Culture

• "Latham is very friendly with a very supportive atmosphere. There is quite a flat structure and it is easy to approach just about anyone. The trainees get along very well and we arrange a large amount of social activities." -- Second year trainee
• "Open-door relaxed culture. Trainees do not socialise much due to the fact that we are all split into different departments on different floors, etc." -- First year trainee
• "Friendly atmosphere, and a non-hierarchical working environment. Everyone from partner level down is approachable and down to earth. Some departments (finance, corporate, tax and employment) are very sociable and regularly organise drinks or social events. Trainees are generally supportive, although there are times when some people work long hours and weekends while others manage to get home by early evening. Trainees are quite sociable. The two intakes tend to socialise separately, except at firm organised events." -- Second year trainee
• "The size of the trainee intake dictates that you do become a close knit group that socialises with one another. Like with most work places, you can choose to get involved on a social front as much or as little as you choose. There is also, particularly with employment, corporate and finance, a lot of department social activities..." -- Second year trainee
• "The working environment is very informal, and you are more or less left to your own devices when working on a task (although there are usually clear instructions, and work is checked by your supervisor before it goes to the client). Social events organised at a firm level are rare, but trainees are good at meeting up every week/fortnight for a drink, and work permitting, a night out. Trainees in the same department tend to help one another when there are important and tight deadlines to meet." -- First year trainee
• "The firm has quite small teams and each deal typically has one partner, one or two associates and one trainee from the relevant departments, which means a lot more hands on work for the trainees. Trainees will normally be involved with whatever their supervisor is doing, but you also get asked to do things for other partners/associates in the same department (and sometimes, although rarely, other departments if there's an urgent matter and you have capacity). It's quite casual but it's up to us as trainees (with help from supervisors) to manage our time and make sure we're going to be able to deliver on what is asked of us. Because there are not many trainees, we all know each other pretty well in our intake and we do see each other quite a lot. I'll go for lunch with some of the other trainees a couple of times a week, and there's events such as pizza lunch, firm breakfast and birthday cake day (each once a month) where we all catch up. We tend to have trainee drinks on a Friday every few weeks but some departments tend to get together for drinks once a week or so... All in all I'd say the social life here is pretty good, although I can't speak for every department." -- First year trainee
• "There is considerable freedom and responsibility with a flat hierarchy allowing interaction with all attorneys working on a matter. Good trainee support when a number of us are required to work on a matter together – lack of competitiveness due to the small-sized intake. Socialising is not regular due to the nature of the hours but everyone makes a good effort." -- First year trainee
• "It's a very welcome, open environment with very little hierarchy, and NQs work directly with partners. Everyone is very sociable and friendly, there is a very collegiate atmosphere, and everyone works well together and shares workloads when some are busier than others. There are generally informal drinks organised once every few weeks." -- Newly qualified solicitor
• "The firm makes a big effort to be non-hierarchical, which shows in the small teams and the close working relationship between partners, juniors and trainees. Although you are expected to take a lot of responsibility, there is a good support structure, even from senior partners when queries arise. The social life varies between departments, some are very social, but others socialise less outside the office – generally, there is a good firm-wide social life." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate
• "There's a relaxed and sociable firm culture – everyone's pretty friendly, people are more than willing to help if you need anything or have questions, and informal drinks and nights out are frequently organised." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate
• "It is a friendly and very supportive office where partners and associates work very well together. The ‘360 degree review process’, where supervisors and supervisees get to review each others' performances, with consequences for promotion and pay, is very helpful. The partners are generous and host monthly drinks at department/office level." -- Newly qualified solicitor

