White & Case is a global law firm of more than 2,500 lawyers worldwide. We’ve built an unrivalled network of 44 offices in 30 countries. That investment is the foundation for our client work in over 200 countries today. Complex client projects, nuanced local market knowledge and global capabilities define who we are. Many White & Case clients are multinational organisations with complex needs that require the involvement of multiple offices. As part of our training contract, we offer every trainee a guaranteed six-month overseas seat.

As a White & Case lawyer, you’ll work on fast-paced cutting-edge cross-border projects from the outset of your career. In London, our key areas of work include: debt finance (including regulatory compliance); financial restructuring and insolvency; capital markets (high yield and securitisation); dispute resolution (including antitrust, commercial litigation, intellectual property, international arbitration, trade, white collar and construction and engineering); energy, infrastructure, project and asset finance (EIPAF); corporate (including M&A, private equity, employment, compensation and benefits, investment funds, real estate and tax).

Discover White & Case through the eyes of our people. Read more about our work and our people at inside.whitecase.com.

Vacation schemes

So you want to be a City lawyer? Taking part in one of our three annual vacation schemes is the best possible way to experience what our lawyers do every day. Try out real client work and see if our Firm is the right fit for you.

We recruit the majority of our London trainees (on average 80 percent) from our vacation schemes, with 25 participants in each intake. There’s no limit on how many training contracts we offer per scheme, so you won’t be in competition with your peers. 

Wherever your career takes you, we guarantee that you’ll build skills and experience that will last:

- Do real client work: draft memorandums; write client alerts; research areas of the law; attend meetings or court hearings, for example

- Learn about different practice areas and deepen your knowledge of the law

- ‘Ask Me Anything’ Q&A session with partners and associates

- Attend social events, including supervisor and buddy lunches, and fun activities such as sushi making

- Build your networks, both professionally and personally

- Receive feedback and advice on your work and performance

- As part of your training contract interview, you’ll have the opportunity to prepare a presentation on a commercial topic

- Our vacation schemes run on the following dates

Winter (for finalists and graduates)

Our winter scheme runs from Monday 2 December to Friday 13 December 2024 and the deadline to apply is 13 October 2024.

Spring (for penultimate-year students, finalists and graduates)

Our spring scheme runs from Monday 31 March to Friday 11 April 2025 and the deadline to apply is 12 January 2025.

Summer (for penultimate-year students, finalists and graduates)

Our summer scheme runs from Monday 23 June to Friday 4 July 2025 and the deadline to apply is 12 January 2025

Open days

If you’re curious about working as a City lawyer, our London office open days are a great place to find out more. You’ll learn more about White & Case, and meet our current trainees, associates and partners.

- Learn about City law

- Network with the White & Case team over lunch

- Get practical tips on how to do well in your applications and interviews

- Put your decision-making skills to the test in an interactive business game

- Speak to trainees, associates and partners about their work and our Firm 

Our open days run on 14 and 21 November 2024 and the deadline to apply Is 27 October 2024.

First-year two-day insight scheme

Attend one of our two-day insight schemes to understand more about what City law firms do and about different areas of the law. Discover what lawyers really do and see if this is a career that matches your interests and ambitions.

- Learn about White & Case

- Find out how we compare to other law firms

- Shadow one of our trainees

- Understand the day-to-day role of a trainee

- Enhance your future applications

- Meet White & Case trainees, associates and partners

- Attend networking events

Our two-day insight schemes run from 7 to 8 May and 14 to 15 May 2025 and the deadline to apply Is 30 March 2025.

White & Case virtual learning programme 

Our virtual learning programme offers the opportunity to gain first-hand insight into life as a White & Case trainee and experience the realities of cross-border law.

There is no cost to access the programme; it is self-paced to fit around your schedule, and no application form or legal knowledge is required. You'll gain insight into the fast-paced cutting-edge projects our lawyers and trainees work on, and gain valuable skills by undertaking true-to-life legal tasks. Participation in the learning programme will be recognised on our application forms, and it is a great way to demonstrate your interest in law and White & Case.

Wherever you are based, we want to give everyone the opportunity to get to know us.

If you're globally minded and ambitious, join our virtual learning programme here (link https://www.whitecase.com/careers/locations/uk/students/our-offer/virtual-learning-programme)

The training contract consists of four six-month seats, one of which is guaranteed to be spent in one of our overseas offices, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, Helsinki, Houston, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Singapore, Stockholm and Tokyo. The remaining three seats can be spent in any one of the Firm’s practice groups in London. Receiving a high level of partner and associate contact from day one, our trainees can be confident that they will receive high-quality, stimulating and rewarding work. Trainees work in small, focused teams, so their colleagues trust them to perform tasks accurately and efficiently. White & Case is a “high-stretch, high-support” workplace that celebrates individual excellence and team success. We actively encourage our trainees to take early responsibility, and there is a strong emphasis on practical training, with plenty of support and feedback. Alongside the training contract, our trainees are encouraged to get involved in all aspects of our globally-renowned pro bono programme, often working directly with clients and even managing small matters. White & Case recruits and develops trainee solicitors with the aim of retaining them on qualification.

