Lat’s Law Firm Pronunciation Guide

Want to know how to pronounce a firm’s name before you interview with them? You’re welcome!

Perkins Coie: it rhymes with “gooey” (photo by David Lat).

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There’s a whole lotta mispronouncing going on these days. Lawyers are all over the news right now, and people discussing or reporting on these attorneys frequently say their names incorrectly.

Take Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, a top trial lawyer whose clients include Elon Musk and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Alex’s last name is pronounced “SPY-roh,” rhyming with “pyro”—or at least that’s how he says it—and I confirmed the pronunciation of his surname before recording my podcast interview of him.

Another example of a lawyer with a frequently mispronounced name is Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove. His name is pronounced “AY-mill BOH-vee,” where “AY” represents the “long A” sound (ā) and rhymes with “day” or “may.” This pronunciation comes from a relative of his (who asked to remain anonymous).

This reminded me of how often law firm names get garbled. Georgetown Law used to have a handy pronunciation guide for law firm names, which we covered back when I was at Above the Law. But it appears that they’ve taken it offline, and I don’t know why. (Perhaps it’s available internally to Georgetown Law students.)

As a service to the public, including anyone interviewing with these firms, I’ve put together my own Biglaw pronunciation guide. I started by skimming the Am Law 200—the nation’s 200 largest law firms by revenue, according to The American Lawyer—and picking out firm names that struck me as challenging, in whole or in part. (Unlike the Georgetown Law folks, I’m not going to bother with obvious names; if you can’t pronounce “Kirkland & Ellis” or “Sullivan & Cromwell,” I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.)

I’ve listed the names of those law firms below. For each firm, I’ve written out a phonetic spelling—but I’m not a linguist, so these spellings might not be technically perfect or follow all the conventions.¹ I’ve also included an audio clip of me saying the firm’s name, twice. For some firms, I’ve included additional pronunciation notes.

How do I know these pronunciations? I’ve been writing about law firms for two decades, my dears. But what truly expanded my knowledge was my two-year detour from journalism into legal recruiting. The recruiting shop I worked at—Lateral Link, an Original Jurisdiction sponsor—finds talent for pretty much all of Biglaw (as well as high-end boutiques and in-house legal departments).

In many cases, I’ve confirmed pronunciations by checking with someone I know who works or worked at the firm. I’ve called random offices of certain firms and asked the receptionists to say the names for me (and I thank them for taking the time to answer my random queries). And I’ve linked to video or audio clips of people at the firm saying the firm’s name, when I could find them. (I provide timestamps for the relevant portion of the clip, unless it’s at the very start—as it often is.)

This pronunciation guide will be a continuously updated resource. If you have a firm whose name you’d like me to add to this list—which has already expanded since its original publication to go beyond Biglaw and include other well-known firms, such as high-powered boutiques—please email me (davidlat at substack dot com), subject line “[Firm Name] Pronunciation.” And please reach out if this pronunciation guide contains a mispronunciation, of course. I will review your emails and update this post accordingly.

I also think it might be fun if I can get recordings of founding or managing partners, chairs, or other firm leaders pronouncing the names of their firms (which I would then substitute in place of my audio clips below, since their recordings would be more authoritative). Maybe I can get a clip of David Boies saying “Boies Schiller Flexner,” or Herb Wachtell saying “Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.”

If you’re a leader of an Am Law 200 or prominent boutique firm with a hard-to-pronounce name and would be willing to send me a brief recording or you uttering your firm’s name, please drop me a line, and we can coordinate. Thanks!²

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A&O Shearman

A and O SHER-min

“Shearman” is pronounced like “Sherman,” as in “Sherman Antitrust Act.” It’s not “SHEER-min” or “SHEER-man.”

You can listen to an unidentified narrator pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video (made to promote the merger of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling).

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Alston & Bird

ALL-stin and BIRD

You can listen to Alston partner Janine Bird pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Boies Schiller Flexner

BOYS SHILL-er FLEX-ner

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Bradley Arant Boult Cummings

BRAD-lee AY-rant BOLT CUM-mings

The “AY” in “Arant” rhymes with “bay” or “jay”—remember that it’s a southern firm, founded in Alabama in 1870—and the “u” in “Boult” is silent.

You can listen to retired Bradley Arant partner Roy D. Campbell III pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Buchalter

BUCK-all-ter

You can listen to Buchalter shareholder Heather Wright pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Cozen O’Connor

KOH-zin o-CON-ner

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Cravath Swaine & Moore

kruh-VATH / kra-VATH SWAIN and MOORE

The hard name to say is “Cravath.” The hard name to spell is “Swaine” (because people frequently forget the silent “e” at the end).

