DPW vs. Latham? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Trying to decide between two offers. Both NY but looking to do cross-border transactional or advisory work (adjacent to M&A and Cap Markets but not either of those two practices). Would love to hear from people who’ve worked at either or both!

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

[Anonymous User]

Ask yourself whether or not you truly want to do cross-border advisory work and whether you understand what that entails. In my experience it is not as sexy as it sounds and involves lots of late nights and working around local counsel's time in a different time zone. If you want to eventually leave the US Latham or Skadden might be a better choice. Otherwise, if you're set on staying in the United States... just go to DPW.

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

This is awful advice. DPW and don’t look back. Latham is much worse than Cleary and Deb and not in any way at parity with STB. It’s like K&E and Weil. Good but not great.

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

This is awful advice. DPW and don’t look back. Latham is much worse than Cleary and Deb and not in any way at parity with STB. It’s like K&E and Weil. Good but not great.

I concur. Especially in NYC, pick DPW over Latham.

[Anonymous User]

I've been at both firms (corporate, won't say which one I'm at now), and I will tell you there is no meaningful difference in the type of work (notwithstanding what anyone else says about DPW and it's NY-based "peers" being a notch above due to its "elite" and "white shoe" status). Both firms have excellent lawyers that advise on the same type of headline transactions, and both places have nice people. One true difference I've experienced is that Latham's nice culture feels a lot more genuine (vs. genteel) and the folks there are more social and talk about things and get together outside of work.

I also agree with the person above about cross-border work. It's a giant PIA. Good experience for sure and you need to have it if you want to get anywhere, but I guarantee you no mid or senior level transactional associate is thinking "gee, I'd love to get on another cross-border deal where the business we are buying/selling operates in 10+ countries". All that entails is that you are coordinating with counsel in 10 different countries on all aspects of the deal, and there is no fun in that. That said, there's also no basis in saying that you get more "cross-border" work at Latham vs. DPW. Again, same deals involving the same types of multi-national companies/businesses. Latham has more offices, but all that means is that instead of using local counsel in Saudi Arabia, you use Latham's local office (vs. at DPW, you retain separate local counsel there).

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

This is awful advice. DPW and don’t look back. Latham is much worse than Cleary and Deb and not in any way at parity with STB. It’s like K&E and Weil. Good but not great.

I concur. Especially in NYC, pick DPW over Latham.

Latham has a great national reputation and is a great California firm, but in no way is Latham NYC ranked alongside these firms. It is also smaller than any of these firms and really feels more like a satellite office more so than, say, K&E. The differences in cross-border opportunities are going to be minimal if at all given how both firms do take on significant international work. Go with DPW, but be prepared to work long hours.

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

This is awful advice. DPW and don’t look back. Latham is much worse than Cleary and Deb and not in any way at parity with STB. It’s like K&E and Weil. Good but not great.

I concur. Especially in NYC, pick DPW over Latham.

Latham has a great national reputation and is a great California firm, but in no way is Latham NYC ranked alongside these firms. It is also smaller than any of these firms and really feels more like a satellite office more so than, say, K&E. The differences in cross-border opportunities are going to be minimal if at all given how both firms do take on significant international work. Go with DPW, but be prepared to work long hours.

What satellite office do you know that has 500+ people in it? I swear you guys just make stuff up. OP go with whatever firm you feel fits you the best, but Latham has much more of an international presence than DPW.

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

This is awful advice. DPW and don’t look back. Latham is much worse than Cleary and Deb and not in any way at parity with STB. It’s like K&E and Weil. Good but not great.

What’s it like being stuck in 2011?

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

This is awful advice. DPW and don’t look back. Latham is much worse than Cleary and Deb and not in any way at parity with STB. It’s like K&E and Weil. Good but not great.

What’s it like being stuck in 2011?

Lmao people on this site. OP, go to Chambers, a website run by people who do this professionally, look up their practice groups, and take it from there. Some random person's assessment of NYC corporate hierarchy is unreliable. Gibson NYC and Weil/Latham NYC are in no way on the same level in terms of corporate work in New York. The practice group rankings make this very apparent. Latham NY is also not *much* worse than Cleary and Deb, as this other person suggested.

[Anonymous User]

I just have to laugh at the laughably horrible advice being thrown around here. Let me first caveat by saying that I am an associate at Latham NY (want to be entirely transparent).

I think in NY there is still a degree of difference in prestige between DPW and LW, however this has certainly shrunk in recent years. And to say that LW is below Cleary and Deb is just flat out laughable and has to be coming from someone who went to CLS or NYU which have for some reason bred this idea that these firms are still top dogs as they’ve continued to slide steadily.

The office certainly does not have a satellite feel, especially since it is the largest office with over 500 associates, we maintain most of the top partners out of this office, and we have recruited some big players in historically not as competitive practices like M&A. Our Capital Markets practice in NY is top notch and, with a particular nod to that practice, there were contacts I had at DPW who specifically told me that they are equivalent and I should pick the one I’m most comfortable with.

