Real Estate Law Interviews Forum

[OutoftheWoods]

I have an interview for a real estate practice coming up, but it's my first time interviewing for that specific practice. I've done real estate work this past summer so I can talk about it intelligently, but I'm at a loss as far as what questions to ask. My work this summer was very general as far as real estate is concerned, but I don't know what a specific firm practice is like. Anyone with tips on what questions to ask or what to say in general?

[UVAIce]

So, I have some knowledge in this particular area. Some of the "good" questions, in my opinion, are all just a specialized form of a generic question. So, for example, you can ask what kind of clients they have (very generic). But you can get a little more in depth and ask some workflow questions (i.e. what time of year is a busy time for you, what type of work do you do for these clients, is it just amending leases, purchase agreements, due diligence, etc.). And different clients have different demands, which is something you can home in on. If you represent a big retail chain nationally, regionally, or locally you might ask what kind of lease work you do for them. Working on the lender side things can be different compared to working for the borrower side of the house. You might ask how the practice fits into other practices at the firm(e.g. if they have a strong M&A practice a lot of your work might just be doing the real estate due diligence on those deals, while if the practice produces a lot of work independently the character, and likely the quality, of the work will be different).

You might be able to figure out some of this before you go, so you can prepare some good followup questions. So if you know they do work for bank X you might ask what it's like doing their real estate work. BTW, I think almost all the real estate guys that I know will say something to the effect that they like their job because they can see the tangible objects associated with their work. But that really depends on the practice.

[OutoftheWoods]

Thank you, that was really helpful. I was definitely planning on asking how the group works with others (the way you phrased it being independent was way better than what i was planning on phrasing, lol). Going to ask if they work on commercial or residential and how those clients differ, sounds like a great idea too.

I just don't want to come off dumb as in I didn't do my research, but I think all of what you suggested sounds like questions anyone versed in real estate law would actually what to ask about a firm (and is not readily available on their website).

[UVAIce]

Most of the real estate folks I know are also fairly social people. I'm not certain if this is just because of my limited pool of real estate attorneys I know, but in general they do a lot of deals and you don't make partner unless you can talk to people, so yeah. Other good questions might be what their favorite deal was or what deal they are most proud of. That should also give you an idea of what kind of work they are doing. Real estate can also get oddly specialized. So someone might do a lot of natural resource work, another does hotel work, while a third does a lot of work for hospitals. Again, every type of client has particular needs and it always helps to be excited about the work (e.g. they do energy work and you think fracking is the best - lol). If you are not interviewing in NYC and they are a regional powerhouse you might ask if they do opinion letters for that region (i.e. that an agreement is recordable). Chambers has some stuff somewhere about different practice groups, I would just read up on what real estate lawyers do.

And last, but not least, just have fun with it. Interviews can be stressful, but look on the bright side: you have a real shot at a great job. People just like talking with other people that are excited, happy, and have an interest in what they do. No one is going to expect you to be a real estate master right out of the gate.