Is Latham OK?

Latham have now lost seven Finance Partners in the past three months - five of whom headed to Sidley Austin (with the other two heading to Milbank). Clickbait titles aside, this is a big issue for Latham.

The concern won't just be the millions and millions of revenue and key clients walking out the door, but it's also who these partners are leaving Bishopsgate for i.e. some of its biggest competitors. More concerning too with the latest two exits to Sidley (debt capital markets partners Scott Colwell and Patrick Kwak) is that this marks a reunion of Latham's former joint LevFin & DCM & HY finance offering with Colwell and Kwak set to work reunite with, in particular, Jayanthi Sadanandan (the former head of Latham’s London office) and Sam Hamilton Sadanandan on the LevFin side of things - offering a joint offering to their (and Sidley's) clients.

11 Finance Partners Exit in Two Years

Let's also not forget this 'follows' the four partner leveraged finance team move from Latham to Paul Hastings two summers ago - so doing a quick bit of maths, that makes 11 finance partners that Latham have lost in c.two years... and all the exits were split between its Lender side practice and its Sponsor side practice - plus now its DCM and HY practice. So again I'll ask, are Latham - or should I say, is Latham's finance practice, OK?

The positive news for Latham is that it's Lender side practice that walked out to Paul Hastings was replaced by the Cahill team hire - so they plugged the hole there. However, its Sponsor side practice remains depleted (albeit with a couple of more junior partners remaining - which could be a huge opportunity for them just FYI), as well as its DCM & HY offering.

However - and to start to answer my own question - yes, I think Latham are just fine. Latham aren't going to struggle to attract top tier talent are they? They right at the top of the legal food chain, and have the fire power, brand, and clients to woo almost anyone they like. Latham, like many of the top outfits out there are just taking their turn on the 'exit-side' of the Partner Merry-Go-Round, opposed to the 'entrance side' that they're used to being on. Would it surprise anyone if over the next little while Latham announce a waive of Partners / team-hires into its finance team? Nope.

?? The London Partner Merry-Go-Round ??

10 years ago the Magic Circle were essentially the top dogs in any area. STB didn't have an R&I team three years ago. Two years ago Latham had one of the strongest Finance practices going. A year ago Paul Weiss were all but a satellite office who almost exclusively hired US associates in London (and now offer training contracts). And seven months ago we saw the completion of a Magic Circle and Wall St firm merger.

As an ex-Magic Circle and US firm lawyer turned headhunter, the amount (and the speed) of change I've witnessed over the past few years has been extraordinary - especially in a typically 'slow to adapt' industry. Do I think things are going to slow down? Nope. There are a finite amount of top Partners / teams in the market, and when one (or several) move, those firms left dealing with the aftermath of an exit, will need to refill and replenish ASAP. Which results in... you guessed it... another spin on the Partner Merry-Go-Round.

So as always, watch this space!

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