White-shoe firm

Last updated

In the United States, white-shoe firm is a term used to describe prestigious professional services firms that have been traditionally associated with the upper-class elite who graduated from Ivy League colleges. The term comes from white buckskin derby shoes (bucks), once the style among the men of the upper class. The term is most often used to describe leading old-line Wall Street law firms and financial institutions, as well as accounting firms that are over a century old, typically in New York City and Boston. [1]

Contents

Given the term's strong association with Ivy League elites, it has historically implied a cultural homogeneity associated with White Anglo-Saxon Protestant men. However, the term is now used more as a matter of long-established, high-end firms, especially those working in complicated business matters.

Former Wall Street attorney John Oller, author of White Shoe, credits Paul Drennan Cravath with creating the distinct model adopted by virtually all white-shoe law firms, the Cravath System, just after the turn of the 20th century, about 50 years before the phrase white-shoe firm came into use. [2]

Etymology

Senator J. Hamilton Lewis and attorney Joseph P. Tumulty pictured wearing "white bucks", 1917 LEWIS, JAMES HAMILTON, REP. FROM WASHINGTON, 1897-1899; SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS, 1913-1919, 1931-. LEFT, WITH TUMULTY.png
Senator J. Hamilton Lewis and attorney Joseph P. Tumulty pictured wearing "white bucks", 1917

The phrase derives from "white bucks", laced suede or buckskin (or Nubuck) derby shoes, usually with a red sole, long popular among the student body of Ivy League colleges. [3] A 1953 Esquire article, describing social strata at Yale University, explained that "White Shoe applies primarily to the socially ambitious and the socially smug types who affect a good deal of worldly sophistication, run, ride and drink in rather small cliques, and look in on the second halves of football games when the weather is good." [4] The Oxford English Dictionary cites the phrase "white-shoe college boys" in the J.D. Salinger novel Franny and Zooey (1957) as the first use of the term: [5] "Phooey, I say, on all white-shoe college boys who edit their campus literary magazines. Give me an honest con man any day." [6] It also appears in a 1958 Fortune article by Spencer Klaw, which describes some firms as having "a predilection for young men who are listed in the Social Register. These firms are called 'white-shoe outfits', a term derived from the buckskin shoes that used to be part of the accepted uniform at certain eastern prep schools and colleges." [7]

Usage

The American term white-shoe first originated in Ivy League colleges, then reflecting a stereotype of East Coast old-line firms that were populated by White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs). The term historically had antisemitic connotations, as many of the New York firms known as white-shoe were considered inaccessible to Jewish lawyers until the 1960s. [5] [8] The phrase has since lost some of this connotation, but is still defined by Princeton University's WordNet as "denoting a company or law firm owned and run by members of the WASP elite who are generally conservative". [9] Most white-shoe firms also excluded Roman Catholics. [10] [11] [12] [13] A 2010 column in The Economist described the term as synonymous with "big, old, east-coast and fairly traditional." [14] In the 21st century, the term is sometimes used in a general sense to refer to firms that are perceived as prestigious or high-quality; it is also sometimes used in a derogatory manner to denote stodginess, elitism, or a lack of diversity. [5]

Examples

The following U.S. firms are often referred to as being white-shoe firms:

Accountancy

The current Big Four accounting firms [15] and the former Big Eight auditors from which they merged:

The only former Big Eight firm not merged into one of the Big Four is Arthur Andersen, defunct since 2002, following felony conviction resulting from the Enron scandal. [16]

Banking

Traditional
Modern

Management consultancies

The Big Three (management consultancies), colloquially known as "MBB", consists of the largest management consulting firms by revenue:

Law

Traditional
Modern

While the term "white-shoe" historically applied only to those law firms populated by WASPs, usage of the term has since been expanded to other top-rated prestigious firms. Many of these firms were founded as a direct result of the exclusionary tendencies of the original white-shoe firms, which provided limited opportunities for Jewish and Catholic lawyers, as well as other non-WASPs, and include:

Equivalent law firms outside the United States

Australia
Big Six: In 2012, three of these firms merged with overseas firms, and one other began operating in association with an overseas firm. As a consequence, it has proposed that the term is no longer applicable to the Australian legal profession, displaced by the concept of Global Elite law firms or International Business law firms. [61]
Brazil
Grandes Firmas: Pinheiro Neto Advogados: Mattos Filho Advogados : Machado Meyer Advogados: Tozzini Freire Advogados: Veirano Advogados
Canada
Seven Sisters
China (People's Republic)
Red Circle, coined by The Lawyer magazine in 2014. [62]
Japan
Big Four
South Africa
Big Five
Singapore
Big Four
United Kingdom (centered on the City of London)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Anglo-Saxon Protestants</span> Sociological category in the US

