Latham Poaches Four Wachtell Partners in 12 Months

Latham's growing profit pool gives it an edge in recruiting top talent from elite firms like Wachtell.

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

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Latham & Watkins has hired four partners from the prestigious Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz law firm in the past 12 months, highlighting Latham's recruiting advantage driven by its rapidly growing profit pool. Latham's profit pool has grown 177% since 2016, now reaching nearly $4 billion and making it the second-largest firm by profits behind only Kirkland & Ellis. In contrast, Wachtell's profit pool has grown more slowly, up 65% over the same period. The hires echo a similar period nearly a decade ago when Kirkland poached partners from Cravath, another elite firm.

Why it matters

The Latham-Wachtell pipeline reflects the challenges facing smaller, elite law firms like Wachtell as they compete for top talent with larger, more profitable firms that can offer higher compensation and more leadership opportunities. This dynamic raises questions about the long-term stability of traditional lockstep compensation models used by firms like Wachtell and Cravath.

The details

Latham has now hired four Wachtell partners in the past 12 months, including banking and private credit partner Emily Johnson and M&A pro Mark Stagliano. Latham's flexible compensation system, which allows it to pay top partners more than traditional lockstep models, has proven attractive to mid-level partners at firms like Wachtell who have been paid based on seniority. All four of the Wachtell defectors to Latham in the last year were partners at the firm for five to seven years before making the jump.

  • Latham has hired four Wachtell partners in the past 12 months.
  • Latham's profit pool grew 177% from 2016 to 2024, reaching nearly $4 billion.
  • Wachtell's profit pool grew 65% from 2016 to 2024, reaching $777 million.

The players

Latham & Watkins

A global law firm that has seen rapid growth in its profit pool, now the second-largest by profits behind Kirkland & Ellis.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

An elite, single-office law firm known for its M&A practice, which has seen a number of partners depart for Latham in recent years.

Kirkland & Ellis

A global law firm that previously poached a string of partners from Cravath, another prominent law firm, nearly a decade ago.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore

A prestigious law firm that has also seen partners depart for larger, more profitable firms in recent years.

Emily Johnson

A banking and private credit partner who left Wachtell to join Latham.

Mark Stagliano

An M&A partner who left Wachtell to join Latham.

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What they’re saying

“We offer a different opportunity both because of our size and scale and breadth of market offerings. But we also offer a different opportunity in our approach to the market, our focus on looking around corners over the next decade-plus, and offering leadership opportunities to young, dynamic partners. It's a different proposition. And that was attractive to each of the four partners we were able to recruit in the last 12 months.”

— Marc Jaffe, New York Office Managing Partner, Latham & Watkins (Bloomberg Law)

“No other firm combines our excellence and scale—nor our ambition.”

— Richard Trobman, Chair, Latham & Watkins (Latham Press Release)

What’s next

Latham's ability to continue poaching partners from elite firms like Wachtell will be closely watched, as it remains to be seen whether this pipeline will continue or if it will eventually dry up, as was the case with Kirkland's hiring from Cravath.

The takeaway

Latham's rapid growth in profitability has given it a significant recruiting advantage over smaller, more traditional law firms like Wachtell and Cravath. This dynamic highlights the challenges facing elite firms as they compete for top talent in an increasingly competitive legal market.