Various Kinds of Interviews that a Legal Professional Has to Deal With

The interview is the culmination of the initial phases of the search - investigation and application - and is the third distinct stage. Face-to-face confrontation produces heightened impressions unrealizable from glances at resumes and writing samples. You're now in the trenches, fighting it out, all in the open. No papers, just hand-to-hand grappling. Interviewing usually decides hiring issues - if an employer has doubts about a transcript, or if an applicant feels unsure about the advancement of female lawyers through a firm, the interview can crystallize impressions and resolve problems on both sides. It should be used for just that purpose. Interviews can dull the senses and be rote exercises; it may be difficult to change the character of such an interview. Use every resource, however, to transform a dull exercise into productive time. Concentrate all your efforts into the half-hour segment that can catapult or flatten you.

Because interviews differ greatly in substance and nature, succeeding sections will delve into specific types of interviewing situations. The law school interview, the firm interview (all-day and half-day), first and second interviews, courtesy interviews, and single-interviewer and multi-interviewer sessions have varying purposes and demand varying approaches.

Prepare before any interview. Interviewing is never nonchalant. Research the firm to be approached, to determine the nature of the work and the backgrounds of the lawyers. For an on-campus interview, often the placement office will post the interviewer's name; do your research in Martindale-Hubble and learn the person's academic and legal credentials, publications, and activities. This information gives you ammunition for the lulls in conversation and puts you on a more equal footing with the interviewer, who has your resume to learn about you. The very fact of your preparation favorably impresses an interviewer - you devoted a least a few minutes to the interview and cared about professional Appearance.

In preparation for any interview you must practice your "patter." Depending on the length and nature of the interview, varying opportunities will arise in which to present certain vital points - highlights of your background. Never enter an interview "cold" - know the firm and practice your presentation, down even to phraseology couching vital points. In an on-campus interview, however, bare furnishings demand careful management of time and interviewer. Preparation, relating to information about the firm and to your personal highlights, is crucial.

The courtesy interview generally arises from a letter or calls to a lawyer, usually a friend or family acquaintance, to discuss opportunities in "The Law" in a certain field or city. Conversely, a courtesy interview can result from a letter to a hiring committee, which responds: "At this time, we do not have any available positions for someone with your qualifications. Because our needs do change, however, please call for an appointment if you are in [city] during the Fall." Such a response should not overly dishearten you, because at least the firm finds you interesting enough to extend an invitation. Utilize that opportunity to present an Appearance. Although the exercise may not benefit either party, it affords another chance to practice your pitch and look good, and to learn about yet another organization.

The first type of courtesy interview, with the "family friend," usually accomplishes little besides renewal of a family tie. Attempt, however, to examine the firm's practice, and pry information leading to other organizations in that city with whom you might want to work and at which the family friend might know a lawyer well enough to recommend you. You need not ask directly for this recommendation. Instead, simply ask whether your friend knows of organizations that might have available positions and/or practice in the fields of your interests. Your friend, who certainly knows of at least the latter, may then offer to contact some lawyers of his acquaintance. He may call while you sit at his desk (which, although discomforting, assuages your doubt about his bad memory or unwillingness to follow up), or may write on your behalf.

If your friend contacts other lawyers about your courtesy call, follow the procedure described below:
 

1. When the friend calls or writes you informing of his contacts, inquire whether you should telephone or write contacts.
2. Send a thank-you letter for his help.
3. Contact the new contacts, mentioning your friend and your thanks for the contact's relying on his recommendation, and set up an interview.

The in-school interview - the most reassuring form of interview because it occurs on your home ground - begins with solicitation by the placement office of law-related organizations (principally law firms) for on-campus interviewing. Two factors are prominent in the availability of on-campus interviews: the industry reputation of your law school and the activities of its placement office. Students at law schools in large cities generally are able to use on-campus interviews to better advantage because, due to the heavy concentration of law-related organizations in a city, more interviewers come to the school. Depending on the location and reputation of your school and intensity of the placement director, you will have varying opportunities to develop on-campus interviewing skills.

On-campus interviews develop in the following manner: the placement office contacts employers or employers contact the placement office; the placement office lists, by category of practice or alphabetically, organizations coming to the school; and the applicant submits a resume to the placement office, which forwards groups of resumes to the organizations. Organizations then inform the placement office of students desired for interviews. Names are then placed in time slots that can range from fifteen to sixty minutes. The interviewer is usually ensconced in a small, airless office, and students rotate through the room. Not glamorous, but efficient.

Most on-campus interviews occupy approximately twenty minutes and are designed to survey superficially the applicant's and employer's highlights. The on-campus meeting basically provides an employer opportunity to sift through the masses for a few students considered desirable for the entire organization to view. Some organizations, to narrow the field of students beforehand, will specify, for example, "top ten percent only," "law review only," or "practice limited to labor and insurance defense." Such systems can be arbitrary but also useful, winnowing the field at the outset to only those students interested in a specific practice.

