Friday, November 6, 2009
Page 4
Latham & Watkins Elects Two New Partners at L.A. Office
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Latham & Watkins has elected 23 associates to partnership effective Jan. 1, including white collar criminal defense attorney Aaron G. Murphy and tax practitioner Laurence Seymour from the firm’s Los Angeles office, a spokesperson for the firm said yesterday.
Rick Bress, chair of the firm’s Associates Committee and a partner in the Washington, D.C. office commented that the promotions were a reflection of Latham & Watkins’ “diverse practice and broad geographic footprint.”
He explained that the promotions were “determined with a long-term view in mind focused on quality, client service and hard work” and praised the new partners as bringing “a wealth of experience and skills that further strengthens our firm.”
Murphy joined the firm in 2000 and is a member of the Litigation Department and the White Collar and Government Investigations Group.
He specializes in conducting internal investigations, reporting the results both internally and externally, negotiating resolutions with government agencies in connection with those investigations and litigating with those agencies where necessary.
His primary area of expertise is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, with an emphasis on bribery in Asian countries, particularly China, according to his firm profile.
A 1995 graduate of Chapman University, Murphy attended the University of Tennessee College of Law before serving as a judicial clerk for Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sidney R. Thomas and being admitted to the State Bar in 2000.
He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Disability Rights Legal Center and served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996.
Seymour joined the Latham & Watkins in 2005 after relocating from New York, where he practiced as an associate with Cleary Gottlieb for three years.
He is a member of the firm’s Tax Department, focusing on executive compensation and employee benefits matters.
According to his firm profile, a significant portion of his practice involves structuring various types of compensation arrangements for senior executives, including employment and severance agreements, stock option and other equity compensation arrangements, incentive compensation, deferred compensation, severance and parachute arrangements.
Seymour is also a member of the firm’s Global Recruiting Committee, where he participates in the interviewing and hiring of law students and judicial clerks.
He graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1995 and the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2001 before being admitted to the State Bar in 2006.
In Latham & Watkins’ Orange County office, intellectual property attorney Michael DeVries and corporate law practitioner Wesley Holmes were also elected to partner.
A total of 17 associates nationwide were promoted to partner along five individuals in Latham and Watkins’ international offices. Thirteen associates were also elected to counsel.
The numbers are in keeping with the two previous years, according to figures released by the firm which indicate that last year, 30 associates were promoted to partner and 12 to counsel. In 2007, 29 associates made partner and 10 became counsel.
Of the associates promoted this year, six of the partners and six counsel were women.
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