Latham & Watkins mock assessment centre notes

[aditik]

Hey guys!

So I am aware that many of you have applied to Latham & Watkins, so I just wanted to share a few of the notes I took during the mock assessment centre hosted by the firm for our university's law society. I personally did not apply to Latham (although now I wish I did!) but hope this is useful to all currently in the application process.

Nicola Fox (Grad recruitment coordinator) also said that they have not completed screening and deciding on all apps, so if you don't have a VI yet, don't lose hope!

So first, we had a talk by Deborah Kirk, a partner in the corporate department

• Deborah trained at Links, before joining Latham in 2010; she really emphasised the differences between U.S. law firms in London & the Magic Circle, explicitly highlighting the entrepreneurial feel at Latham, and the fact that the firm pays less attention to hierarchy than a MC firm might.
• This basically means that the work you will be given will not be on the basis of your level in the firm (e.g. whether you're a first seater or 2nd year PQE) but rather on your appetite for responsibility, and if you excel in the tasks given to you.
• One quote that really goes to the heart of this was 'At a MC firm, you are a part of a group of trainees. At Latham, you are a part of the team, from the day you join. It doesn't matter what level you are at, if you can prove that you do well and excel'.
• She stressed that the more 'managed' and 'structured' approach of the MC is not a negative one per se, but it is all down to your personal working style and preference.
• Kirk wanted to dispel the myth that there is no formal training done at U.S. law firms. While more responsibility is accorded to trainees, this is supplemented with a formal training programme designed by the learning and development team.
• London is not a satellite office for Latham, and it has been the centre of 'astronomic growth' since 2010. Similar to S & S, Latham is able to leverage its relationships with U.S. investment banks, multinationals and corporates, and offers credibility in both NY and English law related transactions.
• True to its Californian roots, Latham is often the port of call for many major technology companies, including the likes of Yahoo, Netflix, Expedia, and it also assists major PE houses on technology related transactions. Many trainees have the chance to do a seat in TTG (Technology transactions), which is quite unique to Latham.
• On the note of PE, PE is a particularly significant area of growth for Latham, and its largest client is Carlyle, with the likes of Blackstone & KKR in the list as well. (One trainee had completed a client secondment at Carlye, so if this excites any of you!)
• Unlike many other U.S. law firms in London, Latham is truly full-service; it offers the entire suite of services, from corporate/M&A and high-yield finance to IP and real estate. Their current strategy is now focused on expanding their volume of work, as opposed to their practice area offering.
• London is very important to Latham, and they don't think this will change after Brexit. It was emphasised Brexit could actually bring more opportunities, because clients need assistance on risk mitigation due to Brexit. Kirk said that this was the busiest January she'd seen in a few years!
• Latham is also a very human and welcoming place to work. Kirk emphasised that the firm does over 15,000 hours of pro-bono work, and pro-bono counts as a part of your billable hours on an unlimited basis.

Graduate Recruitment tips:

• Latham recruits 24 trainees every year and approximately two-thirds come from the winter, spring and summer vacation schemes.
• They emphasised that candidates should try and tease out all the skills gained from their work experience, instead of simply listing what they did. One student suggested a structure where they listed what they did, and then listed the skills gained from it, and grad rec were happy with that structure.
• As I am sure most of you know the process, the AC itself involves: an interview (commercial awareness related) one with two partners, followed by a presentation (they tell you the topic a few days in advance) and a final interview with two partners on your application form and your motivations for joining Latham.
• They want to see you perform consistently well across the day, despite the intensity.
• During the vacation scheme, you are set a research task which is done over the two weeks, and your performance in this is used when they assess you for a TC.
• They really appreciate proactive people at Latham. So if you reach out or email a supervisor who works in a practice area you are interested in, or you ask around to help others, it will bode well.

Hope you guys find this helpful! I am sure most of this is familiar from your research, but hopefully some of it might help.

 

[Salma]

Thanks for sharing!!