Latham & Watkins

History

The firm was founded in January 1934 in Los Angeles, California, by Dana Latham and Paul Watkins. Latham's practice focused on state and federal tax law, and he eventually served as Commissioner of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service under President Dwight Eisenhower. Watkins's practice focused primarily on labor. At first, the firm grew slowly, with only 19 attorneys employed as of 1960.

In February 1978, the firm expanded into Washington, D.C., by adding Carla Anderson Hills as a named partner. Hills had left her role as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Ford administration the prior year, and she oversaw the firm's expansion into administrative law. This branch was initially staffed with a mix of attorneys drawn from the Los Angeles office and new hires from the upper ranks of federal agencies.

As of 2020, the company is known for lobbying and litigating against actions to mitigate climate change. According to the Law Students for Climate Accountability, "Latham & Watkins is the only firm to be in the Top 5 Worst Firms for both transactions and litigation exacerbating climate change."

Amid the global recession in 2009, the firm laid off 190 lawyers and 250 paralegal and support staff, representing twelve percent of the firm's total associates and ten percent of the support staff. At a time when many firms were conducting layoffs, the term "Lathamed" became legal slang for being laid off.

At one time Latham & Watkins was considered to be the world's largest law firm by total revenue when, in February 2018, it surpassed $3 billion in annual revenue.

, Latham's largest office is in New York City, with more than 450 lawyers. According to Latham, it is the only fully integrated multinational law firm with no single headquarters. In 2007, Latham became the first American law firm to attain more than $2 billion in yearly revenue, and in 2018 it was the first law firm to report more than US$3 billion in gross revenue. As of 2018, it was briefly the highest-grossing law firm in the world, but has since lost the number one spot to Kirkland & Ellis.

Latham opened its first office in Moscow in 1992, and thereafter represented a number of Russian state-owned companies. These clients include the state-owned bank VTB and the natural gas producer Novatek. Latham ended its Russia operations in March 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In August 2023, Latham announced the decision to close its Shanghai office amid consolidation of its operations in China.

Amid clashes at some college campuses, following the onset of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war; in November 2023, Latham & Watkins was among a group of law firms who sent a letter to 14 American law school deans denouncing anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and racism. The letter stated that "We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses", and was denounced by a coalition of Muslim bar associations.

In February 2024, Latham cut off its Hong Kong-based lawyers' access to content in its U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Asia databases.

The firm led the M&A field in 2024, representing, among others, BC Partners in the Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquisition of Synthon; New Enterprise Associates (NEA) in its acquisition of NeueHealth; and DAZN, on its agreement to acquire Foxtel.

Rankings

Latham has been consistently ranked as the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue among the Am Law 100, since 2021, and was the No. 1 firm in the Am Law 100 rankings for 2017. In 2022, Latham was also one of the most profitable law firms in the world, with profits per partner exceeding US$7.1 million.

In 2024, the firm received its tenth consecutive ranking from Chambers and Partners, which is the highest number of consecutive practice and lawyer rankings. Latham ranked #4 among the Vault Law 100 in 2024.

In March 2025, Latham & Watkins was named 2024 Americas Law Firm of the Year.

Notable clients and cases

• Ardshinbank in its acquisition of HSBC Armenia.
• Relentless, Inc. in Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, a landmark decision which overruled the principle of Chevron deference established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.. Through this case, Latham & Watkins facilitated the overturning of the Chevron doctrine.

Notable attorneys and alumni

Government

• Carla Anderson Hills – United States Trade Representative, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
• Bruce Babbitt – Former United States Secretary of the Interior
• Sean M. Berkowitz – Federal prosecutor in the trials of Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Also defended Lori Loughlin in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.
• Leslie R. Caldwell – Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2014 to 2017.
• Michael Chertoff – Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
• Charles Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon
• Christopher Cox – Former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Richard Danzig – Former United States Secretary of the Navy
• Mark S. Fowler – Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
• Gregory G. Garre – Former Solicitor General of the United States
• Fred Goldberg – Former Commissioner of Internal Revenue (IRS)
• Patricia Guerrero – Chief Justice of California Supreme Court
• Carla Hills – Former United States Trade Representative
• Roderick M. Hills – Former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission
• Dana Latham – Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service
• Jonathan Lippman – Former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
• Philip Perry – Former associate attorney general, former general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget, and former general counsel of Department of Homeland Security.
• J. Thomas Rosch – Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
• Kathryn Ruemmler – Former White House Counsel to President Barack Obama and federal prosecutor in the trials of Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.
• Andrew H. Warren – State Attorney of Florida's 13th Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County (2017–22)
• Rick Zbur – Member of the California State Assembly

