The Associate’s Guide to the Galaxy…of Law Firm Interviewing
You got the interview! Your recruiter emailed/called/texted, and you got the interview! Congratulations. There’s time for you to do a happy dance around your sofa; we’ll wait.
Now: you’ve got work to do!
What sort of interview do you have lined up? If it’s the first interview with a firm, there’s a good chance that you have a screening call/interview, with just one or two people. If you’ve already done a screener, there’s a good chance you’ll interview for several hours, with different people. That said, all firms are different, so don’t worry if the firm you’re interviewing with has you interview with another individual partner after a first interview with an individual partner, and likewise don’t worry if you’re thrown straight into a four-hour interview with ten people without a screener. All of this interviewing advice applies no matter what your interview setup is.
The Essentials: Dress Code, Punctuality, and Materials
First, don’t let the firm reject you for missing the basics. These are simple things, but if you overlook one of them, an interviewer might raise questions about your candidacy. Let’s not give them the chance.
The basics include:
Appropriate clothing. If you’re interviewing in person, we always recommend that you wear a suit. This isn’t the time to impress with your creative interpretation of a suit; just wear the suit. (Either a pant suit or a skirt suit is fine.) The suit doesn’t have to be expensive; hopefully, however, it’s clean. (If it’s not clean, go get it dry cleaned.) Even if you’re interviewing on Zoom, wear the suit. The only time we recommend deviating from the suit is if the firm/interviewer explicitly says that it’s not necessary or expected.
If you’re interviewing over the phone - okay, you can skip the suit. But my 1L Lawyering professor gave me advice that I still follow to this day - even if you’re “just” on the phone, getting dressed up can make you act differently. You want your “pulled together” answers, not your “I rolled out of bed and I’m still in my PJs” answers.
Punctuality. If you’re interviewing via Zoom, make sure your computer is working (both the microphone and the camera), so there are no snafus on the day of the interview. If possible, do a test of whichever system the firm will be using - you can always ask to do a video chat with your recruiter.
(Side note about Zoom interviews. Make sure you also have great lighting, and that your face and upper body are close enough to the camera so that you take up a lot of the frame. Try to put light sources behind the camera, not behind you. Try not to have a messy or cluttered background - the kids’ playroom, for instance, is not the best spot to set up.)
If you’re interviewing in person, look up the directions to the firm (or coffee shop, or restaurant, or zoo - wherever you’re meeting) the day before. Make sure you know how you’re getting there (walking? Ubering? Driving?), and that you know how long it will take. If you’re driving, make sure you know where you’re parking, and leave extra time for that. If you’re going to an office building, make sure you have any documents you’ll need to get past security (your recruiter can get this information for you), like your ID, and you leave extra time for the sign-in process. If you’re scared of elevators, make sure you leave extra time to take the stairs. You get the idea.
Then, leave at least 15 minutes earlier than you think you need to. (There’s nothing wrong with arriving early. You can look at your phone, read a book, people watch, call your mom. Some partners will cross you off the list for a late arrival.)
Materials. If your interview is in person, make sure you have copies of your resume, transcript, writing sample/deal sheet - anything your recruiter has submitted previously as part of your application. Keep these documents in a folder or portfolio, so when you pull them out, they’re still as crisp as they were when the printer spat them out.
Appropriate grooming. This is one of those interviewing gray areas. You should be true to yourself (always, not just in law firm interviews, but I know you didn’t come to a recruiting website to get a motivational speech), so don’t make any big changes to your appearance just for the interview. But have you been putting off getting a haircut because you couldn’t find the time, and you’re starting to look a little shaggy in an unkempt way (not a fashion-statement way)? Do you normally shave your beard or your legs and you’ve gotten a little stubbly (hybrid work can do that to the best of us, after all)? Pretend you were going to be the guest at a wedding, and take any grooming steps you’d take in that case.
The Prep: Compile Key Insight For Your Interview
Next, do your homework on the firm. Sorry. We know it’s not fun. But here’s what you should research before the interview:
Your interviewers (your recruiter can get their names for you). Read their website bios, and do a search of news articles about any particularly big cases/deals they’ve worked on.
