Latham & Watkins

In the midst of the Great Depression in 1934, Dana Latham and Paul Watkins founded a law firm in Los Angeles. Latham was a tax lawyer, while Watkins specialized in labor law. The firm grew slowly at first, with only 19 attorneys by 1960. The story of Latham & Watkins is not one of a flashy IPO, but of methodical, relentless expansion. A major turning point came in the late 1960s and 1970s. Under managing partner Clinton R. Stevenson, the firm began a period of rapid growth, expanding from its LA base to open offices across the United States, including Washington D.C. in 1978. This expansion was a deliberate strategy to build a national firm. The firm continued this playbook internationally, opening a London office in 1990 and a Moscow office in 1992. The firm's trajectory wasn't without bumps. During the 2009 global recession, the firm laid off 190 lawyers, a move so notable in the legal industry that being "Lathamed" became slang for being laid off. However, the firm rebounded, and by 2018, it became the first law firm to exceed $3 billion in annual revenue. Today, with a business model that emphasizes teamwork and a global, integrated network, Latham & Watkins stands as one of the largest and most powerful law firms in the world.