FOCUS, ACTION AND OPPORTUNITIES TO SUCCEED How does the global law firm White & Case support BAME lawyers to achieve their potential? For Senior Environmental Counsel Tallat Hussein at White & Case, a global mind-set is one of the most important qualities for success at this City law firm. “White & Case has 44 offices in 30 countries across six continents,” she explains. The Firm’s Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Maja Hazell, says that,
“Diversity is at the heart of our identity and our international success. Our people speak 89 languages and represent 97 nationalities.” Maja explains how the Firm is tackling underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities through focussed sponsorships, collaborations and new programmes in London. “We’re a platinum sponsor of Women in the City Afro-Caribbean Network (WCAN) and the premier sponsor of the Black Men in Law (BML) network, and we have continued strong relationships for several years with Aspiring Solicitors and RARE Recruitment.” Today, 42 per cent of the Firm’s current trainee intake is from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. So how should a potential lawyer or future business services professional get to know White & Case? Demonstrating your interest in a law career: Virtual internships and more Yohanna Wilson, Graduate Resourcing and Development Specialist, confirms that recruiters want to see evidence that applicants have taken steps to explore what life as a lawyer is really
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like. “It is important that you demonstrate your interest and commitment to the legal profession; you can do this by attending open days, networking events and presentations on campus, or by undertaking legal or commercial work experience.” For the many students without the means to organise their own work experience or personal contacts, there’s an alternative, as Yohanna explains. “We understand gaining legal work experience is difficult, so we have recently launched our virtual work experience programme on Inside Sherpa, where you can gain exposure to the type of work our trainees are involved in. We will also accredit this as legal work experience on an application form, if you decide to apply for a vacation scheme.” Taking the next steps: Vacation schemes Trainee Aiden Ang explains how he decided on a career in law. “I started to gain an interest in commercial law in my first year of university after attending a few social and career events. Meeting highly intelligent and driven individuals who genuinely enjoy the work they do was a key factor in persuading me that a career in commercial law was what I wanted.” For Aiden, experiencing a range of different firms helped him decide on the right fit. “Doing a few different vacation schemes in my second and third years was also essential in helping me decide which law firm I could see myself spend the early years of my career in.” He says, “The White & Case vacation scheme was the one I enjoyed the most. I received high-quality work, the people I met were extremely approachable and friendly, and I could sense that the Firm took diversity and inclusion seriously. White & Case also stood out to me as being the largest US firm in
London with a well-established presence here.” What else made White & Case stand out for Aiden? “Unlike other US firms, White & Case has a good breadth of, and several top-ranking, practices in both transactional and contentious areas, which provides good opportunities for trainees to try out different seats and decide for themselves which area they would like to qualify in.” Making an impact with your application Yohanna’s top advice for students putting together their applications to White & Case is simple:
“Tell your story! Explain in your application form and in your interview how your heritage, background, cultural understanding or language skills can help you to become a successful trainee solicitor at our global law firm.” She adds that, “At White & Case, the majority of our deals are cross-border and international, which means our clients are diverse and based all over the world. So it is imperative for our business that we have a diverse workforce. We also appreciate that in order to provide our clients with the best advice, we require our lawyers to have different perspectives, and this only comes from hiring people from a multitude of backgrounds.” Yohanna has a few practical suggestions for making an application form stand out: “Do not