White & Case
A New York-founded global law firm serving clients in cross-border transactions, disputes, finance, competition, and other major areas of international business law.
Last updated August 27, 2026
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Overview
White & Case LLP is an international law firm founded in New York City in 1901 by Justin DuPratt White and George B. Case. The firm began as a Wall Street practice serving financial-sector clients, including Bankers Trust Company, and developed from that foundation into a global firm advising corporations, financial institutions, governments, investment funds, and other organizations. Its work spans transactional and contentious matters, with particular visibility in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, capital markets, project and energy work, international arbitration, competition law, restructuring, and investigations. The firm’s international expansion accelerated during the late twentieth century. James Hurlock, who led the firm from 1980 to 2000, oversaw substantial growth in lawyer numbers and geographic reach. White & Case was an early American entrant into Vietnam, opening there in 1994 and representing clients including PetroVietnam and the State Bank of Vietnam. During Duane Wall’s chairmanship, the firm placed additional emphasis on New York financial services while also pursuing European expansion. Its combination with the German practice Feddersen Laule Ewerwahn Scherzberg Finkelnburg helped White & Case become the first American firm to enter Germany’s reported top tier by size. In 2007, Hugh Verrier became chairman and subsequently commissioned a global operational review by McKinsey & Company. The review formed part of a broader effort to coordinate the firm’s worldwide platform and sharpen its market strategy. White & Case has continued to operate as an integrated international partnership rather than a publicly traded company, and publicly available material identifies a network of 46 offices in 31 countries. The firm is particularly associated with international arbitration. Its arbitration practice received leading recognition from Global Arbitration Review in multiple years, including repeated first-place rankings during the 2015–2019 period and again in 2021. The practice has also been noted for the size of its matters portfolio and the number of lawyers recognized as market leaders. Its antitrust practice has likewise received high-level recognition, including placement in the Global Competition Review Global Elite. White & Case has expanded beyond traditional transactional and disputes work through sector-focused practices and strategic lateral hiring. In 2020, it hired four specialists from Winston & Strawn—Joel Rubinstein, Jonathan Rochwarger, Elliott Smith, and Daniel Nussen—to strengthen its work for special-purpose acquisition companies and related capital-markets transactions. The firm also established a global pro bono practice in 2010, organized around access to justice, the rule of law, and support for major nongovernmental organizations. Its pro bono efforts have included assistance for battered women seeking divorces in New York and representation of Louisiana defendants whose convictions involved non-unanimous jury verdicts later invalidated as unconstitutional. The firm’s history has also included reputational controversies. Its registration as a foreign agent for the Panamanian government in 1981 became politically contentious during the 1989 New York mayoral campaign, when firm lawyer Rudolph Giuliani was a candidate and the Panamanian government was led by Manuel Noriega. In March 2026, reference material reported a Bronx County lawsuit by a digital production specialist alleging misconduct, retaliation, and an inadequate response to the circulation of non-consensual intimate images connected with a firm event. The allegations are not equivalent to established findings, and the matter should be tracked as litigation rather than treated as adjudicated misconduct.
