NQ Salary
~£173,077
TC Salary
£60,000 / £65,000 (year 1 / year 2)
Annual Intake
c.32 per year (London), via vacation scheme only
Seats
4 seats
This profile is compiled from publicly available sources and may not reflect the latest changes. Always check Latham's official careers page for current deadlines, application processes, and programme details.
Latham & Watkins is one of the world's largest and highest-grossing firms, and its London office alone runs to nearly 500 lawyers. Chambers UK singles out its banking and finance work in particular, with further strength in restructuring, capital markets, private equity and environment and climate change. The London office pairs that transactional firepower with a modified lock-step pay model that Latham lawyers credit with dialling down the internal competition common at US peers.
Culture & Values
Generated by Folio · folioapp.co.uk · 5 September 2026
Folio is independent and not affiliated with any firm listed. Salary and deadline information is approximate. Always verify with the firm's official graduate recruitment page.
Latham recruits about 32 trainees a year in London, entirely through its vacation schemes, and kept 29 of its 34 qualifiers in 2025. Trainees complete four six-month seats, two of them in corporate and finance, with the option of a client or international secondment in the third or fourth seat.
London Open Day (28 October 2026)
1 Sept 2026 – 11 Oct 2026
Opens September · Closes October
London Open Day (5 November 2026)
1 Sept 2026 – 18 Oct 2026
Opens September · Closes October
LGBTQ+ Lawyers Group Open Day (12 November 2026)
1 Sept 2026 – 25 Oct 2026
Opens September · Closes October
Black Lawyers Group Open Day (26 November 2026)
1 Sept 2026 – 1 Nov 2026
Opens September · Closes November
First Year Scheme 2027 (three days)
1 Sept 2026 – 31 Jan 2027
Opens September · Closes January
Spring Vacation Scheme 2027
1 Sept 2026 – 6 Dec 2026
Opens September · Closes December
Summer Vacation Scheme 2027
1 Sept 2026 – 6 Dec 2026
Opens September · Closes December
Training Contract (via vacation scheme only)
Recruited exclusively through vacation schemes
Assessment processes change annually. Always check the firm's website for current details.
Deals and announcements in the firm's own words. Naming a recent matter is the fastest way to show you have paid attention.
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Practice questions built around Latham's actual assessment stages, with “Why this firm?” evidence traced to verified facts.
Sign up free →Vacation Scheme / Training Contract
Method
“Two online assessment stages. Stage 1: a simulated pro bono case based on a real-life matter, plus a short motivational assessment with preference-type behavioural questions. Stage 2: a critical reasoning assessment in a workplace setting, plus two short video interviews. Then assessment day with written task and case study presentation. Recruits exclusively via vacation scheme.”
Tests
Latham provides its own interview preparation platform. Use it to understand what they're looking for.
Explore Latham's work before you apply: free simulations on Forage, built to mirror real trainee tasks.
Latham & Watkins works closely with Rare Recruitment and supports their Articles programme, providing work experience, mentoring, and networking to students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Rolling applications via Rare Recruitment — check rarerecruitment.co.uk
Independent Resource
Folio is an independent student project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Latham & Watkins. All information is compiled from publicly available sources and may not reflect the most current data. Salary and deadline figures are approximate, based on prior recruitment cycles. Always check the firm's official graduate recruitment page for confirmed details.