Latham Named “Litigation Department of the Year” in California

Based on the firm’s litigation capabilities across key practice areas, as well as recent successes in high-profile cases, The Recorder (American Lawyer Media) has named Latham & Watkins the 2015 “Litigation Department of the Year” in California. In addition to winning the overall honor, Latham was also selected for having the state’s leading practices for Antitrust and for White Collar litigation. The awards focused on outcomes in client matters during the 18 months ending December 31, 2014 that were led by California-based lawyers and involved “creativity, cunning and brute force.”

In its Litigation Department of the Year coverage, The Recorder noted: “The litigation department at Latham & Watkins has hit the sweet spot. The firm's California roots, combined with its global reach, position it as a formidable litigation powerhouse, especially in defense of technology companies and their executives.” The article called out the firm’s “dramatic trial wins” in defense of a technology company executive accused of insider trading by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, in an antitrust case related to alleged price-fixing in the optical disk drive industry, and in a patent dispute between two website translation companies. The report also cited the high-stakes litigation spawned by the attempted hostile takeover of Allergan, Inc.

The Antitrust coverage praised the firm’s successes “in the complex world of antitrust defense work,” and the White Collar report noted the firm’s prowess in advising clients in court cases and government investigations.