History
White & Case was established on May 1, 1901, in New York by Wall Street lawyers Justin DuPratt White and George B. Case. Each founder contributed $250 to launch the practice. Their early professional network included Henry P. Davison, a prominent banker associated with the creation of the Federal Reserve, and the firm’s initial clientele included Bankers Trust Company. This origin gave the firm a strong connection to banking and financial services that remained important throughout its later development. The firm’s twentieth-century growth was marked by a gradual transition from a New York practice into an international partnership. James Hurlock served as chairman from 1980 to 2000 and presided over a period in which the firm’s lawyer roster tripled and its overseas presence broadened. White & Case was among the first American law firms to establish an office in Vietnam, opening there in 1994. Early regional clients included PetroVietnam and the State Bank of Vietnam, illustrating the firm’s interest in emerging-market financial and state-linked work. Duane Wall became chairman in 2000. His leadership placed renewed emphasis on New York’s financial-services business while also advancing European expansion. A combination with the German firm Feddersen Laule Ewerwahn Scherzberg Finkelnburg helped White & Case achieve a significant position in Germany and was described as making it the first American firm to enter the country’s top ten by size. On October 1, 2007, Hugh Verrier took over as chairman with a new leadership team. Soon afterward, he retained McKinsey & Company to review the firm’s worldwide operations. The review reflected the managerial challenge of coordinating a large partnership across jurisdictions and practice groups. By the time covered by the cited reference material, the firm had 46 offices in 31 countries, making it a substantial international legal-services network. White & Case formalized a global pro bono practice in 2010. Its stated priorities included access to justice, advancement of the rule of law, and assistance to leading nongovernmental organizations. The practice has supported domestic and international public-interest matters. In New York, the firm participated in a program offering pro bono representation to battered women seeking divorce. In Louisiana, partner Dana Foster represented 16 largely Black defendants whose criminal convictions had been obtained through non-unanimous jury verdicts associated with segregation-era laws. The U.S. Supreme Court held those verdict arrangements unconstitutional in 2020. The firm’s international arbitration practice became one of its most prominent global practices. Global Arbitration Review ranked it first in several annual assessments, including each year from 2015 through 2019 and again in 2021 according to the cited material. The practice was also described as having an unusually large portfolio by value between 2020 and 2022 and a substantial group of recognized market-leading practitioners. White & Case’s antitrust practice was identified by Global Competition Review as part of the Global Elite in 2020, while later market commentary continued to place the arbitration practice among the leading international groups. In June 2020, White & Case recruited four lawyers from Winston & Strawn—Joel Rubinstein, Jonathan Rochwarger, Elliott Smith, and Daniel Nussen—to develop its special-purpose acquisition company practice. The move reflected the firm’s response to a period of rapid SPAC activity and illustrated its use of lateral hiring to build capabilities in emerging transactional markets. The firm has also faced controversy. In 1981, it registered as a foreign agent for the Panamanian government. Because Panama was then ruled by Manuel Noriega, whose regime was linked in public controversy to international narcotics networks, the representation later became an issue in Rudolph Giuliani’s 1989 campaign for New York City mayor. Giuliani had joined White & Case earlier that year and said he had not previously known about the firm’s work for Panama. Reference material further reports a Bronx County lawsuit filed in March 2026 by a digital production specialist. The complaint allegedly concerns a workplace culture of misconduct and retaliation and claims that the firm covered up the dissemination of non-consensual intimate photographs taken at a firm event. These are allegations in a reported lawsuit, not established conclusions. The firm remains an active private global law partnership.
- 2020
SPAC practice expanded through lateral hiring
[1]Four specialists joined from Winston & Strawn to strengthen White & Case’s SPAC and related capital-markets capabilities.
- 2010
Global pro bono practice established
[1]The firm created a global pro bono platform focused on access to justice, the rule of law, and nongovernmental organizations.
- 2007
Hugh Verrier becomes chairman
[1]A new leadership team led by Verrier assumed control, followed by a worldwide business review conducted with McKinsey & Company.
- 2000
Duane Wall becomes chairman
[1]Wall took over firm leadership and pursued both financial-services focus in New York and European expansion.
- 1994
Vietnam office opened
[1]White & Case became one of the first American law firms to open in Vietnam.
- 1981
Panamanian government representation registered
[1]The firm registered with the U.S. government as a foreign agent for Panama, a representation that later became politically controversial.
- 1980
James Hurlock begins long chairmanship
[1]Hurlock became chairman and later oversaw major growth in the firm’s lawyer headcount and international reach.
- 1901
Firm founded in New York
[1]Justin DuPratt White and George B. Case established White & Case on May 1 with an initial contribution of $250 from each founder.
Products and positioning
Premium global law firm focused on complex cross-border transactions, disputes, finance, and regulated industries.
Dispute resolution
International arbitration
A major global practice representing companies, investors, financial institutions, and governments in treaty, commercial, and investment-related arbitration. The practice is known for handling complex cross-border disputes and has received repeated top-tier recognition in international arbitration rankings.
