When the economy comes crumbling down, what do you?
Well, if you’re White & Case, you tinker with the management structure.
Again.
The brand-new revamp is the second, er, brand-new revamp in two years, which rather begs the question: does White & Case have a clue what it’s doing?
The big idea behind the reorganisation is to change from an individual office focus to a regional focus, presumably in order to promote more cross-border working, present seamless service to clients and streamline decision-making, etc, etc.
So far, so good – but unfortunately White & Case may have forgotten one thing essential to make this work: internal communication. Regrettably, the new management structure and strategy proudly unveiled this week (and trailed by The Lawyer in October) has left many insiders baffled.
“To say there’s an international strategy might be pushing it a bit far,” one partner told us with a sigh.
Still, if past experience is any guide, he needn’t worry. White & Case strategy reviews are like London buses: there’ll be another one along any minute.