what to expect from biglaw interviews
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:44 pm
I just was asked to an interview at a biglaw firm, and I know this may sound like a ridiculous question for this board, but I'm not really quite sure what to expect. I've been out of school for 2 years working at my local AG's office, was top of my class at law school but went to a TTT that had no semblance of an OCI and so I really haven't ever interviewed at the biglaw level. The only thing I've had in that department has been a really weird screener at a low V100 firm in law school where one of the name partners went to my TTT. It went something like this:
Random Partner: I have a stellar background let me talk about it for 10 minutes. I clerked and then worked as an AUSA for 10 years. It was the best job I ever had, really it was amazing experience. You don't REALLY want to work here do you? Why would you want to start here -- It was different for me because I was able to come in as a partner after doing some great work at the USAO for that time. But for you, I just don't see why you would want to come here as an associate.
Me: ........?
*** a few minutes later
Partner: What type of work do you see yourself doing in 10-15 years.
Me: Well, I'd really like to start out in lit, get experience there, etc. but I can see as how eventually it would be fun to branch out and try some appellate work as well. I think doing that work would enrich my lit practice hopefully because it would give me the ability to see a case from a different vantagepoint.
Partner: Well there's not that much appellate work here in general so....
I felt like this partner was hostile to me the whole time and after only about 1/2 hour he dumped me off with some associate whose office was COVERED in bullshit discovery. I was supposed to ask her about her experience but I felt like I was imposing the whole time bc she immediately told me she had a discovery cutoff that evening and was swamped, so I was just like, well I guess that's my cue to stop taking up your time. Faced with either looking like I didn't have any questions or like I didn't know how to take an obvious social cue to leave, I figured I'd just wrap it up.
Needless to say, no CB.
That may have been a wierd interview, or it may have been me as a bad interviewee. That's why I'd like to ask some advice. I've poked around for a while at various threads about common questions that are asked at biglaw interviews but haven't been able to find any compendium threads. If there is one that I'm overlooking can anyone link me? Other than that, I'm just wondering what types of questions are typically asked and what types of questions I should ask.
Random Partner: I have a stellar background let me talk about it for 10 minutes. I clerked and then worked as an AUSA for 10 years. It was the best job I ever had, really it was amazing experience. You don't REALLY want to work here do you? Why would you want to start here -- It was different for me because I was able to come in as a partner after doing some great work at the USAO for that time. But for you, I just don't see why you would want to come here as an associate.
Me: ........?
*** a few minutes later
Partner: What type of work do you see yourself doing in 10-15 years.
Me: Well, I'd really like to start out in lit, get experience there, etc. but I can see as how eventually it would be fun to branch out and try some appellate work as well. I think doing that work would enrich my lit practice hopefully because it would give me the ability to see a case from a different vantagepoint.
Partner: Well there's not that much appellate work here in general so....
I felt like this partner was hostile to me the whole time and after only about 1/2 hour he dumped me off with some associate whose office was COVERED in bullshit discovery. I was supposed to ask her about her experience but I felt like I was imposing the whole time bc she immediately told me she had a discovery cutoff that evening and was swamped, so I was just like, well I guess that's my cue to stop taking up your time. Faced with either looking like I didn't have any questions or like I didn't know how to take an obvious social cue to leave, I figured I'd just wrap it up.
Needless to say, no CB.
That may have been a wierd interview, or it may have been me as a bad interviewee. That's why I'd like to ask some advice. I've poked around for a while at various threads about common questions that are asked at biglaw interviews but haven't been able to find any compendium threads. If there is one that I'm overlooking can anyone link me? Other than that, I'm just wondering what types of questions are typically asked and what types of questions I should ask.