View our Diversity Brochure - White & Case

Diversity
PROGRESS IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

“We are a truly global law firm, with men and women of diverse
backgrounds who speak more than 60 different languages, and offices
in more than 26 countries around the world. We depend on our global,
one-firm culture to channel this diversity and use it to serve our equally
diverse clients. Over the years, I have been pleased to see us move into
the top tiers for law firm diversity, but that recognition is not why we value
our diversity. We value our diversity because it is essential to who we are.”
Hugh Verrier
Chairman
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Rudy Aragon
Partner, Miami
Chair, Global Diversity
Initiative Committee
2
It was five years ago, in the fall of 2007, that we launched our Minority
Lawyers Initiative at White & Case. From the start, innovation has
been the cornerstone of our approach to the limitations of professional
homogeneity. Having taken the time to study White & Case’s particular
culture, that of other law firms and the great experience of our corporate
clients, we understood the complexity of the challenge that diversifying
a workplace poses and took our first steps to meeting it by bringing
together approximately 100 lawyers of diverse backgrounds from our
offices around the globe to share, network, develop and implement
strategic programs to produce long-term results in improving the
recruitment, retention and advancement of minority lawyers at the Firm.
Since the launch of our initiative, we are proud to say that our progress
has been steady and rewarding, even in the uncertain economic times
that followed our robust start in 2007.
We believe that diversity is a direct route to excellence. Building diverse
teams of lawyers allows us better to solve complex issues that our
clients rely on us to address. I am proud to say that our consistent
commitment to diversity has placed us in the top ranks among all
global firms.

Nicole Erb
Partner, Washington, DC
Chair, Global Women’s
Initiative Committee
White & Case is a place where exceptional women have built exceptional
careers. Our Global Women’s Initiative is dedicated to developing women
leaders and providing them with the experience and tools they need
to succeed.
In most of our offices around the world, women represent at least
half of our talent pool. Our primary focus is on talent management—
understanding how our women are performing and ensuring they have
the training, opportunities and sponsorship to contribute fully and achieve
their maximum potential. We have a full range of flexible work policies
and programs to support both men and women over the course of their
careers. And our women’s networks in each office provide our lawyers
with a unique platform from which to connect with clients and build
networks both within and outside our Firm.
White & Case also dedicates substantial resources to promote women’s
rights through our Pro Bono and Social Responsibility initiatives. We know
that women lawyers are critical to the success of our clients and our Firm
today and in the future, and we are proud to work as one firm on behalf of
women in need around the world.
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DIVERSITY INITIATIVE
It’s about InCLuSIOn
As one firm with lawyers in offices around the world,
we are always working to strike a balance between
understanding and respecting our many cultures
and developing a single, strong core value system
throughout the Firm. Our position as one of the first
uS-based law firms to establish a truly global presence
has meant that we provide counsel and representation
in virtually every area of law that affects cross-border
business. Diversity for us is not a choice, it is a
professional imperative.
Our strategies for achieving success in this area
have centered on dedicating resources and on the
three-legged stool of recruiting widely, retaining the
best and promoting equitably.
DEDICATING RESOURCES
■■ Establishing a permanent global diversity
department led by an Executive Partner for Diversity
who oversees global, uS and London diversity
committees, comprising partners who are all
passionate about diversity.
Diversity of the lawyers and staff at White & Case is a source of
strength, vital to our ability to effectively represent our diverse
community of clients throughout the world.
■■ Professionalizing the diversity department with
a full-time global Director of Diversity Programs,
Maxine Williams, a lawyer and Rhodes Scholar.
■■ Encouraging constant collaboration between the
diversity department and other Firm departments,
including recruitment, professional development,
pro bono and marketing, to ensure implementation
of best practices in providing appropriate training
and opportunities for our lawyers.
Our mission is to continue to build upon this strength and create an
environment where all who work here are encouraged, assisted and
inspired to reach their potential, regardless of race, color, ethnicity,
religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
national origin, age, marital status or disability.
Maxine Williams
Director of
Diversity Programs

