Under no circumstances could White & Case be described as a niche firm. One of the big boys on the global legal block, it was founded in the United States by two Wall Street lawyers in 1901. Today, the firm serves clients that include public and privately held commercial businesses and financial institutions, as well as governments and state-owned entities. One of the more established US firms in London, it opened its offices in the City in the 1970s and has since laid down pretty deep roots.
Among other things, the firm is highly recommended for the following:
Bank lending: Drawing strength from its extensive global network of offices, this team is well equipped to deal with all manner of complex investment grade and syndicated financing mandates on both a national and international level, with a particular strength in emerging markets. You really can't quibble with a client roster that includes Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO and Credit Suisse, can you?
Debt capital markets: With a particularly strong high-yield practice, this impressive team can also cope quite comfortably with liability management matters and bond buy-backs, and even boasts a dedicated trustee advisory division. Recent deals include advising Deutsche Bank, Garanti Securities, Merrill Lynch and ING on various aspects of the $1.9 billion initial public offering and listing of shares of Türk Telekom.
International arbitration: A growing team that has a particular penchant for construction and engineering-related arbitrations. Again, the firm's international network comes into play here, with particularly frequent interaction between London and Paris, New York and Washington DC. Recent actions include representing an international contractor in a $1.4 billion arbitration relating to an oil refinery and pipeline in Latin America.
Projects & energy: White & Case is one of the top international projects firms around and the London team is integral to that success. With notable strength in both oil and gas projects and the mining and mineral sector, this team's work is acclaimed as "outstanding". Mining clients include big names such as Vale, Newmont Gold and BHP Billiton, while the group has also recently advised on a joint venture between energy giants Gazprom, E.ON and Wintershall.
