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As you mentioned, there are tons of posts about this. And they all give the same advice, so I won't repeat them. Just be normal, carry on a conversation, and ask generic questions that show you have put some thought into your career and the firm.

Also, don't ask about compensation, please - especially if we are talking about law student interviews.

Is this for a legal position coming out of law school? If you're interviewing for a big law summer associate position don't mention compensation or bonuses unless the person across the table brings it up first (i.e., "but have you heard about our market shattering bonuses?"). Also interviews for summer associate positions are less about your own technical skills and proficiency and more about your general fit with the firm and willingness to be molded.

Of course if you're interviewing for a legal assistant position then the more general interview approach that you've mentioned here will be better suited.

You said it twice - do you believe compensation is an appropriate question for the interviewee to bring up unsolicited???? Have you actually done this?

Also, I notice that in your list of 4-6 questions, you don't seem to be interested in the background of your interviewer. You should be asking questions about them, personally.

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TheFutureLawyer wrote:

RaceJudicata wrote:Also, don't ask about compensation, please - especially if we are talking about law student interviews.

cookiejar1 wrote:If you're interviewing for a big law summer associate position don't mention compensation or bonuses unless the person across the table brings it up first (i.e., "but have you heard about our market shattering bonuses?").

As a new attorney, not a law student. You think that's not something for me to ask during any interview?

Not unless (1) they bring it up, or (2) they give you an offer and, after that, its time to discuss compensation details. Bringing it up before the interviewer has even decided whether to offer you a job would be a gigantic faux pas and would probably cost you an offer.

Maybe don't so quickly dismiss the articles you've come across, clearly there are some pretty basic things about interviewing you don't yet know. You're asking questions and looking for honest feedback, and I respect that. Good luck.

TheFutureLawyer wrote: I usually ask like 4-6 questions, first regarding the specific firm's/position's work

Good

then about the position's requirements/compensation.

Yeesh... not good.

If the position has requirements, you have met them, or else you wouldn't get an interview. Asking that question is like asking "what does it take to get an interview for this job?" It just doesn't make sense.

Asking about compensation with anybody interviewing you is probably a bad idea. The only times I've had it come up is when they brought it up. Why? Because these people don't set your salary. If you have generic questions about how compensation works, maybe it would be appropriate, but I can't think of a single question that would fit that category that wouldn't be better targeted to HR.

I'd ask about what sort of things the firm does that sets it apart from its competitors. Do the attorneys do stuff together outside of work? What's the work life balance like (ask details)? When people lateral out, are they going in-house or to a different firm? What sorts of goals would be set for me in my first year in practice? Will I get mentorship and instruction from associates, or just from partners? What is the work from home policy? What is the unwritten work from home policy? If I want to go on vacation for a week, what happens to my work? What incentive exists for me to exceed billables? How much pro bono is expected?

Etc. Etc.

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totesTheGoat wrote:

TheFutureLawyer wrote: I usually ask like 4-6 questions, first regarding the specific firm's/position's work

Good

then about the position's requirements/compensation.

Yeesh... not good.

If the position has requirements, you have met them, or else you wouldn't get an interview. Asking that question is like asking "what does it take to get an interview for this job?" It just doesn't make sense.

Asking about compensation with anybody interviewing you is probably a bad idea. The only times I've had it come up is when they brought it up. Why? Because these people don't set your salary. If you have generic questions about how compensation works, maybe it would be appropriate, but I can't think of a single question that would fit that category that wouldn't be better targeted to HR.

I'd ask about what sort of things the firm does that sets it apart from its competitors. Do the attorneys do stuff together outside of work? What's the work life balance like (ask details)? When people lateral out, are they going in-house or to a different firm? What sorts of goals would be set for me in my first year in practice? Will I get mentorship and instruction from associates, or just from partners? What is the work from home policy? What is the unwritten work from home policy? If I want to go on vacation for a week, what happens to my work? What incentive exists for me to exceed billables? How much pro bono is expected?

Etc. Etc.

Yeesh - is it just me, or are some of these also very bad questions? They seem, to me, to beg for canned answers lacking candor, but maybe I'm wrong.

Do attorneys do stuff together outside work? What are they gonna say, "No, we all hate each other." Or "yes, except we exclude the office weirdo."

Work life balance? "See as much of your wife as you can now."

When people lateral out, where do they go? "You are not getting an offer because you're literally asking about exit options in an interview." This one in particular is egregious. It's like answering the question "where do you see yourself in five years?" Answer: "I used this job to leverage an even better job from your competitor. Please invest money in training me up in the meantime."

What is the work from home policy? Unwritten policy? Ok, this may be ok, but if the policy is "it's frowned upon," this is bad question to me, even though its common and normal to work from home sometimes these days.

