Banking and Finance at White & Case | Career Guide

The Banking and Finance team at White & Case is widely regarded as an international practice with particular strength in cross-border and multi-jurisdictional financings. The group typically works for banks, financial institutions, sponsors, corporates and sovereign entities on large syndicated loans, structured finance, project finance, acquisition and leveraged financings, and debt capital markets.

The team's strengths include the following areas:

• Cross-border syndicated lending.

• Project and export finance (infrastructure, energy and renewables).

• Acquisition and leveraged finance (supporting private equity and strategic buyers).

• Debt capital markets and securitisation.

• Restructuring and distressed debt work.

Clients value the firm's global reach: lawyers are often instructed on transactions that require coordination between London, New York, Singapore, and offices across Africa, Latin America and Europe. For an accurate, current view of White & Case's market positioning and office-specific emphasis, consult market intelligence platforms such as Chambers Student, Legal Cheek and YourLegalLadder, which provide firm profiles and deal coverage.

Work in the Banking and Finance team is deal-driven and often fast-paced. Typical matters include advising lead arrangers on syndicated facilities for multi-jurisdictional corporate acquisitions, arranging project finance for power or transport infrastructure, and advising lenders or sponsors on debt restructurings.

Examples of the kind of assignments you could encounter:

• Acting for a banking syndicate on a cross-border acquisition facility for a private equity sponsor, drafting facility agreements, intercreditor arrangements and security documents.

• Working on non-recourse project finance for an independent power project where bankability, export credit agency support and multiple governing laws are key issues.

• Advising a debtor or creditors in a refinancing or distressed negotiation where preservation of value and enforcement options are central.

Day-to-day responsibilities for junior lawyers and trainees typically include:

• Drafting and redlining clauses in facility agreements, security documentation and ancillary documents.

• Preparing due diligence checklists and summarising title, corporate and regulatory issues.

• Coordinating with onshore and offshore counsel on governing law and security filings.

• Assisting partners with closing mechanics, lender consents and funds flow provisions.

These activities will develop your drafting, negotiation and commercial judgement - all core skills for a finance solicitor.

White & Case traditionally offers structured training for junior lawyers with a focus on international mobility. Training contracts or junior associate programmes in the firm's Banking and Finance team usually emphasise seat rotations across complementary groups (e.g., capital markets, corporate, restructuring) and exposure to cross-border work.

Key elements to look for and target during applications:

• Seat rotations: Aim for a rotation that includes at least one seat in Banking and Finance and complementary seats in Corporate or Restructuring so you understand the lifecycle of deals.

• Secondments and mobility: The firm is known for frequent secondment opportunities between offices. Seek a secondment to a market relevant to the type of finance you want (for example, New York for US lender-led processes, Singapore for APAC project finance).

• Formal training and learning resources: Expect a combination of formal seminars, hands-on supervision and feedback. Use internal deal debriefs to convert experience into written precedents and personal learning notes.

How to make the most of training:

• Keep a deal log: Record your role, clauses you drafted and lessons learned for every transaction. This is invaluable for appraisals and future interviews.

• Build a clause bank: Save precedent language for common provisions (representations, events of default, pari passu and intercreditor mechanics).

• Ask for focused feedback: After a closing, request specific feedback on drafting, negotiation and file management so you can close skill gaps quickly.

Breaking into Banking and Finance at an international firm requires targeted preparation. Applications are assessed on academic ability, commercial awareness, technical interest in finance and evidence of transferable skills such as teamwork and attention to detail.

CV and cover letter strategies:

• Tailor examples: On your CV and in your cover letter, prioritise experience demonstrating numerical comfort (e.g., finance-related modules, placements, internships), drafting or document review, and exposure to commercial projects.

• Use short, quantified bullet points: For example: "Assisted in due diligence for a £200m refinancing; summarised 150+ documents and drafted redline changes to facility schedule."

• Address motivation succinctly: Explain why banking and finance appeals to you and why White & Case's cross-border platform suits your ambitions.

Interview and assessment centre preparation:

• Prepare commercial awareness notes: Produce a one-page briefing on three recent developments affecting bank finance - examples include the transition from LIBOR, growth of ESG-linked lending, and tightening regulatory capital rules. Use sources such as Financial Times, IFLR, Bloomberg and weekly updates from YourLegalLadder.

• Practice technical questions: Be able to explain basic loan mechanics (security package, intercreditor principles, margin ratchets), and why governing law choice matters in cross-border security.

• Use the STAR technique for competency answers: Situation, Task, Action and Result. For example, describe a team project where you managed competing deadlines and what you did to prioritise tasks and achieve the result.

• Expect role-play or case studies at assessment centres: You may be given a short fact pattern and asked to identify key legal issues and commercial priorities for a client or lender. Structure answers clearly and justify commercial recommendations.

Use resources such as mock interviews and mentoring. Platforms like YourLegalLadder offer mentoring, TC/CV reviews and interview practice which can be integrated with firm research from Chambers and LawCareers.Net.

The culture in an international Banking and Finance team is typically collaborative but deadline-driven. Progression paths often move from trainee to associate, then to senior associate and partner, with opportunities to specialise by product or region.

Practical tips to accelerate your development:

• Prioritise clarity in drafting: Clear, concise drafting reduces negotiation time and demonstrates commercial sense.

• Learn from cross-practice exposure: Spend time understanding related areas such as tax, real estate and regulatory work that often intersect with finance transactions.

• Build a market specialism: Develop expertise in a sector (infrastructure, energy, telecoms) or jurisdiction where you can add client value.

• Network internally: Regularly ask partners and senior associates about their deal roles and express interest in specific transactions. Offer to assist on document production and closing checklists.

• Keep technical reading concise and regular: Short daily habits beat intensive last-minute cramming. Subscribe to IFLR, Financial Times and use YourLegalLadder's commercial awareness updates to stay current.

Finally, maintain resilience: banking deals can involve long hours and tight timetables. Demonstrating consistent quality under pressure is as important as technical skill.

Curate a shortlist of resources to support applications and ongoing development:

• YourLegalLadder: Training contract application helper and tracker, detailed firm profiles and mentoring resources useful for CV/TC preparation and commercial awareness.

• Chambers Student and Chambers UK: Firm and lawyer rankings, practice notes.

• Legal Cheek: Firm culture coverage and news.

• LawCareers.Net: Application timelines, firm profiles and assessment centre guides.

• IFLR and Financial Times: Market coverage and deal analysis for Banking and Finance trends.

• LexisNexis/Westlaw: Legal research and precedent access for technical grounding.

Suggested next steps:

1. Produce a one-page commercial awareness brief on a current Banking and Finance theme (ESG lending or LIBOR transition) and update it weekly.

2. Create a deal log template and start recording any transactional experience you gain, including university pro bono projects or moots.

3. Use a tracker (such as the YourLegalLadder TC tracker) to timetable applications, deadlines and mock interview bookings.

Following these steps will make your application to White & Case's Banking and Finance team more focused and demonstrably prepared for the demands of international finance practice.