‘Our ability to pitch top-ranked teams under both New York and English law, and where needed under the local laws to back that up, remains our USP,’ asserts Oliver Brettle, White & Case’s vice chair, underscoring what sets the firm apart.
Unveiling subdued financials this cycle, the firm’s London arm experienced a modest 1% revenue growth to $451m, contrasting sharply with the 18% and 12% revenue upticks witnessed in 2020 and 2021. Global turnover was also muted, declining by 1% to $2.83bn. However, it still signifies a substantial 57% increase over five years and outperforms the figures observed among Magic Circle peers.
Despite a bullish 2021, White & Case – like the rest of the Global 100 – grappled with significant adversity in 2022 – dealing with a slowdown in deals, inflation, high interest rates, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical conflicts. Impressively, the firm dropped only one position to claim the eighth spot in our Global 100 table.
LB last delved into White & Case in 2018 (see ‘Reborn supremacy’, LB281) where the landscape was very different, devoid of the subsequent upheavals brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war. The year before, in 2017, private equity rainmaker Richard Youle had just made his exit to Skadden. However, the 2021 departure of another private equity star, Ian Bagshaw, inevitably rattled the firm once more. According to one ex-partner: ‘The loss of both Ian and Rich really set the firm back and I’m not sure if it has recovered.’
‘More than half the deals we did last year were cross-border deals, it’s just the nature of how we think as a law firm.’
Carina Radford, White & Case
This year, the firm reshuffled its executive committee. Longstanding chair, Hugh Verrier, stepped aside, paving the way for New York-based litigator Heather McDevitt to assume leadership. ‘Hugh led the firm successfully for 16 years and, speaking personally, I’m proud to have been part of that leadership team,’ reflects Brettle, adding: ‘But with any organisation, there is evolutionary change.’
One ex-partner went so far as to label this a ‘rebranding’ for the firm, coinciding with a notable influx of new hires following a period of high-profile departures. McDevitt’s appointment as the first female chair carries significance.
Now, three out of five members of the firm’s management committee – namely, Brettle, project development and finance partner Carina Radford and international arbitration partner Dipen Sabharwal KC – are London-based. Newly appointed London executive partner Inigo Esteve who took over the role from Sabharwal in November also sits in London. One former partner observes that this set-up is somewhat unusual for a US firm, but suggests it proves the increasing importance of London.
Radford responds, emphasising that the firm continues to see itself as one with an international reach. ‘We are a global law firm and run our executive committee with a global vision. I sit in London as a partner, but I wouldn’t define myself solely as that,’ she says, noting that most of the firm’s lawyers operate in the US and Europe as well as the UK.
Lost opportunity?
White & Case is more than halfway through its five-year, 2025 strategy. Brettle clarifies that after conducting research with numerous clients at the close of 2019, the firm made the strategic decision to prioritise client service and think of new ways of working to anticipate client needs, as well as continuing with its cross-border ambitions. Radford adds, ‘More than half the deals we did last year were cross-border deals, it’s just the nature of how we think as a law firm.’
Back in 2018, Brettle and Co set out the strategy of ‘going toe-to-toe with the Magic Circle’ and put New York and London at the centre of its ambitions. So much so that Verrier asked Brettle to hand over his role as London executive partner to Melissa Butler, so that Brettle could focus on delivery of the 2020 strategy. ‘This still stands,’ says Brettle, adding: ‘If you were to ask our London-based partners who our competitors are in London, they would say it’s the Magic Circle but also, increasingly the US firms in London, such as Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Sidley.’
While some commentators acknowledge the firm’s historical competition with the Magic Circle, they doubt its efforts to compete with US firms that sit at the very top of the table. ‘The elite US firms are clear. White & Case has missed its opportunity to become a global elite firm,’ notes one ex-partner, arguing that the elite US firms have pulled away from the Magic Circle and, by extension, White & Case.
Splitting its practice broadly between corporate, disputes, and finance, the firm is specifically noted for its strengths in disputes, projects, and energy and infrastructure.
Nevertheless, the former partner remarks: ‘The corporate practice is inherently weak, as is the debt finance practice. The restructuring practice does not compare with its competitors. These are all the missed opportunities.’ Another alumnus adds, ‘White & Case has some great clients and deals, but it is trying to do too much. It is impossible to be elite in everything.’
The firm refutes this, pointing to its key mandates in corporate. Last year, the London team represented Brookfield Infrastructure on its £4.08bn acquisition of HomeServe, a home repairs and emergency services group with businesses across the UK, US, Europe and Asia. In 2021, London-based partners Lucy Bullock and Sonica Tolani also represented Avast, the FTSE 100 global leader in digital security and privacy, on its $9.2bn merger with NortonLifeLock to form Gen Digital.
In financial restructuring and insolvency, the firm expanded its reach by launching an Australian debt finance practice in Sydney, led by partners David Kirkland and Mark Wesseldine and continues to boast an impressive roster of key clients, including Oi, The Adler Group, and Nostrum Oil & Gas. A standout mandate this year is its cross-border work advising Vue International on a fully consensual recapitalisation. The transaction saw the ownership of the group passed to its senior lenders in exchange for a discharge of £470m of existing debt, led by teams in London, Miami, New York and Paris.
