Anonymous User wrote:frankc wrote:Not a bad question, but a little boring and questionably relevant to you as a prospective young associate. Personally I tried to stick closer to topics that related to young associate life, like how their assignment system works, how soon people have to specialized, that sort of thing. Maybe try to make it a bit more general, like where is the firm headed in the next __ years? But really it's fine, if you're interested in it it can't hurt to ask.
most of this stuff is on their website
That's fair, but you could do something like "I see your website says ____, could you tell me a little bit more about that?" That sorta thing. It's possible the interviewer won't have anything to add but I feel like it's a win-win because even if they don't, it shows you are taking an interest in the firm and aren't just going in blind.
During my interview process, some variation of the following questions always worked to keep the conversation moving until we ran out of time (which is like your #1 goal, it's not gonna matter if you ask the best fucking question ever if that's all you've got and then shit gets awkward when that answer runs out):
- Stuff about the assignment system, maybe how their departments/work groups are run (esp. if the firm is known for having a specific setup, like Cleary's "open architecture" or whatever they call it)
- Professional development stuff; any special training the firm does (e.g. Milbank's Harvard Business), how soon you are pigeonholed into a practice group (if at all, consider Cravath's weird shit vs. more normal firms). Not all firms are big on this but some at least claim to be all about training for young assocs (mock depos and stuff), so it might kinda go nowhere or you could really get the interviewer going.
- How early summer/junior associates are given substantive work to do. I always like this one because it's sort of a nice way to ask "are you going to stick me doing bullshit doc review for two years?" and it shows that you sorta know how the practice of law actually works. A lot of firms are proud of giving "real work" out early (or at least claiming to) so, again, this can often really get the interviewer talking. Also, a decent number of firms will flat out be like "don't worry too much about doc review, we use contract attys for that, you will be doing more interesting stuff." Bullshit? Maybe, but I know at this point you're looking for anything to differentiate these firms, so it's something.
- If you really need to fill time or keep the convo moving just ask the interviewer about themself, what do they like about the firm that might not be obvious. Easy questions but again, goal is to keep the convo moving.
These questions worked for me. That is not to say that a whole different tack might not work for you, but my gut tells me to stick to more ground-level stuff than like the particulars of firm management.