Most people refer to the firm as simply “Cravath.” It’s famous enough to go by a mononym, à la Adele, Beyoncé, Cher, Madonna, or Rihanna (and feel free to call me “Lat”). But it’s either “Cravath” or the full name; nobody says “Cravath Swaine.” So it’s unlike firms such as Cleary Gottlieb, Gibson Dunn, Simpson Thacher, Skadden Arps, or Wachtell Lipton, which are variously referred to using (1) just the first word in the firm name, (2) the first two words, or (3) the full name of the firm.

I’ve heard conflicting things from Cravath sources about how to pronounce “Moore.” So I’m punting here and writing it out as “MOORE,” and you can decide whether you want to say “more” or “moor” (because it appears that even people who have “Moore” as their last name pronounce it in different ways).

It can be hard to tell the difference between “more” and “moor” anyway. Listen to this YouTube video of Demi Moore—I think she says it more like “more,” but when a word is that short, it can be ambiguous. So I don’t think you’d embarrass yourself with either pronunciation of “Moore” (or just say “Cravath” and call it a day).

You can listen to Cravath partner Ting Chen pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Crowell & Moring

CROHL / CROW-ull and MORE-ing

The part that’s most frequently mispronounced is “Crow”—which rhymes with “crow” the bird, now “crown” the headwear. It’s a close call as to whether “Crowell” has one syllable or two; I think it might depend on how quickly you say it.

Listen to various Crowell partners pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video, produced to celebrate the firm’s 40th anniversary. The majority view appears to be one syllable, but it’s hard to tell.

The firm has a humorous nickname, “Cruel & Boring,” as I noted in a 2006 Above the Law story. The nickname is helpful as a reminder that “Moring” rhymes with “boring,” not “mooring.”

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Debevoise & Plimpton

DEH-beh-voys / DEH-buh-voys and PLIMP-tin

As my former Above the Law colleague and former Debevoise associate Elie Mystal put it, the “voise” in “Debevoise” rhymes with “noise.” Don’t Frenchify it and pronounce “voise” like the beginning of “voilà” or “voir dire.”

You can listen to Debevoise partner David O’Neil pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video (around 0:27).

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Dechert

DECK-ert

I’m dating myself, but I still remember when it was “Dechert Price & Rhoads.”

You can listen to Dechert lawyers pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Faegre Drinker

FAY-gree DRINK-er

You can listen to Faegre partner Jared Briant pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Irell & Manella

eye-RELL and muh-NEH-la

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Kobre & Kim

KOH-bray and KIM

You can listen to Kobre & Kim co-founder Steven Kobre pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Knobbe Martens

keh-NO-bee MAR-tins

This one is actually easy: it’s just like Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars.

You can listen to Knobbe Martens partner Mike Fuller pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video (around 4:00).

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Latham & Watkins

LAY-thim / LAY-thum and WAT-kins

You can listen to Latham lawyers pronouncing the name of the firm in the “My Latham Journey” videos on the firm’s YouTube channel. Most of them pronounce “Latham” the way I’ve listed here, so that the beginning rhymes with “faith” in terms of the “th” sound.

But a few sound closer to having it rhyme with the verb “bathe” or the noun “lathe.” And I don’t think saying it that way will get you laughed out of the firm cocktail party. (Actually, Latham is a very friendly place, so you wouldn’t get laughed out of a party for any reason; your colleagues would probably just gently correct you.)

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Lewis Brisbois

LEW-iss BRIZ-boy

Don’t Frenchify it and say “BRIZ-bwah.”

You can listen to Lewis Brisbois’s national managing partner, Greg Katz, pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Lowenstein Sandler

LOW-en-stine SAND-ler

Is it “stine” or “steen”? A receptionist provided me with a helpful mnemonic: it’s like “Frankenstein.” (And in case you’re wondering, “stine” is also how former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein pronounces the last syllable in his name.)

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Manatt Phelps & Phillips

muh-NAT PHELPS and PHIL-lips

You can listen to partner Sirena Castillo pronouncing “Manatt” in this YouTube video (around 0:26).

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Miller & Chevalier

MILL-er and chev-uh-LEER

When in doubt about a law firm’s name, don’t Frenchify; it’s not chev-al-YAY.

You can listen to then-Miller & Chevalier partner Brian Fleming pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video (around 2:53).

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Munger Tolles & Olson

MUNG-ger TOLLS and OL-sin

“Munger” rhymes with “hunger,” and “Tolles” is one syllable (i.e, it’s not TOLL-iss).

