A white-shoe firm is a leading professional services firm in the United States, typically a firm in existence for more than a century and one that services Fortune 500 companies. With notable exceptions, the term usually refers to management consulting, financial, and law firms, traditionally those based in the Northeastern United States, including New York City and Boston. The phrase "white shoe" has a distinctly different meaning and history in Australia than in the rest of the Western World, where the phrase was culled from American usage during the mid-20th century.