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I am lateraling and was asked by the new firm to provide references. How in-depth do firms typically go during reference checks for a lateral candidate? Is it more about confirming employment/whether there were any disciplinary issues, or would they go into more specifics like amount of hours billed?

I’ve been used as a reference several times. In my experience the firms call (if at all) after deciding to extend an offer but before formally making the offer as a final check. Never been asked about hours, most of the questions have generally been about the candidates’ performance. In one recent experience they pushed pretty hard for specific examples, presumably to confirm I was actually a legitimate reference for the candidate.

Goes without saying you should choose folks who will say good things about you, but I assume the reference in most cases is just ticking one final box but unlikely to tip the scales unless something really unexpected comes to light.