White & Case · Psychometric Tests
White & Case sifts candidates through Cappfinity (Capptivate) before any interview. Below: the exact format, what each section tests, and how to practise it in identical conditions until you walk in confident.
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The format
An early-stage sift sitting between the written application and the video interview. White & Case uses an automatic invitation model: submitting the application form triggers the assessment link. A poor or misaligned performance can trigger a semi-automated rejection before a recruiter deeply reads your experience.
Most psychometric tests split into 3-5 sections, each with its own clock. Speed and accuracy both count.
Modern formats get harder if you answer correctly, easier if you struggle. Your final score reflects what you can actually do under time pressure.
White & Case sets a pass mark per test type. Below it, you don't progress regardless of how strong the rest of your application is.
Completion window. The link typically arrives within 15 to 30 minutes of submitting the form, with a strict 7-day completion deadline. Missing it results in an automatic withdrawal. The test is globally untimed, but individual section speed and total completion time feed a hidden efficiency metric.
By division. A standardised, uniform format across all UK entry-level legal roles: Spring or Summer vacation schemes, direct training contract, First-Year scheme and the solicitor apprenticeship all face the same architecture. The firm does not vary the provider or modules by practice group; only the internal weighting and later stages differ.
Recent changes. White & Case has used Cappfinity for three consecutive cycles, part of a wider London legal-market shift away from legacy providers such as the Watson Glaser toward immersive, strengths-based assessment.
The provider
White & Case configures its own selection of Cappfinity (Capptivate) modules. Below: the exact products in the suite, why they were chosen, and what the provider's reputation is across the candidate pool.
History at White & Case. In place for the past three consecutive recruitment cycles. It does not use the Watson Glaser, standard SHL matrices, Suited or Pymetrics.
Candidate reputation. Highly engaging but deceptively difficult. Because most questions lack a countdown timer, it creates a false sense of security, and candidates often feel it went well before a rejection. Scoring is a proprietary percentile against a high-performing norm group of successful City trainees, so the margin for error is thin.
Section breakdown
Each section has its own format, timer and trap pattern. Worked examples below show exactly what you will see and where candidates drop points.
12 to 15 scenarios · Untimed, but pace is tracked
What it tests. Practical intelligence and professional judgement, and alignment with the core values (Pioneering, United, Human), balancing commercial urgency, risk mitigation and team dynamics.
Worked example. Working late on a cross-border acquisition, you find two schedules on environmental liability missing data and local counsel has logged off. The optimal choice is to email the supervising associate explaining the gap, outline the steps you have taken, leave the fields highlighted and schedule an early follow-up call, rather than inventing data or emailing counsel to demand it and staying up all night.
Common traps. Choosing the 'hero option': inventing data or making autonomous calls on material liabilities. This breaches the United and Human principles and misreads a trainee's authority.
How to handle it. Prioritise escalation and transparency; adopt a risk-averse trainee mindset that communicates clearly without overstepping.
8 to 10 extracts · Untimed, but pace is tracked
What it tests. Analytical clarity and objective text processing: stripping rhetorical noise, spotting structural flaws and judging whether a conclusion is definitively proven by the text or merely plausible.
Worked example. A passage says critics argue compliance costs 'potentially' force mid-market consolidation, while early-adopter data shows a 4.2% reduction in capital costs. The statement 'rigorous ESG compliance directly causes mid-market consolidation' does not follow, because the text only reports a critic's claim, not a causal fact.
Common traps. Importing outside legal knowledge (what is true in the real world) instead of the text, and confusing a plausible outcome mentioned by critics with a proven fact.
How to handle it. Treat the passage as the entire universe, and watch modifiers: a shift from 'potentially forcing' to 'directly causing' is a logical mismatch.
5 to 6 displays · Untimed, but pace is tracked
What it tests. Quantitative literacy and commercial data manipulation: capitalisation tables, debt-to-equity ratios and cross-border currency conversions without cognitive overload. No advanced maths.
Worked example. Given office revenue and headcount, revenue per lawyer (partners plus associates) for London is 450m divided by 300 lawyers, or 1.50m, and for Paris is 180m divided by 120 lawyers, also 1.50m, so the percentage difference is 0.0%. The trap is calculating revenue per associate instead of per lawyer.
Common traps. Misidentifying the denominator (per associate versus per lawyer), and either rushing into basic errors or over-polishing a rough estimate and damaging the efficiency score.
How to handle it. Keep a systematic scratchpad, write intermediate steps, and verify whether the question asks for a percentage increase, decrease, absolute difference or ratio before the final step.
20 to 30 items · Untimed
What it tests. Self-reported behavioural attributes profiled against the blueprint of a successful White & Case professional: resilience, attention to detail, learning agility, curiosity and collaborative style.
Worked example. Rating statements such as 'I find it satisfying to cross-reference complex clauses to ensure consistency across a 200-page document' against 'I prefer a high-level overview before starting rather than getting bogged down in detail'.
Common traps. Gaming the test with extreme maximum scores on every positive trait. Consistency and social-desirability metrics flag contradictory or low-integrity profiles.
