Whether you’re participating in the on-campus interview program at your law school or you’re searching for a job at a law firm on your own, the process is daunting and exhausting.
And the job interview prep isn’t that fun, either. But preparation is everything. Law firm partners and other attorneys will ask questions to better understand your personality, learn about your knowledge of the specific legal field, and gauge how you will balance a busy caseload. This includes your interactions with clients and building client relationships.
It's a lot to cram into one interview.
We’re making it a little easier for you by highlighting a variety of law questions you’ll probably be asked. And for some very common questions, we're even sharing how you can actually answer them.
How to Prepare for Law Firm Interview Questions
Proper preparation means carving out time to anticipate the types of questions you'll be asked and thinking through your answers. As with any job interview, you don't want your answers to sound scripted, overly rehearsed, or memorized.
Some of the types of questions you'll encounter include common or general background questions, as well as behavioral, situational, and even hypothetical questions related to what you would do in a certain legal situation. Before you get intimidated by the interview process, remember that your ability to articulate and explain your answer concisely will be more impressive than any "right" answer.
Here's an organized list of sample law firm interview questions to help you prepare to ace your next legal interview.
General and Personal Law Firm Interview Questions
- Tell me about yourself.
- How would your peers describe you?
- Why did you choose to pursue a legal career?
- What are your top personal skills?
- What motivates you?
- What are your strengths/weaknesses?
- What would make you a good trial advocate?
- What’s your biggest mistake or failure and why?
- How do you build trust with a client?
- Tell me something interesting that I can't find on your resume.
- What's your proudest accomplishment?
- What has been your biggest professional challenge?
- How do you work under pressure?
- What type of people do you work with best?
- What type of people do you not work well with and why?
- What does success look like for you?
- How would you describe your ideal job?
- Is there any crime you would have trouble defending?
- How do you feel when defense of the First Amendment conflicts with other rights?
Experience and Background Law Firm Interview Questions
- Explain your past work responsibilities.
- In regards to your past jobs and organizations, why did you choose them?
- What did you enjoy most about your past work? What did you least enjoy?
- Why did you choose your undergraduate major?
- What did you do between college and law school?
- What made you pursue law school?
- What clinical work have you done in law school?
- What are your professional long term career goals and how does your experience help with that?
- What qualifications do you have that will make you successful at this job?
- What was the issue you argued in Moot Court? What was the argument on the other side?
- Tell me about your participation on the journal, in your externship, your clinical program, or your research project.
Questions About the Law Firm
- Why do you want to work for our firm?
- What legal practice area are you most interested in and why?
- Why should we pick you to work here? What makes you different from other candidates?
- What are the top three things you're looking for in your next job?
- What kind of training, development, and leadership are you looking for in a job?
- What criteria are you using to evaluate your future employer?
Behavioral Law Firm Interview Questions
- What qualities make a good lawyer?
- Tell me about a legal memo you wrote this year.
- Tell me about your research skills.
- Tell me about your most challenging law school class and why.
- Tell me about a complex legal issue you worked on.
- If you were a court, how would you rule on the following issue…?
- Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone who was difficult or you disagreed with. What happened?
- Tell me about a time when you had to convince your team to see your point of view.
- Tell me about a time when your actions impacted the outcome.
Questions to Ask Your Interviewer
- Could you tell me more about the areas of specialization?
- Why did you choose this area of specialization?
- Why did you choose this law firm?
- Can you describe the work environment here?
- On what kinds of cases or issues are you currently working?
- What do you enjoy most about the job?
- What do you enjoy the least about the job?
- What types of people thrive at this firm?
- How much direction/autonomy is there in this position?
- What kind of training would I get? Who would be my supervisor?
- What are the firm policies related to X?
- What is the office’s history of hiring summer interns into full-time new associates?
- What are your expectations for the person hired into this position?
Sample Interview Questions and Answers
Review these sample interview questions and answers to form your own responses:
1: Why do you want to work at our firm?
This question is tough. You’re going to have a lot of interviews with a lot of different firms. The problem is, no amount of research you do on their website will help you answer this question. Most firms have a broad range of practice groups, prestigious lawyers that are leaders in their field, and they promote a great work culture. A generic answer to this question just won’t cut it.
