bringing up cases during interviews Forum

[ruski]

whats the best way to ask about a recent case/deal the firm has worked on? i feel like just asking "so i read you guys were involved with the goldman case, how was that experience" is just too vague and hit or miss. like what if they had nothing to do with that case. although i would think everyone at a firm would have some famliarity with large cases. does anyone have better ways of asking about this?

[rynabrius]

One way is to use them as a springboard for discussing a practice area you are interested in.
Them: "Why do you want to work for us?"
You: "[Brief preamble]. I am interested in litigation, and mass-torts in particular, where you are a leader, as demonstrated by case XYZ. I loved [ABC] about that case..."

[270910]

Spin it to a question about nuts and bolts.

"I read that your firm recently ______________. Were you at all involved in that / were any first year associates involved in that / do you do similar kinds of work for clients that don't make headlines / is that kind of work common at the firm?"

[Drake014]

What the above posters said... but it must sound natural. It shouldn't sound like you asked a bunch of people on a law school board how to bring it up.

Pretend its like hitting on a chick. You don't want to just ask her if she'll sleep with you. Work your charm and see where the conversation goes.

Also, sleeping with your interviewer may not necessarily help your chances unless you take incriminating pictures from a hidden camera.

[rynabrius]

re: "it's like hitting on a chick" ...

First, you want to isolate the target. If it's a V10 firm, you want to lead with a heavy neg-hit. Then kino-escalate while building rapport. Be warned: they may try to AMOG you. That's okay, just assert your alphaness and re-frame. You might want to show some pictures of you in a nice suit standing next to a pile of money as social proof. Try to number close, if you * close they might write you off for LTR.

[LurkerNoMore]

What's your purpose in bringing up the case?

That has to be your first question. If it's just to show off your research skills, it's not going to do much, unless you luck out and are speaking with someone involved.

As other people have stated, you need to bring it up organically in the conversation. When you do that, things can go really well. However, be absolutely sure you know the case if you claim to know it. There is a difference between saying something along the lines of "I heard you were involved in XYZ litigation/deal" and claiming familiarity with the case. You can quite quickly wind up out of your depth and looking like an idiot in the latter scenario. (Though if you do know it, it can be a real home run in an interview, but consider this to be a lightening strike sort of opportunity.)

[savagecheater]

re: "it's like hitting on a chick" ...

First, you want to isolate the target. If it's a V10 firm, you want to lead with a heavy neg-hit. Then kino-escalate while building rapport. Be warned: they may try to AMOG you. That's okay, just assert your alphaness and re-frame. You might want to show some pictures of you in a nice suit standing next to a pile of money as social proof. Try to number close, if you * close they might write you off for LTR.

hahahaha

[MVPson]

re: "it's like hitting on a chick" ...

First, you want to isolate the target. If it's a V10 firm, you want to lead with a heavy neg-hit. Then kino-escalate while building rapport. Be warned: they may try to AMOG you. That's okay, just assert your alphaness and re-frame. You might want to show some pictures of you in a nice suit standing next to a pile of money as social proof. Try to number close, if you * close they might write you off for LTR.

180.

[solidsnake]

You might want to show some pictures of you in a nice suit standing next to a pile of money as social proof.

Nice DHV.

[NYAssociate]

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[NYAssociate]

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