The essential interview guide for Associate Lawyers interviewing in law firms

If you’re about to interview for that law firm job, be ready for these hard-hitting law firm interview questions!

Job interview prep isn’t fun, but preparation is everything. Law firm partners and attorneys who conduct your interview will ask you 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.

Depending on the interviewer and the law firm, the format of the interview will differ. There are behavioural type interviews, competency-based interviews, formal interviews, informal interviews (coffee chats), and virtual interviews.

Whatever the style or format, it is essential that you do your homework and prepare. As with any job interview, you don’t want your answers to sound scripted, overly rehearsed, or memorised. The investment of time and effort you put in before an interview will ALWAYS pay off.

The first step you should take is to speak to your Taylor Root recruiter and gather as much information about the role, the interviewer, and the company as possible.

As a leading specialist legal search and recruitment consultancy, Taylor Root are experts at interviewing lawyers at all levels. Our job is to deliver a diverse slate of exceptional candidates with the qualifications necessary to meet the client’s needs and, as best as possible, the personality that will fit well within the organisation’s culture.

With vast experience and global reach, we help lawyers to develop and progress their careers, both here in Australia and across the globe.

Preparing your responses to common interview questions can help you offer strategic and knowledgeable replies. Some of the types of questions you’ll encounter include common or general background questions, as well as behavioural, 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.

Some common questions we recommend you prepare for include:-

• Why do you want to practice law?
• Why are you interested in our firm?
• What is your preferred management style?
• How do you motivate yourself when the pressure is off?
• What would you do if you feel a senior member of staff has given incorrect advice?
• How have you gone about conforming with policies or directives that you do not agree with?

To help you prepare for your next interview, we have compiled some of the most frequently asked questions at law firms for associate lawyer job interviews, as well as some tips and tricks to help you master the interview and put your best foot forward.

Click here to download our “Associate Lawyers guide to interviewing in law firms”.

Or as always, please reach out to one of the Taylor Root In-house team if you or your organisation might benefit from our global search and recruitment services.