Latham breaks $2bn with record results

Latham & Watkins has reported record results for the 2007 financial year, becoming the first US firm ever to break the $2bn (£1bn) revenue barrier.

Latham posted a 23 per cent hike in revenue on 2006’s $1.62bn (£809m), taking turnover to slightly more than $2bn (£1bn).

Average profit per equity partner (PEP) at the firm also grew by a double digit margin, up 22 per cent from $1.85m (£925,000) in 2006 to $2.27m (£1.13m) last year.

Latham’s strong performance was reflected by its position in the global M&A deals tables for 2007. It was ranked number one by mergermarket for both US and global M&A by number of deals and number three for US M&A.

The firm also maintained strong European rankings by number of deals, securing top 10 spots for Europe as a whole last year.

The firm’s capital markets practice also had a standout year globally, advising the underwriters on ICICI Bank’s $5bn equity offering and another Indian company, Sterlite Industries on its New York Stock Exchange $2bn IPO.

Latham has so far reported the highest revenue of any US firm for 2007.