White & Case celebrates and welcomes difference. We strive to create an environment where everyone can bring their authentic, full selves to work and thrive. Our culture promotes a respectful, supportive workplace environment, where all people feel accepted for who they are, experience a sense of belonging and are empowered to unite across differences.

Pursuing racial justice and equality

Our commitment to racial justice and equality includes taking action to fight injustice, engaging in candid conversations and welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds. We want to ensure that everyone who works at White & Case is encouraged, supported and inspired to do their best, while feeling like they belong here. 

We strive to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds and continually look for new ways to search for talent. This includes partnering with external organizations such as RARE Recruitment, Aspiring Solicitors and WCAN to help us improve our diversity efforts and broaden our representation in all areas of diversity. We also look at new technologies and online learning programmes to attract and engage with broader talent pools.  

We’re passionate about cultivating the best talent into future leaders. Our programmes include mentoring and sponsorship to provide talented individuals with support and learning opportunities to advance and develop lawyers and business services colleagues with a broad variety of backgrounds and abilities. 

We focus on learning opportunities and programmes to ensure our work environment has a place for everyone. This includes our series of candid conversations, unconscious bias and antiracism training, and workshops for inclusive leadership and allyship. We also celebrate Black History Month in the US and UK, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Pride Month every year.

Advancing women

One of our goals is to retain and advance top-performing women, while helping them attain and succeed in leadership roles.

In 2009, we launched the partner-led Global Women’s Initiative, which aims to achieve a meaningful increase in the percentage of women in partnership and leadership roles. This is supported by the grassroots activities of our local office Women’s Networks—which provide talent management and facilitate women supporting each other. 

We also run a leadership speaker series, a sponsorship program for women on potential track for partnership, executive coaching and programs to support women in business development and preparing for leadership roles. We also pair women at critical phases of their career development with partner sponsors to ensure they receive opportunities and experience so they can advance to positions of leadership within the firm and the broader legal profession.

Championing LGBTQ+ colleagues

We provide a wide range of activity and programs to support, empower and advance our LGBTQ+ colleagues. From celebrating Pride and LGBTQ+ History Months to networking, professional development and a number of social events. 

Spectrum LGBTQ+ Affinity Network (London, US and Germany): supporting the firm’s community of LGBTQ+ lawyers and business services colleagues, while working on opportunities to increase the recruitment, retention and development of LGBTQ+ people. Spectrum spearheads our global Pride and LGBTQ+ History Month celebrations, while also informing programs and policies to ensure we’re offering a Firm that works for everyone

Sponsorships of LGBTQ+ professional development and career conferences, including the annual Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair, DiversCity in Law in London and ProutatWork in Germany

Annual global and in-country Pride, Black Pride and LGBTQ+ Month celebrations 

Personalized outreach to law school LGBTQ+ affinity groups including OUTlaw and Lambda

National Coming Out Day celebrations with office-wide stories from our people

Empowering our people

Our affinity networks are open to everyone in London and around the world, including allies. You’ll be joining a welcoming, friendly community dedicated to identifying personal and professional development and networking opportunities, including coaching and mentoring. Our networks are also forums to raise concerns, challenges or provide feedback and to advocate change.

• Black Affinity Network (US ad EMEA)
• Colourful Affinity Network
• Asian Affinity Network
• Middle Eastern Affinity Network
• Diversity & Inclusion learning clubs
• BAME LINK Affinity Network
• Alianza Affinity Network
• Spectrum LGBT+ Affinity Network
• 26 local women’s networks

In addition to our core benefits (including a pension, private medical insurance and life insurance) and flexible benefits (including cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan and dental insurance) every employee receives a wellness spending account where you can be reimbursed up to £500 per year towards the cost of fitness activities, gym memberships and relaxation services.

• Debt finance
• Capital markets
• Competition
• Construction
• Corporate M&A
• Corporate PE
• Energy infrastructure project & asset finance (EIPAF)
• Employment
• compensation & benefits
• Financial restructuring & insolvency (FRI)
• Intellectual property
• Litigation & arbitration
• Real estate
• Tax
• White collar
• Environmental social governance (ESG)

• Corporate & Commercial

• Abu Dhabi
• Beijing
• Berlin
• Boston
• Bratislava
• Brussels
• Cairo
• Chicago
• Doha
• Dubai
• Düsseldorf
• Frankfurt
• Geneva
• Hamburg
• Helsinki
• Hong Kong
• Houston
• Istanbul
• Jakarta*
• Johannesburg
• London
• Los Angeles
• Madrid
• Melbourne
• Mexico City
• Miami
• Milan
• New York
• Nur Sultan
• Paris
• Prague
• Riyadh*
• São Paulo
• Seoul
• Silicon Valley
• Shanghai
• Singapore
• Stockholm
• Sydney
• Tampa
• Tashkent
• Tokyo
• Warsaw
• Washington DC
• *Associated firm

• A4ID
• Fair Trials International
• The Royal Courts of Justice Advice Bureau
• TrustLaw Connect
• Whitechapel Mission

• Afro-Caribbean Network
• Aspiring Solicitors
• Black Solicitors Network
• Bright Network
• City Horizons
• DiversCity
• PRIME
• Stonewall
• Women in the City