Not trying to be the ol' TSL dickbag here, but I don't know, these rubbed me wrong almost as bad as "so how much will you be paying me?"

TheFutureLawyer wrote:

totesTheGoat wrote:If the position has requirements, you have met them, or else you wouldn't get an interview. Asking that question is like asking "what does it take to get an interview for this job?" It just doesn't make sense.

Meant more like terms and conditions of the jobs, like how many hours they expect me to work in a week or bill in a year.

I think I'd just ask about billable hours expectations, or whether firm is a the face-time office with expectation of regular 9-6 hours, or more of a bill whenever, where ever place. And phrasing can matter - the question "how many hours do you expect me to work in a week" has a different connotation than "what are the weekly hours expectations." It seems silly and maybe I'm reading too much into it, but if you asked me "how many hours do you expect me to work in a week?", that suggests you want to work the bare minimum, versus "so what is a normal work week, hours wise?" I don't know.

You want to leave the impression you want to work there 60 hours a week forever.

Was going to write more, but am agreeing with everything NotMyRealName has said. Basically, don't ask about anything that's a perk, that benefits you but not really the firm. Couch things as what you get to do, not what you have to do.

(This is all going off of general interviewing principles, regardless of who the employer is).

Double post

I think these questions are especially bad because asking about the vacation policy and working from home makes it seem like you're not a hard worker or at least won't be reliable. i don't really think there is a legal job where giving that vibe wouldn't be a negative. The entire profession is predicated on reliability - client relies on lawyer, lawyer on subordinate lawyer, subordinate lawyer on paralegal, etc. I agree with OP that asking good questions is hard, which is why there probably won't be a stock answer. "How's your day going?" and "what are you working on?" aren't the worst places to start.

NotMyRealName09 wrote: Yeesh - is it just me, or are some of these also very bad questions? They seem, to me, to beg for canned answers lacking candor, but maybe I'm wrong.

That's kinda what I'm looking for. Everybody answers the questions quite similarly, but you get certain tidbits of information... for example:

Do attorneys do stuff together outside work? What are they gonna say, "No, we all hate each other." Or "yes, except we exclude the office weirdo."

The answer of "this is a really collegial work environment, and we have regular work parties where we get to let our hair down and have fun" is standard for biglaw. "A group of us go out on Fridays for beer and billiards" shows that this place is different than most law firms.

Work life balance? "See as much of your wife as you can now."

This is probably a "me" thing. I'm in a position where my work life balance is more important than getting exactly market pay. I've had some biglaw places say that the work life balance isn't a balance... it's all work. I've had others say that they regularly leave at 2:30 on Friday to go play a round of golf. Both offered market salary. Both are well regarded in my legal market.

When people lateral out, where do they go? "You are not getting an offer because you're literally asking about exit options in an interview." This one in particular is egregious. It's like answering the question "where do you see yourself in five years?" Answer: "I used this job to leverage an even better job from your competitor. Please invest money in training me up in the meantime."

I didn't write the series of questions I normally ask. It's typically 1) What's the typical progression over the first 5-7 years for a new associate? 2) What are the chances of an associate in this practice group making partner? 3) What do most associates end up doing if they don't do the partner track? 4) Do most of these laterals end up in-house or at other firms?

Sometimes you get something along the lines of "we reject the up or out philosophy." Sometimes you get "we encourage our associates to go in-house with our clients."

What is the work from home policy? Unwritten policy? Ok, this may be ok, but if the policy is "it's frowned upon," this is bad question to me, even though its common and normal to work from home sometimes these days.

This is probably another "me" thing. I won't work anywhere that doesn't have at least an emergency WFH policy, but I'm not biglaw or bust. I occasionally ask the alternate "Are you a tech-savvy firm?"

I'm not interested in working on a 10 year old laptop hooked up to a network run by an overbearing network admin .

I think these questions are especially bad because asking about the vacation policy and working from home makes it seem like you're not a hard worker or at least won't be reliable. i don't really think there is a legal job where giving that vibe wouldn't be a negative.

I disagree. Asking an associate or partner how they handle their docket while they're on vacation tells them that you're thinking ahead and won't just drop things when you decide to go out of town. I've asked the question multiple times and have gotten anything from "vacations don't happen if I have a docket" to "I try to put in a couple hours a day while on vacation so I don't get behind" to "PTO is PTO, you're not going to get ahead (careerwise) by being a workaholic while on vacation."

tl;dr: You'd be surprised how much asking about non-work related things give you an insight into the firm's culture.

Also, if you didn't figure it out, I intentionally cut to the chase and didn't write the questions exactly how I would ask them.