In a comment, someone wrote asking what he or she "SHOULD do in an interview... do's, don'ts, questions to ask, specific things I should know about the firm going in...."
Just asking the question means you're someone I wouldn't want to hire. Part of what I look for when I interview is that the candidate can figure all of this out for him or herself and isn't just following some set of one-size-fits-all rules. Every interviewer is looking for something different. It's the candidate's job to figure that out and adapt. Just like every client is looking for something different, and it's the lawyer's job to adapt. If I went into every client meeting with the same strategy -- emphasize our past experience, for instance, and the competence of our team -- I'd lose clients before we even got them on board. Some clients want a nice lawyer; some clients want a feisty lawyer; some clients want a sophisticated lawyer; some clients want a blue-collar rough-and-rumble fighter. It's our job to get in there, and as quickly as possible assess the situation and figure out what hat to put on. Just like I want a candidate to do in an interview. No matter what I ask, I don't want the prefabricated answer they rehearsed in the hotel room the night before. I want to see someone who's engaged and thinking and working hard to spin their story to impress me. I want someone who's selling him or herself to me, just like he'll have to sell himself to opposing counsel, to clients, or, in the rare case we leave our desks, to a judge.
"Do" be prepared to think; be able to sell yourself; be able to craft an answer on the fly to anything I ask; make me like you.
"Don't" be a jackass.
As far as questions to ask, I've never been asked a good one. I've been asked spectacularly bad ones about what the worst part about working here is ("this interview, with you, right now"), whether we provide good training to summer associates ("no, of course we don't"), how I balance work and life ("what? do you not know what you're in for?"), whether the lawyers here are friends ("with each other? who cares?"), how we assign people to practice groups ("aren't you getting a little bit ahead of yourself?"), why we chose the building we're in ("I didn't choose it! Are you a moron?"), whether we value lawyers with prior experience ("experience doing what? Being President? Sure. Being a trash collector? No."), and, once, why there's so much paper on my desk ("Because I'm busy. Leave. Now.").
Specific things you should know about the firm going in: know where the building is and how to get here so you're not late and waste my time; know where your resume is so you don't spend ten minutes fumbling for it; know how to politely decline when I offer you some coffee; know that I don't want to talk about any of the pictures in my office, so don't ask about them because you have nothing better to say; know that you're wasting my time unless I decide I like you; know that it all probably depends on your transcript anyway; know that we're not a "lifestyle" firm and we're not selling "nice people." We're selling "challenging work" and "a top-notch legal experience." You want that, we can talk. You want a fraternity, there are other places you can go. You want to argue in court, go to the DA's office. You want to get paid to "think about the law," go clerk for a judge. That's not what we're selling.
Just asking the question means you're someone I wouldn't want to hire. Part of what I look for when I interview is that the candidate can figure all of this out for him or herself and isn't just following some set of one-size-fits-all rules. Every interviewer is looking for something different. It's the candidate's job to figure that out and adapt. Just like every client is looking for something different, and it's the lawyer's job to adapt. If I went into every client meeting with the same strategy -- emphasize our past experience, for instance, and the competence of our team -- I'd lose clients before we even got them on board. Some clients want a nice lawyer; some clients want a feisty lawyer; some clients want a sophisticated lawyer; some clients want a blue-collar rough-and-rumble fighter. It's our job to get in there, and as quickly as possible assess the situation and figure out what hat to put on. Just like I want a candidate to do in an interview. No matter what I ask, I don't want the prefabricated answer they rehearsed in the hotel room the night before. I want to see someone who's engaged and thinking and working hard to spin their story to impress me. I want someone who's selling him or herself to me, just like he'll have to sell himself to opposing counsel, to clients, or, in the rare case we leave our desks, to a judge.
"Do" be prepared to think; be able to sell yourself; be able to craft an answer on the fly to anything I ask; make me like you.
"Don't" be a jackass.
As far as questions to ask, I've never been asked a good one. I've been asked spectacularly bad ones about what the worst part about working here is ("this interview, with you, right now"), whether we provide good training to summer associates ("no, of course we don't"), how I balance work and life ("what? do you not know what you're in for?"), whether the lawyers here are friends ("with each other? who cares?"), how we assign people to practice groups ("aren't you getting a little bit ahead of yourself?"), why we chose the building we're in ("I didn't choose it! Are you a moron?"), whether we value lawyers with prior experience ("experience doing what? Being President? Sure. Being a trash collector? No."), and, once, why there's so much paper on my desk ("Because I'm busy. Leave. Now.").
Specific things you should know about the firm going in: know where the building is and how to get here so you're not late and waste my time; know where your resume is so you don't spend ten minutes fumbling for it; know how to politely decline when I offer you some coffee; know that I don't want to talk about any of the pictures in my office, so don't ask about them because you have nothing better to say; know that you're wasting my time unless I decide I like you; know that it all probably depends on your transcript anyway; know that we're not a "lifestyle" firm and we're not selling "nice people." We're selling "challenging work" and "a top-notch legal experience." You want that, we can talk. You want a fraternity, there are other places you can go. You want to argue in court, go to the DA's office. You want to get paid to "think about the law," go clerk for a judge. That's not what we're selling.
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