The Dirt on White & Case Forum

[Anonymous User]

Has the firm recovered, or is it still not on solid ground? Conventional wisdom here seems to be that it's a firm to avoid. Outside of the massive layoffs, is there any special reason for this (not that the layoffs are not sufficient)?

I'm trying to decide between White & Case and a more conservatively run, similarly ranked firm - but White & Case seems to do much more interesting work. Is it worth the risk, all else being equal?

[Julio_El_Chavo]

got a weird feeling when i interviewed there

[Anonymous User]

the thought of being latham-ed really turned me off. massive lay-offs.
i had CB. they ask were actually tough on the interview, and came across not too great. esp. one of the partners who kept trying to correct me and one guy who asked me an unconventional question. but the thought of massive layoffs always lingered with me throughout the process.

[Anonymous User]

Hm, for the most part I liked the people I met. Have heard the firm described as "toxic" in other posts - is there any reason why?

[Anonymous User]

I ended up going elsewhere, but I actually really liked the people I met during my callback, with the exception of one of the associates who took us out to lunch. It was very clear that he was still bitter about being deferred and just a weird guy in general. That being said, I think the firm is more stable now and you have the opportunity to do some really, really interesting work. I think the criticism of the firm on here is sometimes a little unfair.

[Anonymous User]

If you have other options, I wouldn't take the riskier one (even if it's probably not much of a risk) for the possibility of maybe getting to work on some more interesting matters, especially given the type of work that junior associates typically do at all firms.

[Anonymous User]

If you have other options, I wouldn't take the riskier one (even if it's probably not much of a risk) for the possibility of maybe getting to work on some more interesting matters, especially given the type of work that junior associates typically do at all firms.

I'm the anon poster from above who went somewhere else, but liked White & Case. The partner who did my screener and saw me through the process, from screener->callback->offer, really impressed me with the responsibility he gave to the junior associates working for him. He was taking a couple second- and third-years to London and then to Prague to help with the closing of a couple deals. Even the guy who was bitter about being deferred admitted that the type of work he can do tends to be a lot more interesting than what he sees some of his friends, junior associates at other similarly ranked firms, doing. W&C is, without a doubt, one of the leading international firms, and that focus really does influence the work junior associates get to do.

On the other hand, the stability of the firm did scare me, but maybe not to the point of me not choosing them if my only other options were other firms of the same caliber.

[Anonymous User]

on another note, anyone receive a ding recently? going on three weeks since my callback, total silence...

[Anonymous User]

As someone who summered at W&C this past summer, I can definitely vouch for the quality of work, and the amount of responsibility that the juniors get. I was on a corporate deal with a partner and a first year, and it was the first year doing the majority of the drafting.

Additionally, I don't think you should buy too much into W&C's reputation on this board. Everyone was really busy this summer, and if anything the firm has been hiring more partners/associates. That being said, go with your gut, and the firm that gives you the best vibe at the call back.

[Anonymous User]

I had a very odd callback there. Definitely the strangest questions/experience of my recruiting season.

[Anonymous User]

I had a very odd callback there. Definitely the strangest questions/experience of my recruiting season.

Can you elaborate? I found some of the other students I met at mine to be kind of strange, but the attorneys were universally pretty great.

[Anonymous User]

I had a very odd callback there. Definitely the strangest questions/experience of my recruiting season.

Can you elaborate? I found some of the other students I met at mine to be kind of strange, but the attorneys were universally pretty great.

I liked my callback, but holy god, the other people on callbacks that day were some of the strangest law students I've ever seen (and that's saying something). The difference between the group interviewing at W&C and the groups I saw at V5/10/15s in NYC I also had callbacks with was night and day.

[Anonymous User]

I had a very odd callback there. Definitely the strangest questions/experience of my recruiting season.

Can you elaborate? I found some of the other students I met at mine to be kind of strange, but the attorneys were universally pretty great.

not the poster above, but i got stressed interviewed (at least i think?) and asked some really aggressive/political questions. it was not pleasant.

[Anonymous User]

I had a very odd callback there. Definitely the strangest questions/experience of my recruiting season.

Can you elaborate? I found some of the other students I met at mine to be kind of strange, but the attorneys were universally pretty great.

I liked my callback, but holy god, the other people on callbacks that day were some of the strangest law students I've ever seen (and that's saying something). The difference between the group interviewing at W&C and the groups I saw at V5/10/15s in NYC I also had callbacks with was night and day.

Ha, I hope we weren't in the same group!

[Anonymous User]

I had a very odd callback there. Definitely the strangest questions/experience of my recruiting season.

Can you elaborate? I found some of the other students I met at mine to be kind of strange, but the attorneys were universally pretty great.

I liked my callback, but holy god, the other people on callbacks that day were some of the strangest law students I've ever seen (and that's saying something). The difference between the group interviewing at W&C and the groups I saw at V5/10/15s in NYC I also had callbacks with was night and day.

Ha, I hope we weren't in the same group!

What day/week was your CB?

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, I interviewed recently with a partner who left W&C for another firm. He was saying rather unkind things about the firm, saying it was a "life style" firm and so on. Not sure if that is a bad thing, but he certainly seemed to think the associates were lazy.

[Anonymous User]

Can you elaborate? I found some of the other students I met at mine to be kind of strange, but the attorneys were universally pretty great.

I liked my callback, but holy god, the other people on callbacks that day were some of the strangest law students I've ever seen (and that's saying something). The difference between the group interviewing at W&C and the groups I saw at V5/10/15s in NYC I also had callbacks with was night and day.

Ha, I hope we weren't in the same group!

What day/week was your CB?

A few weeks back on a Wednesday. Good to know at least that someone else got the same vibe.

[Anonymous User]

A few weeks back on a Wednesday. Good to know at least that someone else got the same vibe.

I was on a Monday, so not the same group. It's weird because I got along with all my interviewers, but at the same time, I couldn't help looking at my fellow interviewers and thinking "sweet baby jesus, that weird guy sitting next to me who apparently is out in public for the first time in his life could end up being my coworker."

[Anonymous User]

I had a very odd callback there. Definitely the strangest questions/experience of my recruiting season.

Can you elaborate? I found some of the other students I met at mine to be kind of strange, but the attorneys were universally pretty great.

Each interviewer was RADICALLY different. One would heap praises on me and my creds only to have my next one hit me with really hard hitting questions that you cant really prep for. I would say the majority of the questions they asked were kind of odd, not on the resume sort of stuff. I had to cite cases at one point. Maybe its a cool place to work but after the callback I definitely was turned off

[buckilaw]

The dirt is on the white shoes.