Firm’s Elite Antitrust & Competition Practice Rises to Third in the World

Latham’s Antitrust & Competition Practice has climbed ranks to third in the world, according to leading antitrust publication Global Competition Review (GCR). In the latest edition of the publication’s GCR 100, a “comprehensive, annual listing of the world’s best competition practices” – a year which GCR described as its most competitive yet – Latham earned a number of impressive accolades:

In addition to the above, Latham earned GCR’s coveted Global Elite designation, a feat the team has achieved for 14 consecutive years, since GCR first launched its definitive report on the world’s leading competition groups. Importantly, the GCR 100 and Global Elite rankings are developed based on feedback from Latham’s peers, enforcement agencies, academics, economists, and clients, thereby making these reports a true reflection of Latham’s market reputation as a visionary leading force in the field, with unmatched strength, excellence, consistency, and balance.

Citing the firm’s “excellent reputation on either side of the Atlantic,” GCR wrote, “On the back of a strong year, Latham & Watkins has jumped into the top three of our Global Elite rankings. The competition group counts 50 partners across its many offices, including in California, Brussels and Washington, DC, where several of its senior lawyers are considered to be among the best in each jurisdiction.”  Even more impressive is Latham’s merger control showing, with GCR noting the firm “jumps to number two in our rankings of the world’s best merger control practices this year, breaking a long-standing duopoly” at the top.

Global Chair of the practice, Amanda Reeves commented, “It’s extremely gratifying to have the world’s top competition publication take note of, and honor the remarkable achievements of our merger control, litigation, cartels and conduct investigations, and state aid practitioners around the globe. We are incredibly proud of the world-class team we’ve built – among the largest by headcount and geography – and look forward to continuing to break new ground and guide our clients to success as this new era of antitrust enforcement unfolds.”

Also highlighted by GCR were Latham’s additions of former Director of the Bureau of Competition at the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Ian Conner and Carles Esteva Mosso, who worked at the European Commission for more than 25 years, last as Deputy Director-General of the Directorate General for Competition.

The 2022 GCR 100 report includes the publication’s ranking of practices in key antitrust jurisdictions. For the first time, Latham broke into GCR’s Spain ranking, in the “Highly Recommended” category. Partners Carles Esteva Mosso and José María Jiménez-Laiglesia both received a special nod in the publication’s profile on the firm’s growing Madrid office.