Senior Associate NYC V15 - Hiring Interviewer/Transactional - AMA Forum

[Anonymous User]

Thought I'd also put up an AMA to help people given the current hiring season / pandemic situation. Happy to answer any questions about Biglaw, Transactional Work, Interviewing, Investing, etc.

My Background:
I graduated from HLS and did HLS EIP Screener Interviews this year, if anyone has specific questions on that school's process.
Currently at and have worked at 2/3 different big law firms in NYC (V15 through V40). Adding Vault rankings for context that TLS likes, but in reality they have very little to do with actual practice or even which firm you should be at. Was involved with hiring and interviewing throughout.
Only interviewed for NYC and have done NYC Transactional work for my entire career. Have worked in multiple practice groups however, covering most of the major transactional practices.

Feel free to ask anything you want and I'll try my best to answer.

[Anonymous User]

What is the best way for an interviewee to demonstrate an interest in transactional work?

[Anonymous User]

Do you have any insight into the callback evaluation process? What types of seemingly harmless things a candidate might say would be an auto-ding?

[Anonymous User]

Does your firm screen more at the screener stage or the callback stage? Once a candidate makes it to a callback, what differentiates candidates who are made offers from those who are not?

[Anonymous User]

What is the hiring forecast for laterals? Is it on an as needed basis or are firms just expecting to put posting up just to test the market?

[Anonymous User]

What is the best way for an interviewee to demonstrate an interest in transactional work?

Honestly, as long as your enthusiastic and have a reasonably thought out response - perhaps pointing to prior activity of some sort (can be almost anything, a class, a major, a work experience, etc.) - we will take you for your word. Nobody expects people to really know what Capital Markets or M&A work is like as a law student, so as long as you have a prepared response, its sufficient.

Do you have any insight into the callback evaluation process? What types of seemingly harmless things a candidate might say would be an auto-ding?

Not a lot of auto-dings, I think the main one is just expressing zero interest or having zero questions (barring the obvious ones like rudeness / racism / etc.) People definitely understand that callbacks can be draining, but nobody wants to recommend a disinterested candidate so keep that in mind when scheduling your callbacks or doing back to backs. When I interviewed I put my secondary choices as the later callback for any day I was doing to of them since I knew I was going to have less energy.

[Anonymous User]

Does your firm screen more at the screener stage or the callback stage? Once a candidate makes it to a callback, what differentiates candidates who are made offers from those who are not?

Based on our numbers cutoffs for screeners (i.e. we are only taking X candidates out of Y screened), it definitely seems like more are cut at the screener stage. Callbacks are generally where you are in a favored position so it's more about just keeping a positive impression on everyone you meet and avoiding red flags.

What is the hiring forecast for laterals? Is it on an as needed basis or are firms just expecting to put posting up just to test the market?

Laterals at mid-level and up seem to be decently in demand right now given that transactional work in NY seems to be recovering strongly after the initial Covid slowdown. Still, I think lateral hiring is definitely on a firm by firm / practice by practice basis only as needed. I generally do not think firms would put up postings when they don't actually need bodies. They definitely may take their time going about it though even if they do need more associates.

[Anonymous User]

Should I be concerned about drops in vault ranking for exit options to in-house/lateral/gov works?

Weil’s vault ranking has dropped 6-7 steps since 2015, every year (DLA piper likewise). Milbank and K&E have instead been going up.

Is this some sort of a red flag?

[Anonymous User]

Should I be concerned about drops in vault ranking for exit options to in-house/lateral/gov works?

Weil’s vault ranking has dropped 6-7 steps since 2015, every year (DLA piper likewise). Milbank and K&E have instead been going up.

Is this some sort of a red flag?

No, as I stated in my bio, Vault rankings are a very surface level view an entire firm's overall perception solely based on Associates who decide to actually jot down some rankings. I don't think I submitted my scores to Vault more than once the past 5 years.

Laterals and In-House (I know less about gov positions) are much more based on your longevity, your experiences and your practice group. Often if you've made it 3-4 years in a biglaw firm in NYC in a major practice group, tons of other biglaw firms will usually be willing to hire you regardless of vault rankings since attrition is so heavy at most firms. Specialist groups are more based on need, while in-house looks at a whole host of variables and the interviewing itself plays a large role.

At the end of the day, 5-10 positions in Vault doesn't matter. What does matter, imo, is that DLA has not paid covid bonuses to its associates in the pandemic unlike many other firms. Similar to salary cuts that weren't fully reinstated, direct signs from Partners about how they value their associates at a firm should weigh much more in people's consideration of which firms to go to. Sometimes these things eventually show up in a Vault ranking, but oftentimes they do not (again due to the haphazard nature of how it is put together).

[TheoO]

It's been asked ad nauseam here, but want to just see the perspective of an actual interviewer: thank you letters. Ya or nay?

[Anonymous User]

I work in funds and notice that a lot of the job postings I see ask for a huge range of experience levels (i.e. 2-6 years, 3-7 years or "junior-midlevel" or "midlevel to senior" etc.). Why do firms advertise such a broad range and do they really not know whether they want a second year or a sixth year? Also, I've been told 3-5 years is the sweet spot to lateral but do law firms (particularly those that include 6th or 7th years in their preferred ranges) ever want/need associates that senior or more senior? And if so, are those firms typically looking for soon-to-be income partners/counsels or are they expecting you to be okay with being a super senior associate?

[Anonymous User]

It's been asked ad nauseam here, but want to just see the perspective of an actual interviewer: thank you letters. Ya or nay?

I like them if I had good rapport with someone during an interview, but definitely do not expect them. Not necessary but I don't think they are ever viewed negatively. I don't think I wrote maybe more than a couple of these when I did screeners/callbacks.

I work in funds and notice that a lot of the job postings I see ask for a huge range of experience levels (i.e. 2-6 years, 3-7 years or "junior-midlevel" or "midlevel to senior" etc.). Why do firms advertise such a broad range and do they really not know whether they want a second year or a sixth year? Also, I've been told 3-5 years is the sweet spot to lateral but do law firms (particularly those that include 6th or 7th years in their preferred ranges) ever want/need associates that senior or more senior? And if so, are those firms typically looking for soon-to-be income partners/counsels or are they expecting you to be okay with being a super senior associate?

At least from what I've seen, when a firm doesn't look to hire when it just needs one extra person. The practice group can absorb the extra hours (not like us associates are making hiring decisions on laterals haha). When it wants to hire, it needs several so probably a 2nd/3rd year or a 5th year would all be helpful. As for sweet spot, there probably are slightly more 3-5 year positions open, but I find that there is always demand for senior associates as well - there's still high attrition or job switching at these ranks, so firms can themselves with zero senior associates (and Partners do not want to fill that role). There can be different circumstances for people coming in as a senior though, anything from an expected counsel to a ~2 year period where they are evaluating you for junior partner.