When it comes to building on our New York success story, Office Executive Partner (OEP) Eliza McDougall is taking a two-pronged approach.

She says: “On the one hand our 2020 strategy demands strength in London and New York, so we’re continuing to push towards our target of 500 lawyers in New York and to focus on raising our profile in our local market.

“At the same time, we appreciate that our success is dependent on attracting and retaining the best people, so we are continuing to focus on making the New York office a great place to work.”

Since taking over from Jack Pace in 2018, Eliza has identified five priorities matched closely to those two goals.

They are:

Work towards these priorities is well underway.

Eliza explains: “From an external profile point of view we recognize that White & Case is already very well known in New York as a global firm, but to be successful in achieving our 2020 strategy we need to be known as an elite New York firm as well.

“To achieve this, we need to be top of mind for our clients for domestic work as well as for their international projects.”

Attracting the best

Some ways that the team is doing this include becoming more active with the local Bar Association, exploring potential high-profile sponsorships, and encouraging lawyers to take part in regular legal surveys such as Chambers, Vault, and AmLaw.

Eliza says: “We recently held training sessions for associates to explain the importance of their participation in national legal surveys, because our results and ranking are vital when it comes to us attracting the best talent to the Firm.”

This reflects the fact that our ability to change the market’s perception of White & Case in New York depends on our own confidence in and understanding of what the Firm can offer in the local market.

Eliza says: “We’re in the process of creating marketing tools and materials focused on New York to help ensure that everyone understands our value to the home market, not just our contribution to the global firm.

“We are trying to change the perception of us as being ‘just a global firm’.”

Another area of priority for Eliza is improving office life, something she is passionate about and that she has already been driving forward as Chair of the New York Workplace Committee.

The committee was originally established to give employees a central voice about improvements in work life that could be initiated in conjunction with the move to the Firm’s new office at 1221 Avenue of the Americas.

It has since become a driving mechanism that focuses on initiatives to continue to help improve morale and encourage engagement.

“The two areas of focus are very closely aligned,” she says. “Being OEP as well as Chair of the committee should help ensure the committee’s recommendations are put in place even more efficiently.

“One of our priorities is improving engagement and integration, especially among lawyers and Business Services people.”

Initiatives already introduced include fun quarterly challenges between floors, such as a Christmas decoration competition and a water bottle challenge to reduce usage of disposable water bottles.

“The office has also named an annual chosen charity, which will give focus to our fundraising, volunteering and pro bono projects,” says Eliza.

“This year’s chosen charity is Fiver Children’s Foundation, a charity that makes a 10-year commitment to young people to help with education and job training.”

A great place to work

Bringing the employee value proposition to life is something Eliza views as vital to the Firm’s mission of attracting the talent needed to help us reach our growth targets in New York.

She says: “New York is a hugely competitive market, both for winning work and attracting and retaining the very best people.

“Being one of the few truly global firms is a big differentiator, but being recognised as a firm that supports our people and nurtures talent is also going to give us an edge.”

Eliza also sees the value the Firm’s wider U.S. growth strategy has had in helping the New York office win more domestic work.

She says: “There’s no doubt that the addition of our Houston and Chicago offices makes us an even stronger player in the U.S. market. We’re now extremely well placed to compete head on with the leading U.S. domestic firms, the majority of which are based in New York.”

The move to the new office space last year was another big step forward for the New York team.

Eliza says: “The new office has made a massive impact on the way people work together because it’s such an open and collaborative space and a much better reflection of our values.

“We’re close to achieving our 2020 goal of having 500 lawyers and, with approximately 60 new associates joining this fall and continued strategic lateral hiring, we expect to meet or exceed this target.

“To accommodate this growth, we will be expanding our offices next year to include an additional floor.”

In terms of her own role, Eliza is enjoying the challenge of balancing her role as OEP with her client work as a partner in the Bank Finance Group.

She says: “It’s been really interesting so far and it’s a privilege to be leading this office at such an exciting time.

“The culture, values, and opportunities that the Firm can offer are really compelling and that is the reason I joined White & Case from Milbank Tweed in 2010.

“I have also really been inspired by the team here – both the legal and the Business Services professionals – and it’s great to be part of the next chapter in our story, both in New York and internationally.”