RECRUITING THE bEST
Our understanding of diversity and the need to connect
in significant ways with diverse groups of students
has led White & Case to develop relationships with
numerous minority student organizations and other
groups with students of diverse backgrounds. We
participate in job fairs, panel discussions for students
and student networking events, and develop and
contribute to minority scholarships. Our offices conduct
a variety of outreach efforts, including:
■■ Targeted communication efforts, including contacting
the Black Law Student Association and Latin
American Law Student Association leaders from
dozens of uS law schools to invite high-performing
students to interview for summer associate
positions. These efforts have enabled us to hire
summer associates with outstanding skills whom
we otherwise would not have seen.
■■ Extensive job fair participation, including diversity
job fairs and résumé collection programs, national
minority student job fairs and conferences, and
on-campus minority job fairs at various law schools.
■■ Sponsoring law school affinity group events.
■■ Conferring, on an annual basis, the White & Case
Award for Best Student note at Howard university
Law School.
42 nd
39 th
2006
6 th
9 th
4 th
2 nd
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
6 th
2012
Our Overall Ranking on AmLaw’s Minority Law
Journal Diversity Scorecard
(A comparison of the diversity at more than 200 of the largest
and highest-grossing law firms in the US)
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RETAINING THE bEST
■■ Providing consistent support to our affinity groups in
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recognition of their roles as drivers of change. These
employee resource groups, which currently represent
racial, ethnic and sexual orientation characteristics,
are keys to providing assistance, information and
support to members, building communities across
the global network and educating the entire Firm on
the value of differences and inclusion.
■■ Celebrating the rich contributions of the cultures that
make up the White & Case community. Consistent
with our interest in education and inclusion, we
held nine events across the united States in honor
bill Dantzler
Partner, New York
US Diversity
Committee member
of Black History Month 2012. Events included
an address by Eugene Pettis, the first African-
American president of the Florida Bar Association,
in our Miami office and a public discussion with
Rebecca Walker, activist and author of One
Thousand Streams of Blackness, in our new York
office. To see the full list of events, go to
http://www.whitecase.com/white--case-celebratesblack-history-month-02-01-2012/.
■■ Championing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) people, both internally and
externally, through our participation in LGBT job
fairs, hosting of awareness-raising events, such
“Some of the best lawyers will succeed anywhere
regardless of anything, but race, gender and sexual
orientation at some work places can sometimes
present obstacles on the road to success. As partners
at White & Case, it is our responsibility to ensure that
the playing field is truly level so that all lawyers can
deliver their very best performance and achieve the
success that should follow from that.”

as a recent panel discussion on legal responses
to bullying and discrimination of LGBT youth in
schools (http://www.whitecase.com/lgbtq-youth-in-
the-schools-03-08-2012/), and taking on important
litigation on a pro bono basis, like our successful
legal challenge to the constitutionality of the
military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in
federal court.
■■ Conducting diversity training for all new associates
in the united States and London.
■■ Conducting other training programs, including
regularly running workshops for all lawyers on
preventing sexual harassment and discrimination.
■■ Instituting a tailored and voluntary one-on-one
mentoring program in the united States.
■■ Implementing a system of upward reviews of
partners and associates.
■■ Conducting regular self-identification surveys in all
uS offices and London, which allow partners and
staff to declare their identity.
White & Case has consistently
received a 100 percent rating
on lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender workplace issues
from The Human Rights Campaign
Corporate Equality Index.
PROMOTING EQUITAbLY
■■ Ensuring the participation of lawyers of diverse
backgrounds in our business development and
personal skills training programs.
■■ Implementing a Career Watch program to provide
additional oversight and guidance related to the
careers of lawyers of diverse backgrounds to ensure
that all top performers are equitably considered
for advancement.
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DIVERSITY INITIATIVE
It’s about OnE FIRM
INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES IN LONDON
In London, we have both a strong LGBT affinity group—
Spectrum—and a minority ethnic affinity group—LInK.
Partners lead these employee resource groups, and
their members manage them. Much of our work in
London focuses on increasing opportunities to practice
law for people from all socio-economic backgrounds.
Our partnerships and programs include:
■■ Black Lawyers Directory’s Legal Launch Pad
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scheme, which helps prepare participants for the
legal profession and increases the likelihood of
success by improving skills, providing information
and raising aspirations via training workshops,
coaching, mentoring and work placements.
Claudine Columbres
Senior Associate, New York
■■ The Social Mobility Foundation “Into Law” program
supporting the entry of high-achieving young people
from low-income backgrounds into top universities
and professions.
■■ Prime—a profession-wide undertaking to give fair
access to quality work experience for young people
from less privileged backgrounds.
■■ Stonewall Diversity Champion—Britain’s good
practice employers’ forum on sexual orientation.
■■ Interlaw Diversity Forum for LGBT networks in law
firms and all personnel (lawyers and non-lawyers) in
the legal sector.
“White & Case’s global footprint resonates through its
commitment to diversity. We actively recruit talented
people to work in an environment that encourages
everyone to be proud of who they are and what they do.”

