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Overview

A very unusual practice, the New York-based White & Case is one of a handful of American law firms that have carved out a genuinely international practice, rather than treating foreign expansion as an awkward necessity. White & Case stands somewhere between the total global coverage of a Baker & McKenzie and the upper-market securities and banking focus of a Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, making it a genuinely distinctive outfit. The firm now has more than 2,000 lawyers world-wide spread across 36 offices in 25 countries and was the sixth-largest American legal practice in 2008 in revenue terms, with fee income of $1.467bn.

As befits a firm that has such an uncommon commitment to global coverage, White & Case has one of the largest and most successful City outposts of an American firm, having made particular inroads in finance work. The UK office, which was launched nearly 30 years ago, has received heavy investment for the last seven years after hitting the headlines with a stream of senior appointments in 2000. While critics would contend that White & Case has been hampered by a focus on mid-market work and a New York practice that still cannot compete with Manhattan's finest, the firm has much to recommend it to the ambitious lawyer, particularly those with international aspirations.

History

White & Case was founded in 1901 in New York. Within 30 years the firm would launch its first foreign office, in Paris. Though the practice was to close at the start of World War Two, it marked out the firm as more internationally-minded than many of its rivals. White & Case re-entered Paris in the 1960s and the 1970s saw the launch of branches in Washington DC, London and Hong Kong.

The 1970s was also significant as it was a period that White & Case was frozen out by a number of its key banking clients. The firm's response was to ramp up its foreign expansion in earnest. This strategy stepped up under James Hurlock, who was elected as managing partner in 1980. By 1990, Hurlock has seen the firm add 10 foreign offices. This growth was, if anything, to step up during Hurlock's second decade in charge, when the firm began expanding in such exotic legal markets as Latin America and Central & Eastern Europe, while White & Case explicitly positioned itself as an emerging markets adviser. Hurlock was to finally replaced in 2000 by Duane Wall.

Under Wall's leadership, the firm increased its investment in its London arm, raising its profile in 2000 with the recruitment of a team of senior banking partners, including a team from the City arm of Weil Gotshal & Manges. This period also saw the firm maintain its push in Western Europe, securing a tie-up with sizeable German practice Feddersen Laule Ewerwahn Scherzberg Finkelnburg & Clemm in 2000.

Recent years have sent the firm steadily expand in London, with 2006 proving a particularly successful year for the firm, with UK revenues up by 38% to $172.2m.

In the challenging economic environment of 2009, White & Case's City office saw average PEP fall by 2% to a new mark of $1.5m (£1.01m), while revenues stood at $245.9m (£166.8m) – an increase of 4% on the previous year.

Click here for a thorough analysis of the challenges facing the firm.

Culture

Both in the US and Europe, White & Case has a good record for treating its assistants well, while partners are generally regarded as approachable. Given that it is not viewed as part of the conservative US legal establishment, in part because of its international outlook, White & Case has cultivated a less stuffy style in recent years. Likewise, its emerging markets focus has bred a bias towards entrepreneurial, at-the-coal face lawyers who aren't too bothered if they don't have 10 support professionals behind them on every deal.

Key departments

Compared to many large international firms, corporate and M&A are slightly less central. Instead, banking drives the practice, especially in London, where the firm has built one of the largest acquisition finance teams in the UK. White & Case is also active on general capital markets work and structured finance. Firm-wide, its unusual profile means that White & Case is well represented in the full service of international business, such as trade law, antitrust, project finance, arbitration and tax.

National/international coverage

As said above, very wide. Aside from competing with global rivals in all the typical European and Asian markets, White & Case is well represented in Central & Eastern Europe and Latin America.

The firm's full list of office is: Abu Dhabi, Almaty, Ankara, Beijing, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Doha, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Moscow, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, Paris, Prague, Riyadh, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Tokyo, Warsaw and Washington DC.

Key clients

Key clients operating out of London are Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Nordic Capital, Nord Stream AG, Orascom, Qatar Petroleum, Saudi Aramco, Serco and SRM.

Leading partners

Stand-out names in London include David Barwise (structured finance), Rob Mathews (high yield), Christopher Kandel (banking and FRI), plus corporate partners Peter Finlay and Philip Broke. London executive partner Oliver Brettle is well known in employment, as is Philip Stopford in projects/infrastructure and Justin Benson in asset finance. Phillip Capper and John Reynolds are the firm's leading names in international arbitration and commercial litigation respectively and Alistair Graham in white collar crime.

Career prospects

The firm has one of the best records among US firms for UK partner promotions; however, in 2009 just two associates were made up in the City from a global total of 21, down on 10 from a total of 31 in 2008.

The firm also highlights its firmwide counsel role, which is used as an alternative career path to partnership.

Salaries

White & Case still pays what would be defined as 'mid-Atlantic rates', meaning higher than top London firms though a little lower than what's on offer on Wall Street.

The firm's current page bands are as follows:

  • Trainee: 1st seat £41,000; 2nd seat £42,000; 3rd seat £43,000; 4th seat £44,000
  • NQ: £72,000
  • 1yr PQE: £82,000
  • 2yr PQE: £97,000
  • 3yr PQE: £108,000 (rising to £126,000 after four years)

One of the first US firms to take on UK trainees (since 1996), White & Case currently takes on around 30 in London annually, which it claims makes it the largest UK in-take by a foreign law firm. Every trainee is offered the opportunity to take one seat abroad in another White & Case office should they wish. Key recruitment contacts are human resources director Kate Griffiths-Lambeth, graduate resourcing co-ordinator Jemma Stritch and London partner Philip Stopford, the firm's training principal.

Work-life balance

Historically, the firm has a reputation for being civilised on hours. However, there has been feedback of late that the London practice has become considerably more hours-centric of late. Possibly to deal with that perception, the firm in March 2007 launched a sweeping new initiative aimed at giving assistants the potential to design their own working hours. The scheme, dubbed the Flexible Working Policy, is supposed to allow all staff to request flexible conditions in a wide array of terms, rather than just focusing on reduced hours. Whether ultimately successful or not, it is clear the firm is putting great store in the venture.

Recruitment

Diversity

Pro bono and corporate social responsibility

In common with most US-headquartered firms, White & Case is an enthusiastic supporter of pro bono, a fact attested to by its staff in recent Legal Week research. The firm also points out that pro bono work counts towards its formal billing targets.

The firm focuses much of its pro bono on human rights-related cases, with White & Case currently working on a defence manual for Guantanamo Bay detainees and war crimes tribunal work relating to Kosovo and Rwanda. The London office also participates in Lawyers Without Borders, a global organisation of lawyers offering pro bono advice.

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