The on-campus interviewer may be a graduate of your school, who volunteered or was sent for that reason. The interviewer usually is fairly outgoing and pleasant, intended to be a good representative of the firm.

The on-campus interview is designed for generalities because time does not permit deeper probing. Due to the time limitation, it is imperative that you be familiar with the firm's organizational structure and the interviewer's background and practice. Your questions must be well prepared beforehand. Most important, your arsenal must include the vital points, injected into conversation whether or not asked, whether or not time permits, and whether or not the interviewer overwhelmingly dominates the conversation. These vital points concern highlights of your academic and professional career. If your law school grades are unimpressive, emphasize law review experience, a published article, or relevant work experience. If your grades are superior, emphasize the importance of grades in law school as an indicator of potential ability to practice law. Never downplay areas in which you are weak; concentrate instead on areas in which you excel. Always produce a writing sample, whether asked or not. Develop a small presentation concerning the sample - make a "scene" of it. Mention the sample's substance and, if possible, its relevance to the firm's practice.

Score the vital points at any cost. In a short interview, with a talkative or an inattentive interviewer, grasp the lead and direct the conversation to your advantage. That process may be the most difficult aspect of interviewing. In some on-campus interviews, you will be offered an opportunity in which to spout off. More often, however, the interviewer dominates the session, and you must jump in on every pause to score a vital point. When, for example, the interviewer drones on about the firm's practice, interrupt to direct attention to the paragraph on your resume that indicates prior experience in exactly the area at issue.

Vital points highlight your career for an interviewer and indicate your ability to speak for five consecutive minutes. The on-campus interview is so short that only two things can propel you into the second interview - a brilliant aspect of your resume" or a stellar performance in the minutes allotted you in the interview. Your vital points will be practiced but must appear fresh when vocalized. Practice is necessary: organize the points and actually speak your parts privately before you ascend the stage. The interview, like any performance, requires prior practice and concentration during the act to insure that you and your lines are not flat. For one interview it is not difficult to sound polished and excited. The true professional interviewee - which you can become - must, like an actor, appear polished and excited in the twentieth interview. At that stage, vital points are trusted allies, whose delivery must be emphasized.

The on-campus interview challenges your ability to perform in a short time period, hindered by often verbose interviewers who present a full view of the firm. No time exists for extended repartee that allows paced, patterned approaches. The on-campus interview develops your capacity for compressed delivery and time management.

The other type of first interview occurs after a positive response to your letter and resume. This interview can take many forms - a twenty-minute special, a half-day whirl, or a whole-day fryer, with single or multiple interviewers. Each is detailed below.

The twenty-minute special approximates in substance and feel the on-campus interview. Always inquire, when obtaining appointments, about the expected length of your interview at the firm, about the number of interviewers you will visit, and about the possibility of Lunch. Many times the initial interview at the firm will be intended as a sifting, superficial session, and you can divine this intention by discovering beforehand the mechanics of the

If the first interview at the firm will be a sifter, prepare for it as you would an on-campus interview. If you know the name of the interviewer, research. Even when you set up the appointment, the secretary may not know which lawyers will be available on your appointed day. Then simply research the firm in general, practice your vital points, and play it by ear. To maximize available time, two or more lawyers may attend your interview. Although daunting, this practice can help you by geometric degrees, allowing you to impress numerous interviewers favorably in a short time span. In a multiple-interviewer situation, speak to the group and treat the experience as more of a speechmaking opportunity than a question-answer session.

At a short first interview, the ground rules approximate those of an on-campus interview. Ask questions about the interviewer, the firm's practice, rotation programs, numbers of new lawyers, numbers of female lawyers, and numbers of legal assistants. Again, avoid inquiries about salary and billed hours. Emphasize your vital points.

The half-day interview at the firm entails three or four hours of half-hour interviews, perhaps ending with Lunch. Lunch, a separate category of interview, merits its own discussion and appears later.

The theory of the extended interview differs fundamentally from that underlying the on-campus or twenty-minute specials. Not merely an exercise in snap judgments and mechanical sifting, the extended interview exercises your ability to deal at length with numerous personalities in situations of varying tensions and atmospheres. The extended interview allows the firm to test the applicant in different ways. The firm may use a routine in which some interviewers gruffly bark out questions as orders, baiting or focusing on particularly unpleasant aspects of your academic record (grades are favorite); on the other hand, some interviewers beam sweetness, bantering carelessly about hobbies, sports, law in general, etc. In an extended interview, try to gauge the type of interviewer in the first few minutes - usually not a difficult trick - and play the interviewer's game as well as possible within those ground rules. Because the firm will likely provide different types of interviewer, you need not strain to change the course of an individual interview from the pattern that the interviewer wishes to set. You will be able to ply your wiles and score points more at leisure throughout the day, and generally you will visit at least one or two interviewers amenable to your direction.

