September 2025: We asked HR Manager Mackenzie Hope and HR Advisor Freya Dunnell to share what it's really like to do their jobs. Read on to find out about why they chose White & Case, their day-to-day roles and more.
Every law firm has a HR function—so why did you apply to White & Case?
MH: Something that attracted me was the regional, cross-office aspect of the job—you don't get that in every firm. I don't just support those in our London office, I work with our Regional Section Heads and get a lot of exposure to other offices in EMEA.
FD: I worked in HR in hospitality before moving to a boutique law firm, where I was a HR generalist. I learned a lot—but something that attracted me to White & Case was the career path that I could see for myself—somewhere that I could really build my skills and grow in my career. I saw it as a really exciting opportunity in a global law firm.
Apart from the lawyers that you support, what other teams do you work with?
MH: We have a lot of cross-over with our specialist teams. This includes our Learning and Development team, our Compensation and Performance Management teams and our Operations and Systems teams too. I'm interested in the data and reporting side of things, so I really enjoy working with the operations team to look at utilization data from a regional or global perspective. Every team is incredibly helpful and supportive—we all appreciate what each other do.
FD: I like the fact that there are so many expert teams to work with and learn from. We have a dedicated Recruitment team, a Global Mobility team and a separate Onboarding team, just to name a few.
How do you feel your work makes an impact?
FD: What you'll find here is that you're trusted and given responsibility quickly—so I immediately started working with partners and leading the processes around associate performance, evaluations, compensation and bonuses, etc. The partners look to you for guidance and value your advice.
MH: White & Case has a high-performing culture, but there's a real appreciation of the work that we do. As an HR professional, my contribution is valued—partners will call me for advice or invite me to join critical meetings alongside them. It's a front-facing role with a lot of stakeholders, not just a back-office role.
What's been surprising about your experience so far?
FD: This is a firm where you're really trusted to do your job, and you get credit for the work that you do. I really appreciate that. There's no micromanaging. You're expected to deliver great work, but you also know that there are many people ready to help and support you to do that. If I have a question or want some advice, I know I can ask anyone in the team—there's definitely an open-door policy.
Tell us something about your day-to-day job.
MH: I like the mix of both 'business as usual' projects—like annual performance or salary reviews—and the fact that there's always a new challenge too. In a full-service firm, different teams have different needs, so there's constant new projects or requests. There are also extra projects that you can put your hand up for too—for example, I'm the London lead for People Advisory on the rollout of the Workday HR system, so I have opportunities to work with different people across the Firm on this project.
What about learning and development for business professionals at White & Case?
FD: There are a lot of resources available through our L&D portal to anyone who's interested, so you can do self-directed work. I've also been encouraged and nominated to build my skills through our Milestone Programme. This includes three half-days of training—that's six modules—in the coming months. That includes practical topics like time management to advanced modules like identifying and building your own strengths. I'm really looking forward to it.
MH: There's a real emphasis on learning and development for everyone who works here. We have the People Academy, an online portal of on-demand courses and live sessions. I recently did a session on 'Resilience Strategies for Great Service' with an external provider, which was excellent. Our Milestone Programme is the formal career progression framework, and that offers a really structured development path.
What about the office and workplace culture?
MH: We're currently in the office three days a week, and I do look forward to seeing my team and being together. We definitely all get a lot from being together and learning from each other. I also spend time sitting with the legal teams I'm supporting—again, it's useful to be present on the floor with stakeholders. There's amazing food (three free meals a day!) in our Broad Street Kitchen, regular team socials or office-wide events and lots of clubs to get involved in, from free yoga sessions to padel tournaments.
