Quesions to Ask Interviewer Forum

[Anonymous User]

During any interview, you inevitably get to the point where the interviewer asks you if you have any questions for them. What are some good questions that interviewers like to get?

[Anonymous User]

Typical ones for associates would be:

1. Tell me about the most interesting case or project you've worked on.

2. How soon do associates start getting substantive experience -- i.e., if litigation, getting to draft motions, getting to take depositions (if it's before 4th or 5th year that's pretty spectacular)?

3. Have you found the _____ (free-market, central-planned) assignment system easy to navigate, and, in practice, is that system the main source of your work, or do you end up developing relationships with certain partners who consistently assign you work?

4. Culture's often the hardest thing to get a sense for while researching a firm. What is your impression of the firm culture here?

5. Compared to before you started working at the firm, has your impression of the firm changed now that you're on the inside/have been working for ___ years?

Typical ones for partners would be:

1. How do you like assigning work? Do you have a few go-to associates or informal means of assignment, or do you use the main assignment system (best for central-planned or mixed firms -- if it's a free-market firm, this question doesn't make as much sense)?

2. How do different offices of the firm interact (for a multi-city large law firm)? Will partners and associates from _____ (this city) work on cases from other offices?

3. Having made it to partner, how has your perception of the firm changed from the time you started as an associate? Or, if you could speak to yourself as an associate ___ years ago, what advice would you give? (Or, as a variant, "What advice would you give a lawyer starting at this firm?")

4. Same as # 4 above

5. (If you're applying before graduation and interested in clerking) Does the firm recommend clerking before working, and are offers guaranteed after clerking?

[TTH]

"Why did you choose to come to [Firm X]?"

[Jsa725]

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[grrm09]

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[rad lulz]

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[NotMyRealName09]

I wouldn't ask something quite as probing as "how has your impression of the firm changed over time." Stick with "what do you like about the firm." I say that because you don't know who you're talking to, and if that person's view has changed for the worse over time, they won't tell you, and they won't like that you just reminded them. But even if they secretly hate their job, they can answer "what do you like."

I also wouldn't ask when associates begin getting substantive work. The question is bad for many reasons. One, the answer is "when you earn it." Two, if your interviewer is an associate and isn't yet really doing substantive work, they won't like you for reminding them and implying that you are too good to do your time in the trenches.

The single best question to ask everyone, every single time, is "how did you end up where you are today (or the variation) how did you end up in your current field of practice?" That question opens the door to the key - HAVE A CONVERSATION. Now they'll tell you about their history, their experience, their career path, what they liked, what they didn't, and you can BS with them like a normal person.

Just be normal, not awkward, and don't sound scripted. That last one worked for me almost every time, it's hugely open ended and invited them to tell their story outside the confines of more normal (boring) typical interviewee questions.

[Jessep]

What's it like living life with such a giant package?