I know I am not alone in dreading the “So, do you have any questions for me?” question. I have always been told that it is better for the interview to go a little over than to end early. You want the interviewer to be so engaged in the conversation that it spills over (just a bit). That being said, when the interviewer gives hints that they want to finish up (checking their watch, shortening their responses, etc.), respect their boundaries and let the conversation conclude naturally. The advice I offer below is set with the backdrop that lawyers love to talk about themselves. Getting here is hard, it takes plenty of sacrifice and dedication. It makes sense that attorneys are eager to discuss their journey.
Here are a few questions that are usually open ended enough to take up a lot of time in an interview while showing interest in the firm:
1. How do you staff your matters? This is a good question for hopeful corporate associates especially. It shows that you have at least a general understanding of the way a large law firm functions. Typically, corporate deals have a partner, senior associate, mid-level and one or two juniors. This will depend on the type of deal, of course. As someone who will start at the firm start fresh out of law school, you want to make sure it will not just be you and a senior partner running a deal that you know nothing about.
2. Know the interviewer’s field of work and ask them about it. As I said before, lawyers love to talk about themselves. Lawyers also work a lot, especially lawyers at large firms. It is always a good idea to go on the interviewer’s firm profile to get an idea of what type of work that person does. For example, if you are interviewing with a Corporate partner, look into whether their specialty is Capital Markets, M&A, Funds, etc. It is also good to know one of their previous deals and ask about it. Stick with deals that are on the interviewer's firm profile listed under their name. You don’t want to be on the web looking at deals from six years ago (definitely a little stalker-esque). Further to this point, during OCI, you could have upwards of ten interviews, with some back-to-back. I used flashcards to differentiate my interviewers and their field of law. I kept the index cards in my interview folder and would glance at them immediately before entering an interview.
3. What does XYZ firm consider to be a good junior associate? This question is a great way demonstrate an interest in working hard and subtly feel out the culture of the firm. It is important to deduce what the partners and senior associates will be expecting from you as a junior associate. Most of the large firms expect responsiveness and their associates to work late when necessary. Just how responsive you need to be on the weekends and how frequently you are burning the midnight oil makes a huge difference in your mental health and how long you will want to work there.
Best of luck in your interview!
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