White & Case Vacation Scheme - February 2025

What was the full recruitment process?

1. Application

2. Video interview

3. Assessment centre

Which aspect does this report cover?

Vacation scheme assessment centre

Where did the assessment centre take place?

Written exercise took place on Webex and interview on Zoom 

What did the assessment centre involve?

1. Interview: competency, motivation and commercial questions (45 minutes with an associate and a graduate recruiter)

2. Written exercise: writing a memo summarising and analysing articles (75 minutes)

Interview

The interview was CV and application blind.

Competency questions

I was asked a range of questions about my previous experiences and the skills I developed as a result. These questions included:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Can you walk us through your work experience?
• Can you outline one specific task you worked on in your work experience that you were particularly proud of?
• How do you manage confrontation or people who drag their feet?
• Tell us about a time you took on feedback

Motivation questions

• What would you gain on a White & Case vacation scheme?
• Are there any White & Case practice areas you have an interest in? 

Commercial questions

• How would the work in an Asian office differ from London?
• Is there a deal or case that White & Case has been part of that caught your eye?
• Walk me through one thing that you see as a challenge to the legal sector, aside from AI.

Written exercise

This exercise was to be completed at any point on the same day I scheduled my interview. I was given access to three news articles (two from the FT and one from Reuters) and each were anywhere between 500-1000 words long. I was then given 75 minutes in total to succinctly (1 page) summarise the articles and identify any opportunities and threats that would impact lenders and borrowers in the debt finance market. 

The articles covered issues relating to the banking crisis, the wider economy, the federal reserve, high interest rates, the emergence of private credit, and private equity firms using less debt.  

The suggested structure of my memo was to focus on 2-3 relevant issues/themes that would be relevant to clients, bearing in mind that it was going out to both borrowers and lenders. 

What was the outcome?

The firm emailed two working days after the assessment centre to tell me that I had been successful. 

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?

For the assessment:

• Although I was successful, I did not keep as up to date as I should have on market trends and updates. It would have definitely made the written exercise a lot easier and quicker to understand. I would suggest spending 15 minutes every day reading up on one macroeconomic topic like interest rates and one microeconomic topic like a specific market development. That would make you well placed to analyse any articles they provide you.
• Allocate your time wisely. Although you are given 75 minutes, time goes quickly. I spent 5 minutes reading and understanding the brief, 15 minutes reading the articles, 20 minutes taking relevant notes on the articles, 30 minutes writing, and 5 minutes reviewing. Although it is okay to be a bit over or under on any of the time blocks, make sure you keep track.
• You should do research on and understand how law firms write their client memos and any other piece of writing that they send out. Firms do these all the time so it is important to learn their structure and what they are looking for. I would especially recommend using an executive summary at the top and headings along the way. Make sure your work is easy to read.

For the interview:

• Practice answering a range of questions out loud without a script – have bullet point notes and key points but do not memorise your answers. Make sure you have someone to give you feedback and ask questions you had not prepared for.
• Network with trainees or future trainees, and ask about their experiences. Do not be afraid to shout them out in the interview – it shows you did your research.
• When asked about your experiences, make sure you have a clear structure and prepare what you want to say. It is a blind interview, so it is on you to make sure your interviewer knows what you have done.
• Know the firm and the practice areas you might want to work in – learn a deal or case that genuinely caught your interest and make sure you know what you are talking about.
• Expect follow up questions. Make sure you know your experiences and skills you gained because of them.
• Try to enjoy it. All the members of the graduate recruitment team are lovely and welcoming and your interviewer will want to see you do well. Nerves are common but trust they will leave after the first couple of questions. 
• Do not overthink your answers once you have answered them – take every question one at a time!

White & Case Winter Vacation Scheme - November 2023

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application 

2. Video interview

3. Assessment centre

Which aspect does this report cover?

Vacation Scheme Assessment Centre 

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

Via an online platform called Webex.

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Interview: competency, motivation and commercial questions (~45 minutes with a graduate recruiters and a counsel). 

2. Written exercise: writing a memo summarising and analysing articles (~75 minutes)

Interview

The interview was CV and application blind.

Competency questions 

I was asked a range of questions about my previous experiences and the skills I had developed as a result. These questions included:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Tell me about a time you received feedback and how you dealt with it.
• Tell me about a time you worked in a team with people from different cultures.
• Tell me about a time you worked with on something that had a cross-broader element. 
• Tell me about a challenge you over came, which involved showing resilience.
• Tell me about a time you went above and beyond in a role.