The function of the extended interview most important to the firm is to parade you before as many people as possible, in different types of interviewing situations. Intense interviewing drains and bores the firm's resources and exhausts applicants, but the thoroughness of the process produces a reasonably complete picture of you as a physical presence - numerous lawyers have had the opportunity to view your Appearance. Even an extended interview tells little about an applicant's potential for success at law practice, but it can suggest your ability to handle different social contexts and to deal with lawyers and clients on a personal level. Seeing many lawyers allows human factors to influence the day, tension to dissipate, and errors and brilliance to show.

Do not be overly encouraged at an invitation for a half-day or longer. Many organizations automatically follow such a practice, after diligently screening resume to catch the best paper-qualified candidates. Some firms, however, by running you through extended interviews, indicate serious interest. It is nearly impossible to know if the firm is serious at this point, unless a lawyer slips something to you.

In an extended interview, you will shuttle around to so many people that remembering the names of interviewers will confound you. Concentrate intently when each person is introduced and briefly note in writing the name when you first take a seat in a new office. There may be some doubt about the proper form of address of certain lawyers. The lawyer who delivers you to the next interviewer may hint in this regard, by saying "Mr. Johnson is a partner in the antitrust section." Take the hint, and address Johnson, Esq. as Mister. In general, if the lawyer looks old enough to want address as Mister or Mrs., do so. If in doubt, opt for formal address, or say nothing.

The differences between a half-day and full-day extended interview are physical and psychological. A full day of talking with many people, all of whom you must impress favorably, is tiring. The face numbs from smiling, the neck chafes from the tight collar, and the feet ache from the heels. The third part of a fully extended interview, the afternoon, simply repeats the morning. (Lunch, the second part, appears in the next section.) Although your energy level has dropped markedly, however, each lawyer devotes only a half-hour as a diversion to your interview. The disadvantage is yours. During the afternoon of the full day your practice and attention to clothing, attitude, and speech carry the day. [You must be able to rely on your physical preparation. You must concentrate and not rely on an automatic ability to respond engagingly to sometimes difficult and inane questions. During the afternoon, grit gets you through.

Avoid routine during the afternoon. One problem is the necessity of repeating endlessly the nature of an article you wrote or the reason for your interest in the firm. You need not respond uniquely or differently to each questioner, but you must invest your answer with interest, as though the tenth time is the first time you have heard that question. Concentrate on the vital points - their emphasis is your goal with each lawyer.

The afternoon simply provides further opportunity for the firm to look at you. Utilize the afternoon as a chance to obtain a thorough view of the people and the practice. The firm may decide your fate on the basis of the single full-day interview; that interview may be your only opportunity to examine young lawyers' views on working at the firm, or on practicing law in general. In contrast to an on-campus interview, it is not inappropriate in a full-day session to inquire about young lawyers' working habits, i.e., the number of billable hours. Refrain from inquiring of older lawyers in this regard. Avoid questions concerning salary until an offer has been extended.

The afternoon of a full-day interview may be used to advantage by alertly probing, taking the offensive, and appearing interested. You may not be able to score many points when drained and interviewed-out, but you can maintain the status quo - make the "look" good enough to avoid demerits. You may not have a second interview, so, tired as you are, make a professional showing. The show is, more than anything else, expected.

Second, or call-back, interviews at the firm are similar whether they follow on-campus, short at-firm, or more extended first interviews.

Second interviews provide a more serious look for both the firm and the applicant. They indicate a relatively strong interest in the applicant.

Second interviews require in-depth preparation by the applicant. Thoroughly immerse yourself in the firm's resume, organization charts indicating various departments and lawyers therein, and secondary sources to explore backgrounds of lawyers further. Know names of lawyers with whom you spoke during the initial interview, and their fields of practice. Your questions about the practice should be more penetrating than those at the first interview; be more conversant with that practice. You may speak with some of the same people you saw initially - refer to the written list of names surreptitiously compiled during the first interview. Names are important for Appearance's sake; a command of lawyers' names indicates a comfort in the surroundings, a confidence that bespeaks the right fit. Make the "look" good, as if you belonged there.

Before the interview, contact lawyers in the firm who are graduates of your law school, and, when at the interview, duck your head into their offices to say "hello." The gesture further emphasizes your collegiality and comfort in the environment.