In the United States, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or Wealthy Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP) is a sociological term which is often used to describe white Protestant Americans of British descent, who are generally part of the white dominant culture or upper-class and historically often the Mainline Protestant elite. Historically or most consistently, WASPs are of British descent, though the definition of WASP varies in this respect. It was seen to be in exclusionary contrast to Catholics, Jews, Irish, immigrants, southern or eastern Europeans, and the non-White. WASPs have dominated American society, culture, and politics for most of the history of the United States. Critics have disparaged them as "The Establishment". Although the social influence of wealthy WASPs has declined since the 1960s, the group continues to play a central role in American finance, politics, and philanthropy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King & Spalding</span> American law firm

King & Spalding LLP is an American multinational corporate law firm that is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices located in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It has over 1,300 lawyers in 23 offices globally. It is Am Law 100, Global 30, and white-shoe firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law firm</span> Business entity formed to practice law

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other matters in which legal advice and other assistance are sought.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulge bracket</span> The largest investment banks

Bulge bracket banks are the world's largest global investment banks, serving mostly large corporations, institutional investors and governments. The term "Bulge Bracket" comes from the way investment banks are listed on the "tombstone", or public notification of a financial transaction, where the largest advisors on investment banking operations are listed first. The term is primarily related to the financial advisory side of the business, as opposed to sales and trading.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is an American white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm has additional offices in London and Washington, D.C.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is a white-shoe law firm based in New York City. It is the city's oldest law firm and one of the oldest continuously operating legal practices in the United States. Attorney John Wells founded the practice in 1792. Cadwalader's Lower Manhattan headquarters is one of five offices in three countries. In 2022, the firm had approximately 400 attorneys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DLA Piper</span> Multinational law firm

DLA Piper is a law firm with offices in over 40 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz</span> Law firm

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is an American white-shoe law firm in New York City. While many peer law firms have grown and become international brands, Wachtell has only a single, Manhattan office. It is one of the smallest firms in the AmLaw 100, but has the highest per partner profits of any law firm and pays significantly above the "Cravath scale" market rate for associates.

"Magic Circle" was an informal term coined in the 1990s describing the five most prestigious London-headquartered multinational law firms, which generally outperformed the rest of the London law firms on profitability. The term has also been used to describe the most prestigious barristers' chambers in London. All of the 'Magic Circle' law firms and barristers' chambers specialise primarily in corporate law.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as Hale & Dorr and WilmerHale, is an American multinational law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Co-headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Boston, it was formed in 2004 through the merger of the Boston-based firm Hale and Dorr and the D.C.-based firm Wilmer Cutler & Pickering. It employs more than 1,000 attorneys worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston & Strawn</span> American law firm

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. It has more than 900 attorneys spread across ten offices in the United States and six offices in Europe, Asia and South America. Founded in 1853, it is one of the largest and oldest law firms in Chicago.

The Silver Circle is a group of elite corporate law firms headquartered in London that has evolved significantly as the UK legal market has been affected by globalisation and mergers. The law firms generally described by The Lawyer magazine as comprising the Silver Circle were historically Ashurst, Herbert Smith, Macfarlanes, SJ Berwin and Travers Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Drennan Cravath</span> American lawyer and Atlanticist (1861–1940)

Paul Drennan Cravath was a prominent American corporate lawyer and presiding partner of the New York law firm known today as Cravath, Swaine & Moore. At the firm, he devised and implemented the Cravath System, which has come to define the structure and practice of most large American firms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Bromley</span> American judge

Bruce Ditmas Bromley was an American lawyer and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derby shoe</span> Type of shoe

A derby is a style of boot or shoe characterized by quarters, with shoelace eyelets, that are sewn on top of the vamp. This construction method, also known as "open lacing", contrasts with that of the Oxford shoe.

Lightyear Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in financial services companies.

The Cravath System is a set of business management principles first developed at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Evan Robert Chesler is an American lawyer and retired partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He was the first person in the history of the firm to hold the title of Chairman.