How to Answer:
First, try and find a connection to the firm, and ask them what they find is unique about the firm, or what they like about it. Then, in the interview, say specifically that you talked to [________] at the firm (which shows you’re invested and put in time already) and then mention what they had to say about the firm and why that resonated with you.
If you can’t find anyone to talk to, your answer should be similar but focused on the reputation of the firm. Explain that you’ve researched the firm and talked to other lawyers and professors, and explain why the firm stands out to you.
You want to hit that sweet spot between a general and specific statement—something about the caliber of the litigation or deals that the firm works on, the firm’s support of younger associates’ networking efforts, or that the partners want associates to take ownership of cases/deals rather than just doing the assigned task. Try to make two or three points here.
2: What was your favorite law school class?
One thing to remember during these interviews is that you’re going to be physically and mentally exhausted doing them over and over again. Guess who else is doing just as many interviews and is going to be just as exhausted, plus has to go back to work afterward? The interviewer.
This is an easy question, but don’t say “Con Law” and breathe a sigh of relief. I guarantee you the interviewer’s eyes just glazed over.
How to Answer:
You should tailor your answer to achieve two goals.
First, make sure your answer allows you to stand out. Don’t worry—if Con Law was your favorite class, I’m not banning you from saying Con Law. And I agree with you. I loved it too. But have something to say about Con Law, or any class you pick, and why that class was so interesting to you. Try and engage the interviewer in a discussion about it.
Second, explain why you’d be a good associate. Yes, the classic, “Use the question to show how great you are without them even realizing you’re doing it” strategy.
For example, talk about the rule of perpetuity in your contracts class and how you loved working through it as you read the case law. Explain how it was a puzzle you had to methodically work out, and how you loved the challenge. Make sure you’re being authentic while being strategic. The interviewer will be able to tell if your answer is only to stand out or impress them.
3. Why did you go to law school? Or, why did you want to become a lawyer?
This is one of those, “how’s the weather” questions. No one really cares that much about the answer, but it feels like an obligatory question to ask, and then you kind of hate yourself for asking it.
How to Answer:
Don't be too cute with this one. Don’t make the joke about how you argued with your parents and they told you to become a lawyer.
A great response to this question is that you wanted to have a profession, not just work a job. From there, you can explain why this profession fits best with your skill set. Rather than listing skills you have, base your answer off stories from past jobs, or volunteering, or college activities that show that skill in action. Telling a story engages the interviewer more than just saying you’re a great writer.
4: What kind of law are you interested in?
This one is easy. If you are sitting there reading this and yelling at me saying you have no idea what kind of law you are interested in, it doesn’t matter. The formula for this answer is the same whether you know or don’t know.
How to Answer:
Pick a type of law that interests you, regardless of how interested you actually are at this point. The way a summer associate position is set up, you won’t be boxed in by this answer, but you do need to start somewhere.
Once you have that, your answer should follow this general guideline: “I’m interested in [_______] or [_______], but excited about the opportunity to participate in the summer program and work on assignments from various practice groups in the firm.”
Then, you could always follow up with a question of how the interviewer picked the practice group she is in. One word of caution—make sure to look at the firm’s website before an interview and confirm it has that type of practice. Worst case scenario? Saying you’re interested in criminal defense and the firm doesn’t have a criminal defense group.
Additional Law Firm Interview Tips for Success:
Don't Be Nervous
These interviews aren’t a qualification or talent analysis. You already passed that test with your resume and grades. The interviews are a compatibility test—would you fit in with the firm culture, would you be easy to work with, are you engaging. With that in mind, try and make the interviewer’s job as simple as possible. Be yourself, show your personality, and make it a conversation rather than an interview.
Don't Be Afraid to Show Your Personality
Add interests to your resume. As noted before, many of the people interviewing you are going to be tired and stressed and crunched for time. They want the interview to be easy for them. They aren’t too interested in stumping you on what the hardest challenge you’ve ever overcome is.
And, again, you’re one interview in a long string of interviews. If they can ask you about the time you baked a cake for the Queen of England or how you homebrew your own beer, you are guaranteed to stand out.
Do In-Depth Research on the Law Firm
This goes without saying but your interview prep research should include researching the law firm, the law partners, and anyone else you might be interviewing with. You can ask the recruiter for their names before your interview as well.
Understand and Be Familiar With Recent Court Rulings
It never hurts to be up-to-date on current legal issues. You should especially know what's recent and newsworthy in your specific legal field of interest.
