July 2023: Thinking about a career in law? Our London First-Year Insight Schemes are open to law and non-law students in their first-year of an undergraduate degree interested in finding out about working as a commercial lawyer. It's a great chance to meet our people, understand more about the day-to-day work of a White & Case lawyer and get to know our Firm. We asked students Tom Cox, Miray Kose, Jude Todd-Warmouth, Tilly Weston and Henry Yuen for their feedback on the two-day scheme.

It's really helpful for future vacation scheme applications
"The commercial awareness workshop and the application skills session were particularly relevant, in advance of the upcoming vacation scheme application season. Throughout the two-day scheme, I shadowed trainees in the Project Finance and Litigation departments. I enjoyed the insight into the day-to-day practice of commercial law and the chance to understand what typical trainee tasks in these seats are." Tilly Weston

"In many first-year schemes, you are often talked at but rarely talked to. This was a perfect balance between educational classroom-style talks, where we learned about what differentiates White & Case from other law firms, and opportunities to shadow lawyers and gain first-hand insight into the legal profession." Jude Todd-Warmouth

Experience what truly international work really means
"I loved the international atmosphere at White & Case and how trainees and associates casually mentioned their interactions with other lawyers across the globe. During the scheme, I met lawyers and other students with international backgrounds and unique pathways into law." Henry Yuen

"It didn't take very long to realise that everything White & Case does is on a global scale, and it is a Firm that prides itself on its internationalism. When I was shadowing trainees, there was not a single project that they were working on which was limited to the national borders of a single country. In fact, one of my trainee's supervisors was actually living and working in Dubai." Jude Todd-Warmouth

You get to try out life in a big-city law firm
"The two days that I spent at the Firm allowed me to grasp what a career in commercial and corporate law actually meant in a practical sense, through spending two afternoons shadowing trainees in the sectors of Private Equity and Competition. I had attended many career events at university, but none of them came close to what I experienced in the Insight Scheme. I was able to see how all the legal topics I had been reading about actually worked in practice, as well as experiencing the unique White & Case culture firsthand." Miray Kose

"The experience and whole environment was so positive and friendly, yet also focused and inspiring to be within. White & Case's open-door policy was extremely evident and a reality. As a first-year student, I thought the experience might be intimidating, but it was quite the opposite, and frankly completely inspiring." Tom Cox

This is a Firm where people want you to succeed
"I really sensed that everyone was part of a cohesive team. This was evident in trainees being able to pop into the office of partners and ask them questions about the deals they were working on, as well as some trainees even sharing an office with a partner. There was no hierarchical divide, and I could see that everyone genuinely wanted their team members to succeed and thrive." Miray Kose

"The relationship between the trainees was fun to watch. They bounced ideas off one another, providing laughter and enthusiasm throughout, and they worked well as a team, sharing questions, bringing each other into the conversation, asking for diversity of opinion when answering questions, and really demonstrating a cohesive team culture." Tom Cox

It's a great way to help you decide if a career in law is for you
"The highlight of the scheme was the work shadowing—it gave me a great first insight into the real work of a commercial lawyer. I especially enjoyed how the scheme was relaxed and friendly throughout. Finally, it showed me that big law firms expose their trainees to interesting global cases with headline clients that isn't accessible to trainees at smaller firms." Henry Yuen

"My most valuable insights came from speaking to lawyers at all different stages of their careers to understand the unquantifiable metrics that make a law firm a perfect fit for an individual. Getting hands-on experience of the culture and kindness of the people of White & Case is not something I could have learned in any other way, and was an unexpected benefit of participating in the scheme." Tilly Weston