Questions to Ask in a Law Firm Interview
For candidates interviewing for a summer programme, a training contract, or a first associate job, where you have no billing history and what you are really buying is training. It stays inside the first two years: what you would draft, who checks it, what happens the first time you get something wrong, and whether the summer offer rate holds up. Laterals and anyone preparing for the associate round will want the narrower lists aimed at those.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Does the billable target apply from day one, and is it adjusted while I am still in training?
Why ask it
Many firms prorate the first year or exclude formal training, and many do not. The difference is several hundred hours in a year when you are also slowest, so ask for the number a first-year is actually measured against.
What would a first-year in this group be doing in their first six months?
Why ask it
You are trying to distinguish substantive work from document review and citation checking. Both exist, and a firm that describes the mix honestly is more trustworthy than one that promises deposition experience in year one.
How does a first-year get onto a good matter when no partner knows them yet?
Why ask it
Every firm says work finds you. Ask for the mechanism: a rotation, an assigning partner, a coffee with each partner in month one. Without one, your first year depends on being near the right desk at the right moment.
Who would I answer to day to day, and how many partners would I work for?
Why ask it
Working for one partner means your experience depends entirely on that relationship. Working for eight means competing calendars and eight sets of preferences. Ask which pattern is normal for juniors here.
What happens the first time I get something badly wrong?
Why ask it
You will, and the answer separates a group that treats errors as training from one that treats them as evidence. Listen for whether they can describe the process, who finds out, and whether it follows you into the review.
How many of last year's summer class received offers, and how many are still here?
Why ask it
The offer rate is the number firms quote. The second half is the one that matters, because a full offer rate followed by early departures says the programme sells something the job does not deliver.
What training does the firm run for new associates, and who teaches it?
Why ask it
Structured programs taught by partners suggest investment; a video library and a mentor assigned on paper suggest otherwise. Ask how many hours in the first year, and whether that time is billable or comes on top.
What happens when two partners need me at the same time?
Why ask it
This is the defining problem of junior practice, and how a firm answers reveals whether anyone is responsible for protecting associates. Answers about learning to manage expectations mean the problem is entirely yours.
How many of your matters reach a hearing or trial, and how many resolve on paper?
Why ask it
It changes what you learn. A litigation group that settles nearly everything teaches negotiation and written advocacy, and a junior hoping for courtroom time should know that before accepting rather than three years in.
Who checks a junior's draft before it reaches a client, and how many layers are there?
Why ask it
Two layers of review means slow feedback and safe work; none means you are exposed early. Ask what a first-year is allowed to send without sign-off, since that is the practical measure of how much they trust juniors.
What is the first thing a new associate here is trusted to do alone?
Why ask it
A concrete answer such as a first-draft agreement, a witness call, or a research memo to the client tells you where the ceiling sits in year one. A vague answer usually means the ceiling is lower than the recruiting material suggests.
How does the firm handle an ethics or conflicts question raised by a junior lawyer?
Why ask it
You want to hear about a named person or committee, a route that does not run through the partner you are worried about, and ideally an example. Vagueness here is the most serious kind in a law firm interview.
What non-billable work is expected of associates: pitches, recruiting, articles, business development?
Why ask it
This is the hidden second job. Learning that juniors are expected to run recruiting events and write client updates on top of the target explains where the extra hours come from.
What do the first six weeks look like: orientation, shadowing, or straight onto a live matter?
Why ask it
The shape of the start predicts the first year. Ask how many days are structured, who you sit with, and whether anyone is responsible for you before your first matter arrives.
Is the start date fixed, and what support is there between the bar exam and day one?
Why ask it
Deferred starts, study stipends and bar course fees vary widely and are rarely volunteered. Ask early, because the gap between graduation and your first pay cheque is one you have to fund.
What kind of associate does well in this group, and what has gone wrong for people?
Why ask it
The second half is where you learn the group's real frustration, usually about responsiveness, drafting standards, or someone who would not ask for help. It is also the closest thing you will hear to why the role is open.
How much of the first year is document review, and who decides when that changes?
Why ask it
Document review is real work and there is usually a lot of it. What matters is whether someone is tracking your mix and moving you on, or whether you stay on it because you are good at it.
Who do juniors go to when they are stuck at ten at night?
Why ask it
Ask for a name or a role. Firms that answer with a rota, a supervising associate, or a partner who genuinely takes calls are describing a support structure. Firms that answer with a culture of collegiality are describing a hope.
What did the last new joiner find hardest, and what would you change about how they were brought in?
Why ask it
The second half is where you learn whether anyone reviews the induction. A firm that has changed something recently is paying attention; one that has not usually leaves each intake to work it out alone.
What are the next steps, and who else would I meet?
Why ask it
Firm processes are usually structured, so a vague answer suggests a slate that is not settled or a decision waiting on a partner's calendar. If you have not met anyone from the group you would join, ask for that.
Interviewing at a law firm
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Preparation that shows
Read two of the firm's recent matters, not its practice page
Reported decisions, deal announcements, and client alerts written by the group give you something specific to ask about. Referring to a case the interviewer worked on changes the conversation more than any statement of interest in their practice area.
Know who is in the room
Look up each interviewer's practice, year of call, and recent writing. Ask a partner about the group's direction and an associate about the week, and you will get two useful answers instead of the same one twice.
Have a reason for this group
Interest in the firm is expected; interest in this specific group, with a reason attached to work you have done or read, is what gets remembered in the debrief.
The numbers worth collecting
- Billable target and what counts toward it, including the pro bono cap.
- Hours of formal training in the first year, and whether that time counts.
- Recent partner promotions from this office, by name and year.
- Associate departures from this group in the last two years, and where they went.
- How compensation is set, and the range of last year's bonuses if the system is discretionary.
Common mistakes
Asking about hours only in terms of balance
Framing it as work-life balance invites a rehearsed answer. Asking what counts toward the target, who covers a protected vacation, and what happens when two partners need you gets specifics instead.
Asking associates questions they cannot answer safely
A junior in a scheduled interview slot will not criticize the firm on the record. Ask about process and their own week, and save the candid questions for informal settings where they are more likely to be honest.
Treating every group as the firm
Workload, culture, and partner behaviour vary more between groups than between firms. Direct your questions at the group you would join.
Not asking why the seat is open
Lateral roles in particular exist for a reason: a departure, a new client, or a partner who cannot keep an associate. Asking is expected and the answer is usually given.