Lawyer Interview Preparation Guide

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This question can generate a useful dialog about what an associate is actually doing--not what the firm says lawyers do early in their career, or a recital of the firm's high-profile cases.

Every firm will tell you its cases are staffed "leanly." Hearing about how particular matters are staffed will help you understand whether this is true, and learn how much direct partner contact you are likely to get.

All firms have evaluation procedures of one kind or another. But you will want to know how often young lawyers are reviewed, how the evaluation is delivered, how active a role the associate has in the process, how it affects compensation, whether reviews are anonymous, etc. Pay attention to cues about how the process seems actually to be working for the associate.

Lots of useful feedback is a standard claim; try to get specifics about how the firm gets busy attorneys to provide constructive criticism to summer associates.

All firms tout their professional development opportunities. Specific questions about how this interviewer experiences them will help you find out what the firm's priorities are, and how organized the firm's approach to development is. Ask about mentoring, adviser systems, writing programs, in -firm and outside CLE programs. Ask about how much time associates are expected to devote to professional development. Does the firm have benchmarks for attainments of specific skills by associates at different levels? How does the firm support associates' realization of those goals?

It's not always easy for lawyers to find projects of the right scope for summers. Some firms even create exercises for summer associates to be sure that everyone gets a chance to do different types of projects.

What does the firm do to ensure that each summer gets a good mix of assignments? How much say do summers have in choosing assignments? How many of the partners/associates/staff attorneys is a summer likely to work with? Is there a centralized source of assignments, or will my work be assigned from a department head, or from one partner?

Does the firm have a "free market" assignment system?
Does work come through a committee or do you just hear from partners who need help?
Do associates ever go to partners and ask for work?
How do the work assignment systems for summer associates and permanent ones compare?

Every partner must think of the firm's future, and this is more urgent now than ever. Firms try to anticipate clients' needs, and ensure the capability to serve them. Questions could pertain both to practice areas (which ones the partner sees as being in demand in coming years) and to ways of serving clients (new technologies, billing schemes, etc.).

Is the ability to market important to hiring or promotion decisions? What does the firm do to train younger lawyers to develop business? This is new and important territory for everyone in the profession. Showing that you are aware that young lawyers can't just do great legal work, that they need to be involved in bringing in and keeping clients, will be gratifying to many partners.