Our alumni program took a big step forward in February with the launch of a dedicated website. We spoke to the Chair of our Global Alumni Committee Carina Radford to find out more about the website and where it fits with our wider alumni strategy.

If you thought an alumni program was something people only think about when they leave a company, think again. Job hunters are increasingly taking a long-term perspective when they choose their next career move.

Just as our clients are expecting more than just the traditional supplier/client relationship, so our current and future employees are demanding far more than just a job.

London partner Carina Radford, who is also Chair of our Global Alumni Committee, explains: “Our Employee Value Proposition (EVP) promises our people an experience that will benefit them for their whole career, whether they choose to stay with us or not, and that includes offering an effective alumni program.”

As part of this, we launched our first alumni website in February, giving former lawyers the opportunity to keep up to date with news from the Firm, previous colleagues and fellow alumni.

The site, which is also open to current lawyers, also includes an alumni directory, events diary and a board of selected job opportunities for alumni visitors.

Carina says: “This launch is really exciting for us, because it takes our ability to communicate with alumni to a whole new level and gives us a platform for launching a lot of other initiatives.

“We’ve been working on the site for the past two years following a survey of alumni we ran in 2016.

“The survey told us that alumni would value the ability to communicate more easily and regularly with the Firm.

“We also did a benchmarking study in 2017 of how our alumni offering stacked up compared to our rivals and it was clear that a website was something we needed to add.”

The Firm established its alumni program in 2009. It currently has around 9,000 members.

Carina says: “We held 21 events around the world last year, from Buenos Aires to Hong Kong, Stockholm to Sao Paulo. We actively encourage a broad geographical spread of events given the global basis of the Firm and our alumni.

Carina also explains that, while some firms might view an alumni program as something of a box-ticking exercise, the Firm takes it very seriously.

She says: “Our alumni program is not only an essential part of our EVP, it also has major benefits for the business, alumni and current employees who want to stay in touch with their colleagues.

“From a business point of view, it gives us access to a community of people who know us and are potential advocates and ambassadors of our brand in the market.

“Many people have amazing careers within the Firm, but we realize that some also go on to amazing careers elsewhere, often at organizations we’re well placed to help.

“That’s one reason why continuing our relationship benefits everyone and there is plenty of evidence of major projects being won through the strength of relationships we have with former White & Case lawyers.”

The website and alumni program will be developed over time to continue to add value and to ensure close alignment with the Firm’s strategic goals. While neither is yet available to our Business Services community, one of the main priorities of the Global Alumni Committee is to explore ways of extending it to all in due course.

The site launched in February and is already attracting a lot of interest, but Carina is clear that the secret of its success is largely dependent on being able to harness the power of the alumni community itself.

She says: “This site is all about giving our alumni and current lawyers a place to build an active community.

“While we will post content ourselves, the real secret of its success will be the social aspect and how we can get people to use it and interact, so I’d encourage people to sign up and be part of the conversation.”