Motivation questions 

I was also asked questions designed to test my motivation for pursuing a career in commercial law, and for wanting to work at White & Case in particular, including:

• Why commercial law?
• How do you think you stay motivated as a trainee when some of the tasks can be repetitive.

Commercial questions

• What do you think the day-to-day looks like for a trainee?

They also said that the interview was CV blind and asked me if I wanted to add anything else that they might not have asked or be aware of so I used that opportunity to tell them why I was interested in White & Case. 

Finally, I was asked whether I had any questions for my interviewers.

Written exercise       

I had to complete the written exercise on the same day as the vacation scheme interview and all the instructions for the written exercise were given on the day. 

I was told I was a first seat trainee in the finance department, and that a partner (head of the department) wanted more market knowledge to be shared across the team so that lawyers could potentially start delivering client-facing seminars. With this in mind, I had to draft a succinct (1 page) client bulletin on current market and economic conditions relating to the debt finance market, which would then be “sent out” to lenders and borrowers.

In terms of background materials, I was given access to three news articles (two from The Financial Times, plus one from Reuters). These covered issues relating to the banking crisis and the wider economy, and included mention of the federal reserve, high interest rates, and private equity firms using less debt.

I was then given 75 minutes in total to write a memo to a partner (which was ultimately intended for a client), focusing on 2-3 relevant issues/themes that were relevant to a client. 

IMPORTANT: I had originally planned to write everything in a Word document first and then copy/paste it into the platform. However, I checked at the start and realised copy/pasting wasn’t allowed, so I drafted my answer directly in the box within the firm’s portal. Had I not checked (and thus decided to initially write in a Word document), I likely wouldn’t have had time at the end to write my full answer out again!

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm emailed me a week after the assessment centre to tell me I had been successful.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?          

For the assessment: 

• I spent weeks before brushing up on my commercial awareness. I attended several events and lectures, so by the time I completed the assessment I was aware of many of the issues being discussed in the articles given (e.g. the banking crisis and high interest rates). I had analysed these issues previously, so I brought this knowledge into the assessment. I would not have been comfortable with the assessment if I did not know the impact high interest rates have on different clients and the definition of certain terms.
• Practice writing! I had spent a lot of time writing during my previous roles, which made me feel more comfortable writing a client bulletin. I would have been thrown off if I had not had previous experience. 
• The articles are long and complicated, even for someone with good commercial awareness, so they can take time to read. Therefore, if you don’t initially understand key terms or what is going on you, you can waste a lot of time and not leave much time for writing. 
• Use your judgment. I found two articles kind of repeated the same story so I didn’t spend much time on one article looking for new points (I basically skimmed that article quickly). Most of my points came from two articles and used some additional details from the third article 
• Plan your time. At the beginning I gave myself certain amount of time to read each article and tried hard to stick to that time so I would have enough time to write. I also took notes as I read the instructions and articles. I wrote down a heading for each theme at the outset, then added points under each heading as I went through the articles (i.e. I extrapolated and structured the information as I went along, meaning once I was done reading, I had a vague structure in place). 
• I left 15 minutes at the end to check for mistakes and look at grammar. By the time I submitted I had reread my work twice. 

For the interview:

• Practice answering questions out loud but without a script – perhaps take down bullet point notes on what you want to say for each question, but don’t write down word for word what you plan to say.
• Have someone else give you feedback.
• Ask questions when given the opportunity.
• Smile! 
• Network with people at the firm like trainees or future trainees, and ask about their experience in their interviews.
• Know the firm and the practice area(s) you are interested in. Know specific deals or a partner you can name drop, provided you are really interested in the work they do or the deal.
• Expect follow up questions. Think about the type of questions they might ask you if you answer something.
• Have a glass of water next to you and take a sip to think if you are stuck or need a moment to gather your thoughts.

White & Case Winter Vacation Scheme - November 2022

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application 

2. Video interview

3. Assessment centre

Which aspect does this report cover?

Vacation Scheme Assessment Centre 

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

Via an online platform called Webex.

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Interview: competency, motivation and commercial questions (~45 minutes with two graduate recruiters). Note that one interviewer is usually a senior associate or partner, but they couldn’t make it on the day of my interview, which is why I had two graduate recruiters.

2. Written exercise: writing a memo summarising and analysing articles (~75 minutes)

Interview

The interview was CV and application blind.

