Pursuing racial justice and equality
Taking action and welcoming everyone
Our commitment to racial justice and equality includes taking action to fight injustice, engaging in candid conversations and welcoming people from all cultures and backgrounds. We want to ensure that everyone who works at White & Case is encouraged, supported and inspired to do their best, while feeling like they belong here.
Recruiting top talent
We strive to attract and recruit talented individuals from all backgrounds and continually look for new ways to search for talent. In the UK, this includes partnering with external organizations such as Rare Recruitment, Black Men in Law and WCAN to help us improve our diversity efforts and broaden our representation of different ethnicities and races. We also look at new technologies such as virtual interviewing platforms and online learning programs to attract and engage with broader talent pools.
Programs to support development, advancement and retention
We are passionate about cultivating the best talent into future leaders. Our programs include mentoring and sponsorship to provide talented individuals with support and learning opportunities to advance and develop lawyers and business services colleagues with a broad variety of backgrounds and abilities.
A culture that welcomes and celebrates individuality
We focus on learning opportunities and programs to ensure our work environment has a place for everyone. This includes our series of candid conversations, unconscious bias and antiracism training, and workshops for inclusive leadership and allyship. We also mark a range of cultural and historic dates through our educational programming, including Black History Months, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Hispanic History Month, Ramadan, Diwali and Passover.
We can start by acknowledging the pain our Black colleagues are feeling right now.
Following the killing of George Floyd, our past Chair, Hugh Verrier, sent a Firmwide message urging everyone at White & Case to support each other while taking “action in the fight against racial injustice.”
Supporting colleagues
Resources and opportunities to provide development, training and support for Black lawyers and other professionals
Our Black Affinity Network’s mentoring program pairs mid-level and senior associates with partner mentors. An internal Black Lives Matter site for all colleagues includes a toolkit, information about pro bono and community service opportunities, racial justice, civil rights and mental health support, and other resources.
Public commitments to antiracism and race fairness
Members of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance and Rare Recruitment’s Race Fairness Commitment
White & Case is a signatory to Rare Recruitment’s Race Fairness Commitment, which mandates data-driven techniques and concrete action to help recruit, retain and develop Black and minority ethnic talent in the UK. As a member of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, a global coalition of law firms, we are committed to “leverage the resources of the private bar to amplify the voices of communities and individuals oppressed by racism, to better use the law as a vehicle for change that benefits communities of color, and to promote racial equity in the law and in government institutions.”
