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White & Case LLP

1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Phone number: (212) 819-8200

Visit Website: www.whitecase.com

Summer Program: Learn More

Overview

Introduction

Look up “global law firm” in the thesaurus, and you’ll find White & Case. A leader in cross-border work, the firm works across two dozen practice areas. The firm is home to a truly diverse team of lawyers and boasts a top-down commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace. The firm works across two dozen practice areas, from antitrust/competition to white collar/investigations. Among the 17 industries it works in are consumer products, financial institutions, manufacturing and industrial, media, mining and metals, oil and...

Firm Stats

Total No. Attorneys (2021)

2K - 2.5K

No. of Partners Named (2021)

Featured Rankings

Vault Law 100...

No. of 1st Year Associates Hired (2020)

103

No. of Summer Associates (2021)

97 total (79 2Ls; 18 1Ls)

Base Salary

1st year: $205,000...

Vault Verdict

Experience is the name of the game when it comes to landing a spot at White & Case. International experience is a plus, as is work or life experience that demonstrates solid work ethic and problem-solving. There is a strong sense of respect between associates and partners, and partners don’t hesitate to give associates credit where it’s due. Associates are generally pleased with the transparency offered from the top, both in terms of firmwide decisions and personal performance; in fact, associates can request real-time feedback on an ongoing basis. But some wish there was more insight into the partnership path. Nevertheless, many feel making partner is possible, though difficult, and note the firm is not up or out and offers other senior attorney roles like counsel. Hours ...

About the Firm

Founded at the dawn of the 20th century, White & Case has grown from its New York beginnings to become a truly global law firm. The firm has 44 offices across 30 countries—including eight in the U.S.—and is well known for its experience handling cross-border and multi-jurisdictional cases and transactions.

Big Apple Roots

Using their own savings accounts, Justin DuPratt White and George B. Case opened their eponymous firm in downtown Manhattan in 1901, profiting quickly thanks to their relationship with Henry P. Davison, a prominent financier who became a senior partner at JP Morgan & Company. Thus, White & Case’s first clients were entities that had been formed or financed by JP Morgan. White & Case also advised White’s alma mat...

2022 Vault Rankings

#16

Vault Law 100

#1

Best Law Firms for International Practice

#3

Best Law Firms in Florida

Associate Reviews

“In short, very friendly and diverse. One of my favorite things about our firm culture is that there is not one ‘culture.’ You can find people and sub-groups of people with a wide variety of interests or personalities and all are welcoming and open to new people. The firm is social and has regular fun events (now virtual), but there is no pressure to participate for those with families or who prefer a quieter lifestyle. People have very collegial working relationships while also getting along great outside of work. I think we are all looking forward to being able to socialize as a firm in person once again.”
“Very friendly and down to earth in general. People are open to organizing social events.”
“Lawyers socialize at least once every couple of weeks; the different practice groups make efforts to plan virtual events so that everyone stays involved. The firm has planned virtual networking events for first-year associates so that they can meet partners and associates since we are not in the office. …”
“The firm culture seems relaxed and social. Work still comes first, and professionalism is clearly valued, but the firm culture feels very human. There are a lot of firm-sponsored social events organized by the practice groups, floors, affinity groups, and recruiting. After-hours social events have taken a hit as a result of the pandemic, but there are occasional virtual hang-outs. Culture-wise, I would never choose another firm over White & Case.”

“Partners are fair and kind and invest in associates. I feel valued and appreciated. The firm is very transparent, shares its financials with us, and holds small sessions with associates to hear and address any grievances and to brainstorm how to make the firm even better.”
“Partners really engage nicely with associates at all levels, and are very supportive. Each section has meetings to discuss the section’s performance and finances.”
“Partners are very respectful and generally very appreciative of associates and the work they do. Annual reviews are given at the beginning of each year, but there's also a formal system to request feedback at any time from a senior or partner”
“Partners treat associates with respect across the firm. I feel that partners value associates and recognize how they contribute to the teams. While this is, of course, reflected in special bonuses, I think this recognition extends beyond that. Partners often thank associates individually for their hard work and are quick to acknowledge how necessary associates are to the success of the team.”