How to handle it. Answer honestly with a steady baseline, keeping the core competencies of a trainee solicitor (meticulous execution, accurate drafting, collaboration) in mind. You cannot be a maximum-tier expert at every competing trait.
Pass mark
There is no absolute pass mark. Raw metrics (decision choices, logic accuracy, mathematical precision and processing speed) are compiled into a multi-dimensional array and charted against a rolling norm group of high-achieving applicants, trainees and junior associates at elite City firms.
Methodology. Scores aggregate across pillars, so a strong critical-logic score can partly offset slightly slower numerical speed. But a 'Fatal Flaw' drop threshold applies: a profile below roughly the 30th percentile in Attention to Detail, Integrity or Collaboration is flagged as high-risk and rejected regardless of a high numerical score.
Response time. A tailored feedback report is generated within 24 to 48 hours, but the progression decision is delivered separately, usually weeks later once the window closes or a cohort review completes.
Score visibility. The report gives a qualitative breakdown of top strengths and development areas, not raw scores or an exact percentile, so receiving it does not itself mean you passed.
How to practise
Same provider, same section structure, same time pressure. With a scored report after every test so you can fix the weakest section before the real one.
Free practice section, scored. Keep practising free on Intervyo.
Why candidates fail
Specific failure patterns documented across past applicants. Most are avoidable with structured preparation.
Speed over accuracy
Rushing the data charts into basic maths errors because the test tracks efficiency. Cappfinity heavily penalises reckless inaccuracy over methodical pacing.
Importing external legal knowledge
Evaluating the verbal logic on real-world statutes or cases rather than the logical parameters of the provided text.
The 'lone wolf' persona
Ranking options that solve client issues independently without consulting senior associates or firm resources, against the unified global model.
Inconsistent personality profiling
Selecting extreme answers on opposite ends across similar questions, triggering a low-consistency flag.
Role confusion
Advising an institutional client on a strategy shift without first clearing it with a supervising partner.
Poor pacing on untimed modules
Leaving the browser open for hours or excessive idle time on a question, hurting the hidden processing-speed metric.
Neglecting the Human value
Choosing rigid, aggressive responses that ignore team morale or interpersonal sensitivity under stress.
Misreading financial units
Failing to check whether headers are in thousands, millions or billions, or missing a necessary currency conversion.
What works
Concrete habits drilled by candidates who clear the cut-off, drawn from applicant accounts and practice patterns.
Impeccable contextual awareness
Framing answers around the reality of a first-year trainee: organisation, precise indexing and structural support.
Rigorous syllogistic logic
Treating critical thinking like formal logic and refusing to validate a conclusion unless the text explicitly proves it.
Active risk escalation
When a prompt highlights an ethical or structural error, flagging it to the associate immediately alongside a practical solution.
Structured numerical scraping
Extracting raw numbers to a scratchpad and applying formulas systematically rather than doing mental maths.
Balanced authenticity
A steady, consistent baseline on the personality items that yields a clean, high-integrity profile.
Sustained concentration
Completing the untimed test in one focused 45 to 60 minute block, high efficiency without sacrificing accuracy.
From past applicants
Anonymised candidate accounts of how recent applicants approached the White & Case assessment. Each covers the prep, the experience, and the outcome.
Summer vacation scheme, non-law graduate (passed)
Prep. Ignored the lack of a countdown timer and treated it like a real, timed exam.
Experience. The maths was corporate data (comparing revenue yield across international offices, percentage changes in billing targets), accurate rather than advanced. In situational judgement, never chose options making big decisions without speaking to the senior associate first.
Outcome. Passed and progressed to the video interview within three weeks.
Direct training contract, law student (passed)
Prep. Knew the Cappfinity test is far more immersive than a Watson Glaser, essentially an inbox simulation helping a senior associate prepare for a restructuring deal.
Experience. Nearly fell into the verbal-logic trap by reading between the lines from university modules, then caught it and treated the text as literal fact. Answered the repeating personality items to show collaboration and detail rather than a ruthless machine.
Outcome. Feedback report showed high marks for Detail and Collaboration, matching the firm's emphasis on team dynamics.
Practice strategy
Because Cappfinity does not publish exact replicas, preparation should build speed and structural familiarity with the provider's mechanics.
Official Cappfinity preparation portal
The vendor's practice assessments to learn the interface, slider bars and ranking mechanics.
AssessmentDay and JobTestPrep (Cappfinity / strengths suites)
Tailored packs that mimic the integrated, multi-discipline Capptivate format.
Legacy critical-reasoning drills
Standard inference and deduction exercises to train isolating a text block from outside knowledge.
Free practice on Intervyo
Run immersive and strengths-based practice in the real formats to calibrate speed-to-accuracy before the live attempt.
Time investment. Aim for 10 to 15 hours across the two weeks before submitting, split across critical thinking, numerical drills, full strengths simulations, timed calibration blocks and firm-values alignment.
Time management
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Intervyo is not affiliated with or endorsed by White & Case, SHL, Pymetrics, Cubiks, AON or any other assessment provider. Test details are sourced from past applicants and published guidance; verify on the firm's careers site before applying. Sector: Commercial Law.
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