Competency questions 

I was asked a range of questions about my previous experiences and the skills I had developed as a result. The questions were very tailored to the examples that I brought up. These questions included:

• Talk about how you managed a difficult person. 
• Tell us about a time you received feedback and how you responded.
• What role do you play in a team setting? (leader, mediator etc.)
• Tell us about a time you were challenged and what you did to achieve the goal and manage your stress.
• Tell us about how you prioritise your university work alongside your positions of responsibility and extra-curriculars.

Motivation questions 

I was also asked questions designed to test my motivation for pursuing a career in commercial law, and for wanting to work at White & Case in particular, including:

• Why commercial law?
• What do you think makes White & Case stand out from its competitors?
• What steps have you taken to get to know the legal landscape?
• What motivates you to work for an international firm?

Commercial questions

• What do you think a client looks for in a White & Case lawyer aside from legal expertise?
• What do you think are the most impactful commercial issues at present for White & Case?
• What do you think the day-to-day looks like for a trainee?

I was then asked whether I had any questions for my interviewers, and I asked two questions.

Written exercise       

I had to complete the written exercise on the same day as the vacation scheme interview and all the instructions for the written exercise were given on the day. 

I was given access to four news articles relating to a fictional client’s industry (the energy industry) – each anywhere between 500-1,000 words long – as well as a brief summary of the fictional client’s business (oil company). I was then given 75 minutes in total to write a memo to a partner (which was ultimately intended for a client) summarising the articles, identifying key issues which might affect the fictional client, and suggesting precautions/solutions to mitigate these issues. 

Before you start writing, it’s worth skim-reading the documents first. It is a lot of text to digest, so on your first read, try to pull out the key points to gain a general overview of the subject.

The written exercise is largely commercial-based, so strong commercial awareness is key here. You need to understand the challenges a business may face, as well as concepts such as profitability, market share, the value of assets, competition concerns, social considerations, and so on. 

For example, if an article is discussing increasing investor appetite for renewable energy businesses and ESG strategies, and the firm’s client is a major oil company, this might suggest investor sentiment towards the client will decline over time (which may harm the company’s ability to raise capital and affect its profitability in the long-term). As a result, the oil company will need to adapt to the evolving energy sector. A potential solution may be to transition towards clean energy, which will, over time, attract investors who are seeking more sustainable investments, and ensure the oil company remains competitive.

You could add additional information on recent industry developments that you think might be useful (i.e. information that doesn’t appear in the articles you are provided). However, the written exercise is fairly time pressured, so don’ focus too much on doing this if you’re then at risk of missing key points from the articles you are provided. 

I had to include my contributions in an email as a memo, which was addressed to the fictional partner who “delegated” the work. I would recommend adding an executive summary at the start, using a clear structure with subheadings, and making sure paragraphs aren’t too long. I used bullet points at times, for example to lay out the key issues that I had identified.

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm emailed me three weeks after the assessment centre to tell me I had been unsuccessful. Others heard much earlier, so I think I may have been on some kind of reserve list.

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?              

• The interviewers were very interested in getting to know my path to a legal career and my path to White & Case, so make sure you’re clear on your career and firm motivation.
• I would recommend practicing competency questions as I was asked a lot of competency questions.
• As the interview is CV and application blind, I would recommend writing a list of examples of your experiences, jobs and positions of responsibility that you can discuss in your interview, and the relevant transferable skills you have developed as a result. 
• White & Case’s interview was very conversational, so expect follow-up questions based on specific examples that you have discussed.
• The firm really values an international mindset, so if you have international experiences or speak other languages, definitely mention this at some point in the interview. 
• Make sure you know how White & Case differentiates itself from its competitors. Read up on the firm’s work, key practice areas, clients, strategy, international offices and culture.
• For the written exercise, the only real preparation you can do is make sure you are up-to-date with the news. The Financial Times really helped me, particularly the short daily FT News Briefly podcast.
• Make sure you know how to structure an email or memo for the written exercise. I would recommend having a summary and using sub-headings and bullet points. 
• Note that the Commercial Law Handbook is great for understanding business terms, which will add more credibility to your responses in the written exercise.

White & Case Vacation Scheme - February 2021

What was the full recruitment process?         

1. Application 

2. Assessment centre 

3. Vacation scheme 

Vacation scheme assessments

• Written exercise
• Group exercise
• Virtual junior lawyer tasks (via The Forage)
• Presentation
• End of vacation scheme interview (with 2 partners)

Which aspect does this report cover?

Vacation scheme assessment centre 

Where did the assessment centre take place?            

