interview prep- know what type of law? Forum

[supersplittysplitter]

I'm assuming a common question interviewers ask is what type of law we want to practice. Should we have a definitive answer for this? Are they expecting us to be 100% sure exactly what type of law we plan on practicing? I suppose this question relates to "why law," but they're kind of different as well.

[js1663]

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[hillz]

I think you can be pretty general on this one/list a few areas. I imagine it can come across a little immature or naive to say you know exactly what you want to do. The interviewer knows that you may change your mind based on what classes you take and experiences you have in law school.

It's like when you ask a high school graduating senior what they want to major in. Being able to name a couple of study areas demonstrates that they have at least done some research and are able to link it to their current interests and strengths.

[LET'S GET IT]

I think you can be pretty general on this one/list a few areas. I imagine it can come across a little immature or naive to say you know exactly what you want to do. The interviewer knows that you may change your mind based on what classes you take and experiences you have in law school.

It's like when you ask a high school graduating senior what they want to major in. Being able to name a couple of study areas demonstrates that they have at least done some research and are able to link it to their current interests and strengths.

This is correct and a friend of mine was told this flat out during his interview last cycle. It's nice to have an idea, I told them two or three areas that interested me but also said that I didn't really know what I wanted to do. They understand this. How would you really know if you've never been to law school or worked in the field? Now, if you were a paralegal at a firm that does advocacy work and you love it then fine, you have a great reason for knowing what you want to do. But being a K-JD and saying I know I want to do X kind of work and nothing else can come across as kind of naïve. Remember, you may not get to do the type of work you want, especially depending on where you go to school.

[supersplittysplitter]

also any tips for what questions we should ask the interviewer at the end of the interview? this seems to always be a big part of these alumni interviews