Latham & Watkins LLP

01 August 2007

Latham & Watkins LLP in Who's Who Legal: California

The largest contingent is found in the environment chapter. This is not surprising as Latham enjoys an outstanding reputation both at home and abroad in this field, and has won the international ‘Who’s Who Legal Environment Law Firm of the Year’ award every year since its inception. Six partners gained sufficient votes to be listed, led by Gene Lucero. Formerly of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, he is now deputy chair of the firm’s global environment, land and resource department and the most highly nominated individual in the state. Alongside him, Robert Wyman is “among the very top air lawyers in the state”, James Arnone’s litigation practice attracted admiring comment and Michael Carroll is “up and coming”, according to our sources. Bruce Howard’s Superfund work was widely praised and “water expert” Paul Singarella completes the contingent of “very smart and capable environment lawyers”.


Elsewhere, the firm’s capital markets expertise was much admired. The total of four partners on our list is, once again, unmatched by any other firm, and Latham is “hard to beat” in this field. Tracy Edmonson’s representation of Amgen in debt offerings and exchange offers worth $4 billion impressed our sources; Mark Stegemoeller counts Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs among his clients; Christopher Kaufman worked on the largest ever semiconductor IPO and is highly respected in the market; and Charles Ruck is recommended for both debt and equity work. Kaufman and Ruck both deserve special recognition, as (along with Larry Sonsini of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati) they are the only individuals to appear in three chapters of this book. Together they give Latham a dual presence in the corporate governance chapter, and also form two-thirds of the firm’s contingent in the M&A chapter.


Latham handled the legal aspects of deals worth more than $470 billion in announced mergers and acquisitions transactions worldwide in 2006, according to Thomson Financial. The firm’s M&A practice stands comparison with any in California. Kaufman’s work for high-tech clients and in hostile takeovers impressed his peers, and Ruck’s representation of Amgen in its $17.7 billion acquisition of Immunex is also well known. The third individual we feature is Paul Tosetti. He is reportedly “always a pleasure to deal with”.


The insolvency and restructuring chapter contains three further nominees from the firm. Co-chair of the global practice group Michael Lurey is “on the highest level of insolvency professionals”, while Peter Gilhuly “does a terrific job for his clients” and Robert Klyman is known for both his debtor and creditor committee work. In San Francisco, Daniel Wall chairs the firm’s global antitrust and competition practice group and is among the leading antitrust lawyers in the state – his work as lead trial counsel to Oracle stood out in particular. Karen Silverman’s merger defence work is held in high esteem, and Charles Crompton is known for his antitrust expertise in the IP arena, as well for his work alongside Wall on behalf of Oracle.

The “very talented” John Mendez is head of the firm’s West Coast banking group and one of two Latham partners to feature in that section of this book. He is joined by Vicki Marmorstein, who was highlighted for her structured finance expertise in particular. In the project finance chapter Kenneth Blohm’s “quality work” was commended to us by his clients, and Kelley Gale “consistently delivers at the highest level”.


The strength of the firm’s corporate practice is demonstrated by the inclusion of two tax experts. Laurence Stein is global chair of the firm’s tax department, and alongside him is the “excellent” John Clair, the managing partner of the Los Angeles office.

Elsewhere, Latham gains multiple representation in the real estate chapter, where it was described as being home to “the best land use lawyers in the state”. Don Berger is “a great lawyer” in this field, and George Mihlsten’s track record includes the $350 million Staples Center Arena.


Elsewhere, Joel Krischer – national chair of the employment law group – was described as “very smart”, and the global chair of the firm’s benefits and compensation group, James Barrall, appears in the employee benefits chapter. The “excellent” Christopher Byers earned a place in the insurance chapter, in part for his representation of a reinsured party in a number of arbitrations related to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Scott Klein was described as an “absolute star” in the private funds research. In addition, Latham’s expertise in the IP area should not be overlooked. Perry Viscounty in Orange County is a highly regarded for his trademarks work; Mark Flagel’s patent litigation practice also deserves a mention.


With more lawyers included across more areas than any other firm, Latham & Watkins’ depth and breadth of expertise can be said to be without rival, and it is the leading firm in the research overall.

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