Latham & Watkins - True Picture

Latham & Watkins training contract review 2026

The Firm

Bigger doesn’t always mean better, but in the case of Latham & Watkins, the old adage may just be true. The firm is the second largest by revenue globally, and anyone in the know will tell you that this is a pretty huge deal. After all, law firms are businesses people! Another thing its big on is people too – despite being a native Los Angeleno, the firm has cast its net pretty wide in the 90 years it’s been around, with well over 3,000 lawyers working globally from 14 different countries. Latham brought its finance prowess over to the City back in 1990, and these days, it has almost 500 lawyers working from the capital.

Another thing this firm certainly isn’t short of is rankings. Chambers UKacknowledges the firm’s banking and finance work in particular, and its restructuring, capital markets, private equity and environment andclimate change work get a big shout-out too. The accolades don’t end there, with the firm shining on the international stage. Over at Chambers Global, the firm is noted for its multi-jurisdictional work in banking and finance, capital markets, competition/antitrust, corporate/M&A, dispute resolution, employee benefits, private equity, projects and energy, restructuring/insolvency and TMT. Now, you can see why this firm is considered one of the best in the business.

“Latham stood out compared to other US firms. People are very friendly, and it’s a collaborative space.”

Trainees looking for significant responsibility are often drawn to US firms for the small cohort size, but unlike many of its other compatriots in City, Latham has a larger cohort of around 30 trainees with each intake. “Latham stood out compared to other US firms,” explained one interviewee thinking back to their application days, “people are very friendly, and it’s a collaborative space.” Sources had been pretty encouraged by the attitude of those they’d met at the firm during the application process, sharing that “people are nice, and quite energetic about their work.”

The Seats

Trainees complete four six-month seats, and they must complete a seat in corporate, and one in finance. Outside of this, seat allocation involves trainees listing their top four preferences. Interviewees told us that those allocating seats “try to be as equitable as possible,” so when they don’t get a seat from their list, this is considered within the next round of allocation: “If you don’t get something you want, you’re then favoured.”

There are usually one or two client secondments available to trainees depending on the market and client needs, which are usually within the finance sector. For any budding jet-setters, there are also an abundance of international secondment opportunities for trainees including seats in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and New York, or Brussels and Paris for those wanting to stay a little closer to home.

Banking is a particularly large department at the firm, covering both the lender and sponsor side, as well as being home to a specific subgroup working on infrastructure finance. Trainees usually gain most of their experience in whichever area their supervisor specialises in, but can get involved in work across the department wherever it’s available. We heard that trainee tasks often involve work relating to transaction management, including chasing people for comments and liaising with local counsel.

As one source noted, the transactional nature of the seat means that trainees should be prepared for it to be “a lot more hands-on than in an advisory seat.” Latham’s banking department has some clients that are definite household names too. Over on the sponsor side of the work, the firm has also worked with supermarket chain ASDA on its refinancing of debt. The matter was valued at £2.85 billion.

Insiders told us that there were many opportunities to step up in this seat when the time is right, as “once seniors trust you to run with processes, you’re encouraged to try new things.” Trainees had also been given the chance to get involved with drafting, and appreciated the build-up of responsibility in the seat, sharing that “by the end of my seat I’d tried drafting more complicated documents, and there’s always the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone.”

“Once seniors trust you to run with processes, you’re encouraged to try new things.”

Trainees sitting in the firm’s corporate department are able to get involved in a wide variety of work, including private equity, M&A, and capital markets. Sources told us that they’d enjoyed being able to get heavily involved in deals, where they’d been given the responsibility of running particular workstreams, doing due diligence, and drafting ancillary documents including board minutes and shareholder resolutions. Trainees are often given the responsibility of managing the checklist for any given transaction too, as well as monitoring its status: “It felt like you were very much in the room and playing a valuable part in the transactions. I didn’t feel tagged on at all.”

Corporate is a seat where there’s a lot of responsibility to take on, leading one interviewee to describe it a little bit like “a baptism of fire,” explaining that “they don’t ease you into it, but I think we all learn really quickly, and there is a lot of training.” Unsurprisingly,Latham’s corporate team have some well-known clients too, wherever your personal interests may lie. They recently advised Miniclip (8 ball pool anyone?!) on its agreement to acquire mobile game developer Easybrain, and have worked with Canva on its acquisition of Serif Group, in order to build upon its suite of visual communication tools – that’s some pretty cool stuff if you ask us!

