At White & Case we are committed to the training and professional development of our lawyers. Our goal is to ensure that our Professional Development efforts are aligned with the Firm's objectives and the work demands and expectations of our lawyers to ensure that our career development and training programs meet the needs of the individual, the firm and our clients.

With these points in mind, we have developed the White & Case Professional Skills Institute – a training program designed to give associates the business and legal skills necessary for them to succeed as effective practitioners at a global law firm.

The Professional Skills Institute serves as an umbrella for all of White & Case's training courses where the participants are drawn from more than one office, ensuring an organized approach to our professional development activities and providing opportunities for associates from different offices and practice areas to meet each other and train together early in their careers.

The Professional Skills Institute's initiatives follow three distinct but interrelated tracks:

Orientation Programs are held annually in New York and Bruges for junior associates from the Americas and the EMEA/Asia Pacific regions respectively. We also run regular induction programs for laterally hired associates within these regions. Running separate events for the Americas and EMEA/Asia Pacific allows us the opportunity to tailor the programs to reflect the training needs of associates from different legal traditions.  These programs provide a comprehensive introduction to the firm and its history, culture and ethics, as well as an appreciation of what it takes to succeed in a global law firm, particularly the ability to work successfully with clients and lawyers from different cultural backgrounds.

Business Skills Programs help associates to develop key skills that are essential for the successful lawyer in today's competitive environment, such as showing commercial awareness, making effective presentations, and winning and retaining clients.  We work hard to harness internal best practice with the expertise of selected external consultants to provide tailored, hands-on training programs in the following key areas:

• The Commercial Understanding Program offers associates a thorough understanding of the commercial considerations that underlie the typical transactions encountered in our practice.
• The Communication Skills Program helps associates develop the interpersonal skills that are so crucial for success, such as influencing, presentation and communication.
• The Negotiation Skills Program allows associates to develop their expertise in a series of highly practical case studies.
• The Business Development Program looks at developing the skills required to market effectively to both existing and potential clients.

Legal Skills Programs  The Institute works with the Firm's practice groups to create courses that are tailored to the associates' level of experience in their practice area.