Recent press about the firm.
The locations the firm operates in, both nationally and globally. If you’re in a specialized practice, look at the website to see which offices house the majority of the lawyers who work in your practice area.
The size of the firm (i.e., head count).
The history of the firm. When was it founded? Was it a spinoff of another firm? Was it the result of a merger of two or more firms?
The firm’s practice area(s) and particular specialities. You don’t want to go into a healthcare firm and say you want commercial litigation work; you don’t want to go into a public entity firm and say you aren’t interested in municipal work. Does the firm have a Chambers-ranked practice group of which it’s particularly proud? You don’t want to be surprised to hear about it during your interview.
The job. Review the job listing to which you applied, and make sure you know what sort of work you’d be doing. (It’s definitely true that associates have gone into interviews and discovered that the job seemed very different from what was advertised - but you’ll still want to know what was advertised!)
The questions you might be asked. One of the benefits of working with a recruiter [hyperlink to that blog post] is that your recruiter might be able to tell you what sorts of questions your firm/interviewer has asked candidates in the past. Ask your recruiter if they have any intel!
The Interview: Navigate the Day with Confidence and Courtesy
Now it’s the day of the interview. You’ve researched. You look spiffy. You’ve arrived on time. Now you’re going to BE KIND TO EVERYONE. This one is so important it’s in bold AND capital letters. I’m not your mother, so I’m not going to lecture you that this should always be your M.O. But I am going to stress that “EVERYONE” in the context of a law-firm interview includes the security guard in the lobby, the receptionist at the front desk, the summer associate who wanders past. Any one of those people could make an offhand remark about how you were rude or disrespectful, and that could be enough of a red flag to end your candidacy. So, just be kind and respectful to everyone.
(And then, when you get the job, and you go to that office every day, or three days a week, or once a month when you fly in from Hawaii - just continue on being kind to everyone.)
And now it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for - you’re sitting in the interview room. There’s always that interviewer who wants to be creative and asks a question out of left field, but in general here are some questions that you might get asked:
Tell me about yourself.
Why are you interested in [this firm]? (Show off all that research you did!)
Why did you choose to go to law school? (Particularly for more junior associates. Be specific!)
What are your weaknesses? Strengths? (Demonstrate self awareness!)
What would you like your career to look like five years/ten years/etc.? (Hint: the firm you’re interviewing with should show up in that five-year plan!)
Why are you looking to leave your current job? (If you’re currently employed.)
Why aren’t you currently employed? (If you aren’t.)
Why are you looking to join a law firm? (If you’re currently in house, or working for the government.)
Tell me about that article/note you published. (Make sure you use plain English when you explain it!)
What have you been working on lately?
Do you prefer to work at home or in the office? (Whatever your answer is, try to telegraph as much flexibility as you can.)
What’s your idea of a good day at work?
(If you’re moving to a new city, but your current firm has an office in the new city): Why not transition to the [new city] office of your current firm?
Tell me about a stressful time at work and how you handled it.
Why would you be a good asset to this firm?
How do you handle competing deadlines? How do you prioritize projects?
What has your current firm done well?
Tell me about [x interest/activity/honor] on your resume. (If it’s on your resume, be prepared to talk about it.)
What were you doing during this gap in employment on your resume?
Obviously, the list of potential questions is endless. You’re going to get asked something you didn’t expect. But just thinking about your answers to the above questions will get you thinking about your strengths and weaknesses and what you’re looking for in a job and in a career, and will remind you of stories you can tell that demonstrate who you are.
In addition, your recruiter can also go over your candidacy with you and give you a sense of what things on your resume might jump out to interviewers - that is, what topics you, specifically, are most likely to get asked about.
Importantly, be yourself. A friend of mine was interviewing with a federal bankruptcy judge for a clerkship when she was a 3L in law school. The judge asked her to name the justices of the Supreme Court. In the moment, my friend froze. “I’m sorry, right this second, I can’t,” she stammered. “But I can name all seven dwarfs.” The judge laughed, they discovered a shared loved of all things Disney, and the judge hired my friend for a two-year clerkship.
