Interview questions you've been asked Forum

[lmr]

Did you have Professor ABC?

I learned that the answer is not always "yes"

why would you even fake having a professor? that has a lot of ways of going badly.

[brotherdarkness]

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[JenDarby]

"What were you like in high school?"

- White & Case partner

[sap]

A lot of "why did you transfer" (obviously, I transferred so not everyone gets this, but everyone had asked some version), once asked me to teach him something, one asked the "tell me about a time you've encountered friction" (really wanted to describe my drive to the interview because physics, but thought that might come off douchey), one asked me to explain the bidding process at my school.

[michaelbluth]

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[Anonymous User]

How common are questions about specific grades?

Only had one day of interviews so far, but most of my interviewers didn't even look at my transcript (I think only 2 today did, and 1 of those was looking at what I was taking next semester).

[Kage3212]

Lots of great info in this thread....keep it coming!

[name of user]

Tell me about an ethical dilemma you've faced. What did you decide to do, and why?

[Anonymous User]

If you were a fruit, what kinda fucking fruit would you be?

What was your hardest decision?

[potted plant]

After saying hello, I was handed a deck of cards and asked to do a trick... Seriously.

"How would you manage with having to give up social media for a week?"

"Tell me something that's not on your resume?"

"Where do you see yourself in five years?"

A lot of the questions in this thread are pretty terrible, but this is by far the stupidest. What is the fucking point of this?

[Anonymous User]

"Tell me about a time when you went beyond the call of duty"

"How did you get from there to here?" (exact words)

"Tell me about an interesting case on which you worked for [Judge]" -- followed by 10 min chat about the law in that area, the facts of the case, my position on the legal question, and how the judge ruled. Got this MULTIPLE times.

"You realize litigation involves a lot of boring tasks, right?"

[harbin]

Do you think you are ready for the challenges of (insert practice area)?

Why don't you want to be in (X city on resume)?

[harbin]

Haven't been asked "why this firm" or "why this city" nearly as much as I thought I would be, but thats probably because ~2/3 of the firms I'm interviewing with are in NYC, and I want to do transactional work.

Opposite experience, every NY firm has consistently asked me why NYC because I've lived pretty much everywhere but NY.

[hephaestus]

What's your SAT score? Seriously.

[Danger Zone]

I wouldn't even be able to remember it.

A lot of these questions are fucking awful and would just get a blank stare from me.

[envisciguy]

If I asked you to write a Wikipedia page for yourself, including five years from now, what would it say?
Which class in law school got you really interested in the law?
What are you looking for in a law firm?
How do you plan to get involved/give back to the city X community?

[sap]

Also, several times yesterday, "what are you looking for in a summer program?" So know whether the firm has a mentor or more of a free-for-all assignment program, whether you're being hired into a department or whether you're being hired to explore the wonders of the law.

I just want to return with "an offer" or "I don't care what the summer program looks like, I want to know what Associate life looks like."

[Danger Zone]

I've been pretty candid with stupid questions like that. One firm, who practices almost exclusively in X area, asked me "Why do you want to spend the rest of your life in X practice area?" I responded that I actually wasn't positive, but I did have a strong interest and was willing to try it and hope for the best. Fuck them if they wanted more of a commitment than that.

[Ohiobumpkin]

Interviewer: "If you were a pencil trapped in a blender, how would you get out?"
Me: "Uhhh...."

[blsingindisguise]

I just want to return with "an offer" or "I don't care what the summer program looks like, I want to know what Associate life looks like."

The latter could work with some interviewers if you phrased it more diplomatically. I once told an interviewer at a reach firm that the summer activities and the fine dining and the perks weren't really what was important to me, that I was married and already had several years of work experience and that I wanted to be at the firm because I wanted to make my career there, not because I was looking for a fun summer. He really liked that and I got a callback (though I did not get the offer).

[brotherdarkness]

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[fadedsunrise]

Piggybacking on firms that harp on why X city, it seems Orange County cares a lot about why Orange County too. Firms would ask me "Why do you want to practice in Orange County?" My undergrad was in the city of Orange, and I just said I enjoyed that experience more than LA and see it as a long term fit because of reason x, y and z. Apparently some didn't think it was a good enough answer and continued to press as to whether I had family in Orange County or whether I still live there.

Dafuq, what else do these people want o_O

[Anonymous User]

Haven't been asked "why this firm" or "why this city" nearly as much as I thought I would be, but thats probably because ~2/3 of the firms I'm interviewing with are in NYC, and I want to do transactional work.

Opposite experience, every NY firm has consistently asked me why NYC because I've lived pretty much everywhere but NY.

(same anon as before)
Had a NYC firm (Jones Day) ask me "Why NYC" today. Also had a firm from a smaller market ask where I wanted to practice (though not specifically "why our market"). Still, I'm surprised so many NYC firms have been asking you. I don't have any prior law school NYC ties (but go to a non-NY law school that feeds heavily into NYC).

[Anonymous User]

"Mac or PC?"
"If I could only tell the hiring committee one thing about you, what should I say?"
"What was your most forgettable 1L class?"
"If you could change one thing about the way law school works, what would it be?"
"If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?"
"I have your transcript in front of me but I'm supposed to ask for your transcript so can I have a copy of your transcript so I can add it to my collection and humor the hiring partner?"
"Would you want to work in London?" (asked by a firm without a London office.)
"Why us instead of Skadden or Cravath?" (asked by a V100)
"Do you work with a study group or on your own?"
"What class are you most looking forward to taking?"
"Why didn't you transfer?"

[hoos89]

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