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Offit Kurman

OFF-it KER-min

You can listen to Offit Kurman lawyers pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video (a history of the firm).

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Perkins Coie

PER-kins COO-eee

“Coie” rhymes with “gooey.” Once again, don’t Frenchify; it’s not “KWAH.”

You can listen to Perkins Coie partner Sara Chenetz pronounce the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Proskauer Rose

PROS-cow-er ROSE

“Pros” sounds like the start of the word “prosecutor.”

Be grateful that they shortened it from “Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn”—a fact that I know because one of my party tricks is reciting law firms’ former and original names. (I had also committed to memory the addresses of many firms’ New York offices—but I need to re-learn a bunch for firms that moved to Manhattan West and Hudson Yards).

You can listen to Anthony Smith, a grandson of Judge Joseph Joseph M. Proskauer, pronouncing “Proskauer” in this YouTube video (around 0:38).

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Selendy Gay

se-LEN-dee GAY

You can listen to then-law clerk Vinita Davey pronouncing the firm’s name in this video (around 0:25).

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Seyfarth Shaw

SIGH-farth SHAW

If you say “SAY-farth,” you’re SAYing it incorrectly.

You can listen to Seyfarth lawyers pronouncing the firm’s name in this YouTube video.

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Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

SKAD-din ARPS SLATE MAR and FLAHM

It’s basically phonetic, and most people refer to the firm as “Skadden” or “Skadden Arps,” so I was on the fence about including it in this pronunciation guide. But for those of you who share my appreciation for the full names of firms, “Meagher” rhymes with “car,” and “Flom” rhymes with “bomb.”

The late Joseph Flom was a giant of the M&A bar who played a major role in building Skadden into the powerhouse it is today. One of his Flom’s sons, prominent record executive Jason Flom, pronounces the family name here.

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Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz

wock-TELL / WOCK-tell LIP-tin ROH-zin and CATS

“Wachtell” is the tough word here. The rest of the name sounds as it’s spelled.

“Wach” rhymes with “clock” (bill baby bill). Where the accent falls in “Wachtell” is a little unclear, and it might vary depending on whether you’re saying the firm’s full name versus just “Wachtell.”

Listen to Wachtell partner partner Elina Tetelbaum pronounce the firm’s name in this YouTube video. In the first reference, where she uses the full name, it sounds like “WOCK-tell,” but in the second reference, where she uses only “Wachtell,” it sounds like “wock-TELL.” (Placing the accent on the second syllable is what Deborah Schwartz does in this video (around 1:48), when introducing her “old and dear friend” Diane Wachtell—executive director of The New Press, and one of Herb Wachtell’s daughters.)

Or listen to Wachtell partner Ryan McLeod—”mc-CLOUD,” in case you’re wondering—pronounce the firm’s name in this YouTube video. It’s a bit hard to figure out where the accent falls, no? (On the bright side, you can probably get away with either; the important thing is not to say “Wach” like “wash” or “whack.”)

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Weil Gotshal & Manges

WILE GOT-tchyal and MAN-jeez

Thanks to Reddit for this pronunciation.

As with Skadden, most people—including most folks at the firm—refer to Weil using only its first name. But if you do want to pronounce the firm’s complete name properly, “Manges” rhymes with the river “Ganges.” (And Weil also has a humorous nickname, as noted by The New York Times: “We’ll Getcha & Mangle Ya.”)

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Again, please drop me a line with any corrections—a pronunciation guide containing mispronunciations is a disservice—or proposed additions. Thanks!

1. One recurring issue: how to render the most common vowel sound in the English language, known as the “schwa”—so famous that it has its own word and symbol (“ə”), an upside-down E. (See this interesting discussion over at Phonics Hero.)

Is it “kra-VATH” or “kruh-VATH”? Is it “DEH-beh-voys” or “DEH-buh-voys”? Is it “LAY-thim” / “LAY-thum”? I believe these are all just examples of the schwa, which can be spelled using different vowels if you’re not going to go with the upside-down E (which I don’t want to use because I think readers will find it confusing).

2. As regular readers of Original Jurisdiction know, I try to be transparent when I edit posts. When I revise a post after it has been published, I typically note that the change is an update, explain what I changed and why, and provide the date and time of the edit.

But I have not done that here. It would make the post look very cluttered—and since this isn’t “hard news,” I don’t think readers need to know when something gets updated.

Readers should be aware, however, that the current version of this post differs significantly from the version that was first published on Tuesday, February 25. I’ve edited some original entries and added a number of new ones, largely in response to reader feedback, so the list now includes 28 firms (up from the original 17)—and I’ll continue to update, since this is an evolving resource.

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