Manager, Business Development - Corporate / M&A

Manager, Business Development

White & Case is an elite global law firm serving leading companies, financial institutions, and governments worldwide. Our long history as an international firm means we are perfectly placed to help our clients resolve their most complex legal challenges wherever they may be. With lawyers operating from more than 40 locations, working in virtually every country of the world, we have invested heavily in building a high-quality full-service practice competing at the top of the market. We are distinguished by our on-the-ground presence in the world's key financial markets and our strengths in handling complex cross-border work.

It's not just about our global network of offices; it's the global interconnectedness of the Firm that our people, and our clients, value most. We work well together across geographic and practice boundaries. It's one of the reasons we attract and retain cross-border work. Our people are globally minded, enterprising, collaborative, and committed to excellence, and represent 125 nationalities and speak 92 languages.

Position Summary : A manager coordinates and supervises the activities of a department mainly at an operational level but will contribute to and support strategic decision making. Sets team priorities and gets things done by leveraging / influencing their colleagues. Consistently shares knowledge and best practice from prior experience. Adds value by thinking creatively and actively engages and advises client groups.

Our Team : The Marketing and Business Development (BD) function at White & Case is a global team of professionals dedicated to supporting the firm's growth and reputation. Organised by practice, industry, and strategic client BD, the team covers all aspects of marketing and business development, including marketing communications, events, creative services, press relations, marketing technology, and a centralised team of coordinators and pitch specialists. We work collaboratively across the firm to deliver effective campaigns, build client relationships, and support our lawyers in winning new business.

White & Case's global M&A practice is recognised for advising on complex, high-profile transactions across markets and industries worldwide. Our team supports clients through all stages of the deal lifecycle, including public and private M&A, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and corporate restructurings. With a strong presence in key financial centres, we combine deep local knowledge with international experience to deliver commercially focused solutions for corporates, financial institutions, and private equity clients. Our lawyers are trusted advisers on cross-border deals, helping clients navigate legal, regulatory, and commercial challenges in a dynamic global market.

Duties and Accountabilities

Strategic planning and client cultivation :

• Research and competitive analysis :
• Request practice-specific research, collaborating with Research teams to analyse competitor activities and identify strategic opportunities.
• Drive and organise practice specific research to update and inform PG teams, BD strategies and initiatives.
• Analyze research findings and synthesize insights for practice-specific strategy.
• Provide actionable insights on market trends, client activities, and competitor movements.
• Present research results and implications for BD strategy to partners and practice teams.
• Client relationship mapping :
• Lead the client relationship mapping process within the practice group for important PG clients / strategic clients, ensuring all team members are engaged.
• Consolidate client relationship histories within the practice, ensuring all interactions are tracked and updated.
• Align practice-specific BD activities with firm-wide client strategy.
• Identify relationship gaps and propose actionable strategies for improvement.
• Monitor and report on client engagement and satisfaction across practice areas.
• Coordinate follow-up actions with practice group client decision-makers.
• Analyze client engagement gaps and develop action plans for practice-specific client initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for cross-practice collaboration to enhance client engagement.
• Collaborate with industry and client teams to assess market / client trends and develop tailored solutions.
• Existing client strategy execution :
• Lead the development and execution of client strategies within the practice group.
• Build and provide insights on client behaviour and recommend actions to enhance engagement.
• Develop and manage practice-specific client strategies that support firm-wide and BD goals.
• Work with strategic client BD teams to create cross-functional strategies that incorporate practice-specific expertise when required.
• Ensure that practice groups contribute effectively to the client engagement process.
• Oversee the creation of proposals and presentations that reflect the practice group's contributions to client relationships.
• Promote the use of best-in-class tools (e.g. CRM, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, dashboards) to capture, share and act on relationship intelligence Firm-wide.
• Collaborate with industry groups and client teams to develop impactful go-to-market campaigns, training and engagement initiatives.
• Identify cross-sell opportunities within practice group services.
• Coordinate and collaborate with other practices to enhance the client experience.
• Provide regular updates and analysis to partners on client relationship progress and opportunities.
• Client feedback reviews :
• Prepare matter client feedback surveys for the practice group's portfolio and events.
• Analyze survey responses, compile initial findings, and identify trends.
• Lead the client feedback review process for key matters.
• Work with the team to synthesize feedback into actionable insights.
• Proposals and pitch excellence :
• Pitch preparation and coordination :
• Ensure accuracy of deal lists and firm experience.
• Lead pitch writing efforts, ensuring content reflects client needs, market dynamics, and competitive positioning.
• Work with partners / PGs to develop tailored proposals, leveraging market research and competitor analysis.
• Coordinate input from stakeholders (e.g., pricing, industry teams) to ensure comprehensive proposals.
• Ensure pitch submissions align with the firm's strategic direction.
• Follow up with partners post-pitch for feedback and outcomes.
• Analyze feedback from PG pitches submitted
• Practice positioning and lawyer activation :
• Thought leadership and market positioning :
• Analyze practice-specific trends within the legal industry and identify potential topics for thought leadership.
• Collaborate with partners on topics that their clients consistently ask about, developing themes for thought leadership publications.
• Curate perspectives on emerging topics relevant to the practice's client base, aligning them with W&C's case experience.
• Identify key trends and share insights to improve the practice's profile and positioning in the market.
• Work with Marketing to deliver thought leadership content that aligns with practice goals and firm priorities.
• Incorporate league tables and rankings to enhance practice's credibility and visibility.
• Curate perspectives on themes and trends given W&C case experience to inform the editorial calendar.
• Contribute to and promote cross-practice collaboration and firm-wide coordination on pitches, proposals, client pursuits, and strategic initiatives relevant to the practice group.
• External events - client interaction opportunities :
• Develop client engagement strategies for practice group events.
• Create and collaborate with 3rd parties to events and event materials for clients within the practice group.
• Oversee event outreach and follow-up strategies for the practice group's clients.
• Provide client insights to practice group partners for more effective event engagement.
• Lead post-event follow-up activities and ensure tracking of engagement results.
• Work with practice group and BD teams to align event strategies with firm priorities and client needs.
• Review list of practice events to identify relevant third-party events that Partners should assist based on client participants and sponsors.
• Review list of Firm's organized events to uncover opportunities to invite clients to support client engagement.
• Develop engagement strategy (incl. reach out emails pre-event, preparing meeting agenda, outlining talking points based on relevant topics of interest) to engage clients.
• Lead post-event engagement activities (incl. drafting reach out emails to relevant client's post-event, and suggesting topics to continue conversations).
• Onboarding of new lateral partner hires :
• Lead the development and implementation of tailored BD onboarding plans for new partners and lateral hires, ensuring alignment with practice group strategies.
• Meet with new hires to understand their priorities, identify relevant BD opportunities, and develop a tailored pipeline development plan.
• Ensure that new hires are provided with the necessary training on the firm's BD processes and tools.
• Track progress and provide ongoing