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What are screeners exactly? What do their jobs entail? I see the term a lot, but have yet to see it defined. And yes I tried to use the search function.

During OCI, you generally have 2 kinds of interviews - the screener and the callback.

Screeners are typically 20-minute affair with the lawyer(s) from Firm X. They function to screen out A) social disasters and B) people without the qualifications they like.

If you're lucky, you connect with the screener, and a day or several later, you receive a phone call/email from the interviewer telling you that they enjoyed speaking with you and that they'd like to bring you to their office to meet more attorneys. That office visit is the callback, which is a more involved affair where your grades matter less and they're seeing if you fit with the firm.

Awesome. Thanks.

Depending on the school, screeners may be by lottery or by selection.

Also, sometimes people use the word "screener" to refer to the interviewer conducting the screening interview, more formally known as the "initial interview."