“As [is] with BigLaw, the hours are very demanding, but the firm has an internal system in place where you log your active matters and indicate the level of work you have or expect to have over the next two weeks, which helps facilitate the work distribution to attorneys who have relatively more availability. Of course, when the entire group is busy, everyone is expect to pull their own weight.”
“It’s very nice that first years do not have a billable-hour requirement, which takes the pressure off to perform and allows us to spend more time trying to learn.”
“We all work a lot. It's part of the job and should be expected at any firm. Still, the firm is very flexible, and even before the current situation, many people worked at home. [The firm is] also generous for parental leave and vacation.”
“W&C's billable-hour requirement on its face is the standard 2,000 [hours], but the billing structure here is very generous. All sorts of non-client activities qualify as firm billable work, including attending diversity events and engaging in personal knowledge development. …”

“The compensation is market—including the special spring 2021 bonus. Billable hours are tied to our bonuses, though first-year associates are not held to the billable-hour requirement as the firm understands the importance of them taking their time to understand and learn about the projects to which they are assigned.”
“The firm remains at the top of the compensation scale always, and does it in every U.S. office.”
“The firm is very generous and fair with compensation.”
“The COVID bonuses are appreciated, and all in line with market standards. I would encourage the firm to consider bonuses based on factors other than billable hours.”

“I have consistently been given work that is appropriate for my level, or work that is typically given to more senior attorneys (with appropriate oversight and mentoring), which helps me build my career.”
“As a junior associate, I have done easy tasks like making signature pages or incorporating comments to SPAs but I've also been given free rein to draft entire due diligence reports on my own and markup stock purchase agreements. Depending on the deal size, partners are willing to give you a chance to work on substantive work early.”
“Exclusively substantive work. I work on discovery requests and responses, motions, memoranda, client emails and pitches, and major litigation preparation commensurate with mid-level work. I am thrilled with the work I am given and believe it is beyond the work and responsibility given to many of my peers at other firms.”
“Significantly more responsibility but great opportunity to ‘own’ your work assignments and develop as an attorney.”

“The firm was very well set to pivot to remote. By virtue of being a global firm which already had so much inter-office work, I think the transition to remote work was very smooth because the technology to do the remote work was already in widespread use before the pandemic.”
“Working remotely has been somewhat seamless. The firm invests in high-quality and efficient technology and staffs a large IT department to troubleshoot and resolve issues 24/7. The firm also provided a stipend so that we can purchase equipment to use at home in addition to providing equipment such as computer, docking station, headset, office supplies, etc. I purchased a new desk with my stipend.”
“The firm has embraced remote working and has made the transition to work from home as smooth of an experience as possible. Remote conferencing technology has been superb, and having to work from home has not slowed me down.”
“The firm offered up $250 reimbursement as a stipend for personal expenses incurred as a result of working from home. Technology seems pretty top notch.”

“Many efforts. The NYC office has a great gym facility with classes and personal training, and also physical therapy. During the pandemic there have been guided meditation offerings and other added resources relating to wellness, working from home, etc.”
“The firm offers weekly mindfulness sessions which focus on meditation and stress management skills. The sessions have been a really nice way to start my Wednesdays.”
“There are efforts, such as weekly meditation classes, courses on wellness, etc. It is difficult to practice these wellness efforts when we are busy.”
“Our health plan is awesome, and the firm has invested quite a bit in wellness as we have been working remotely.”

“The training opportunities available at the firm far surpassed my expectations. There are regular training sessions on everything from legal topics, the software the firm uses, to inter-personal skills to help us grow. We are also able to access trainings offered by other offices around the world. We are kept up to date on training through regular email blasts, and the internal website to sign up for trainings is very smooth. Especially during a pandemic, when we are all remote, it has been invaluable to start my career with a large database of formal training events.”
“The learning and development team runs a year-long set of trainings for first year associates, some of which are hosted internally, and some of which have outside consultants. We are also assigned mentorship groups with a couple of other new associates and a couple more senior associates. I think mentorship relationships between associates and partners grow organically.”
“The firm organizes a buddy system and matches each first-year associate with a mentor, who is typically a second year associate. My mentor has been absolutely fabulous and checks in periodically. Whenever I have a question or want to set up a call, my mentor is happy to help and speak with me.”
“If you want informal mentorship it’s very easy to get. You just have to ping someone and ask hey can I set up a meeting to talk and they will be happy to do so.”