LEADING ON LGbT ISSUES IN GERMANY
In seeking to globalize our diversity efforts, we have
launched a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) affinity group throughout our five German
offices. The nature and scale of this endeavor is still
new in the European context. With the dedicated
leadership of Dr. Matthias Stupp, a partner in our
14 th
8 th
8 th
2009 2010 2011
Our Ranking on the Black Solicitors Network’s
Diversity League Table
(A comparison of the diversity among international law firms
operating in the uK)
Hamburg office, and the support of our executive
partners in Germany, we have been respectful of
sensitivities in German culture, while providing an open
space for LGBT individuals and allies to come together.
Our efforts were featured recently in an article in the
April 2012 issue of JUVE, the leading German law firm
magazine/directory. The article focused on the need for
serious diversity initiatives in Germany to be directed
not only at recruitment, but also at enforcing cultural
change in a law firm.
In the article, Dr. Dennis Heuer, a partner in our
Frankfurt office and a member of our Global Diversity
Committee, was quoted as saying:
“An employee should not have to feel uncomfortable, for
example, when he hangs up pictures of his [same sex]
partner in the office. One of the enduring maxims of
White & Case is deliberately ‘we care’ in contrast
to ‘we don’t care.’ A silently tolerated parallel world,
where such things are only discussed off the record,
shall no longer exist in the White & Case of the future.
This is a call for others to rethink such matters.”
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WOMEN’S INITIATIVE
It’s about DEvELOPInG
& ADvAnCInG talent
In most countries today, at least half of law graduates
are women. Our Global Women’s Initiative—led by
a committee of male and female partners including
members of the Firm’s Executive Committee—focuses
first and foremost on fully tapping this important talent
pool and ensuring our women have the opportunities
and experience they need to excel and advance to
leadership roles.
WE TAkE PERfORMANCE SERIOUSLY
Members of the Women’s Initiative Committee monitor
how individual women lawyers are performing and
engage in talent management discussions with Firm
leaders about the progress of our women lawyers.
Committee members stay informed of trends in the
retention, performance and development needs of
our women lawyers. Our top priority is continuing to
ensure that talented women are retained, advanced
and given leadership opportunities.
MENTORING IN CIRCLES
Our new York Office women’s network introduced a
Mentoring Circle program in 2010 that is being explored
for adoption by several other offices around the world.
Each Mentoring Circle connects one female and
one male partner with ten to fifteen associates. This
program has heightened the development, retention
and morale of women associates and offers the partner
mentors the opportunity to guide our more junior
women lawyers on their path to success.
The White & Case Global Women’s Initiative began in our US offices in 2004, and formally
became a global initiative in 2009, in recognition of the importance of our talent pool of women
lawyers across our global network. Talent management is the centerpiece of the Initiative and
our focus on it is unique among law firms.
The Initiative fosters the success and advancement of our women lawyers around the world.
We are committed to ensuring that women with the knowledge, the spirit and the passion to
succeed can work and contribute in an environment that offers them the opportunity to thrive
and be the best that they can be.

