Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher stands as the quintessential Los Angeles white shoe firm. John Bicknell founded it in 1890, and it remains one of the most prestigious firms in the country. It maintains a massive presence in downtown Los Angeles and Century City. The firm handles high stakes litigation and complex corporate transactions for Fortune 500 companies. Many consider its litigation department the gold standard in the region.
Latham & Watkins began in Los Angeles in 1934 and has since become one of the highest grossing law firms in the world. While it now operates as a global behemoth, its Los Angeles and Century City offices remain central to its identity. It dominates in private equity, finance, and entertainment law. The firm represents major movie studios and sports franchises alongside Silicon Beach startups.
O’Melveny & Myers is another historic Los Angeles pillar, dating back to 1885. It has long served as a training ground for the city’s legal and political elite. The firm has deep ties to the California establishment and excels in entertainment, labor, and white collar defense. It maintains a reputation for a more genteel, traditional culture compared to some of its more aggressive peers.
New York based titans also maintain significant footprints in Los Angeles. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom operates a large and highly influential office in Century City. It mirrors its New York reputation for handling the most complex mergers and acquisitions and bet-the-company litigation. Sullivan & Cromwell and Kirkland & Ellis also have formidable Los Angeles offices that compete for the same elite mandates. These firms typically pay the highest market rates and demand extreme billable hours from their associates.
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan differs from the traditional white shoe model in its casual dress code and trial-only focus, but its prestige and profitability place it in the same tier. Founded in Los Angeles in 1986, it has become the most feared litigation firm in the world. It eschews corporate transactional work entirely to focus on high-value disputes.
