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Hi,

I've recently had a couple CB interviews in mid-size markets and am starting to get a little more comfortable with the process. I have been advised by either TLS or maybe career services to not bring up the topic of compensation. I am fine with that -- however, the more I talk with partners and learn about the structure of firms, the more I realize that the compensation system is what creates the workplace incentives and hence the general "firm culture."

Does anyone have a suggestion for getting a feel for whether the firm is "eat what you kill," uses "subjective standards," a "formulaic" approach, etc.?

Is the safe question to just ask about the structure of the partnership and hope that the partner goes on to talk about the compensation incentives? .... Maybe this is a topic I should reserve in the case that I get an offer and have the opportunity to go back and ask more questions before making a decisions. Any thoughts would be greats.

TL;DR - Are partnership/compensation-related questions a no-no during a callback interview?

I'm working on the assumption that these firms are of the size that you actually are unable to find this information online. I would say something like this (and I have been asking nearly this exact question in callbacks):

"As I've talked with a number of firms, I realize that two factors that really influence the general firm culture and atmosphere are how associates get work and how compensation works at the partnership level. In terms of work, it seems like this can range from an assignment coordinator to a free market system, and in terms of compensation, from lockstep partnership compensation to having compensation solely based on business origination. Could you tell me a little bit how the way these two issues are dealt with at the firm, and from your perspective, how they shape and influence the general firm culture?"