Law360 has named the International Arbitration Practice of global law firm White & Case the "International Arbitration Group of the Year" for 2020. White & Case was selected for a number of high-profile mandates including securing a US$650 million arbitration award for a Portuguese telecom company in a dispute with a state-backed Angolan telecom giant, scoring precedent-setting wins in a long-running fight over European Union state aid rules, obtaining a seventh arbitration victory for a long-time State client in an energy dispute, and obtaining a victory for another State client in a revenue-sharing dispute.
"The international arbitration group at White & Case is one of the largest in the world, composed of roughly 200 attorneys handling an estimated US$200 billion in disputes,” according to Law360. Global practice group head Abby Cohen Smutny (Washington, DC) told Law360 that the growing group also prides itself on the gender and cultural diversity of its attorneys, which pays dividends on the international stage.
"We have the ability to understand cultural and geographical sensitivities in addition to knowing the industries, and I think that's one of the reasons we're very successful," Smutny told Law360. "We don’t just parachute in with foreign lawyers."
