White shoe firm

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White shoe firm is a phrase used to describe the leading firms in America, particularly firms that have been in existence for more than a century and represent Fortune 500 companies. It frequently (but not always) refers to securities and law firms, and frequently (but not always) refers to firms in New York City. A similar phrase, Magic Circle, refers to law firms in the UK.

According to William Safire, the phrase derives from "white bucks", a type of laced suede or buckskin shoe with a red sole, long popular among upper-class New Englanders, especially at Ivy League colleges.<ref>William Safire, No Uncertain Terms: More Writing from the Popular "On Language" Column in The New York Times Magazine, 20003</ref> Originally it reflected a stereotype of old-line firms populated by WASPs, but the phrase has since become innocuous. In the case of investment banks (Goldman, Lazard, Lehman), the term referenced not only WASPs but aristocratic Jews.