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Vac scheme latest: White & Case, Latham, Mayer Brown and Sidley suspend spring programmes

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By Aishah Hussain on

London-based US law firms heed government advice

The London offices of US law firms White & Case, Latham & Watkins, Mayer Brown and Sidley Austin have confirmed the suspension of their spring vacation schemes in view of the virus pandemic.

W&C’s spring vac scheme was due to start today (23 March) until 3 April but has been pushed back until a later date, the firm confirmed to Legal Cheek.

Latham said its spring vacation scheme (30 March until 9 April 2020) has been put on hold but did not provide details on when it is likely to be rescheduled.

“With the safety of students, colleagues, and the wider community in mind, we have postponed our spring vacation scheme,” a spokesperson said. “We have informed the attendees and look forward to welcoming the students at a later date.”

The US outfit confirmed its first and second-year open day, due to take place on Wednesday (25 March), has also been postponed.

Mayer Brown told Legal Cheek its spring vac scheme (30 March until 9 April 2020) has been deferred until later this year. A spokesperson said: “In light of the rapidly developing situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the interests of our vacation scheme participants, our forthcoming spring vacation scheme programme will be postponed to later in the year.”

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They continued:

“We are committed to offering scheme participants the opportunity to attend either our rescheduled spring scheme or alternatively join one of our scheduled summer schemes [22 June until 17 July 2020]. We are working with those concerned to achieve this goal.”

Sidley Austin’s spring vac scheme (30 March until 9 April 2020) has been postponed due to COVID-19 until the summer, the firm confirmed. It will run from 8 until 19 June 2020.

View a list of spring schemes postponed due to COVID-19 so far. This page will be updated as we receive new information.

Has your scheme been affected by the coronavirus? Let us know at tips@legalcheek.com

TODAY (Monday 23 March) at 4pm: What does COVID-19 mean for future lawyers? Hear from the Legal Cheek team at our first online student event

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