White & Case set to treble City size after recognising superiority of English lawLarge Scale recruitment: US firm increases number of English lawyers in worldwide officesThe City office of US firm White & Case is aiming to recruit more than 200 solicitors in the next two to three years - trebling its current size - because it says English law has won the battle of the international transaction.Finance partner Colin Potter confirmed that the firm wants to make the leap from its current 115 lawyers.

He said: 'We are aiming to get 300 to 350 as soon as practicable into our London office - we're growing faster than any other London firm.'The firm also has 25 other foreign offices to staff - most are currently manned by local lawyers and US qualified secondees.But Mr Potter said: 'Given that English law has by and large won the battle to be the preferred governing law in international transactions - particularly in Europe and Asia - its important that White & Case locate English lawyers into the worldwide regional offices'.The targeted recruits, and existing White & Case London lawyers, will be rotated around the firm's international network.

Mr Potter said: 'It's important to keep bringing lawyers through London to keep them abreast of market standards'.He gave three reasons for English law's predominance over US law in international transactions: because of colonial links, such as those with Singapore and Hong Kong; because the English economy is so much smaller than the US, forcing English firms to look overseas for growth; and because many significant cross-border deals in Europe are financed out of London.The firm has begun a direct recruitment campaign using London-based advertiser Sonkias Jones.

The campaign features images of well-known individuals - such as Marlene Dietrich, Bill Shankly and Tommy Cooper - to raise its profile, and increase recruitment without an over-dependence on external consultants.Mr Potter said that initial response to the campaign had been 'highly encouraging'.The size of the office increased sharply last year with 48 new recruits, including a banking team from rival US firm Weil Gotshal & Manges led by one-time Clifford Chance partner Maurice Allen.Jeremy Fleming