Grounded in the real hiring process
Built from the employer's own process and public material, not candidate reports. Sign up and tell us what you were actually asked.
02 / Hiring process
Five stages, and one of them decides it
5 stages from application to offer. Team interviews is reported to be the one that decides it.
5stages
01
Application and route selection direct application and tailored materials
Professional candidates apply through regional iCIMS portals. United States summer candidates submit a direct application with a cover letter, resume, law school transcript and, for IP Litigation, an undergraduate transcript. Experienced lawyers use a separate opportunity route.
02
Initial interview motivation, experience and office fit
Latham does not publish one universal interview sequence. Current candidate reports describe recruiter, video or attorney conversations focused on the resume, motivation, organization and relevant experience. Format varies by office, route and role.
03
Team interviews multiple lawyers or business leaders
Recent candidate reports describe several one-to-one or virtual interviews for some roles. Legal candidates should expect questions about practice and office fit, while professional candidates should connect their craft to legal-service delivery and global collaboration.
04
Role assessment writing, analysis or role task
Some current professional-role reports describe a timed take-home task or on-demand video, while Latham offers optional legal job simulations for students. No universal assessment is published, so treat any exercise as role specific and confirm instructions with recruiting.
05
Decision and onboarding references, conflicts and start planning
Successful candidates move through checks appropriate to the role. Lawyer transitions may include conflicts and credentials review. Timing and documentation differ across student, lateral and professional routes, so use the recruiting contact's instructions.
Ask before the interview: what will this round cover, who will I meet, and is there anything I should prepare?The question almost nobody asks
03 / Question library
Interview question practice library
The questions are drafted from Latham's published culture, current role taxonomy and clearly labelled candidate-reported process patterns. They are not claimed as a harvested verbatim question bank.
60questions
Asked in every interviewAsked in every Latham & Watkins interview
01 Why Latham & Watkins? Motivation Open guide
Find your angle. Latham question 01 examines your choice among globally integrated firms. The interviewer is testing whether you understand Latham's Unassigned Program, client focus and cross office model, with enough detail to distinguish actual judgment from a polished claim.
Build your answer
- Define the situation. Set out your choice among globally integrated firms, including the people, deadline and consequence that made the decision important.
- Explain your judgment. Show whether you understand Latham's Unassigned Program, client focus and cross office model. Separate what you owned from advice, approval or specialist work supplied by others.
- Prove the result. Close with one Latham operating fact, one matching experience and a precise reason for this office. State the outcome, the evidence and one remaining limitation.
Bring the evidence
For Latham question 01, bring one Latham operating fact, one matching experience and a precise reason for this office. Include a date, scale, decision point or measured result that an interviewer can test.
What weakens it
When answering Latham question 01 about your choice among globally integrated firms, do not replace the decision with claims that you work hard, communicate well or care about quality.
Likely follow upWhich part of Latham's model would stretch you most?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.02 Walk me through your background. Experience Open guide
Find your angle. Latham question 02 examines the two decisions in your history that best predict performance here. The interviewer is testing whether you can turn a broad resume into a focused case for this role, with enough detail to distinguish actual judgment from a polished claim.
Build your answer
- Define the situation. Set out the two decisions in your history that best predict performance here, including the people, deadline and consequence that made the decision important.
- Explain your judgment. Show whether you can turn a broad resume into a focused case for this role. Separate what you owned from advice, approval or specialist work supplied by others.
- Prove the result. Close with two responsibilities with scale, one difficult decision and one measured result. State the outcome, the evidence and one remaining limitation.
Bring the evidence
For Latham question 02, bring two responsibilities with scale, one difficult decision and one measured result. Include a date, scale, decision point or measured result that an interviewer can test.
What weakens it
When answering Latham question 02 about the two decisions in your history that best predict performance here, do not replace the decision with claims that you work hard, communicate well or care about quality.
Likely follow upWhich experience is least relevant to this position?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.03 Why this Latham office? Office fit Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.04 Tell me about a time you uncovered what a client actually needed. Client focus Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.05 Describe a time you found an error before it became costly. Excellence Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.06 Tell me about a time you took responsibility without being asked. Initiative Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.07 Give an example of coordinating people with competing priorities. Teamwork Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.08 Tell me about difficult feedback you received. Feedback Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.09 Describe a decision you made with incomplete information. Judgment Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.10 Tell me about a time you protected a professional boundary. Integrity Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.11 How do you manage several urgent deadlines? Priorities Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.12 What questions do you have for us? Questions Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.Business Development, Brand and Events6 to practise
6 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 6 are specific to Business Development, Brand and Events, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountWhat you get
Less than the cost of one lunch, for a great deal more confidence.- Unlimited tailored interview preparation
- A massive database of actual questions and answer guides
Role specific
Pick your role and the list narrows to what that role tends to get asked.
A guide for every answer
What the question is testing, three steps to build your answer, and the evidence to bring.
Prepared, not guessing
You walk in knowing the shape of the round and which of your own stories fits it.
04 / In the news
Worth mentioning in the room
The strongest answer to why this company is something that happened last month.
4stories
Free account
What happened at this employer this month
Stories screened from everything published about this employer, chosen because they can be used in the room rather than because they are recent.
- Each one carries a line on how to use it in the answer
- Crime, recalls, litigation and share price moves are excluded outright
- Refreshed daily, so it is different the week of your interview
05 / The four values
What is actually being scored
Latham describes a culture grounded in quality, collaboration and responsibility. Prepare concise examples that show these principles under real pressure.
4stories
Unwavering client focus
A time you understood the client's real objective, adjusted priorities and delivered a useful result without sacrificing a professional boundary.
Consistent excellence
A time you improved the accuracy, clarity or reliability of difficult work and created a repeatable standard for the team.
True partnership
A time you learned a stakeholder's business and shaped your advice or service around the decision they actually needed to make.
Strong teamwork
A time you coordinated across roles, offices or time zones, made handoffs explicit and kept shared ownership from becoming unclear.
06 / Before you apply
Where candidates lose it
Pro
Where candidates lose this before anyone meets them
The part of the process that eliminates most people is not the interview. It is what happens around it, and almost none of it is written down anywhere.
- The assessment answers that read as dishonest rather than confident
- What the availability question is really deciding
- The application detail that cannot be edited once submitted
Interview in 48 Hours
Turn your experience into your advantage.Bring your own stories to the interview. Start with the role, build your preparation sheet.