Not all US law firms will be a competitor of W&C- a US law firm?
Please tell me one US commercial law firm which somehow is not competing with W&C.
Law firms are businesses. And businesses which produce the similar goods or services within the same industry are, by definition, competitors.
That said, I welcome any counter-example you may be able to provide me with.
When a Partner at an interview asks you what their competitors are. They’re speaking of direct competitors. If you want to be literal, then yes, by definition most US firms would be competitors of White & Case by virtue of merely being an international law firm.
But that’s not what they’re looking for. A firm that has a Band 2 ranking in M&A deals with a specialist focus on energy is not a competitor of a firm that has a Band 1 ranking in M&A deals with a specialist focus on TMT. They’re both of different calibres. In order to deduce a competitor, you have to identify the rankings, specialisms, type of clients and deals. Not every US firm will be a direct competitor of each other, regardless of “full-service offering”.
By your advice, if X candidate went into an interview and said that one of White & Case’s competitors is Milbank for example who specialises in high-yield bonds and is tier 2 in projects work compared to White & Case with a tier 1 practice. You would technically be wrong based on a direct competitor.