Second interviews duplicate the first in function - you and the firm view each other thoroughly. Act aggressively in information-gathering. Avoid demonstrations of your superb lawyering potential that involve ponderous recitations on "The Law" or any other subject. Command as many facts about the firm as can be amassed before entering the doors; use the information to help your Appearance.

Lunch, the second part of a full-day interview or the latter part of a half-day session, functions similarly to the formal interview portions, and adds some new problems. Lunch may simply serve as a means of bridging the two interview parts with a hot meal, or it may subject the applicant to deliberate further pressures. Lunch may occur in the firm's dining room, in a fashionable restaurant, or in a cafeteria. Principles similar to all locations must be applied.

Lunch provides the firm yet another view of the applicant, in a social but business-oriented climate. The exercise has some merit: the "business lunch" still dominates the social-business entertainment pattern, and a firm often entertains current or prospective clients at noontime eateries. Your ability to function gracefully in such a situation enhances the likelihood of landing an offer.

Usually more than one lawyer will join you for lunch, allowing many different people to perceive your Appearance and presentation. Naturally lunches attended by just you and one lawyer are less disconcerting. Often some partners and some associates will be there, to balance the merriment. Sometimes two or three young lawyers only will accompany you, usually attempting to convey the impression that all the young folks can relax and just have a good time. Tread with care in this context: those lawyers laugh easily because they have practiced this act often, and you should exhibit some inhibitions. Reject as overacting the gregarious joke-trading of these young lawyers - their prerogative is not yours, and their outsized playfulness shows either ill-comfort or unawareness of the lunch's purpose from a business standpoint. Their attitude may also be purposely designed to disconcert or off-balance the applicant and so test his or her reactions.

Conversation stretches in all directions, focusing on legal practice in the firm, the city, and individual lawyers' offices. As subjects, collegiate history is fertile ground, local politics are attractive, and the city itself is a good source of inspiration. Humor rises more naturally in this context than in a formal interview.

Like all other aspects of interviewing, lunch demands professional Appearance. General rules of etiquette prevail. As to menu, deal with foods familiar to you, the intricacies of which you have mastered prior to the lunch. Avoid foods that are messy or require great dexterity in handling. Do not hesitate to order a full-sized meal. Unless pressed very hard, avoid liquor, especially if you must interview further during the afternoon. Non-alcoholic beverages are entirely appropriate; you need not attempt to be one of the "lawyers' crowd" with that affectation. In reviewing the lunch as a whole, Appearance is a large factor. Balance carefully the eating and the discussing; do not favor one over the other. Such an affair is business and not much pleasure, but, as usual, appear to take pleasure in the business. Remember that the lunch may be used as an integral part of the interview. Concentrate on the conversation, and organize your meal so that eating is confident and automatic. Spend no thought on the food, and be graceful.

The subject of expense reimbursement confounds good analysis. No set approach exists for broaching the subject. Often the firm indicates a policy on reimbursement; however, do not assume that, because there is no overt word on the subject, the firm does not favor reimbursement. Financial information of any type is little discussed in the interviewing world.

In general, for a first interview, do not expect reimbursement for travel and hotel expenses. If offered, reimbursement will be pro-rata payment based on either the number of organizations with which you interviewed or the number of organizations on the trip that agreed to split charges. The situation can be delicate because a firm may believe that all organizations reimburse expenses and may base its offer on that assumption, reducing the pro-rata share. If you feel comfortable enough with the particular lawyer making the announcement, discuss it.

A firm will more likely provide reimbursement on a second interview. The method of reimbursement will probably follow that mentioned above. The best "Appearance-approach," if the firm has made no indication, is to ask the last lawyer you visit about the policy. The question is not inappropriate even if the policy is not to reimburse.

The proper method of obtaining reimbursement is by letter, citing the policy and including copies of all relevant receipts from the interviewing trip. Depending on the formula for reimbursement, you should include also the number of firms with which you interviewed. Avoid charging each firm for the full tab: horror stories abound about students who work this scheme and later are dismissed from a firm because the plot is discovered. Because organizations discuss recruitment, your multiple charging might easily be exposed.

With each interviewing season, the practice of reimbursement for travel expenses becomes more common. Your uncomfortable cry for recognition will likely be unnecessary. Be adroit, but do not fail to discuss the matter at some point.

The thank-you note concludes the initial interviewing process. A note should always follow an interview conducted at the firm, whether the interview lasted twenty minutes or eight hours. Do not send a note after an on-campus session.

Like many aspects of the job hunt, the thank-you note more often prevents demerits than adds to the positive total. You will not overwhelm the firm simply because you cranked out an automatic four-line note, but the effort assures that you have assimilated, as a matter of habit, formal courtesies appropriate to the lawyer's world. Properly phrased and prepared, the note is another part of your Appearance that maintains the status quo relative to other applicants.

The note should be produced within a week after the interview.

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