And while we recommend brushing up on justices, not dwarfs, my friend’s experience highlights the importance of the ability to pivot. If you’re asked a question and you don’t have the exact experience or skills they’re asking for, spin your answer in a positive light. “No, I haven’t trained carrier pigeons, but I do have more than 100 certified hours of unicycle riding.” Maybe the unicycles were so useful you didn’t need carrier pigeons, or maybe you’re excited to add knowledge about carrier pigeons, but the point is, you pivoted to a skill you do have.
Relatedly, don’t write out scripted answers to interview questions. No matter what the content of your interview is, your interviewer(s) are trying to get a sense of who you are and what you’d be like to work with. You might have the most profound answer in the world, but if you sound like a robot reciting a script, you’re not going to seem like a super fun person to have in the office down the hall.
But do try to tell a story with your answers! Give answers rich with detail about your life and experiences, and even if the bottom-line answer is the same, your interviewers will be wowed.
Avoid:
Being vague in your answers.
Being too casual (including using profanity, or asking inappropriate questions of your interviewer)
Talking about monetary compensation (leave those conversations to your recruiter! If your interviewer asks you about compensation, feel free to say you’re leaving that to your recruiter, or that you’re considering the whole package in conjunction with the job itself. Even if you have very specific compensation goals, you want to spend the interview talking about your substantive skills and experience.)
Being negative. If you’re leaving a job, obviously there are reasons you’re looking for new employment, but try not to trash on your former employer or colleagues.
Oversharing personal information (you don’t need to mention how bad your hangover last weekend was after a night of partying)
Your phone making noise (silence it before the interview)
At the end of most interviews, you’ll have a chance to ask questions. This is still an important part of your interview - you can use this time to dazzle your interviewer. Moreover, although many interviewers will come prepared, having reviewed your resume and other documents in detail, you’ll also encounter interviewers who glanced at your resume two minutes before meeting you and won’t be prepared with tailored questions. That’s okay! Make their job easy and do the heavy lifting yourself, asking great questions that get them talking about their role and the firm.
Do not ask questions that can be answered by reading the law firm’s website or your interviewer’s bio (aren’t you glad you did your homework?). And don’t ask about money (yes, we know it’s a job, and you need a job, and you might primarily work a job for the paycheck, but no firm wants to hire someone they think is only joining for the money). What are some questions you actually have about what day-to-day life would be like, working at the firm? In case you can’t think of anything, here are some solid go-to questions you can ask:
How are cases staffed/how is the work distributed?
Do associates ever run their own deals/manage their own cases? How does that work?
What are some of the cases/deals you’ve worked on that you’re most proud of?
Why did you join the firm? Has the firm lived up to your expectations?
Does the firm have a formal lateral associate integration program?
What sort of associate training programs does the firm offer? Do any of those training programs cover how to build a book of business?
How much of the firm’s work is generated from X office? (X office being the office you’re interviewing in.)
Why are you hiring now - new client/new case? Are they looking to grow, or did an associate recently depart?
If you’ve done your research about the interviewer and you know you have an important shared facet of your background (e.g. same college, same law school, same clerkship), feel free to draw attention to that connection by asking about the interviewer’s experience.
Post-Interview Etiquette: Craft Thank-Yous and Reflect on Your Experience
When you get home (or sign off of Zoom), kick off your shoes, change into sweats, crack open your drink of choice, and write your thank-you notes. It’s best if you can send off a thank-you email to each interviewer on the same day as the interview. The email should be brief, but try to weave in something specific about the conversation you had with that person, and restate your interest in the position.
(By the way, you might come home from the interview and have realized you are no longer interested in the firm. That’s okay! The interview was a valuable learning experience for you. But even if you’ve decided you don’t want the job, you should still send the thank yous. Legal communities are small, and your interviewer(s) took time out of their day to speak with you. Obviously don’t restate your interest in the position, but also don’t say “please withdraw me from consideration” - your recruiter can take care of that directly with the firm’s recruiting staff.)
And you’re done! Sit back, relax, and wait for your recruiter to give you next steps. We’re guessing you aced it.