PROMOTING SPONSORSHIP
Our Development Sponsor Program pairs women
at critical phases of their career development with
partner sponsors to help ensure our women get the
opportunities and experience necessary to advance to
positions of leadership within the Firm and the broader
legal profession.
TRAINING TO DEVELOP WOMEN LEADERS
We partner with the Firm’s professional development
program to offer and encourage attendance at
leadership training programs for our women lawyers.
Through our local office women’s networks, we also
support participation in external training programs.
Jacquelyn MacLennan
Executive Partner, Brussels
Executive Committee and
Global Women‘s Initiative
Steering Committee member
Euromoney Legal Media Group Europe
Women in business Law Awards 2012
WInnER
Best International Firm
for Talent Management
Country Award for Russia
SHORTLISTED
Best International Firm for Women
in Business Law
Best Firm for Pro Bono Work
“I joined White & Case in large part because of the
examples of the amazing women who were here before
me. We are committed to ensuring we continue to
offer talented women the chance to rise to the top
of the profession.”
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A NETWORk Of NETWORkS
We have local office women’s networks in almost all
our offices around the world. They focus on:
■■ Helping our women associates develop the
Carolyn Lamm
Partner, Washington, DC
Former President, American
Bar Association (2009 – 2010)
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knowledge, skill and experience required for success
at the Firm, including client management and
business development skills.
■■ Providing exposure to both male and female role
models from inside and outside the Firm.
■■ Providing opportunities to connect with our clients
and the broader legal community.
■■ Connecting our women lawyers around the world.
Each of our larger offices sponsors or hosts five or
six events annually, which include client events. In
addition, we broadcast periodic videoconferences
across multiple offices, which feature interviews,
presentations or panel discussions led by partners,
associates, outside experts or clients.
WE kNOW IT’S A MARATHON
Law careers can last 30 years or more. We provide
the career flexibility all of our lawyers need at critical
transition times to go the distance. We have a full
range of programs to support flexible work schedules
and leaves of absence for both men and women.
These programs include part-time and flexible work
“I had multitudes of mentors. no one gets anywhere
without great mentors and I certainly have had them
all the time I’ve been at White & Case. They opened
many doors for me and gave me many opportunities,
and I helped them in return. We have to be sure our
women have opportunities to build their skills and show
what they can do.”

arrangement policies for associates and partners, as
well as coaching for lawyers preparing for and returning
from leaves of absence. We continue to monitor
the effectiveness of these programs in meeting the
needs of our lawyers and use the talent management
discussions to build support among Firm leaders for
the business case behind flexible work programs.
SUPPORTING WOMEN IN
THE LEGAL PROfESSION
We are proud to support organizations that promote
gender diversity in the legal profession, including:
■■ Center for Talent Innovation
■■ International Association of Women Judges
■■ national Association of Women Lawyers
■■ national Association of Women Judges
Vivian Tsoi
Partner, Beijing
Global Women‘s Initiative
Steering Committee member
“Women are a critical talent pool for
us in Asia, where we are growing
rapidly, and the many opportunities
for our women lawyers to take on
leadership roles in their teams is
very exciting.”
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It’s about OuR PEOPLE
Why did you decide to go into the field of law?
Two reasons. First, destiny. “vakil” means lawyer in India.
Second, when I was young, I decided that being a lawyer
was the only way to learn how to rebut arguments from
my parents!
Were there people along the way who kept you
in the game when you might have doubted your
ability to succeed?
My mentors and family.
What was your biggest challenge?
Learning that you don’t need a scientific background
to be a successful intellectual property practitioner.
How has your heritage helped you in your career
and/or business relationships?
I’ve enjoyed the professional and business development
in the Asian/Pacific American community.
What do you think when you hear the phrase:
“the best lawyers will always succeed regardless
of race, gender or sexual orientation”?
Only true when everyone is presented with the
same opportunities.
What’s the best piece of advice you could give
to a junior lawyer?
Commit yourself to legal excellence, get involved with the
legal community and seek out your own mentors.
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bijal Vakil
Executive Partner,
Silicon Valley
Jean Shimotake
Partner, New York
How has your heritage helped you in your career/
and or business relationships?
Being Asian American or diverse has made me sensitive
and open to other cultures. I have a high comfort level
with people from other cultures, and they have the
same with me. This has been helpful in my business
relationships because our clients are from all around
the world.
Are there any groups, social or business, that have
been particularly helpful to you?
My university Alumni Association and White & Case’s
Diversity Initiative and Women’s Initiative are great
sources of support and networking opportunities. In
particular, the speakers in our Diversity Speaker Series
are always motivating and inspirational.
What advice would you give the next generation
of Asian/Pacific American business leaders?
What are some tips for other Asian/Pacific
Americans beginning their careers?
There will be roadblocks and naysayers who will say you
are not up to the challenge. Have confidence in yourself.

