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First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:21 pm
by Anonymous User
MM and got an e-mail from a V20 asking me to come into their office and do an interview. Did I skip the screening interview and go right to a CB? What should I keep in mind, honestly have no idea what I'm doing or what to expect.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:28 pm
by Br3v
Anonymous User wrote:MM and got an e-mail from a V20 asking me to come into their office and do an interview. Did I skip the screening interview and go right to a CB? What should I keep in mind, honestly have no idea what I'm doing or what to expect.
IDK what a MM is, but yes typically if you mass mailed someone and got an invitation to come interview at the office then you have "skipped" the screener and went straight to callback. Expect to meet with 3 or 4 attorneys and to go to lunch/coffee depending on the time of day. Remember that at lunch/coffee you can be a little more casual than you might be siting in someone's office in a formal interview setting, but also remember that the lunch/coffee is still an interview and so you should still be on your A game.

Congrats and good luck!

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:34 pm
by Anonymous User
Br3v wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:MM and got an e-mail from a V20 asking me to come into their office and do an interview. Did I skip the screening interview and go right to a CB? What should I keep in mind, honestly have no idea what I'm doing or what to expect.
IDK what a MM is, but yes typically if you mass mailed someone and got an invitation to come interview at the office then you have "skipped" the screener and went straight to callback. Expect to meet with 3 or 4 attorneys and to go to lunch/coffee depending on the time of day. Remember that at lunch/coffee you can be a little more casual than you might be siting in someone's office in a formal interview setting, but also remember that the lunch/coffee is still an interview and so you should still be on your A game.

Congrats and good luck!
MM is presumably exactly what you said, he "mass mailed and got an email..."

You should be prepared for a CB style interview (4 interviews in a row followed by a meal potentially), but I also got screeners through mass mailing, so this could be just that. Generally, because you mass mailed, the firm doesn't have a neutral site for interviewing you, like OCI (obviously the firm won't come to your 1L summer office), so they bring you in for the screener in their office.

Either way, it shouldn't matter, but have about 5 copies of your res, trans, writ sampl, etc. just in case you've got a full set of interviews.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:40 pm
by Anonymous User
You can tell whether it's a screener or a callback based on how long it is. If they say it will be half an hour, it's a screener. If they say it will be 2 hours or more, it's a callback. Either way, not really any different from the equivalent interview obtained through OCI.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:43 pm
by Anonymous User
No time mentioned, just asked for the best date.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:45 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:No time mentioned, just asked for the best date.
What are your stats?

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:45 pm
by Anonymous User
T25 top 10%

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:50 pm
by KunAgnis
Anonymous User wrote:MM and got an e-mail from a V20 asking me to come into their office and do an interview.
I could use some help with mass mailing, if you don't mind. Could you tell me how you phrased and structured your email to show your interest to the firm?

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:51 pm
by bwh8813
Anonymous User wrote:No time mentioned, just asked for the best date.
You'll know from their response because they will give you a time frame. As noted above, if it's 30 minutes it's a screener, but more likely it will be 1.5-2 hrs or so for a callback. Likely a day or two before the actual interview they'll send you a complete schedule with interviewer info.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:00 pm
by Anonymous User
Not op here, but after how many days or weeks is it appropriate to ask for an update on hiring? Also do you ask the legal assistant who handles interview scheduling or the partner I interviewed with last?

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:33 pm
by bwh8813
Anonymous User wrote:Not op here, but after how many days or weeks is it appropriate to ask for an update on hiring? Also do you ask the legal assistant who handles interview scheduling or the partner I interviewed with last?
If it's Big Law, the "legal assistant" is likely someone from recruiting. I would follow-up with that person. How long after depends on how you left it. I usually sent a quick thank you email after interviews, and in that would ask about the expected timeline. Depending on the response there, I'd give it 2 weeks if they didn't explicitly say it would be longer.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:58 pm
by Anonymous User
bwh8813 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Not op here, but after how many days or weeks is it appropriate to ask for an update on hiring? Also do you ask the legal assistant who handles interview scheduling or the partner I interviewed with last?
If it's Big Law, the "legal assistant" is likely someone from recruiting. I would follow-up with that person. How long after depends on how you left it. I usually sent a quick thank you email after interviews, and in that would ask about the expected timeline. Depending on the response there, I'd give it 2 weeks if they didn't explicitly say it would be longer.
I interviewed last Friday and sent a quick thank you letter the next day but didn't mention anything about the timeline. So should I wait at least another week before contacting for an update?

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 1:06 pm
by Anonymous User
If your law school is close to the city/you emphasized in your email a willingness to visit the firm, I would guess this is a screener, ie one twenty minute interview. I did this at a V10 firm and was informed during it that they would love to have me back (for a callback). Good luck.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 1:11 pm
by Anonymous User
No its in a city across the country from my law school I'll be visiting for a few days.

Re: First Biglaw Interview

Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 1:43 pm
by Anonymous User
Oh then you're 100% call back, and they will cover your trip. Congrats.