Firms

White & Case

Web:  www.whitecasetrainee.com 

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Web:  www.whitecasetrainee.com 

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Survey results

Survey results

 

The lowdown (in their own words...)

Why did you choose this firm over any others? 

 ''Interview during vacation scheme'; 'wanted an American firm with a presence in the Middle East'; 'good experience on my vacation scheme'; 'quality of the work'; 'overseas opportunities'; 'higher salary'; 'relaxed office environment'; 'high trainee retention rate'; 'international and opportunities to travel and use languages'; 'small trainee intake'; 'high level of responsibility'' 

How does your training compare with peers' at other firms? 

 ''Less formal training'; 'hours much worse than at small corporate law firms but better than at other smaller US firms'; 'given a lot more responsibility than a number of my counterparts'' 

Best thing about the firm? 

 ''Casual wear policy'; 'quite a lot of nice people'; 'international aspect of the firm'; 'salary'; 'cookies'; 'friendly colleagues'; 'superb location'; 'quality of the work'; 'high level of responsibility'; 'its open-door policy that makes you feel comfortable no matter who you are talking to'' 

Worst thing about the firm? 

 ''Lack of supervision'; 'mediocre quality of work'; 'less formal training and a bit more haphazard as to what you get trained in'; 'no gym'; 'canteen food is rather expensive and not very good'; 'the unpredictable hours'; 'in some departments there is little to no client contact'; 'glorified secretarial work'; 'lots of photocopying'; 'having to be on-call 24/7 - they give you a Blackberry'' 

Best moment? 

 ''Taking on substantial work in a refinancing' 'champagne in nice bar after closing a transaction'; 'getting a seat abroad in Paris'; 'taking the reigns of a restructuring deal whilst in the Hong Kong office'; 'being given senior associate work and being asked to run with it'; 'Christmas party'; 'meeting clients in Saudi Arabia'; 'client events'' 

Worst moment?

 ''Being given urgent work to do at 6pm'; 'the quality of work you get is very much dependent on the supervisor - can be a bit of a lottery'; '36-hour shift at the office'; 'sleeping in clothes overnight at the financial printers'; 'having three holidays in a row cancelled''

The Lex 100 verdict

 The Verdict

The firm

White & Case has been in the UK for over 30 years and has one of the largest teams in London of any US firm. Despite some recent high-level departures in corporate and finance, the firm remains prominent in international deals, including in emerging markets. Energy and infrastructure disputes are also central to the practice. 

The star performers

Acquisition finance; Arbitration; Asset finance/leasing; Bank lending; Commercial litigation; Corporate restructuring; Corporate tax; Debt capital markets; Electricity, nuclear and renewables; Emerging markets; Employment; Equity capital markets: UK capability; Islamic finance; Oil and gas; Private equity; Project finance.

The deals

Advised on the establishment of a new UK shari'ah-compliant retail bank; representing the ECGD as guarantor of the ECA-supported financing of 16 Airbus A320 aircraft for AirAsia; represented EN+ Group in relation to its $1bn financial restructuring, including a $750m syndicated facility and various bilateral facilities; advised lenders on a $2.5bn murabaha for Zain in Saudi Arabia.

The clients

Afren; AlpInvest Partners; BoA Merrill Lynch; CIT Group; Deutsche Bank; GMR Infrastructure; HSBC; Meridian Capital; Nordic Capital; Saudi Aramco; the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi-UFJ; UBS; Yüksel Insaat.

The winners

Legal Business Awards 2011

Highly commended Energy and Natural Resources team of the year, Finance team of the year. 

The Verdict

With 'excellent overseas opportunities' and a 'relaxed office environment' (there is a casual wear policy) as well as a great reputation, White & Case is very popular. A Lex 100 Winner for confidence in being kept on, it values its trainees making sure that 'you feel comfortable no matter who you are talking to'. For big-ticket work and expertise in areas including emerging markets, finance and projects you need look no further and there are plenty of opportunities to travel and use your language skills. Be prepared to be given a 'high level of responsibility' and left to get on with it as there is not always a lot of supervision. You may find yourself doing 'your fair share of photocopying' and the fact that you are given a Blackberry means that you may feel that you are 'on-call 24/7'. The hours can also be 'unpredictable' but this is to be expected given the nature of much of the work. However, the fact that you could find yourself working on international projects and doing a seat in Paris or Hong Kong are great attractions and with great pay and a 'superb' location it is an excellent choice for confident self-starters.

A day in the life

A day in the life of.....

Tamiko Mackison, third-seat trainee, White & Case LLP 
Departments to date:  Energy, infrastructure, project and asset finance, dispute resolution, corporate practice
University: New College, Oxford 
Degree: Law, 1st 

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9.30am: My day begins with researching into potential mediators for a mediation to take place later this month. Our client is a UK construction company claiming against a large multi-national chemical company. Although a trial date has been scheduled for a few months' time, the defendants have suggested mediation in the meantime. As the sole trainee on the case, it is my role to investigate the potential mediators recommended by other members of the Disputes team and on the firm's 'Knowledge Bank' (collective know-how) and ascertain their experience, availability and cost for a day sitting as mediator in our offices.

