Research; start from the ground and work up. Before writing anything, consider what information is relevant to your application. Utilise your application to highlight what you know about White & Case, what interests you about the Firm, and what about your experiences make you the most suitable candidate for our clerkship program.
Always customise your cover letter. This means more than just *insert firm name here*. Thoughtfully crafted and articulate cover letters separate the great candidates from the good, it displays a genuine interest in the Firm, shows your personality, and ultimately is your strongest card to stand out.
Highlight your transferable skills. Successful lawyers are successful because of a multifaceted skillset, a skill set that could have grown through previous roles in hospitality, retail, analytics, and marketing. Teamwork, customer service skills, problem-solving and commercial awareness are all components of a brilliant lawyer. Both legal and non-legal experiences are relevant in highlighting your transferable skills.
Don't make grammatical or spelling mistakes. The process is highly competitive and one typo could be the deciding factor to screen out your application. Check your grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation, and always ask someone to proofread your cover letter and CV.
Don't make it too long. A well-structured cover letter and CV will do wonders for your application, and create a good first impression. For your cover letter, try and keep it to one page; for your CV, focus and highlight your most relevant attributes - not them all, that’s what the interview process is for.
Don't overcomplicate it. You are applying to a professional firm, you should reflect this with a professional CV. Do not include a rainbow of colours, or variety of fonts and other distractions (such photographs); impress us with the content for maximum impact.
Never copy-and-paste. We know what’s on our website, and it’s great that you’ve started your research there but we want to see why the work we do has made YOU want to apply. To stand out, consider reviewing articles, speaking to people at the Firm and those who have been through similar recruitment processes. A great resource to consider are the articles on Inside White & Case or try out some modules on our open virtual learning programs to get further insights into our Firm, our work, and our people.