Faiza J. Saeed is an American attorney, and the presiding partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

The history of the American legal profession covers the work, training, and professional activities of lawyers from the colonial era to the present. Lawyers grew increasingly powerful in the colonial era as experts in the English common law, which was adopted by the colonies. By the 21st century, over one million practitioners in the United States held law degrees, and many others served the legal system as justices of the peace, paralegals, marshals, and other aides.

References

  1. ↑ Safire, William (Nov 9, 1997). "On Language; Gimme the Ol' White Shoe" . Retrieved Sep 2, 2021– via NYTimes.com.
  2. ↑ Levinson, Marc (20 March 2019). "'White Shoe' Review: Lawyering Up the 20th Century (book review)". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 March 2019. ISBN   9781524743253
  3. ↑ Safire, William (November 9, 1997). "On Language; Gimme the Ol' White Shoe". New York Times.
  4. ↑ Chensvold, Christian. "Russell Lynes On The Shoe Hierarchy, Esquire 1953". Ivy Style. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Chambliss, Elizabeth (2005). "THE SHOE STILL FITS". Legal Affairs. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  6. ↑ Chensvold, Christian. "How The White-Shoe Law Firm Got Its Name". Ivy Style. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "New Jersey State Bar Journal". New Jersey State Bar Association. June 25, 1957 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ Stelzer, Irwin M. (February 8, 2016). "Remembering the 'White-Shoe Firm'". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ "white-shoe". WordNet. Princeton University.
  10. ↑ Pulera, Dominic (October 20, 2004). Sharing the Dream: White Males in Multicultural America. A&C Black. ISBN   9780826416438 – via Google Books.
  11. ↑ "President Trump's reference to 'paddy wagon' insults Irish Americans like me". The Washington Post. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  12. ↑ "Italian Americans: The Progressive Tradition-Reflections on Gerald Meyer's Presentation at the New Haven Public Library". March 20, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Raise a St. Patrick's Day glass to 'Wild Bill' Donovan, the greatest Irish American". Washington Examiner. March 17, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Frozen-term watch: "white-shoe"". The Economist. September 3, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  15. ↑ McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big? The Economist, March 25, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  16. ↑ Maurer, Mark "Arthur Andersen’s Legacy, 20 Years After Its Demise, Is Complicated" The Wall Street Journal, August 31, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  17. ↑ Surowiecki, James (1998-06-15). "White-Shoe Shuffle". New York . New York Media LLC. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  18. ↑ Timmons, Heather; Christopher Palmieri (2002-01-21). "The Perils of J.P. Morgan". Bloomberg Businessweek . McGraw-Hill Education. Archived from the original on February 13, 2002. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  19. ↑ "Morgan Stanley's 'white-shoe' dissidents continue war of attrition". Finfacts Ireland. April 17, 2005.
  20. ↑ Creswell, Julie; White, Ben (27 September 2008). "Wall Street, R.I.P.: The End of an Era, Even at Goldman". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  21. ↑ Kenton, Will. "White Shoe Firm". Investopedia. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  22. ↑ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (December 11, 2005). "They're All Paying Customers to Wall Street". The New York Times.
  23. ↑ Creswell, Julie; White, Ben (27 September 2008). "Wall Street, R.I.P.: The End of an Era, Even at Goldman". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  24. ↑ "2017 Power 100 Law Firm Rankings". Above the Law. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  25. ↑ Stracher, Cameron (March 24, 2000). "The Law Firm's New Clothes". New York Times.
  26. ↑ Rost, Peter (September 12, 2007). "Covington & Burling, a Pfizer law firm, caught cleaning up its reputation on Wikipedia". BrandweekNRX.
  27. ↑ Martinez, Jose (March 3, 2006). "Shoes are whiter than most in city". NY Daily News. New York.
  28. ↑ Moyer, Elizabeth (October 26, 2005). "Dimon Woos Mergers Lawyer Hersch To JPMorgan". Forbes.com.
  29. ↑ Labaton, Stephen (September 24, 1989). "Rainmaker: Mario Baeza of Debevoise". The New York Times.
