ATL March April Madness for Law Firms, Final Round: Cleary vs. Latham
VERSUS 
We had over 4900 votes in the "ATL Law Firm Final Four" this weekend. Latham & Watkins and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton emerged as the winners and will now go head to head to determine which is the "coolest" law firm. During commercial breaks in the NCAA basketball final tonight between the University of Memphis and the University of Kansas, come to ATL and vote. Or just vote throughout the day and bill it to "firm development."
We've given Latham a Memphis player's image. If Memphis wins tonight, it will be the first national champion from outside a major conference since 1990. Since Latham was the only non-New York law firm to make the final four, we think they would sympathize. Cleary got a Kansas player's image... because they both start with a hard "c" sound. Sports analysis is not our forte at ATL.
The polls close at midnight. Cast your vote here:
Die-hard fans can learn more about the Final Four results, and see the updated brackets, after the jump.
Latham & Watkins (53%) beat Davis Polk & Wardwell (47%).
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton (52%) beat Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (48%).
The updated brackets:
Earlier: ATL March April Madness for Law Firms, Round 3: Upsets Galore Heading Into the Final Four
(50) Comments
first!
First!
Kansas - Cleary sweep.
I vote that this is, on a multitude of levels, the stupidest and most meaningless poll ever.
This is the lamest thing ATL has ever done. Ugh.
*L&W associates begin furiously voting*
Wow, the economy must really be in the shitter.
"Coolest" law firm? Come on.
Cleary wins. Duh. Your own office as a summer. Plus let's not forget, speaking of summers, that this is where we hire girls who jump into the East River. How cool is that.
Latham & UVA Law go hand in hand. Cool = Cool. Begone peasants!
Latham wins. Have your seen the new recruiting video from Cleary?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOU8GIRUd_g
When did this site become ATTTL?
LOL 2:52
I definitely turned down my offer at Latham because I thought that Cleary was a cooler place to work. I feel increasingly smug and validated by this decision everyday.
Go Cleary and Kansas.
Everyone should vote for Cleary on principle. Latham peeps should not be able to claim job security AND coolest law firm.
Couldn't care less about Cleary (their lawyers seem to try way too hard to be quirky or cool and so just come off as creepy or pathetic), but go Jayhawks!
I say next tournament should be different pics of Kash, hottest pic wins. That would be much better.
Latham + Memphis FTW!
Latham=surfer boys=lame
I picked Cleary over Latham for this coming summer without a second thought. Among other things, I loved the fact that you never had to choose a practice group since the firm doesn't have any. Plus, at a Latham event I went to, I was totally bugged by the fact that there were like 8 frat boy associates standing in a circle alone out on the terrace totally ignoring the law students and acting like total douches.
With Cleary, not only do you get your own office in NYC (ranked #1 in Vault), the firm lets any SA spend half their summer in any of the firm's foreign offices, with free housing. Six weeks in Europe, here I come!
Generic "hit on Kash" commentary
3:14, guess what. Most associates don't give a shit about you summers.
ATTTL
3:14,
Thank you for offering a supporting affidavit for my remarks about Cleary.
And have fun realizing that not having practice groups and not having specialized attorneys are two very different things.
It must be hard for Latham players to play when they have placards that stick out 8 inches from either side of their body attached to the front of their jerseys. Kudos to them for making it so far! And Kudos to the Cleary jersey design geniuses, who have managed to make the logo on the jersey look perfect only when viewed from 8 feet above the player's head and slightly to his right.
3:14, Cleary cares about your summer plans.
Latham Promise = Cool
3:14:
With all due respect, you are an idiot.
3:34:
Shut up.
I vote Latham/Kansas, Kash's pictorial association notwithstanding.
Wait, what?
Latham screws over summer associates. Denies offers for a few below average work reviews. Not a cool firm.
Dudes, I still can't believe we're not giving it to STB in appreciation of the $160k pay bump.
I'm still loyal. Go STB!
Could Cleary ATL posters/fans please refrain from making lame comments that jeopardize our chances of winning this important competition? Thanks :)
Really it just boils down to: who's hotter, Maureen Mahoney or Judge Friendly?
I know whose horn-rimmed glasses I wouldn't mind resting on MY nightstand...
Cleary wins, hands down. Some neat people actually go to Cleary; Latham is a slightly higher class version of the Skadden Skeeze.
Latham is only still in the competition because Xenu figured out how to vote multiple times, and because Latham sent out an email saying that all ASSociates that did not vote on ATTTL would be assigned to serve Scientology threat letters.
Latham = Scientology's Newest Heavy Handed Enforcer = Uncool.
I want to vote against LW. Those COS are getting waaay out of control. Lots of kool aid!
Latham is a joke. @ 4:49, I think you might be on to something.
So the cult uses Latham to harass protesters and uses Moxon & Kobrin to threaten Wikileaks over secret cult bibles.
In response, Wikileaks will release several thousand pages of additional Scientology materials next week. Nice.
The Cleary people are out in full force. Some of these comments are hilarious. For example:
4:16 - Latham screws over summer associates. Denies offers for a few below average work reviews. Not a cool firm.
Only making offers to 271 out of 276 summers - what kind of place is this?!?!?
I wish Lat would post the IP addys next to comments so that we could figure out who this Cleary associate is making comment after comment after comment.
i actually think latham is cooler than cleary but voted for cleary because latham associates don't need online ATL validation to think they're the shiz. they're already insufferable and self-congratulatory as it is.
Wow...*very* close!
I call bull on the last-minute Latham surge. Looks shady to me...
It's midnight....
49.7% Cleary
50.3% Latham
That finish was actually pretty similar to the real game tonight.
New acronym for ATL: ATLW
Lat was rooting for Cleary because he loves hard "C"'s.
I'm guessing if Lat was gonna rig it he'd a put Wachtell on top (instead of Latham's narrow victory) in the first round
You should've photoshopped out the armpit hair. I can't look at this without vomiting.
Shave your armpits doods.
You should've photoshopped out the armpit hair. I can't look at this without vomiting.
Shave your armpits doods.