White & Case DC - Callback tips? Forum

[kuku3334]

My dream firm. Anyone who’s been through the process have any experience, feedback, or tips to share?

[Anonymous User]

Did it last year and didn't get an offer. Overall it was pretty standard, but also be prepared for some oddball questions--one attorney in particular asked only the sort of strange, "behavioral" questions that just piss people off, so look into those.

[Anonymous User]

I also did one and didn’t get an offer. Like the other poster, I had one interviewer who asked nothing but corporatese BS—really obnoxious. Stuff about how I generated synergies across stakeholders in previous roles (made up, but the feel is right). They’re big on behaviorals in general, as you probably saw from your screener. I asked about how they handle ethical conflicts while working abroad—they work for some really sketchy people—and they pretended that I asked about the rules of evidence abroad.

Also, unlike most firms, they put you in a room and have interviewers come to you. You have an awkward conversation with a junior associate who gives you a quick tour rather than going to lunch with a couple. Obviously that won’t happen with the pandemic but for others in the future.

Overall, by far my strangest callback, would not recommend. If White & Case is your dream firm, though, you might be interested in one of the niche practices it’s big on, like international arbitration. Play that up. My feel is that they’re less selective on grades, etc. than other DC firms, as it’s a weak office/firm at the big DC practices like lit, appellate, etc., but they care more about their strange interviews than most firms, so definitely prep a lot.

[Anonymous User]

Last year I think I did the cb on a Friday afternoon and got the official offer email the following Monday (there might also be a call from the hiring partner Friday evening, but couldn't really remember for sure). Overall I really enjoyed their hiring process and the recruiting HR team is one of the nicest out there for sure.

As others said, it was much heavier on behavioral situational questions than other conversational callbacks, but nothing too out of the ordinary (teamwork, stakeholder management, communications etc.) My sense from the questions was they were looking for mature candidates who can handle assignments independently, know when to seek help, and present well in front of clients. But yea that's basically what all firms want.

[kuku3334]

Wanted to update for future readers. Partners during my CB spent most or all of the allotted time answering my questions, while the associates did more of the actual grilling of my experience and interest in the firm. One of my associate interviews was 20 minutes of just behavioral questions of the sort described above--stakeholder management, professional presence, communication, etc. I had a really good experience with the recruiting process, and their HR team is fantastic. I got an offer within a couple of business days and accepted.