12 Apr Preparing for Interviews at Law Firms

So, you’ve sent in your CV and been put forward as a candidate at your dream firm. The role fits your PQE, speciality, and the firm wants to bring you in for an interview. You’re quite nervous, as this interview determines your future. You may be a person who loves interviewing and has a wealth of confidence going in. Conversely, you may be a person who believes their interview skills are rather weak. Either way, if you walk into the interview well-prepared and armed with a strategy, your confidence and talent will shine through.

The interview starts with the CV. If we put ourselves into the interviewer’s shoes, all they know about a candidate starts with the CV- it is the first impression. Ensuring that your CV is tightened up is vital. Be sure to have every description formatted as past tense, bar the job that you are currently in. This detail is small but is very noticeable, particularly to lawyers. Next, only include high value information in your CV. Interning with a magic circle firm should be included, but a hobby of raising racing rabbits may not be worthwhile. Finally, be familiar with your CV- know it like the back of your hand. In your mind, walk through explanations of every article and piece of information on your CV. Interviewers will ask specific questions about this info, and inclusions of half-baked experiences are sure to be brought up.

The best interviewees can tell stories. Instead of regurgitating facts from the CV or responding with succinct responses, an enveloping story gives a better impression of who you are. For competency and behavioural questions, the S.T.A.R method will help you craft a story. Starting with the S, situation. Set the scene of the situation you were in with all the necessary details and exposition. The T, task, involves describing your responsibility in that given situation. Highlight the challenges faced, constraints involved, and any potential deadlines. A, action, requires you to explain the actions you took to overcome the problem or complete the task. Be sure to describe your experiences with teamwork, leadership, initiative, and other values firms look for. Finally, the R, result, is the part of the story where you speak on the outcome of your actions. What did you achieve? What did you improve upon? This is the resolution of your story where you can wrap it up nicely. This method is a great outline for responding to a question with a meaningful story, and the flow between segments improves with practice.

Every interview will involve tough questions. Interviewers relish in asking candidates their weaknesses and their experience in managing conflicts. When asked about your weaknesses, be honest of course, but choose some aspect that you can spin to a positive light. For example, a weakness could be perfectionism. However, describe how you have awareness of this weakness and have been, and will continue to, work to improve your tolerance of slight imperfections. You can also include that you have learned how to make your weakness work to your advantage through a S.T.A.R experience story. Avoid naming inexperience as a weakness though, firms do not particularly like this one. Interviewers will also ask you about a time you have had conflicts with colleagues or clients, and how you overcame them. Again, spin this to your benefit. Describe the conflict in a mature on peaceful light and detail the resolution as a growth opportunity. Showing positivity and being upbeat about the experience speaks volumes to interviewers.

Law firms, due to their professional nature, ask a hefty load of technical questions as well. Be prepared for questions about specific practice areas or the operation of specific legislation related to the job description. This seems obvious but brushing up on this information before the interview is never a bad idea. Hand in hand with these technical questions, it is imperative to know the firm well. Being familiar with the specific kinds of cases the firm, and especially the department, handles is a huge leg-up. Much of this information can be found by reviewing the firm’s profile on the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners guides. You could also bring up recent notable cases the firm has had to show your dedication to the role. The interview is a great time to show off your expertise in law and familiarity with the firm.

Once armed with strategies and a plan for the interview, it is important to let your personality shine. Be yourself and be personable. Have confidence in expressing your character and qualifications. The interview will go better when you have a looser and comfortable demeanour rather than an anxious and robotic one. If you are looking for new opportunities please let us know. As we specialise in pairing people with top tier firms that suit their needs, we can assist and relieve pressure from the stressful process of finding a new job. Get in touch to learn how we can support you.