Hours

• "Each trainee has a billable yearly target of 1,200 hours. I am working the hours as expected with any corporate law firm in City." -- Second year trainee
• "Between 30 – 60, and sometimes including weekends, depending very much on the department and workflow. Hours are one of the toughest things about the job, but I am working roughly the amount that I had expected." -- Second year trainee
• "Work varies across departments and is very much in peaks and troughs in transactional departments. I currently work about 50 – 55 hours a week." -- Second year trainee
• "Long hours but that’s expected and I enjoy it." -- Second year trainee
• "On average 40 – 45 hours a week and can be significantly more during closings/filings, but when these are over trainees are at liberty to leave at a very decent time." -- First year trainee
• "Average week is 40 – 45 hours, working as many hours as I expected. The recruitment procedure was honest and interviewers gave me a genuine account of life at the firm so that I knew what to expect in terms of the working culture." -- First year trainee
• "It’s very up and down. On a quiet week – about 45. On a very busy week – about 70." -- First year trainee
• "My hours have been very good since qualifying, I usually bill about 130 – 160 a month. I therefore spend approximately 40 – 50 hours per week in the office. The firm is very flexible if you want to apply for part-time or flexible hours, likewise on a more short term basis it is absolutely fine to work from home some days." -- Newly qualified solicitor
• "Average of 140 billable hours a month, spend around 200 – 220 hours a month in the office – this varies considerably from month to month. The firms is not particularly flexible with hours formally, though within a team, taking extra leave, etc. is allowed, if the department is quiet for example." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate
• "Associates have a target of 1900 billable hours per year (pro bono work counts towards your target hours). People work hard but I guess no one comes here expecting otherwise. Can be quite flexible – if things are quiet, no one will expect you to put in face time for the sake of it, but of course flexibility works both ways and you'll need to be flexible with your evenings, weekends, holidays..." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate
• "I bill about 175 hours per month on average. I work about 60 hours each week, including non-billable work. Please note that pro bono work counts towards billing targets at Latham. The firm is exceptionally flexible with hours, and so long as a solicitor's work is done, he/she is free to take as much time off." -- Newly qualified solicitor

Pay

• "£96,970" -- Newly qualified solicitor
• "Unbeatable." -- Second year trainee
• "It's one of the highest in the City, but it will never feel like enough when you're in the office on a Sunday!" -- First year trainee
• "Remuneration is good, but would be nice if trainees got a bonus." -- First year trainee
• "It’s very good with excellent benefits." -- First year trainee
• "The salary is very generous. The bonus scheme is incentivising and can also be generous." -- Newly qualified solicitor
• "The bonus is very hours-related. Other contributing factors to the bonus payment are quality of work, and quality of supervision (this is where the reviews from your supervisees count). It is very transparent." -- Newly qualified solicitor
• "Base salary is very good. Bonuses are also good, although I don't think they're as high as Magic Circle firms. Bonuses are hours based (primarily), and are only paid if you hit 1900 billable hours in the year." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate
• "Latham pay is top-end – can't complain." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate

Interviews & Assessments

• "Two interviews each with two interviewers, one on my CV, and one on commercial awareness. The best way to get into the firm is through a vacation scheme and the application and interview process is similar. You will also have interviews at the end of the vacation scheme." -- Second year trainee
• "Having done a vacation scheme the interviewing wasn't rigorous and there was no assessment day, but it was definitely selective. They will see through rehearsed answers." -- Second year trainee
• "I had two interviews for the vacation scheme, then one interview for the training contract itself. Each interview was with a partner and an associate. Interviews consisted mostly of chatting about my CV, etc. with some commercial awareness questions asked." -- First year trainee
• "There are a total of three rounds of interviews mainly with partners, but involving some associates. The interview was more like an informal conversation in which the interviewer appeared to generally want to know about who I was, and whether I had the soft tolerance and easy-to-work-with attitude that would allow me to contribute effectively to the firm." -- First year trainee
• "The interviews are generally about knowing you and your CV, except for the second interview which seemed to focus on your degree discipline." -- First year trainee
• "Two interviews for the vacation scheme, with a further interview whilst on the vacation scheme. Interviews are with associates and partners – no graduate recruitment. The interviews are based on trying to get to know you as a person." -- First year trainee
• "Very straightforward application process – application form, no assessment days. One round of training contract interviews – three 30 minute interviews with two people (both associates and partners) back to back. No purposefully difficult questions intended to trip you up." -- Second year trainee
• "I submitted a CV and covering letter, was interviewed for a vacation scheme and at the end of the vacation scheme I was interviewed for a training contract. I interviewed with a number of partners, associates and members of the HR team. The interviews for both the vacation scheme and the training contract were very informal and I was made to feel very relaxed and welcome." -- Newly qualified solicitor
• "Three rounds of interviews with people from across the firm (partners, HR, junior attorneys, etc.), 30 minutes per interview. For lateral hires, there is a written test for some departments." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate
• "Lateral hires go through an initial screening by two partners, followed by chain of around 5/6 interviews with various associates." -- Newly qualified solicitor, Corporate
• "At least two rounds for associates but many interviewers in the second round. The first round is a technical partners' interview. The second round is really to get as many associates to assess whether the candidate is suitable for the firm's culture." -- Newly qualified solicitor