White & Case in hands-off India drive

As Clifford Chance senior partner Stuart Popham told The Lawyer last week (8 January): "The world is looking at India."

Liberalisation may be looming, but it's not here yet, which means that firms are having to look very carefully at their strategies for the emerging market. Herbert Smith is keen to follow Clifford Chance to India and the firm has planned a recruiting trip there (see page 3), while Eversheds is also seriously thinking about an Indian recruitment drive.

But White & Case will take a different approach. The US firm is not normally one to shy away from tricky jurisdictions - how many firms can boast offices in Istanbul, Riyadh and Johannesburg? - but the firm has taken a very different stance.

A source said it has "a policy not to poach lawyers directly from Indian law firms". Which could be a 'look but don't touch' strategy.