White & Case has promoted 41 lawyers to partner in its largest ever promotion round, with London seeing more promotions than the whole of the US.
The promotion round, effective from January next year, represents a 32% increase on last year, when 31 were minted. London sees 13 promotions, up from seven last year, and ahead of the 12 in the US. The overall round is one up on the firm’s previous record of 40 two years ago.
Speaking to Legal Business, executive committee member Oliver Brettle (pictured) highlighted the firm’s focus on London and the US, which ‘in line with our strategic priorities’, accounted for 61% of the promotions.
London’s promotions include five in M&A, two in finance and two in capital markets. The City’s white collar, international arbitration, litigation and tax will get one new partner each. The promotions in the US include ten in New York and two in Washington.
‘We have a strong global footprint and we have always been very clear about our strategy: our geographic focus is to build further in New York and London,’ said Brettle, who stepped down as London executive partner in May to focus on the firm’s global strategy. He was replaced by US securities partner Melissa Butler.
In Europe, the firm promoted three in Paris, while Frankfurt, Berlin and Brussels got two each; Moscow, Prague and Geneva, just one. In Asia, Hong Kong saw two people promoted, while Abu Dhabi and Dubai had one each.
Women make up almost half of the lawyers promoted at 19.
The largest promotion round in White & Case’s history follows an 11% growth in revenue and 10% rise in profits per equity partner at the US-bred firm, to $1.8bn and $2.26m respectively. The London office outpaced the global revenue growth, hiking income 13% to $328m.
Its promotion round is, however, dwarfed by Kirkland & Ellis’ 122-strong cohort this year, although White & Case promoted more in London than the Chicago bred giant, who minted ten in the City.
marco.cillario@legalease.co.uk
For more on White & Case’s unlikely revolution, see ‘Reborn Supremacy’ (£)
Full list of London promotions:
- Jonah Anderson – white collar
- Lucy Bullock – M&A
- James Holden – Arbitration
- Monica Holden – Capital markets
- Laura Hoyland – Tax
- Hyder Jumabhoy – M&A
- Helen Levendi – M&A
- Richard Lloyd – Banking
- Tom Matthews – M&A
- Michael Mountain – M&A
- Heather Rees – Capital markets
- John Rogerson – litigation
- Shameer Shah – Banking