Litigation and Dispute Resolution at White & Case | Career Guide

White & Case's disputes teams are widely regarded for handling complex international matters that often require co-ordinating lawyers across multiple jurisdictions. The group is known for strength in:

• Cross-Border litigation and asset recovery

• International arbitration (Commercial, investor-State)

• Commercial Litigation (banking, commodities, M&A disputes)

• Insolvency litigation and restructuring disputes

• Investigations and Enforcement (including regulatory and sanctions-related matters)

The international dimension is central: clients are frequently multinational corporates, financial institutions and sovereign entities. That means cases typically involve foreign law issues, jurisdictional fights, enforcement strategies across jurisdictions and coordination with local counsel.

Culture tends to reflect the global model: teams are collaborative but performance-driven, with an emphasis on international mobility and secondments. When assessing fit, firms like White & Case look for intellectual rigour, commercial awareness, the ability to work under pressure and the cultural flexibility to work with cross-border teams.

You are likely to encounter a mix of the following matter types as a trainee or junior solicitor:

• Drafting and strategy support on arbitration proceedings, including preparing witness statements and oppositions to jurisdictional challenges.

• Disclosure and document review projects in large-scale litigation and investigations, often using e-disclosure platforms and technology-assisted review.

• Research on foreign law questions, private international law issues and enforcement mechanisms across jurisdictions.

• Supporting insolvency litigation and restructuring disputes, including applications in insolvency courts and cross-border recognition issues.

• Assisting on urgent interim remedies - freezing injunctions, anti-suit injunctions and asset preservation measures - which require rapid, tactical drafting.

Practical skills you will build:

• Drafting court and arbitral submissions succinctly and persuasively.

• Managing large document sets and using litigation technology (e.g., Relativity, Everlaw, Ringtail).

• Running disclosure exercises and preparing privilege/redaction logs.

• Co-ordinating with local counsel and understanding how to brief specialists in multiple jurisdictions.

Example strategy to accelerate learning: Volunteer to own one discrete piece of work on a live matter (for example, drafting a skeleton argument on a particular point or leading the legal research on a foreign-law issue). Obtain structured feedback and maintain a 'before/after' file documenting the edits you received - this builds both competence and demonstrable outputs for future applications or appraisals.

White & Case offers structured training contracts and a range of development opportunities that reflect its global platform. Typical features you should expect and how to make the most of them:

• Seat Rotations

• Trainees rotate through several seats across disputes, transactional and possibly international offices. Use each seat to acquire one tangible skill (eg. oral advocacy, pleadings drafting, disclosure management) and log it in a training journal.

• International Secondments

• The firm regularly offers secondments to key financial centres. To maximise the value, prepare by learning the local procedural rules and building relationships with the host team before you arrive.

• Formal training and workshops

• White & Case runs seminars on arbitration procedure, disclosure workshops and negotiation training. Attend actively and follow up with participants to convert learning into practical changes in your drafting.

• Mentoring and Feedback

• Expect partner and supervisor feedback cycles. Request specific, actionable feedback (for example, "How could my witness statement drafting be more persuasive?") and record agreed development actions.

• Pro bono and business development

• Engage in pro bono disputes work or internal business development initiatives. This builds client-facing skills and boosts your CV for future promotion rounds.

Actionable tip: Create a 12-week development plan for each seat with two learning objectives, two deliverables and one networking goal (eg. schedule two one-to-ones with fee earners in adjacent practice areas). This demonstrates initiative and makes appraisal conversations concrete.

White & Case looks for evidence of commercial awareness, international outlook, teamwork and resilience. Here are focused strategies for each application stage:

• Application Form and CV

• Tailor examples to disputes work: include moots, negotiation competitions, pro bono litigation, coursework or internships involving adversarial practice.

• Quantify your contributions where possible (eg. "Led a four-person team to draft a 5,000-word skeleton argument for a moot competition").

• Online tests and situational judgement

• Practice with timed logical reasoning and situational judgement tests. Accuracy under time pressure is key.

• Assessment Centre/Exercises

• In group tasks, balance contribution and facilitation: summarise points concisely and move the group towards a decision.

• In role plays, display commercial thinking: ask questions that clarify client objectives and constraints.

• Interviews

• Use STAR to structure answers, with emphasis on outcome and your role. For technical or competency questions, briefly explain the legal principle then apply it to the firm's international client base.

• Prepare 4-6 commercial awareness points relevant to the firm's disputes practice (eg. trends in investor-state arbitration, sanctions enforcement, the impact of climate litigation on corporate risk). Use recent headlines and explain why they matter to clients.

Specific preparation resources:

• YourLegalLadder - for firm profiles, training contract trackers, and mentoring.

• Chambers Student and LawCareers.Net - for firm rankings and trainee insight pieces.

• Legal Cheek - for market commentary and interview reports.

• Commercial awareness briefings from news outlets and legal journals (Financial Times, The Lawyer).

Practical exercise: Draft a one-page briefing on a current disputes topic (eg. enforcement of arbitral awards post-Brexit) tailored for a partner. Present it in mock interview format to demonstrate concise thinking.

After qualification, typical responsibilities and career routes in disputes at White & Case include:

• Junior associate duties

• Handling discrete pieces of client work: drafting pleadings, preparing bundles, client calls, and researching complex jurisdictional issues.

• Fee-Earner Skills

• Developing commercial judgement to advise on risk and likely outcomes; managing junior staff; and gradually owning file budget and client relationships.

• International Mobility

• Many associates pursue secondments to overseas offices or client secondments; language skills and regional knowledge are valued.

• Specialisation

• Career tracks often split between arbitrators/advocacy specialists, enforcement/asset recovery experts and regulatory/investigations specialists. Specialism can accelerate partnership prospects but maintaining a broad commercial perspective remains important.

• Partnership Pathway

• Progression is performance-led: track record on high-value matters, client origination and relationship development are significant. Solicitors often combine technical excellence with business development activity.

Work-life balance varies by matter intensity; high-profile disputes can require extended hours, but the firm also provides formal policies on flexible working. Plan proactively: manage deadlines, set realistic expectations with supervisors and use internal support (project managers, knowledge lawyers) where available.

Final practical advice: Keep a wins file - save copies of strong drafting, client emails praising your work and successful outcomes. Use that file in appraisals and future applications to provide concrete evidence of impact.