Questions to Ask Interviewer Law Firm
Questions for a law firm interview, for trainees, newly qualified lawyers, and laterals. They cover billable targets and what counts toward them, how work is assigned, feedback and progression, and what associate attrition has looked like.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Which practice group would I sit in, and who staffs the work there?
Why ask it
Firms hire into a firm and staff into a group. Knowing the named partners and associates who allocate matters tells you whose view of you will shape your first two years.
What is the billable target, and how does it relate to bonus?
Why ask it
A target with a bonus attached at a higher number is really two targets. Ask for both figures, because the second one is what people in the group actually aim at.
What counts toward the target: pro bono, training, business development?
Why ask it
This single answer determines whether the firm's pro bono and training commitments are real or unpaid extras. Firms that credit them will say so precisely.
How does work get assigned: a free market, or a coordinator?
Why ask it
Free-market staffing rewards visibility and confidence and can leave quieter associates underused. A coordinator smooths workload but gives you less say. Neither is better, but the difference is large.
What would an associate at my level be running, and what would they be supporting?
Why ask it
There is a wide range at the same PQE level between managing a small matter and taking a discrete piece of a large one. The answer tells you how fast responsibility arrives.
How much client contact do associates get in the first two years?
Why ask it
Direct contact is what builds the relationships you need later for progression. Firms where partners hold all client communication produce technically strong lawyers with no following.
How often do associates get written feedback, and who gives it?
Why ask it
Ask about frequency and source. Feedback that arrives only in an annual review, from partners who did not supervise the work, is the most common complaint associates have.
How much of an associate's time here goes on document review?
Why ask it
It varies enormously by group and firm. Nobody volunteers the number, but most interviewers will give a rough proportion if you ask plainly.
What does the progression track look like now, and who was promoted last year?
Why ask it
Recent promotions are the only evidence of a track that works. A firm that has not elevated anyone from your group in years is describing an ambition rather than a path.
How many associates who started five years ago are still here?
Why ask it
A blunt question about attrition. The number, or the reluctance to give one, tells you more about working conditions than any answer about culture will.
What happens when a matter escalates over a weekend?
Why ask it
Ask for the most recent example rather than the policy. How the team divided the work, and whether anyone was covered, is the practical answer to a question about hours.
How are parental leave and reduced-hours arrangements working in practice?
Why ask it
Ask how many people are on them now and what happened to their progression. The policy is public; the take-up and the consequences are not.
How is training delivered beyond continuing education requirements?
Why ask it
Some firms run structured advocacy, drafting, and negotiation training. Others rely entirely on supervision by whoever you happen to be staffed with, which produces uneven results.
What is the firm's client mix, and how concentrated is it?
Why ask it
A group where most revenue comes from two clients is exposed, and so are the associates staffed there. Concentration also determines how varied your experience will be.
What technology do you use for document management and matter workflow?
Why ask it
Outdated systems translate directly into hours of your evening. It is also a fair proxy for how much the firm invests in the people doing the volume work.
How are conflicts checks and ethical questions handled day to day?
Why ask it
You want to know there is a clear route and a person to ask, not a judgment call left to a junior at ten at night. Firms with good infrastructure answer this immediately.
How are lateral hires brought into a practice group?
Why ask it
Laterals often arrive without the internal relationships that generate work. A firm with a real integration process will describe it; one without will talk about how collegiate everyone is.
How is pro bono coordinated, and does it get real credit?
Why ask it
The useful markers are a coordinator, an hours allocation, and inclusion in appraisals. Without those three, pro bono depends entirely on your own spare capacity.
What do first-year associates here most often misjudge about the job?
Why ask it
Interviewers answer this one honestly because it reduces early attrition. Answers about the unpredictability of hours, or the volume of unglamorous work, are worth hearing before you commit.
What would you say to a candidate choosing between you and a firm you compete with?
Why ask it
It forces a real comparison instead of a description. A specific answer about client work or training carries weight; an answer only about prestige tells you what they are selling.
Interviewing at a law firm
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the interview
Research the group, not the firm
Look up recent matters, directory listings, and published work for the specific practice group. Partners notice when a candidate can name work their group actually did, and it lets you ask questions that could not apply anywhere else.
Work out the numbers you want
Billable target, bonus threshold, what counts toward the target, and five-year retention. Decide these in advance, because they are easy to forget once a partner starts describing the practice.
Ask a junior associate the same questions
If the process includes time with associates, use it for hours, staffing, and feedback. They are closer to the answer than the partner interviewing you and usually more direct.
Reading the answers
- Any answer about hours that is given only in adjectives should be followed up with a request for a normal week and a bad week.
- Ask what counts toward billables. It separates firms that fund training and pro bono from firms that merely permit them.
- Note who is described as allocating work. If nobody is, the free market is operating whether or not the firm calls it that.
- Recent promotions and current reduced-hours arrangements are the two hardest things to fake.
- If associate interviewers describe the firm in language identical to the brochure, ask an open question and listen to what they choose to add.
Common pitfalls
Asking what the website answers
Practice areas, office locations, and headline matters are all public. Spend your questions on staffing, feedback, and retention, which are not.
Discussing only compensation
Pay at comparable firms is broadly known. What actually varies is the work you get, who supervises it, and whether hours are predictable, so weight your questions there.
Not writing down the numbers
Billable targets, bonus thresholds, and retention figures blur across several interviews in a short period. Note them the same day, because they are what you will compare.