The private equity group – a practice which arguably suffered a blow in London after the exit of Youle and Bagshaw – remains a contentious subject. ‘The PE practice was built up to stand the test of Ian and Richard leaving. I think it has, but ultimately, it has not grown,’ asserts one former partner. Brettle hits back and argues: ‘The practice has gone from strength to strength with a fantastic bench of talent.’ This includes Richard Jones, Kenneth Barry nd Ross Allardice – a 2021 hire from Dechert – in London.
Growth momentum
The firm currently boasts 2,706 lawyers globally, including 390 equity partners and 288 non-equity partners. The firm’s profit per equity partner (PEP) has suffered a setback though, dropping a startling 20% from $3.5m to $2.8m. While the firm did reach its PEP goal of $3m last year on the back of a 16% increase, its most recent PEP is the lowest figure reported since 2019, when it hit $2.6m. Insiders are keen to point out that the decline in PEP must be seen in the context of continued growth in headcount. The number of partners rose by 5% to 678, with a 7% increase in equity partners.
Discussing the most recent set of financials, Brettle emphasises external shocks. ‘Moscow was one of our larger offices and had to close for obvious reasons connected with the Ukraine war. Considering everything and our position, with a significant capital markets practice, we were relatively satisfied with where our results ended up in 2022. It’s important to remember that 2021 was very busy across the board in our practices and locations.’ He remains optimistic for the year ahead though. ‘Things are trending in the right direction, both in terms of revenue and profitability so far this year,’ he adds.
‘I feel bad saying this as there are people at White & Case who are amazing, but I view it as more of a take-out place, than a place to work.’ A recruiter
Since the start of 2019, the firm has added more than 175 partners. This is particularly notable in the US. To take a few recent examples, Paul Hastings partner Yar Chaikovsky joined the IP practice in Silicon Valley in March. The New York office also hired Kimberly Petillo-Décossard into its M&A practice that same month, from Cahill Gordon & Reindel, while Gibson Dunn partner Joel Cohen joined the firm’s white-collar crime group in February.
Last March, White & Case also opened a new office in Luxembourg, bolstering its European presence. Alongside these notable hires, the firm has continued to retain key clients like CVC Capital Partners, Bridgepoint, Global Infrastructure Partners and Triton Partners.
Beginning its substantial investment in English law in the early 2000s, the firm earned praise for its recruitment of strong-minded British lawyers with dominant personalities. According to a former partner, though, the formation of the new executive committee aligns with the departure of the most challenging personalities who have already left the firm. He adds, ‘As far as I recall, none of the members on the executive committee are known for raising their voices or banging on tables.’
Discussing the firm’s culture, Brettle notes: ‘No law firm has the perfect culture. You’ve got to continue to work hard on culture, because if you don’t then things have a habit of going wrong and you lose your connection with people.’ He then goes on to describe White & Case’s culture as ‘open, global, and collaborative’.
Nevertheless, one outsider observes: ‘I feel bad saying this as there are people at White & Case who are amazing, but I view it as more of a take-out place, than a place to work,’ pointing to recent departures including Daniel Garton to Allen & Overy, Gilles Teerlinck to Weil and Jill Concannon Christie for Clifford Chance, all this year.
Esteve, who was appointed as executive partner in October and was previously in charge of graduate recruitment, points to the firm’s success in promoting associates to partner. The firm has recently elected 42 lawyers to its partnership, effective from 1 January 2024, with 15 of them women.
The challenging culture of US firms is no secret, but the firm has managed to attract 39 laterals during the past financial year, including most recently hiring Emily Brown into its M&A practice in London from Ropes & Gray. A commentator notes that the emergence of the ‘young generation stepping out from the Ian Bagshaw shadow’ appears to be an increasingly appealing aspect for the firm.
Nonetheless last year, former tax partner Michael Wistow accused the firm of having a toxic culture and took it to an employment tribunal for disability discrimination after he alleged he was forced out following a period of depression after his wife’s death from cancer. The case has now been settled, and Wistow has left to head up tax and private equity real estate at McCarthy Denning. On this Brettle comments: ‘That’s not a description of our culture I recognise. We are always working on our culture. That’s one of the reasons why we made our culture and firm values a centrepiece of the 2020 global partner meeting here in London.’
While the firm boasts numerous long-time partners with several decades of commitment, according to one outsider: ‘The firm invested heavily in hiring both Ian and Richard, and it was anticipated that they would remain for at least ten years,’ conceding that Bagshaw did stick around eight years, but Youle lasted only four.
They also note the ‘Mark Donald cock up’ in 2019, referencing White & Case’s unsuccessful hiring of Weil banking head Donald due to client conflict issues. Additionally, the more recent departure of Patrick Sarch, one of the most high-profile public M&A partners in the City, was a blow to White & Case. Sarch only stayed for four years before joining Hogan Lovells in 2021, despite having spent 16 years at his former firm, Clifford Chance.
Addressing these departures, Brettle comments: ‘When people do leave unexpectedly, as with all organisations, you obviously put in a lot of effort and evaluate why that happened, what we can learn and how we can improve.’
A former partner adds: ‘The firm is 80% there but the strategy still needs more attention. Compared to other firms, White & Case is very integrated with a collaborative culture, and a strong network in Asia, Europe and North America.’
To remain competitive, they continue: ‘If the firm wants to up its profitability like Kirkland and Simpson Thacher, it should take its business upmarket. At the moment, it competes with the Magic Circle effectively, but now the Magic Circle is chasing after the US, White & Case should be doing that – and competing with firms more like Latham.’