Over to the contentious side of things, the litigation and trial department has a range of work that trainees can get involved in despite being significantly smaller than both banking and corporate. The firm largely work with high profile corporations and financial institutions – no surprise given its banking and finance prowess – but there’s a wide range of clients across the litigation practice too. Latham’s contentious work includes complex commercial litigation, arbitration, white collar investigations, sanctions, public international law, and cyber and data privacy.

On the commercial side, the firm has recently worked with exciting clients including Red Bull Racing and Meta, while its sanctions experts have been working with Save the Children International to provide urgent advice relating to compliance with a number of sanctions from the UN, US, EU and UK, including in relation to concerns around those placed on Yemen’s Houthi movement, and sanctions developments across Myanmar, Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.

Trainees after often given more traditional junior tasks including bundling and document review, as well as being given the responsibility of emailing clients, attending meets and doing some drafting too. There’s also a good amount of legal research in the seat, and trainees are even able to get involved with things like strategy on the matters they’re working on.

A seat offering a different flavour of work is environment and ESG. While they’re both technically separate practices, they are now a regular trainee seat. We heard that the work feeds into transactional oil and gas work. On the environment side trainees get stuck in with ensuring that all diligence is done correctly and assesses risks on the transactions. Clients include some big names like Microsoft and American Airlines. On the ESG side of the coin, this involved a mix of due diligence advice but also ESG regulations, particularly in Europe. One interviewee had nothing but positive things to say about their time here: “It’s really fun and a great time to be in.” There was a chance to get attend client pitches, preparing slides and materials which was highlighted as being super interesting as “you can see how the firm works, how it generates revenue and brings in clients.”

Trainee Life

The firm’s current office at 99 Bishopsgate got great feedback from interviewees, though they were excited to tell us that the firm will be moving to a new office adjacent to Leadenhall Market in 2026. Sources were positive about the office’s technology and the standing desks available, as well as the fact they’re provided with free soft drinks and snacks. The support staff and tech team got a big shout out too: “What encourages me to go into the office is the support staff. They pick up dry cleaning and they’re great!”

In office expectations varied from team to team, but we heard that the general rule is for everyone to be in the office more than half of the week. “Trainees usually try to come in three of four days a week,” noted a source, “but with a busy schedule, closings and late nights, nobody questions why you’re not in the next week.” Working hours were described as being generally pretty reasonable, with an interviewee sharing that a typical working day in a transactional department is from around 9.30am to 7.30pm: “I would call that a good week.”

“There are of course some spikes,” a trainee acknowledged, “you might have 9am to 11pm for a week, but you can plan your day as you see fit.” One trainee noted that it was unlikely to have sustained periods finishing work after 10pm, though they did explain that they were usually expected to be available for most of the evening, as “if someone emailed prior to 9pm, they’d expect you to reply.” Of course, the hefty salary surely helped, one quipped, “they pay market, so as first years I don’t think it can get any better!”

In terms of culture, those we spoke to felt that Latham’s “a really friendly firm, everyone’s pretty hardworking, there’s lots of teamwork, people are supportive, and there are lots of opportunities for growth which is exciting.” Trainees are comfortable approaching partners, and told us that “people are nice, and they want to give you feedback to help you learn and progress.”

Sources felt that the firm’s recruitment practices helped to ensure a positive culture at the firm: “I think Latham places a big priority in hiring friendly people who’d be nice to work with,” explained one interviewee, “people aren’t very sharp-elbowed, and it’s not very cut-throat at all.” Further to this, the firm was described as a place where everything is “very transparent.” An NQ shared that: “everyone was open and honest with me, even in qualification they were very transparent about it.”

“There’s lots of teamwork, people are supportive, and there are lots of opportunities for growth which is exciting.”

Lawyers at the firm enjoy socialising with each other too, as the firm hosts an annual summer party, and Christmas parties are hosted on a team-level. There’s also a multitude of ad-hoc team socials, and even team retreats and ski trips! We heard that trainee cohorts are particularly friendly and regularly host their own social events and celebrations for each other’s birthdays!