  30. ↑ Weiss, Gary (March 4, 2002). "Commentary: Et Tu, Enron Lawyers?". Businessweek. Archived from the original on April 16, 2002.
  31. ↑ Qualters, Sheri (August 29, 2007). "Humor Helps the Firm Go Video". The National Law Journal.
  32. ↑ "Top Law Schols". New York. April 2011.
  33. ↑ Nelson, Katie (November 2, 2009). "NY Daily News". New York.
  34. ↑ "Chicago Tribune". November 11, 2009.
  35. ↑ John Oller (2019). White Shoe: How a New Breed of Wall Street Lawyers Changed Big Business and the American Century. p. 565. ISBN   9781524743277.
  36. ↑ Schneider-Mayerson, Anna (February 18, 2007). "Associate Gets Crushed Beneath White Shoe". New York Observer. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008.
  37. ↑ "History of White & Case LLP – FundingUniverse" . Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  38. ↑ Morgan, Spencer (April 7, 2009). "Andy Spade Is a Giant in New York". New York Observer. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009.
  39. ↑ van der Pool, Lisa (July 1, 2011). "Bill Lee: Still making his case". Boston Business Journal.
  40. ↑ Hawkins, Asher (June 28, 2010). "SEC's Revolving Door Often Spins More Than Once". Forbes.
  41. ↑ "Caroline Ellison Hires SEC's Former Top Crypto Cop for FTX probe". 10 December 2022 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  42. ↑ Tau, Bryon (July 21, 2014). "Akin Gump now largest lobbying firm". POLITICO. Washington.
  43. ↑ Gendar, Alison (September 14, 2009). "Straight-shooter judge could break up Junior Gotti's perfect game". NY Daily News. New York.
  44. ↑ Rubinstein, Dana (July 24, 2008). "It's Complicated: Insurance Firm Spills Space Gobbled by Former UBS President, Cleary Gottlieb". New York Observer. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008.
  45. ↑ Gray, Geoffrey (December 15, 2003). "Charity Busters". City Limits.
  46. ↑ Auchterlonie, Tom (February 1, 2023). "King & Spalding alum returns to the firm's private funds practice". Private Funds CFO. Private Equity International. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  47. ↑ "Rod J. Rosenstein". kslaw.com. King & Spalding LLP. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  48. ↑ Hobbs, Meredith (April 7, 2008). "Daily Report Dozen: King & Spalding". Daily Report. ALM Global, LLC. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  49. ↑ Gertner, Jon (January 15, 2006). "What Is a Living Wage?". New York Times.
  50. ↑ Stull, Elizabeth (May 23, 2007). "Gay Couple Sues Landlord for Discrimination". Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
  51. ↑ "Business - Minding your MANNERS". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. June 9, 2002.
  52. ↑ Lin, Anthony (May 16, 2006). "Can the 'Jewish Law Firm' Success Story Be Duplicated?". New York Law Journal.
  53. ↑ Donohue, Pete (December 11, 2005). "MTA Pays Big Shots To Fight A Strike". NY Daily News. New York.
  54. ↑ ANN W., ANN W. (September 24, 2000). "He May Have Played a Lawyer on TV, but Nanny Produced the Brief". LA Times.
  55. ↑ Mainland, Alexis; Goodman, J. David; Iaboni, Lisa; Vega, Tanzina; Dance, Gabriel; Han, Rebecca (March 10, 2008). "Milestones in an Ambitious Career: 1992". New York Times.
  56. ↑ "Girl Trouble". New York Magazine. October 16, 2000.
  57. ↑ Weiss, Debra Cassens (August 19, 2009). "Wachtell Nabs Top Spot Again In Prestige Rankings". ABA Journal.
  58. ↑ Belkin, Lisa (January 24, 2008). "Who's Cuddly Now? Law Firms". New York Times.
  59. ↑ Sargent, Greg (September–October 2005). "The Ricochet". Mother Jones.
  60. ↑ Fitzgerald, Patrick (March 13, 2009). "SunCal Lawyer Whacks Weil". Wall Street Journal.
  61. ↑ Beaton Research & Consulting (2012). An obituary for the term "Big 6" law firms in Australia Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  62. ↑ "Elite 'red circle' firms Zhong Lun and Jun He plot merger as consolidation grips China legal market | The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law". www.thelawyer.com. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  63. ↑ "The silver circle". Chambers Student Guide.
  64. ↑ "Ashurst, Herbies ride out tough year; BLP, Macfarlanes, SJ Berwin succumb". The Lawyer. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  65. ↑ "Silver Circle". The Lawyer. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  66. ↑ Fletcher, Martin (28 August 2005). "'Silver circle' firms upset the legal order". The Times. London. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2010.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.