Anna Gould is an early careers legal recruitment advisor at White & Case LLP. She’s been at the firm for three years and is based in the London office.
Does your firm run a vacation scheme?
Yes, we run three in-person vacation schemes a year: one in winter, spring and summer. Our winter scheme is open to finalists and graduates, while our spring and summer schemes are open to penultimate-year and final-year students, as well as graduates.
Taking part in a vacation scheme is the best possible way to experience what our lawyers do. You’ll explore the variety of practice areas we offer as a full-service firm, whether through our ‘carousel’ sessions with associates or exposure to real client work. You’ll discover whether White & Case is the right fit for you and build a close-knit network with your fellow participants and colleagues from across the business.
How important is your vacation scheme as part of the recruitment process?
A vacation scheme gives both the candidate and White & Case a chance to see whether they’re the right fit for each other. For that reason, we recruit most of our London trainees (around 80%) from our vacation schemes, with 20 participants in each intake.
However, we understand that some candidates may be unable to complete a vacation scheme with us – for example, if they’re international students who don’t currently hold a visa, or are already in full-time employment. Our direct training contract process offers a useful alternative in these cases.
What kind of work do candidates experience during the vacation scheme?
Our vacation scheme participants get involved in a variety of exciting client work, attend meetings or court hearings, and complete day-to-day trainee tasks during their time with us. We’re looking for participants to step up to the challenge, whether that’s using their initiative and problem-solving skills to have a go at putting together a client memorandum, or being curious and asking tailored questions about why a specific contract is structured the way it is.
Participants also complete a range of assessed tasks across the two weeks, alongside a group exercise, timed written exercise and an interview with two partners, which includes a pre-prepared commercial presentation.
What’s the most common way that candidates let themselves down in their applications?
Attention to detail is so important and as an aspiring lawyer, you want to ensure that you demonstrate this skill from the outset. That’s why proofreading your application to ensure it’s free from spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes is particularly important! I’ve seen a fair few ‘White & Chases’ in my time!
Should candidates draw on their non-legal work experiences when applying to your firm?
Yes! What impresses us most isn’t necessarily a long list of legal or professional internships, but candidates who can explain how they’ve developed transferable skills through their part-time jobs, volunteering positions or extracurricular activities. You don’t need prior legal experience to make a strong application. What matters most is your ability to reflect on your experiences and show how they’ve prepared you to succeed as a trainee solicitor.
How important is commercial awareness and how can candidates show they have this skill in their applications?
Commercial awareness is assessed throughout all our recruitment stages. Our lawyers don’t just provide legal advice to clients; they also act as business advisers, so understanding how global news might affect our clients’ businesses is essential.
Candidates can demonstrate commercial awareness by keeping up to date with business news and identifying developments that are relevant to our clients and practice areas. We don’t expect candidates to have all the correct answers. Instead, we’re looking for those who can explain why they think a current development matters to our clients based on their research and discuss how a lawyer could help a client respond.
How does the graduate recruitment process work at your firm?
The assessment process for the vacation scheme begins with an online application form, followed by a skills-based online assessment known as ’Capptivate’.
Candidates are sometimes apprehensive about completing online assessments for the first time, so my best tip would be to utilise the practice questions that are available. Just like how you likely wouldn’t take an A-Level exam without completing a past paper first, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the types of questions you might be asked, before completing the assessment itself.
The early careers team will review your online application and assessment results. Successful candidates are then invited to complete a pre-recorded video interview. You’ll be asked three questions and have two minutes to prepare and record your answers. We aren’t expecting candidates to answer straightaway, so please feel free to spend some time thinking before you answer.
The final stages are a written exercise and a virtual interview with an associate and a member of the early careers team. You’re not expected to have any specific legal knowledge to complete the written exercise; we’re assessing your analytical and written capabilities, as well as your wider commercial awareness. For the final interview, we want to hear about your experiences and why you’re interested in joining White & Case. Our candidates often find that the interview is very conversational so make sure you have some questions prepared to ask!
Do you attend law fairs? Why is it important for students to attend?
We attend a variety of law fairs in the autumn term and enjoy meeting candidates across degree disciplines and year groups!
We encourage candidates to do their research on the Firm and our assessment processes before meeting us at a law fair. University is a busy time and if you are taking the time out of your schedule to meet different Firms at a law fair, it is much more beneficial for you to ask tailored questions that you cannot find out on our website! For example, you might want to ask our trainees about their experiences working on specific transactions or ask Early Careers about the skills that are needed to succeed as a trainee solicitor. An easy way to learn more about the Firm’s work, culture and past participant experiences is through White & Case’s social channels, like Instagram and LinkedIn.
Are there alternative ways to qualify as a solicitor at your firm that don’t involve the training contract route (eg, solicitor apprenticeship)?
Yes! We’ve recently launched our Launch into Law Solicitor Apprenticeship programme, which combines on-the-job learning at the firm with formal study at The University of Law.
A key feature of the programme is the business services seat. Our apprentices may initially sit in a wide variety of teams, including legal project management, general counsel, AI and innovation, and business development, among others. This eases the transition into working at a City firm and helps apprentices develop a broader understanding of the firm’s business model, building key skills for success before rotating into legal seats alongside our trainee cohorts.
Support for our solicitor apprentices is important to us which is why all our apprentices have a supervisor, partner mentor, trainee buddy and apprentice buddy throughout the six-year programme.
What's your desert island disc?
I’m a huge Bruno Mars fan and ‘The Romantic’ is a current favourite. I was lucky enough to see him live recently!