Networking outside of the firm is supported by various affinity groups, which include global groups for parents, women, Black lawyers and staff, and LGBTQ+ lawyers and staff to name a few. As well as hosting socials and events, the groups act as a tool for mentorship, with a budget given to each trainee to support this by covering meals or coffees with mentors from the firm. Insiders had good things to say about supervision and feedback from mentors: “Any criticism is usually constructive and given in a way that will help you as opposed to just being negative. It’s very transparent, and everyone was very open and honest with me.”

There’s a variety of training available at the firm which comes in the form of formally structured department-specific sessions, commercial awareness training with external speakers, and more hands-on learning too. “Trainees get very bespoke practice area training,” added one source, reflecting that there’s “a good balance between being spoken to through presentations, and hands-on learning by doing.”

Another way trainees got to build up responsibility was through pro bono work, which is something they’re encouraged to get involved in wherever possible. “It’s a great way to work on something you care about,” shared one newly qualified interviewee. Another beamed, “You can take on more responsibility than you would in a deal, and I was the first point of contact for the client. It really was a highlight of my training contract!”

When qualification comes round, the process was said to be straightforward. A jobs list is made available and qualifying trainees are asked to write a paragraph for any jobs they’re interested in - no interview process necessary. Sources felt this process was transparent, and NQs assured us that “the partners are happy to have a chat with you, so you can get quite a good idea of where you’ll be going.” They added that it’s less nerve wracking than they expected because “you get the feeling that Latham want to retain people, and there’s always quite a good retention rate.” In 2025, Latham retained 29 of 34 qualifiers.

How to get a Latham & Watkins training contract  

APPLY HERE

Applications for Vacation Schemes will open on 1 September 2025. Applications for the First-Year Spring Scheme will open on 6 October 2025.

Applications, interviews and assessments  

Securing a training contract at Latham & Watkins requires a minimum 2:1 degree and at least AAB at A level (or equivalent). All candidates – whether they're applying for a vacation scheme or directly for a training contract – complete an online application form that asks about their professional and academic history, as well as their motivation for wanting to join the firm. “We're looking for well-structured, concise answers on the application form – answers that show a clear understanding of – and drive for – Latham's training contract,” a member of the graduate recruitment team told us. The firm also prefers applicants with some relevant work experience, whether legal or commercial. After submitting their application, all candidates are invited to complete a Latham & Watkins specific, Situational Judgement test which will be reviewed alongside the candidate’s application form. 

Those who are successful at this stage are invited to an in-person assessment centre, which is the last stage of the process and includes an interview and case study exercise. Applicants can expect the interview to be primarily motivation and competency based. 

Vacation schemes  

Latham strongly encourages trainee hopefuls to apply to its vacation scheme; most of Latham & Watkins’ trainees have completed a vacation scheme with the firm. The firm runs a two-week scheme in Spring and Summer, and accepts up to 30  successful candidates onto each. The schemes are open to law and non-law graduates and undergraduates.  

Candidates who secure a place on one of the vacation schemes spend time in two practice areas. The firm does its best to accommodate preferences for each of these stints. Scheme attendees sit in an office with their supervisor: “It's just like a miniature version of the training contract itself in this regard,” a trainee reflected. In addition to helping their supervisor with their day-to-day work, attendees will be given a research task tied to each practice area they sample. Throughout, “your supervisors will help ensure you get a good insight into Life at Latham, and you’re encouraged to be proactive and reach out to people to learn as much as you can about the firm and its work, as well as trainee life” explained a member of the graduate recruitment team. “The firm is interested in seeing how you can work alongside others and have the potential to contribute to the firm in the future.” The vacation schemes also give attendees a chance to attend practice area talks and social and networking events.  

Towards the end of each of the schemes, attendees are invited to interview for the training contract. Feedback from the interview – as well as from assigned work and general performance during the vacation schemes – is taken into account when training contract decisions are made.  

Resources 

To learn more about starting your legal career at Latham, please visit lwcareers.com. 

Explore Latham’s interview preparation site to guide you through each step of the application process, and provide you with helpful resources that will aid you in showcasing your skills and potential.