Global law firm White & Case LLP marked its 40th year anniversary in London on October 1st.
Since 1971, the Firm has been acting for clients in matters regarding banking and capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate, dispute resolution and project finance.
White & Case Chairman Hugh Verrier was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “We recognized early on that to be a truly global law firm, you must be strong in both London and New York. This continues to be a key element of our global strategy.”
In 1971, James Hurlock, who served as the Chairman of the Firm’s Management Committee for twenty plus years, from 1980 to 2000, opened the London office with only three people. Currently, nearly 70 partners and almost 300 lawyers are employed in the London office, serving clients not only in the United Kingdom, but throughout Europe and worldwide.
Oliver Brettle, executive partner of the London office was quoted as saying in the same press release: “White & Case was one of the first US-headquartered firms to establish an office in London. We were also the first US firm to have an English law lawyer in London. English law remains an integral and growing part of the Firm’s capabilities globally.”
Brettle focuses his practice on providing both contentious and non-contentious employment law advice on a broad range of matters, emphasizing employment issues for employers. He has represented various major employers in complex and large scale matters, including industrial disputes and employment-related litigation.
Regarding contentious matters, Brettle has advised on matters including sex discrimination claims, race discrimination claims and mass unfair dismissal claims, and numerous collective employment claims regarding business transfers and mass redundancies. He has acted on several of the UK’s leading cases in the areas of restrictive covenants, misuse of confidential information by employees, and enforcement of ‘garden leave’ clauses.
In non-contentious matters, Brettle has advised a variety of issues, including drafting executive service agreements at board level, the introduction of new terms and conditions of employment for large workforces, several large redundancy (RIF) programmes, and collective employment issues generally.
He has significant experience with employment issues arising in corporate transactions such as IPOs, management buyouts, share sales, business sales and outsourcing. He is also a regular contributor to leading employment law and human resource publications, and a frequent speaker at external and client employment seminars.
Founded in New York in 1901, White & Case LLP is a prominent global law firm with 38 offices in 26 countries. Among the Firm’s core values are its commitment to excellence, teamwork, innovation and diversity. The Firm’s clients include many of the world’s most respected and well-established companies, visionary start-ups, governmental organizations and state-owned entities. The Firm uses its global knowledge and resources to assure the highest level of service is provided to all clients.