What’s your proudest professional moment?
Being made partner. I was voted in at a White & Case
global partner meeting back in 2000, where I had to leave
the room for the vote. To say that those next few minutes
were nerve-jangling is an understatement.
What advice would you give to young deal lawyers
starting out?
Make sure you get broad experience—don’t specialize
too early. And maintain a sense of perspective.
What’s the best part of your job?
Choosing and building a great team and watching
them flourish.
What misconceptions do junior lawyers have about
the Firm before they join?
We’re still often bracketed with other uS firms—most of
which we see ourselves as being very different from. A
lot of people underestimate the international nature of our
business and the diversity of people who make up the Firm.
Most memorable deal you have ever worked
on and why?
When I was a junior lawyer, I worked on a copper
receivables financing and I had to go to Zambia to get
documents signed at the Ministry of Finance. A colleague
and I spent three days outside it waiting to get them signed.
What would be your motto?
“Eyes on the prize.”
Magdalene
bayim-Adomako
Partner, London
Head of Bank Finance
Linda Carlisle
Partner, Washington, DC
Tax law doesn’t seem that exciting. What interests
you most about your area of practice?
I think tax law is THE most exciting part of the law—nothing
can be done without thinking of taxes, so a tax lawyer gets
to be involved in everything from multinational mergers
and acquisitions to the treatment of damages in litigation.
The variety and the challenge of figuring out the best tax
structure for the particular business needs is what makes
the practice of tax law so much fun.
What’s the best piece of advice you could give
to a junior lawyer?
Pick an area in the particular field that you are practicing
in and become an expert in the field—publish articles
showing your expertise and keep expanding it.
What is the biggest challenge in difficult times?
Getting business. It is important to keep in contact with
your clients so that they remember to call you when
something comes up. I do not golf, but often go to the
movies and dinner with them—a nice way to spend time
with them as people as well as clients.
What’s your favorite way to release stress?
Run.
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PRO BONO
It’s about PROTECTInG
& ADvAnCInG human rights
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Empowering women legally and economically is now
well-accepted as an important condition for political
stability and economic growth. In addition, genderbased
violence is a serious problem in many societies.
We have chosen women’s rights as a particular focus of
our pro bono work, which we pursue through individual
representations, cross-border research projects and
service to non-governmental organizations working
to advance women’s rights.
Here are some highlights:
■■ Lawyers in our uS offices dedicate thousands of
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hours annually representing women and children.
■■ We have completed research projects on numerous
areas of women’s health in the united States,
Europe and Latin America for the Center for
Reproductive Rights.
■■ We are assisting the Avon Global Center for
Women and Justice at Cornell university to develop
a global, online database of case law on genderbased
violence.
■■ We have represented Women’s World Banking for
more than 30 years.
■■ Our women’s networks in new York and
Washington, DC partner with girls’ schools to teach
at-risk girls about the law and the legal profession.
■■ Our London office works with Dress for Success
to run workshops for women who have been out
of work.
More than 200 of our lawyers
worldwide compiled a database
of human trafficking cases in
more than 150 countries for the
United Nations Office of Drugs
and Crime.

CIVIL RIGHTS
From overturning a discriminatory uS military policy
to winning asylum for LGBT individuals fleeing
persecution to dedicating significant resources to
provide access to justice, our Pro Bono Practice
demonstrates our commitment to diversity.
Here are some highlights:
■■ On behalf of the Innocence Project, White & Case
filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme
Court of the State of Washington related to
eyewitness identification evidence. Eyewitness
misidentifications have played a role in more than
75 percent of overturned wrongful convictions in
the united States.
■■ We partner with Immigration Equality to represent
LGBT individuals seeking asylum from persecution
in cases that are often dramatic, such as that of one
client who received death threats from his father
and elders in his tribe.
■■ Our lawyers are helping the Asian American
Legal Defense & Education Fund research state
laws related to the federal Help America vote
Act. AALDEF will use the findings to train local
community groups as they prepare for voter
registration drives.
A team of White & Case lawyers
won a landmark victory to
overturn the US government’s
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that
banned openly gay, lesbian and
bisexual individuals from serving
in the military.
In this publication, White & Case means the international legal practice comprising White & Case LLP, a New York State registered limited liability partnership,
White & Case LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated under English law and all other affiliated partnerships, companies and entities. 06962
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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