scores of young attorneys thrown overboard by Latham, most of whom are still out there looking for work in a time when none is available. This isn't my opinion, it is what I've heard from faculty who are trying to help get these guys clerkships or small law interviews.

I get that this year's crop of 2Ls cannot avoid firms that have done layoffs. I get that Latham may be worth looking at depending on your preferred market or practice area. But to suggest that the firm deserves some kind of approbation for giving larger severances is just absolutely wrong in every possible way. The first years they fired in particular had no chance to prove themselves. Few other firms in the country took that approach. That's what really sets Latham apart--their willingness, unlike virtually any other peer firm--to fire first year associates. If you think Latham wouldn't do the same to you, you're crazy.

i received an offer from them and I actually love the firm. The layoffs were truly unfortunate and after talking to people, it seems like management realizes they cut too many and everyone truly feels bad for it. This was a top 10 firm a year ago and a firm most would have loved to work for. They're really the same firm, just with SLIGHTLY less prestige (still a V20 and presumably will inch its way back to V10)

Latham HR department posting on TLS? There is no way this firm is making it back into the V10--ever. You do know that associates fill out those evaluation forms, right? Associates nationwide are going to keep punishing Latham for what it did this year for a long, long time. See Shearman & Sterling (former top Vault firm that did huge layoffs several years ago and now dwells much lower in the rankings). I will say that you're right about one thing: it is the same firm as a year ago. In that sense, they're likely just as willing to lay YOU off as they were their first years this spring.



* To be clear, this post is by a 3L who has no connection to Latham whatsoever.

[SplitterPride]

FIRSTLY, Anonymous posters with an agenda should have their IP blocked. No Latham trolls.


SECONDLY, Latham was getting too big for its own good, we knew that from 2005 onwards. The economy just made the fall from grace a thud more apparent.

[DontYaKnow123]

...I accepted. They were the best firm i got a callback with by a pretty good margin. I loved the people, loved the unassigned system, and people there are very very busy right now. By the time we graduate, i think its reputation will have recovered (though i dont expect it going back to 7 any time soon) and the hours will have found a happy medium between what it was pre-layoffs, and what it is now due to its current understaffing. Like i said before, a year ago most people would have loved to work there and I anticipate that being the case again by the time we would potentially start there full time. Also, pretty sure last year's summer got at or near 100% offer rate.

Care to share some stats?

[Anonymous User]

I can assure you, I am not a Latham troll.

[Anonymous User]

T10, top 1/3

[Anonymous User]

FIRSTLY, Anonymous posters with an agenda should have their IP blocked. No Latham trolls.


SECONDLY, Latham was getting too big for its own good, we knew that from 2005 onwards. The economy just made the fall from grace a thud more apparent.

Hey buddy, I am definitely NOT a Latham troll. I've never posted about that firm before, and I don't have an agenda. I'd do these posts non-anonymously, but I think unfortunately that conversations like this aren't conducive to being on the record. Needless to say, I'll put my reputation as a poster up against yours anytime.

I'm trying to bring in a countervailing view that is definitely out there, and that many people might find useful. Everyone should make up their own minds, of course, but excluding one viewpoint from this discussion would be fundamentally unfair.

[Anonymous User]

Earnest request: Can we avoid devolving this forum/thread into one of ad hom attacks. I'm sure the original posters asked these questions looking for information and advice. This is a big decision for a person to make, and the gravity of the decision is only magnified by the uncertainties of the time.

...I accepted. They were the best firm i got a callback with by a pretty good margin. I loved the people, loved the unassigned system, and people there are very very busy right now. By the time we graduate, i think its reputation will have recovered (though i dont expect it going back to 7 any time soon) and the hours will have found a happy medium between what it was pre-layoffs, and what it is now due to its current understaffing. Like i said before, a year ago most people would have loved to work there and I anticipate that being the case again by the time we would potentially start there full time. Also, pretty sure last year's summer got at or near 100% offer rate.

With that out of the way...did you talk to your career services office before accepting the Latham offer? especially about the recent layoffs and the negative publicity of the firm? did you go back to visit the firm? talk to any who summered last year? etc?

[Anonymous User]

No I didnt talk to career services and did not go back to visit--i didnt need to. Like i said, it was the best firm i got a callback from by a wide margin, even if Latham continues to drop. I love the unassigned system and am pretty dead set on going into corporate and they have the best corporate practice of any firm i got a callback with. Their offer rate from this past summer was very high and my second choice has not even made offers yet for this past summer. Given my situation, it was a no-decision for me. Not that the layoffs are unimportant, but in 2 years, what happened last year will be rather insignificant. Whether its 7, 15, or 20, rankings isnt everything, its still an amazing firm and one that has had an excellent reputation both in terms of the quality of its clients, and the quality of its employees and its collegiality.

[M51]

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[gollymolly]

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[Anonymous User]

Just got an offer for latham dc. strongly considering taking it. call came exactly one week after CB

[Anonymous User]

stats?

[Anonymous User]

Stats: T50, Top 2%, LR, strong interview.

[Anonymous User]

Any news? movement?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone waiting to hear back after a callback with Latham LA? If so, how long has it been? And if you were dinged, how long did it take after the callback?