“Partnership seems possible but there are also many counsel positions available (that can be an alternative to partner or a stepping stone). Many associates exit to a client or other large companies.”
“The partnership process could be more transparent but numerous opportunities for internal and external advancement are present.”
“The number of partners who started at the firm is astounding. I have also networked with some lawyers who have gone on to have great opportunities in-house with some clients. I have had some discussions with a mentor about the partnership process.”
“As with any large law firm, partnership is never a given. I understand in my practice area, there are a number of people who fully expect to make partner and, based on what I've seen, that is completely realistic.”

“We are provided with countless opportunities for engaging pro bono work, and up to 200 hours of our 2,000 hours required for bonus can be fulfilled through pro bono initiatives. The firm also gives awards to people who do pro bono work and engages in firmwide competitions to see which office can do the most pro bono work. …”
“Strong dedication toward pro bono work. I was involved in a civil rights trial that while very demanding, was also very rewarding and I was able to gain substantive experience and opportunity to speak before a federal judge as a junior associate.”
“… I am currently working on a class action case regarding an Eighth Amendment challenge and negotiating a distribution rights agreement for an independent film maker in the NYC documentary art scene.”
“I have been very pleased with the firm's commitment to pro bono. We work on a wide variety of pro bono projects, and the firm is receptive to associates bringing in new pro bono work. … White & Case has a standing externship [program] with HerJustice. Associates have the opportunity to go work at the nonprofit legal aid organization for months (how many varies depending on the associate's preference, their caseload, and the needs of the firm).”

“Diversity is so baked into the culture at W&C, I can't explain how different it is from other top law firms. The affinity groups are great, but the main thing that is exciting to me is how many other people in my minority group I work and interact with on a daily basis just doing my job. Deal teams are almost never homogenous, by gender, race, religion, sexuality, etc., and there is very rarely one token person. It just feels organically diverse and representative of the larger world.”
“Full gender-neutral parental leave that the men around here use, which is great! Diversity and Inclusion hours count towards bonus which is great!”
“The firm is truly committed to diversity. It expends significant resources to recruit and retain diverse talent. We also expend time and resources on our affinity networks, which have been very active despite the pandemic in bringing people together.”
“Diversity is one of the reasons I joined White & Case, as there international work and global presence all but requires the firm to have racial and ethnic diversity amongst their lawyers. Additionally, their diversity initiatives and affinity networks are all very active and extremely accessible. I have felt welcomed by each of the affinity networks I am a member of from day one of my time here. As a woman of color, I am pleased to say I not only frequently work with other women of color but also often see women of color in positions of leadership as well.”

Why Work Here

Diversity at White & Case LLP

"As a truly global law firm, with people of diverse backgrounds who speak 88 different languages and work in 44 offices located in 30 countries around the world, diversity and inclusion for White & Case is not a choice â€” it is a professional imperative. Over the years, we have been widely recognized as a top firm for diversity with innovative best practice approaches, but that recognition is not why we value our diversity. We value our diversity because it is essential to who we are and our ability to best serve our equally diverse..."

Read the Diversity Report

Getting Hired Here

“The firm hires from a wide variety of schools and tends to look more for people with meaningful life and work experience outside of school—particularly international experience and foreign languages.”
“The firm is looking for candidates who have some type of prior life experience that suggests a great deal of fortitude and ability to work hard and solve complex problems. It doesn't particularly matter what that life experience is; it can be anything from prior work as a consultant to prior work in the Peace Corps or extensive and thorough participation in law school or college clubs and associations. …”
“[The] firm gives interviewers guidelines—for example, specific [competencies] are assigned to different interviewers to cover.”

“To date, what is your biggest accomplishment? What are your goals for your legal career? Would you be willing to attempt new assignments/work in practices outside of your initial interest?”
“What type of law are you interested and why?”
“Tell me about a time when you had to overcome adversity. What are you looking for in a firm?”