White & Case Targets $5 Billion Revenue in Ambitious Growth Plan

White & Case aims to top $5 billion in revenue in three years through a new plan that leverages expertise in key practice areas along with US hiring to grow the top line.

The firm has dubbed the plan for more than 50% revenue growth from the 2024 level as its “2028 strategy.” The initiative focuses on “global growth areas” such as energy and infrastructure, technology, and private capital—specifically, sovereign wealth work—to drive much of the goal.

“They’re ambitious targets—I believe they’re achievable targets,” Heather McDevitt, the firm’s chair, said in an interview. “We want to run a stronger business through financial discipline and modernization.”

The plan shows how the ninth-largest law firm by revenue is tailoring growth to what it sees as its biggest practice area strengths, while some rivals look to acquisitions of other firms in an era of modest demand growth and intense talent competition.

The strategy, rolled out late last year, also prioritizes lateral hiring in the US. The firm unveiled a running start for that part of the plan Thursday by announcing the hire of a four-partner IP litigation team from A&O Shearman.

The strategy comes after New York-based McDevitt took over as leader in September 2023, succeeding Hugh Verrier, who had led the firm since 2007.

McDevitt, a member of the firm’s four-person global executive committee and former head of its pharmaceutical and health global industry group, won the leadership post over four others who were vying for the position, Bloomberg Law reported at the time of her election.

‘Good Trajectory’

The firm, founded in lower Manhattan in 1901, isn’t planning to merely chase new work in what it has termed “global growth areas,” nor does it intend to replace practices or industry groups, McDevitt said. Rather, it will leverage its expertise in the growth areas for clients across the board, she said.

The firm will continue to hire for its existing footprint and invest in its M&A, private capital, litigation and financial restructuring and insolvency practices, McDevitt said.

Heather McDevitt

White & Case surpassed $3.3 billion in revenue in 2024 and had “strong results” in 2025, she said, declining to comment on specific revenue figures for last year until the firm releases them in coming months.

“We’re proud of our performance,” she said. “We’re on a good trajectory.”

The intellectual property lateral hires include Elizabeth Holland, Nicholas Mitrokostas, William James and Daniel Margolis, who will all practice as part of the global life sciences group in Boston, New York and Washington.

Holland will head the global life sciences IP litigation practice and Mitrokostas joins as co-head of the global life sciences and healthcare industry group.

Their addition “strengthens our capabilities in the US and will also drive more client opportunities globally,” McDevitt said. “That is an important element of our strategy to accelerate growth.”

$5 Billion Target

Increasing the firm’s topline at an increased pace is a key pillar for its 2028 plan. As of 2025, only two firms—Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins—surpassed the $5 billion revenue mark, according to figures reported by the American Lawyer.

This isn’t the first time that White & Case has created an ambitious growth plan. In 2015, it embarked on a five-year effort that sought to increase the number of lawyers it had in New York and London to 500 each. It also set financial targets of surpassing $2 billion in revenue and $1 million in revenue per lawyer.

While the firm achieved its revenue target halfway through its endeavor in 2018 and other financial goals, it fell short of its personnel plans due the coronavirus pandemic that paused much of its hiring efforts in 2020.

The firm has more than 40 offices in 29 countries across the globe, and more than 50% of its work crosses borders. Its position gives it access to markets across the world, but it also creates potential vulnerabilities as the geopolitical landscape changes under the Trump administration, whether through tariffs or military actions.

McDevitt said the firm’s new strategy gives the firm focus, discipline and direction well-suited to times in which law firms have to move quickly and intentionally—and take a long view.

“My most important mission in this role is to ensure that we are, in fact, looking to the future and we’re doing what needs to be done now, even in uncertain, complex times, to reach our full potential,” she said.