Corporate transactions
Mergers and acquisitions
Advice on public and private acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, strategic investments, and other corporate combinations. The offering is particularly relevant to transactions involving multiple jurisdictions, regulated industries, sovereign entities, and complex financing structures.
Financial legal services
Banking and finance
Legal services for banks, borrowers, sponsors, governments, and other financial-market participants. Matters include lending, leveraged finance, structured finance, project finance, financial regulation, and cross-border financing, building on the firm’s historical Wall Street and financial-services roots.
Securities and capital markets · 2020
Capital markets and SPAC transactions
Advice on equity and debt offerings, securities regulation, listings, and special-purpose acquisition company transactions. In 2020, the firm added four specialists from Winston & Strawn as part of an effort to make White & Case a destination for SPAC-related work.
Regulatory and contentious legal services
Competition and antitrust
Counsel on merger control, cartel and abuse-of-dominance matters, investigations, litigation, and competition policy across major jurisdictions. The practice has received recognition from Global Competition Review, including Global Elite status in 2020.
Public-interest legal services · 2010
Pro bono legal services
A global program supporting access to justice, the rule of law, and nongovernmental organizations. Reported matters have included representation for battered women seeking divorce in New York and assistance to Louisiana defendants affected by unconstitutional non-unanimous jury verdicts.
Controversies
2026
Workplace misconduct and retaliation lawsuit
Reference material reports a Bronx County complaint by a digital production specialist alleging misconduct, retaliation, and an inadequate response to the dissemination of non-consensual intimate images connected with a firm event. The claims were reported as litigation and are not established findings.
1989
Noriega representation controversy
The firm’s 1981 registration as a foreign agent for the Panamanian government became an issue in Rudolph Giuliani’s New York mayoral campaign because Panama was then ruled by Manuel Noriega. Giuliani, who had joined White & Case, said he had not known about the representation beforehand.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Louisiana non-unanimous jury convictions project
United States
Partner Dana Foster represented 16 mostly Black defendants whose convictions involved non-unanimous juries associated with segregation-era laws in Louisiana.
Outcome. The work addressed convictions affected by a legal regime deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020.
- 2010Global pro bono practice
United States · International
White & Case organized its pro bono work globally around access to justice, the rule of law, and support for leading nongovernmental organizations.
Outcome. The program became a formal component of the firm’s global public-interest work and was later profiled for its pro bono activity.
Brand decisions
2020
Build a dedicated SPAC practiceStrategyBackground
Rapid growth in special-purpose acquisition companies created demand for lawyers with specialized securities, corporate, and transactional experience.
Action taken
The firm hired four Winston & Strawn specialists to establish a stronger SPAC offering.
Aftermath
The hires positioned White & Case to compete for SPAC formations, de-SPAC transactions, and related capital-markets mandates.
2007
Commission a global operations reviewStrategyBackground
After a new leadership team took office, the firm faced the organizational challenge of coordinating a large, multi-jurisdictional partnership.
Action taken
Chairman Hugh Verrier retained McKinsey & Company to review worldwide business operations.
Aftermath
The review supported broader efforts to evaluate the firm’s international platform and business priorities.
1994
Enter Vietnam ahead of many U.S. competitorsStrategyBackground
The firm sought to deepen its presence in emerging Asian markets and support clients operating in Vietnam.
Action taken
White & Case opened a Vietnam office and developed relationships with major state-linked and financial-sector clients.
Aftermath
The move reinforced the firm’s positioning as an early international entrant in Vietnam.
Recent events
- 2021
White & Case receives continued recognition for international arbitration[1]
Other
Global Arbitration Review again ranked the firm’s international arbitration practice at the top of its global survey, continuing a pattern of strong recognition during the preceding years.
- 2020
White & Case expands its SPAC and capital-markets capabilities with four Winston & Strawn hires[1]
Leadership change · Other
The firm hired Joel Rubinstein, Jonathan Rochwarger, Elliott Smith, and Daniel Nussen to build a stronger practice serving special-purpose acquisition companies and related transactions.
Sources2 sources
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