Deal just died, so in here answering some questions. Nothing too personal, don't want to out myself. Very experienced recruiter, senior corporate associate. And...go.

If you are interviewing a very young student without a lot of work experience, what do they have to do, besides have good grades, to separate them from their peers?

Grades, how important?

Assuming "very young" means straight through, awards / honors in undergrad and/or interesting summer positions certainly helps. Grades are obviously a major factor, as is personality / fit

What do you look for in candidates during callbacks? Is it more personality fit at that point as opposed to grades/ resume/ ability?

1) Can you come across as too forceful or overbearing in an interview by trying to sell your strengths hard.

2) If the interviewer seems like they want to just shoot the breeze, is it better to tone it down or keep selling your strengths?

Very and not very simultaneously. We do have minimum grade cuts at every school we visit (and they vary school by school). If you're above the line you've got a shot and then fit takes over. Amazing grades can overcome mediocre fit, and amazing fit can overcome mediocre grades (at or just below the line), but awful grades or fit and you're dead in the water.

Thanks!

Do you guys ask questions like "what is your biggest weakness?" and if so, what are the best responses to those questions?

How do you view students who are a bit nervous early on in the interview? Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to hit my stride, and I end up doing well, but all I can focus on afterwards is that I was probably visibly a bit nervous to the interviewer(s). Is this an auto-ding?

Moreso, yes, though those still do come into play. We'll take into account the "whole package" at the offer stage.

How do you view transfers?

Yes and tone down. Show, don't tell. If you're smart, or charming, or witty, or clever, etc., demonstrate it by your discussion rather than telling them that you are. Tell a story that demonstrates it, ask an insightful question about the interviewer, make a clever joke (but don't work blue)

No I don't (I hate that question). Frankly that can usually be figured out by talking to the person and paying attention to them and/or looking at their resume/grades.

No, not an auto-ding, but it probably does hurt a little bit. I try to focus on the whole package so you've got another 15 min to charm me if you start poorly

What is the average age of your first year associate class?

On a case by case basis. They need to meet the grade cut at their prior school to have a baseline chance.

No idea. I'd guess an average of 2-3 years out of college work experience, with a lot of straight through, a few 2-4 years off and a very few 5+ years out

What if the prior school is one you don't typically recruit from/have an established cutoff for?

Thank you so much for this btw.

Also, what schools do you primarily hire from? What grades does someone need from HYS, CCN, MVPB, the lower t14, and then 15-20 to have a shot?

Then they're probably in trouble. We have cutoffs for just about every school I can think of. If it's not one of them you better be top 1-5 in your class and/or something really special.

don't know all off the top of my head but unsurprisingly it gets tougher as you go lower down the list. law review-level's not a necessity to my knowledge (maybe lower-14 and beyond it is) but certainly even at the top ranges you should be above median

I am well within top 10% with LR from a strong regional school in the T40.
However, I took summer classes and had my GPA drop (my estimate is around top 15%). The class approximations are set for pre-summer class grades, so technically I am still top 10% and I should retain it on the resume (so says CSO). However, my transcript will reflect the change.
How would you view a student in this situation? particularly during the CB.

Thanks!

During the CB, I'd guess effectively ignored. Beforehand it could be a factor but probably not then either.

How many hours do you expect first year associates to bill annually? How does that change if they are lookign to get onto the partner track? Also, whats the process like for people who, after four years, lateral out? Do most of them end up working for other firms or do a lot of them work inhouse?

A bit of a range for first year associates. The ones who are serious about getting better/learning/advancing, etc., probably bill in the 2100-2500 range. Not necessarily a huge change for those looking to make partner as talent and aptitude is more of a determinative factor than effort

Most corporate laterals seem to go in-house. Some go to smaller firms. Replace in-house with government/not-for-profit and probably true for litigation as well.