11.15am: I attend a call with a witness for our claim to run through the latest draft of their witness statement. I take notes as the Associate leads the call, and ask questions to clarify a number of issues. After the call I prepare an attendance note. It is imperative that we keep an accurate record of all correspondence with the client, witnesses, our barrister, experts and defendant's counsel, and it is my role to ensure that the files are kept up to date. I also make amendments to the witness statement based on the associate's changes and circulate the updated draft to the Partner and Associate for their review.

12.30pm: There is a lunchtime talk from Bond Solon, providers of a 'witness familiarisation' programme, who explain the benefits of having witnesses who understand court procedure. At the end, I ask the speaker for further details as I think our witnesses may benefit from the programme. I make a note to discuss this with the partner later. After the talk, I eat lunch on the steps of the Royal Exchange with some trainees. There are 15 of us in our intake so we're quite a close-knit group, and this is the time of day when we can catch up and relax in the sunshine.

2.00pm: We are coming up to the deadline of exchanging expert reports with the defendants, so we have a call with our barrister to agree a time when we can all meet to discuss the technical details and make sure all the issues are adequately covered. The expert reports are crucial to our claim. I send an email to our two experts to see when they will be available to come down to London and outline what we want to discuss.

2.30pm: Some work for another matter lands on my desk, and I spend about 45 minutes working on a note for a client in the Middle East. The matter is an arbitration that has been ongoing for several years which has required input from the construction and project finance teams, as well as our colleagues in the New York office.

3.30pm: I join my supervisor on a first meeting with a pro bono client which is setting up schools for girls in Afghanistan. The firm does a huge range of pro bono work, and we are keen to take on this new venture. We find out how the organisation is run and the way in which we can best support them. The idea for a charity quiz is mooted as a way of raising funds.

5.00pm: I do some work on a presentation to the disputes group later this week. There are fortnightly update meetings on recent case law of particular relevance to our work, with each lawyer being allocated a different case to present. The trainees are no exception, and I ensure that I am familiar with every aspect of the case so that I can answer any questions.

6.15pm: We have a call with the managing director of the client company to obtain further details for our claim, and run through the mediation procedure. I take notes and email his secretary to follow up on items. I also outline the witness familiarisation programme to see if they are interested and they are.

7.30pm: The disputes and bank finance teams have organised drinks at a bar nearby to socialise, so we head out.

About the firm

About the firm

Address: 5 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1DW

Telephone: 020 7532 1000 

Fax: 020 7532 1001

Website: www.whitecasetrainee.com

Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

Other offices: Abu Dhabi, Almaty, Ankara, Beijing, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Doha, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, Moscow, Munich, New York, Paris, Prague, Riyadh, Silicon Valley, Sáo Paulo, Singapore, Shanghai, Stockholm, Tokyo, Warsaw, Washington DC. 

Who we are:  White & Case is a global law firm that provides the full range of legal services of the highest quality in virtually every major commercial centre and emerging market.

What we do: We work with international businesses, financial institutions and governments on corporate and financial transactions and dispute resolution proceedings. Our clients range from some of the world's longest established and most respected names to many start-up visionaries.

What we are looking for: Enthusiastic trainees with a strong academic record who are commercially minded and are keen to be involved in multi-jurisdictional work.

What you'll do:  Trainees undertake four six-month seats with one seat guaranteed to be spent overseas. Trainees take early responsibility and get practical hands-on training, together with plenty of support and feedback.

Perks: The firm operates a flexible benefits scheme, through which you can select the benefits you wish to receive. Currently, the benefits include such things as private medical insurance, dental insurance, group income protection, life assurance, pension, critical illness insurance, travel insurance, retail vouchers and gym membership.

Sponsorship: Course fees paid for LPC and GDL. Maintenance grant for each full-time law school year.

 

Facts & figures

 Facts and figures

Trainee places available for 2014: 25-30

Applications received pa: 1,600 approx 

Percentage interviewed: 5% 

Salary

First year: £41,000 (first seat); £42,000 (second seat)

Second year: £43,000 (third seat); £44,000 (fourth seat)

Newly qualified: £70,000 (We also provide a welcome payment to trainees of £2,000)

 

Total partners: 67

Other fee-earners: 211

Total trainees: 62

APPLY NOW

Application process

Apply to: Shahnaz Begum, graduate resourcing co-ordinator.

How: Apply online at www.whitecasetrainee.com. 

When to Apply: For training contracts, apply by 31 July 2012. (We would encourage final year non-law graduates to apply by the end of March 2012 for early consideration of their application.) 

What is involved: Candidates successful at the application stage will be invited to come to our office. They will be taken on a tour of the office by a trainee and will then have two interviews, the first with two associates and a member of the graduate resourcing team, and the second with two partners. This completes the selection process. 

 

 Vacation schemes

Spring: March/April (apply by 31 January 2012). 

Summer: June, July and August (apply by 31 January 2012).