Via an online platform called Webex.

What did the assessment centre involve?      

1. Interview: competency, motivation and commercial questions (~45 minutes with 1 Graduate Recruiter and 1 Senior Associate/Partner)

2. Written exercise: summarising and analysing thought leadership articles (~75 minutes)

Interview

Competency questions 

I was asked a range of questions about my previous experiences and the skills I had developed as a result, including:

• Tell me about a time you worked with people from different cultural backgrounds
• Tell me about a time you had to adapt your communication style
• Tell me about a time you had to come up with a creative solution
• Tell me about a time you worked in a leadership role
• Since you have lots of extracurriculars, how do you organise your time?

Motivation questions 

I was also asked questions designed to test my motivation for pursuing a career in commercial law, and for wanting to work at White & Case in particular, including:

• Why commercial law?
• Why White & Case?
• Where else have you applied?
• Which practice are seats would you pick for the vacation scheme?
• What do you know about our key industry sectors?

Commercial questions

• What do you know about x case? (this was because I had mentioned the case as part of my response to a different question)
• What are some of the issues clients are facing at the moment, and how could the firm help?

I was then asked whether there was anything else I wanted to mention, and whether I had any questions for my interviewers.

Written exercise           

This exercise was completed after the interview. I was given access to four news articles relating to a fictional client’s industry (e.g. the energy industry) – each anywhere between 500-1,000 words long – as well as a brief summary of the fictional client’s business (e.g. oil company). I was then given 75 minutes in total to summarise the articles, identify key issues which might affect the fictional client, and suggest precautions or solutions to mitigate these issues. 

Before you start writing, it’s worth skim-reading the documents first so that you can gain a general overview of the subject. This is largely commercial-based, so strong commercial awareness is key here. It may be worth keeping tabs on recent industry developments (e.g. oil and gas, aviation, retail etc.) so that you can then add real-life insights into your answer to show you are commercially up-to-date.

You also need to understand the challenges a business may face, as well as concepts such as profitability, market share, the value of assets, competition concerns, social considerations, and so on. For example, if an article is discussing an increasing investor appetite for renewable energy and ESG strategies, and the firm’s client is a major oil company, this might suggest investor sentiment towards the client will decline over time (which may harm the company’s ability to raise capital and affect its profitability in the long-term). As a result, the oil company will need to adapt to the evolving energy sector. A potential solution may be to transition towards clean energy, which will, over time, attract investors who are seeking more sustainable investments, and ensure the oil company remains competitive.

I had to include my contributions in an email, which was addressed to the fictional partner who “delegated” the work. I would recommend adding an executive summary at the start, using a clear structure with subheadings, and making sure paragraphs aren’t too long.

End of internship interview

This interview was conducted during the second week of the vacation scheme. I was asked to present on a topic which I had been given in advance, and then had to answer follow-up questions on the topic. The topic was commercial and relevant to the firm and its future strategies.

I was then asked questions about the scheme, as well as more standard competency questions, including:

• What have you worked on during the scheme?
• What has been the highlight of your scheme?
• Tell me about your past work experience.
• What do you think are essential qualities for a trainee, and how can you demonstrate these?
• In what ways do you think you are a good fit for the firm?
• In a group, are you more likely to show leadership or team-working qualities?

What was the outcome?                                                  

The firm called me to offer me a place on the vacation scheme 2 days after the assessment centre. 

Do you have any specific advice on how to prepare?                                                       

• White & Case’s interview was truly conversational. It’s clear they want to get to know you as a candidate, rather than spend their time quizzing you on commercial and legal knowledge.
• Focus on how you can be an asset to the firm and highlight your skills. If you have international experiences or speak other languages, definitely mention this at some point in the interview; White & Case guarantees an international secondment during the training, so they would love to see an international candidate.
• The firm has many unique points, for example its strategy, industry and practice area focuses. Make sure you are aware of these, as you may be asked about them directly, or it may benefit you to weave this information into other responses.
• If you mention a case or deal, make sure you know enough about it to sustain a conversation; the interviewer may well have worked on the matter and might want to test the boundaries of your research. Know about the parties involved, the jurisdictions, any challenges, and the outcome.
• At the end of the interview, you are asked if there is anything else you would like to mention, do not say no! You have to take this opportunity to mention anything you didn’t have a chance to, and to ultimately emphasise your strong points.
• Note that the Commercial Law Handbook is great for understanding business terms, which will add more credibility to your responses in the written exercise.