White & Case wins Financial Times “Most innovative law firm change maker” and #2 “Most innovative law firm in North America – Business of Law”

The Financial Times (FT) named White & Case LLP the #2 "Most innovative law firm in North America – Business of Law" and our Chief Marketing Officer Michael Hertz the "Most innovative law firm change maker" of 2021 in its annual North America Innovative Lawyers report.

This year's awards also highlighted a number of our most innovative matters for 2021, including our work advising Hertz Global Holdings Inc. on a US$19 billion debt restructuring, our representation of Anthem, Inc. in litigation and our creation of a global business intelligence unit, ranking those matters among the finalists for the "Rescue, restructuring and recovery," "Dispute Resolution" and "Data Analytics" awards. 

According to the FT's report, Michael Hertz "stands out for how he has overhauled the Firm's approach to important clients…, revamped the Firm's leadership training and integrated law firm professionals from other business areas into the Firm's legal offering." It describes Hertz as "an unusual marketeer" who guided the Firm in establishing a "comprehensive, joined-up approach to clients—including, most recently, a client delivery solutions team of lawyers and business professionals who are expanding and improving White & Case's relationships with its largest multinational clients."

The report explains that our lawyers' use of securitization in the Hertz Global Holdings Inc. restructuring as the "principal source of exit financing from the bankruptcy—a first for a transaction of this size" though "traditionally difficult to execute simultaneously"—helped "Hertz avoid funding costs, and equity investors and debt holders have both been paid in full." 

By filing for a temporary restraining order in the Anthem litigation, among other steps, our lawyers "protected Anthem from immediately having to pay a US$1.85 billion reverse termination fee" and "bought time to find evidence…., meaning Anthem did not have to pay the fee at all."

The report quotes partner David Thatch as saying our global business intelligence unit "has taken a massive amount of information and created knowledge," and it describes how this unit combines "financial, marketing and timekeeping data…to provide new business insights. These include reporting on client relationships and future work opportunities, and an app to give partners a live analysis of their practice and their financial performance for the Firm." 

"These awards and notable rankings reflect White & Case's profound commitment to developing innovative solutions for our clients," said partner David Koschik, White & Case's Vice Chair and Executive Committee member. "We are grateful to the FT for these recognitions, and we plan to continue developing creative approaches that enhance our client service and improve our global operations."