Professional Support Lawyer

White & Case LLP; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global law firm is seeking an experienced lawyer to support their International Trade practice. Responsibilities include providing legal expertise, developing training programs, and supporting business development. The ideal candidate should have a strong background in International Trade and Customs Law, alongside excellent drafting and communication skills. This position offers a comprehensive benefits package and a collaborative work environment.

Benefits

Private medical insurance

Pension plan with matched employer contribution

Yearly wellbeing fund

Income protection

Life insurance

Critical Illness insurance

Private GP services

Travel insurance

Dental coverage

Cycle to work

Holiday purchase

Qualifications

• Sound legal experience in International Trade and Customs Law.
• Ability to interact at all levels.
• Pragmatic and proactive approach.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal and practical expertise to support the Group.
• Monitor developments in the legal environment.
• Organise and deliver training programs.

Skills

Legal expertise in International Trade and Customs Law

Excellent drafting skills

Strong communication skills

Commercial awareness

Effective people skills

Education

Bar qualification in England & Wales or EU Member State

At least six years' post-qualification experience

Tools

IT skills

Job description

Lawyer Training and Technical Expertise

• Acting as a source of legal, market, and practical expertise for the Group and Firm, including providing direct support for client matters and mentoring trainees and associates.
• Identifying training needs and organising, designing, and delivering Group and Firmwide training, including seminars, workshops, off‑site sessions, induction, and global programmes.

Current Awareness and Thought Leadership

• Monitoring and communicating key legal and business developments, particularly in international trade and customs, and using insights to develop new legal products, services, and innovative delivery methods.
• Preparing current awareness newsletters, client alerts, and research publications; collaborating with Research & Market Intelligence to manage practice‑related alerts and processes.
• Participating in industry events to raise the Firm's profile, and supporting business development by writing articles, briefing notes, and delivering client training.

Standard Forms and Know‑How

• Drafting, updating, and managing standard forms and practice notes, ensuring they reflect changes in law, regulation, market standards, and best practice.
• Conducting matter debriefs for precedent collection and market analysis.
• Implementing procedures for capturing, storing, and disseminating know‑how within the Group, including publishing materials on intranet and KM systems, and encouraging their use.

Central Practice Solutions and Knowledge Projects

• Championing the rollout of new innovation and knowledge systems to the Group with other Professional Support Lawyers.
• Contributing to global innovation and knowledge programmes and projects to support Firm collaboration, efficiency, and enhancing international trade and customs expertise.

Miscellaneous

• Assisting lawyers with queries.
• Attending regular global, regional, and practice meetings of the Professional Support team.
• Attending external training and conferences to remain up to date with developments in law, business, and professional support. This role is based in London, and reports into the Practice Group Reference Partner and Chief Innovation Officer.

Our standard office hours are 09:30‑18:00, with a current requirement for three days in the office per week.

White & Case is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and is committed to creating a fair workplace. It is our Firm's policy to recruit, employ, train, compensate and promote without regard to race, colour, religion, creed, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law. If you require assistance and/or adjustment to participate in our application and/or interview process, please email us. We will be happy to work with you.

Note to recruitment agencies: Our internal Recruitment team is responsible for all end‑to‑end lateral recruitment processes. All agencies must sign White & Case terms of business, which are office specific. Candidates submitted by an agency without terms of business agreed with the appropriate office, and/or outside of our online application tracking system, will not be considered a formal introduction. Any applications and CVs sent directly to White & Case Partners and employees will not be accepted as formal introductions.

Key responsibilities include monitoring developments in the legal and business environment to keep the Group and its clients informed, identifying opportunities to enhance the Firm's reputation and practice, providing legal and practical expertise to support the Group (including responding to fee earner queries and mentoring junior lawyers), creating and managing forms, precedents and research materials, organising and delivering training, working with Group members and other Business Services teams to identify opportunities for business development, and providing additional support as required.

Qualifications

• Bar qualification in England & Wales or an EU Member State.
• At least six years' post‑qualification experience.
• Sound legal experience in International Trade and Customs Law within a large law firm, relevant government department, or as in‑house counsel in a company managing trade compliance, including experience and market knowledge of managing or advising on business transactions requiring international trade and customs law expertise.
• Commercial awareness and a client‑oriented approach.
• High professional standards and commitment to quality.
• Excellent drafting, research, organisational, and communication skills, including strong IT skills.
• Understanding of learning processes and different training methods.
• Ability to make an impact in the group and to shape or influence policy.
• Effective people skills and ability to interact at all levels, including with other support areas.
• Pragmatic, proactive, flexible, and a good team player.
• Lateral thinker with initiative to establish, implement, and complete projects.

Are you ready to make your mark as part of our International Trade practice? Then you've come to the right place. At White & Case, we'll support you, give you responsibility and welcome you as an integral member of our global team from day one.

Our global Practice Solutions teams keep White & Case at the forefront of the evolving legal landscape, helping lawyers work smarter and deliver outstanding client service. We support the Firm by leveraging the latest legal, client, and market knowledge, and provide direct assistance to legal teams. Under the leadership of the Chief Innovation Officer, Practice Solutions comprises five teams: Professional Support, Research & Market Intelligence, Practice Technology, Business Intelligence, and Innovation and AI. Our professionals use information management, research, data, technology, and training to enable lawyers to work efficiently and collaboratively for the benefit of our clients. The role is for an experienced lawyer who will help deliver the Group's knowledge and innovation strategy, influence policy, and implement projects to meet the Group's knowledge needs. The focus is on supporting constantly evolving policies and legislation in international trade and customs within the European Union and United Kingdom, and their interaction with related policies in third countries such as the United States. This includes areas such as tariffs, customs enforcement, free trade agreements, economic sanctions, export controls, and trade defence investigations.

We are a global law firm with longstanding offices in the markets that matter today. Our on‑the‑ground experience, our cross‑border integration, and our depth of local, US and English‑qualified lawyers help our clients work with confidence in any one market or across many.

When you join us, you'll be working directly with partners, business leaders and many other inspiring colleagues across our global network of offices. We live by our values—to be pioneering, united and human—and we believe that you'll experience them from your first day. We will give you the support and development opportunities that will help you achieve your potential. We believe that consistent high performance merits reward and support. Our compensation package reflects your calibre as a Professional Support Lawyer, and our benefits are designed to support your changing needs and priorities across different life stages.

Benefits

• Private medical insurance
• Pension plan with matched employer contribution up to 7.5%
• Yearly wellbeing fund
• Income protection
• Life insurance
• Critical Illness insurance
• Private GP services
• Travel insurance
• Dental coverage
• Cycle to work
• Holiday purchase (available during annual enrolment)