Associate - Corporate - Public Company Representation

Latham & Watkins is one of the world’s leading global law firms advising the businesses and institutions that drive the global economy. We are the market leaders in major financial and business centers globally and offer unmatched expertise and resources to help you grow from an intellectually curious self-starter into an exceptional lawyer. If you aspire to be the best, this is where you belong.

Latham actively advises more than 1,000 public companies and serves as primary counsel on corporate governance and securities matters for more than 400 public companies — from those that have recently filed to global market leaders.

Comprehensive Reporting and Compliance Counsel
We are at home in the boardroom counseling corporate directors, officers, and senior management on the full range of corporate governance matters that confront companies and their leadership. We advise boards on legal strategy as well as regulatory and disclosure requirements, including US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) matters, stock exchange compliance, and foreign private issuer (FPI) guidance. We routinely support clients in preparing proxy statements and earnings releases, conducting annual shareholder meetings, and filing current and periodic reports (Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K). We work closely with Latham’s global ESG team to help boards stay ahead of the curve on ESG strategy and reporting, and our fully integrated team of Executive Compensation, Employment & Benefits lawyers bring an unparalleled view of the most challenging issues that arise in any industry around the world.

SEC and Global Regulatory Insights
We draw on vast experience working with the world’s principal securities regulators, from the SFC, to the SEC, to the FCA and ESMA, to bring insightful counsel to each client representation. Our US-based National Office, a unique asset in the legal industry, is staffed by a centralized team of former SEC senior officials and top-ranked corporate lawyers, delivering unrivaled insights and sophisticated advice in real time on the most complex securities issues public companies face. With a bird’s-eye view of trends and hot-button issues across the firm, our National Office and global regulatory teams see it all, both inside and outside of Latham.

Focus on Corporate Goals and Strategy
We quickly learn a company’s business strategies, priority issues, structural concerns, and internal policies and procedures to deliver comprehensive and practical advice. And when our clients raise capital, buy or sell businesses, or encounter disputes, we leverage our “full-stack” offering of market-leading experience across the firm to efficiently and comprehensively address clients’ legal needs at every stage in their lifecycle. Our Public Company Representation lawyers collaborate with colleagues in our Capital Markets, Finance, M&A, Litigation, Executive Compensation, Employment & Benefits and other practices or specialty groups, such as ESG and Activism, to help clients achieve their strategic goals.

The Capital Markets practice group in Chicago is seeking a highly qualified associate with a minimum of two years of experience in capital markets and public company representation to join the 2nd through 4th year associate class.

If you have any questions about the application, please contact:

Lateral Recruiting — Corporate
LateralRecruiting.Corporate@LW.com

Investing in the well-being of our lawyers and staff is among the firm’s highest priorities. Through our “LiveWell Latham” program, we offer best-in-class benefits and comprehensive resources designed to support you and your loved ones through all life’s moments — from building a family and taking care of loved ones, to managing your health and saving for the future.

Latham & Watkins is an equal opportunity employer. The Firm prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status (including veterans of the Vietnam era), gender expression, marital status, or any other characteristic or condition protected by applicable statute.

We periodically provide demographic data to legal publications, bar associations, civic and community organizations, and in some instances, to local, state, and federal government agencies as required by law or contract. So that the firm can provide this information accurately, we request that you consider self-identifying.

Please click here to review your rights under U.S. employment laws. In accordance with Latham & Watkins policies, associates in this role must protect and maintain any highly sensitive, confidential, privileged, financial and/or proprietary information that Latham & Watkins retains either as part of the legal services the Firm provides to clients or for internal purposes.

Los Angeles: Latham & Watkins LLP will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO). Please click the link above to review the Ordinance.

San Francisco: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Please click the link above to review the Ordinance.

Massachusetts: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. An employer that violates this law may be subject to fines and/or a private right of action for $500 in statutory damages “for each such violation,” among other things.

Associate Base Salary

Discretionary bonuses may be available depending on application circumstances and position.

 

Class of	US Payroll
2026	$225,000
2025	$225,000
2024	$235,000
2023	$260,000
2022	$310,000
2021	$365,000
2020	$390,000
2019	$420,000
2018	$435,000