If you’re leaning M&A, I’d pick DPW, even though our practice has improved notably (topped chambers this year). If you’re interested in FIG, go to to DPW (best practice in the industry). If you’re leaning Capital Markets, it’s mostly a toss-up (though we also topped chambers this year).

I know it’s hard with remote interviewing but I would try to do second looks and meet as many associates as possible and then just pick wherever you feel most comfortable. If after that you still feel like it’s a stalemate, then maybe just pick DPW for the incrementally better prestige. I personally knew from the get go that I would enjoy the people at LW much more than DPW and having worked here I can promise you that I would’ve had my eyes on the door much sooner. Everyone has different considerations though!

[Anonymous User]

Tie goes to the firm that never Latham'd a class.

[Anonymous User]

Trying to decide between two offers. Both NY but looking to do cross-border transactional or advisory work (adjacent to M&A and Cap Markets but not either of those two practices). Would love to hear from people who’ve worked at either or both!

Have a think about what sort of work you want to do, too. If there's any chance you want to do emerging company/venture-capital centric work (which has aspects of both M&A and capital markets, but is also more generalist than either), Latham makes sense hands down - it has a bigger footprint there than any traditional "Wall Street" firm.

If you'd rather be doing big-ticket, bet the company public M&A with potential activist issues and lots of disclosure/strategy considerations, DPW is still ahead, as it is for capital markets. Latham is flat out better for private equity work than DPW. Neither in NY is at K&E/STB levels in terms of mega-funds picking them to do huge deals.

All of the above areas have cross-border implications. New York isn't the easiest place from which to do this kind of work, though - especially with Asia - due to time zones. (London and Hong Kong are much easier.) People-wise, it's a question of your personal fit and taste - Latham's probably a bit more relaxed, while DPW is more "traditional".

[Anonymous User]

Trying to decide between two offers. Both NY but looking to do cross-border transactional or advisory work (adjacent to M&A and Cap Markets but not either of those two practices). Would love to hear from people who’ve worked at either or both!

Have a think about what sort of work you want to do, too. If there's any chance you want to do emerging company/venture-capital centric work (which has aspects of both M&A and capital markets, but is also more generalist than either), Latham makes sense hands down - it has a bigger footprint there than any traditional "Wall Street" firm.

If you'd rather be doing big-ticket, bet the company public M&A with potential activist issues and lots of disclosure/strategy considerations, DPW is still ahead, as it is for capital markets. Latham is flat out better for private equity work than DPW. Neither in NY is at K&E/STB levels in terms of mega-funds picking them to do huge deals.

All of the above areas have cross-border implications. New York isn't the easiest place from which to do this kind of work, though - especially with Asia - due to time zones. (London and Hong Kong are much easier.) People-wise, it's a question of your personal fit and taste - Latham's probably a bit more relaxed, while DPW is more "traditional".

This is probably the best take on here. I don't think law students give enough attention to what type of work they want to do vs. how prestigious the work is. Latham/KE are private markets work. LW capital markets team is going to have a lot more bank underwriting work whereas DPW will have issuer side work.

In terms of M&A, LW will have a much stronger PE m&a practice whereas DPW will have more strategic m&a work. Other nuances - DPW has a facetime culture. LW has a very remote friendly/flexible policy.

I'd say DPW is more prestigious than LW, but the nuances are so negligible that only law students care. Asking even a sophisticated banker/PE guy the difference between LW and DPW is like asking a lawyer the difference between KPMG vs. E&Y. No one gives a shit, you do the same thing.

Try and figure out what you really want to do and what culture you feel more comfortable in over picking on prestige alone.

[Anonymous User]

Latham and here's why.

Within NYC Corporate hierarchy goes a little something like this:

Wachtell>>>>>Cravath/S&C/DPW/Skadden > K&E/LW/STB/PW > Cleary/Gibson/Debevoise/Weil.

What does this mean? Honestly, not much outside of Wachtell. All it means is that within NYC, Davis Polk, due to its reputation as a "Wall Street, white-shoe" firm, is considered a slightly more prestigious place to work at than Latham. DPW's main and largest office is in NYC. That office gets the most work and the most interesting and prestigious matters, compared to its other offices. However, because DPW is so NYC centric, it is not really an international firm.

Latham, on the other hand, is. Since you're interested in cross border work, Latham, which has so many different offices across the country and the world is probably the better choice. Both firms have comparable M&A and Cap Markets practices (with DPW being the leader in Cap Markets), but Latham, due to its presence across the world, will be able to offer more and better cross border transactional work.

This is awful advice. DPW and don’t look back. Latham is much worse than Cleary and Deb and not in any way at parity with STB. It’s like K&E and Weil. Good but not great.

I concur. Especially in NYC, pick DPW over Latham.

Latham has a great national reputation and is a great California firm, but in no way is Latham NYC ranked alongside these firms. It is also smaller than any of these firms and really feels more like a satellite office more so than, say, K&E. The differences in cross-border opportunities are going to be minimal if at all given how both firms do take on significant international work. Go with DPW, but be prepared to work long hours.

The biggest office of one of the world's biggest firms is a satellite office. Read it here first, folks.

Gotta love TLS.