Questions to ask the top guy Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm going to have a second visit at one of my top firms; they scheduled me to meet the head of a practice group that I'm interested in. I feel like I'm going to another CB; I keep thinking that if I ask dumb questions, the partner would tell HR "rescind his offer." Seriously, I feel like most questions about hours, work/life balance, culture etc. would only be appropriate to ask junior/midlevel associates and would not be applicable to the partner. So, which questions should I ask him? Partnership track? Business development responsibilities?

[Saltnpeppa1]

First, I am sure you would have to royally F up for them to rescind your offer.

That being said, I had a similar experience with interviewing with people in the practice group I wanted (and I eventually ended up joining). You are interested in the practice group, so there must be reasons for that interest. I would ask him/her about those reasons. Read his/her bio, and pick their brain about the industry. Given your interest, you must have an idea about what's involved with the practice, so ask him/her if those ideas are true.

People on the other side mostly love talking about their work, so you shouldn't have any problem with not having enough material to ask.

[SmokeytheBear]

This is a good stage to be at. I would look at their bio and poke around on Law360 to see if you can find any information about deals/cases that they have been on. If you can, I would simply say something like "I saw that you did [this case/deal]. That seems interesting because [think of something simple to say, or just say that it seems interesting]. Can you tell me more about it?" People LOVE discussing their deals/cases, so that'll be good. Even follow it up with, "If I were to join your team, what kind of role would I fill on a case/deal like that?"

Or something like, "Knowing what you know now because of all of your experience, what do you wish you could tell yourself when you first started--what kind of advice" or something cheese dick like that.

Really you're just trying to think of questions to ingratiate yourself a bit.

Good luck!

[notgreat]

Ask him how big his dong is.

[strawberrieee]

Ask him how big his dong is.

Someone seems to have a bad day.

[20181989]

I'm going to have a second visit at one of my top firms; they scheduled me to meet the head of a practice group that I'm interested in. I feel like I'm going to another CB; I keep thinking that if I ask dumb questions, the partner would tell HR "rescind his offer." Seriously, I feel like most questions about hours, work/life balance, culture etc. would only be appropriate to ask junior/midlevel associates and would not be applicable to the partner. So, which questions should I ask him? Partnership track? Business development responsibilities?

To be clear, this will not happen.

[h2go]

I'm going to have a second visit at one of my top firms; they scheduled me to meet the head of a practice group that I'm interested in. I feel like I'm going to another CB; I keep thinking that if I ask dumb questions, the partner would tell HR "rescind his offer." Seriously, I feel like most questions about hours, work/life balance, culture etc. would only be appropriate to ask junior/midlevel associates and would not be applicable to the partner. So, which questions should I ask him? Partnership track? Business development responsibilities?

To be clear, this will not happen.

If you ask how big his dong is, it probably will...

[Anonymous User]

If you have an offer, this meeting may be the inverse of what you're thinking. Could be less of a second callback, and more of a firm closing attempt. They want to fill their class as soon as possible, so they want you to confirm. In comes the head honcho. With that in mind, asks serious questions that you have about the firm. What does his day look like? What are tasks he gives associates? What are the factors he values in an associate? And so on. You'll get a feeling for the perspective of the leadership of the firm.

With that said, I would perhaps phrase all of this in a way that gets across how great of an associate you'll be. Not that they will rescind your offer, but rather he will be your boss shortly and perceptions start from the beginning of a relationship.

Context: I had one of these recently.

Caveat: I'm still a law student.

[ur_hero]

Just show continued interest, the right amount of excitement/enthusiasm, and be able to keep the conversation going in the event they don't/can't. Try not to be too awkward.

Either way, your job is likely secure - overwhelmingly most reputable firms don't renege an offer without a very compelling reason or need. Think of this more as an opportunity to make a good impression and potentially build a close relationship. If you're lucky, you'll leave with them either liking you, thinking they really want to give work to you, or in the future saying particularly nice things about you to others.