Other

• Matthew Prince – chief executive officer of Cloudflare

References

References

1. link. (July 13, 2011), retrieved May 19, 2010.)
2. Peck Jr., Austin H.. (1984). "Bold Beginnings: A Story About the First 50 Years of Latham & Watkins". Latham & Watkins.
3. "Most Firms Are Failing the Climate Change Test, Law Student Group Concludes".
4. (2020). "The 2020 Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard".
5. (28 February 2009). "Latham & Watkins Cuts 190 Lawyers". The Washington Post.
6. (14 June 2010). "How Did Latham Become the Poster Child for Layoffs?". Above the Law.
7. (2018-04-10). "Latham & Watkins – What The Lawyer Says".
8. "Latham & Watkins LLP - Global Directory - New York".
9. (April 2008). "Legal Technology Journal".
10. Jones, Ashby. (2008-02-11). "Latham & Watkins Breaks $2 Billion Revenue Barrier". The Wall Street Journal.
11. Strom, Roy. (February 22, 2018). "Latham & Watkins Makes History with $3 Billion in Revenue".
12. "Latham & Watkins LLP".
13. "Kirkland Overtakes Latham as World's Biggest Firm by Revenue". The American Lawyer.
14. Rubino, Kathryn. "Behold: The First Firm to Crack $3 Billion In Revenue". Above the Law.
15. "Here Are the Biggest Legal Advisers to Russia's Major State-Owned Companies".
16. (2018-05-31). "London law firms feel chill from icy relations with Russia". Financial Times.
17. "Latham & Watkins, Morgan Lewis Latest to Shut Russia Operations".
18. "Latest US Law Firm Shrinks China Presence as Latham Closes in Shanghai".
19. "Foreign law firms scale back China operations as outlook dims".
20. (2 November 2023). "Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times.
21. (14 November 2023). "Law firms accused of fueling Islamophobia and chilling free speech". [[CNN]].
22. (February 13, 2024). "Latham & Watkins cuts off its Hong Kong lawyers from international databases". Financial Times.
23. "Latham's China Data Protection Move Shows Firms' Security Worry".
24. Smith, Patrick [https://www.law.com/international-edition/2025/01/02/latham-paul-weiss-debevoise-land-on-year-end-big-deals-but-geopolitical-uncertainty-could-slow-ma-growth-in-2025/ "Latham, Paul Weiss, Debevoise Land on Year-End Big Deals. But Geopolitical Uncertainty Could Slow M&A Growth in 2025"] ''The American Lawyer'', January 2, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
25. Lat, David. (April 27, 2017). "The 2017 Am Law 100: A Turning Point For Biglaw?".
26. "Latham & Watkins LLP".
27. "Latham & Watkins LLP".
28. "Latham & Watkins LLP - About Us - Awards & Rankings - Latham Tops the Rankings in Chambers USA 2021 Guide".
29. "Latham & Watkins LLP-Company Profile-Vault.com".
30. "Law Firm of the Year Winner: Latham & Watkins".
31. (February 26, 2024). "Latham Advises Ardshinbank on Acquisition of HSBC Armenia".
32. (June 28, 2024). "Latham Wins Historic US Supreme Court Decision Overturning Chevron Deference".
33. "Latham Wins Historic US Supreme Court Victory Overturning Chevron Deference".
34. (April 5, 1990). "Tax Reform Act of 1986—Report to Congress (hearing, 101st Cong.)".
35. (2001-01-22). "Interior Department's Babbit and Hayes Join Latham & Watkins".
36. (2021-04-20). "Loughlin, Giannulli lawyer is prosecutors' 'worst nightmare'".
37. (June 21, 2017). "Former Enron Prosecutor Leslie Caldwell to Join Latham & Watkin". [[The New York Times]].
38. "Charles Courtenay, Latham & Watkins".
39. (2024-10-17). "Christopher Cox SEC Biography".
40. (2024-10-17). "Richard Jeffrey Danzig Biography".
41. (1993-11-09). "JOB-JUGGLING MARK FOWLER HAS ONE LESS BELL IN THE AIR". Washington Post.
42. (2024-10-17). "Gregory G. Garre Biography".
43. (1989-05-25). "Nomination of Fred T. Goldberg, Jr., To Be Commissioner of Internal Revenue".
44. (2022-02-15). "California nominates its first Latina judge to state Supreme Court".
45. (1990-06-10). "A CROWBAR FOR CARLA HILLS".
46. "Roderick M. Hills".
47. (1974-02-09). "Dana Latham, 75, Former Head Of the Internal Revenue, Is Dead (Published 1974)". [[The New York Times]].
48. "Judge Jonathan Lippman {{!}} Latham & Watkins LLP".
49. "Homeland Security".
50. (2005-11-14). "NOMINATIONS OF J. THOMAS ROSCH AND WILLIAM E. KOVACIC TO BE COMMISSIONERS OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION".
51. "Latham & Watkins LLP".
52. Sullivan, Dan. (November 10, 2020). "Who is this guy? How Andrew Warren became the face of criminal justice in Tampa".
53. "Richard (Rick) S. Zbur".
54. (2014-07-30). ". "The Company Keeping Your Favorite (And Least Favorite) Websites Online".