LW
Latham & Watkins
New York, NY
Founded 1934
Est. Revenue ~$7.0B 2024
Total Employees i
8,551
▲ +7% year-over-year
6-Month Growth i
+3%
▲ Headcount growth
1-Year Growth i
+7%
▲ Headcount growth
2-Year Growth i
+14%
▲ From 7,522 → 8,551
Open Positions (Q4) i
218
— Q4 2025
Median Tenure i
4.3 yrs
— Stable
Finance Growth (1y) i
+26%
▲ Fastest-growing function
IT Job Growth (3m) i
+91%
▲ Tech expansion
⚡
Engineering Surge
Engineering job openings jumped +200% over 6 months and +50% in 3 months, signaling Latham is investing heavily in technology and innovation infrastructure.
📈
Finance Function Fastest-Growing
Finance headcount grew +13% in 6 months and +26% year-over-year, the strongest growth of any function — pointing to an expanding transactional practice.
🔍
Steady Firm-Wide Expansion
Overall headcount grew +14% over 2 years (from 7,522 to 8,551), with consistent gains across Legal (+9%), Entrepreneurship (+4%), and Research (+22%/+18%).
Headcount Over Time
Total Employee Count i
Mar 2024 – Mar 2026
Median tenure: 4.3 years
Headcount Milestones i
Point-in-time employee counts
March 2024 7,522
September 2024 +4% 6m 7,792
March 2025 +2% 6m 7,956
September 2025 +5% 6m 8,340
▶ March 2026 (current) 8,551
Growth rates
6-month growth+3%
1-year growth+7%
2-year growth+14%
Workforce Composition
Employee Distribution by Function i
Share of total headcount (8,551 employees)
Legal2,117 (25%)
Entrepreneurship1,003 (12%)
Other2,801 (33%)
Business Development497 (6%)
Information Technology448 (5%)
Human Resources349 (4%)
Finance277 (3%)
Operations215 (3%)
Accounting209 (2%)
Administrative197 (2%)
Education172 (2%)
Research134 (2%)
Support132 (2%)
Headcount Growth by Function i
6-month and 1-year growth rates by department
Function ↕ Headcount ↕ Share ↕ 6m ↕ 1y ↕
Legal2,11725%▲ 9%▲ 9%
Entrepreneurship1,00312%▲ 4%▲ 5%
Business Development4976%● 0%▲ 2%
Information Technology4485%▲ 2%▲ 7%
Accounting2092%● 0%▲ 6%
Administrative1972%▼ 2%▲ 2%
Education1722%▼ 1%▲ 13%
Finance2773%▲ 13%▲ 26%
Human Resources3494%▲ 5%▲ 8%
Operations2153%▲ 6%▲ 7%
Research1342%▲ 22%▲ 18%
Support1322%▲ 7%▲ 15%
Headcount growth — 6 months (absolute change)
Legal+9% · +215
Entrepreneurship+4% · +82
Finance+13% · +55
Research+22% · +38
Operations+6% · +21
Human Resources+5% · +13
Support+7% · +12
Information Technology+2% · +10
Administrative−2% · −7
Education−1% · −3
Job Openings (Q4 2025)
Open Positions by Function i
Q4 2025 · Excludes subsidiaries
Legal54 (25%)
Business Development26 (12%)
Accounting23 (11%)
Information Technology21 (10%)
Human Resources18 (8%)
Sales15 (7%)
Administrative9 (4%)
Engineering9 (4%)
Marketing8 (4%)
Support8 (4%)
Finance6 (3%)
Media & Communication6 (3%)
Operations6 (3%)
Other9 (4%)
Job Openings Growth i
3-month and 6-month growth by department
Function ↕ Openings ↕ 3m ↕ 6m ↕
Legal54▼ 22%▼ 23%
Business Development26▲ 4%▼ 46%
Accounting23▲ 44%▲ 77%
Information Technology21▲ 91%▼ 16%
Human Resources18▼ 14%▲ 20%
Sales15▲ 400%▲ 275%
Administrative9▼ 25%▲ 13%
Engineering9▲ 50%▲ 200%
Marketing8▲ 60%▲ 100%
Support8▼ 20%● 0%
Finance6▼ 67%▼ 57%
Media & Communication6▼ 33%▼ 50%
Operations6▲ 20%▲ 20%
Total218● 0%▼ 10%
3-month job openings (absolute change)
Sales+400% · +12
Information Technology+91% · +10
Accounting+44% · +7
Marketing+60% · +3
Engineering+50% · +3
Finance−67% · −12
Legal−22% · −15
Company Focus Areas
Strategic Priorities i

Global M&A Leadership

Latham & Watkins is expanding its M&A and private equity practice, advising on landmark cross-border deals and building out its transactional teams across key markets.

Technology & Innovation Push

Surging Sales +400% and IT +91% hiring signals Latham's investment in business development and internal infrastructure, while Engineering openings are up 200% over six months.

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