- Feb 17, 2018
- 4,695
- 8,575
First round interview
Fairly relaxed, lots of opportunities to break some jokes. About half of the questions were CV-based, so make sure to review your application before the interview. Most of the questions were very specific to what I wrote, e.g. I put in my application that I was training martial arts and got into a long discussion about the details of my experience in this area - so don't lie in your application, they will test you!
I was interviewed by a partner and an associate. The interview lasted for a little over an hour. I received an invitation to the second round on the same day.
Examples of questions:
- Why did you decide to apply to us?
- Why did you decide on a career at law?
- Why did you choose your university?
- What are the disadvantages of working for the US law firm?
- What are the key attributes of a successful solicitor?
- How would you react if you saw your colleague being visibly distressed at work?
- Tell me about your biggest achievement.
- Tell me about a time when you contributed to the success of a team.
- What do you like to do if you had a rough day?
- If you could be a biscuit, which one would you be and why? (best.question.ever)
- If you were to have a dinner with any three people, who would you choose and why? (may that be historical figures, movie characters, family members, etc.)
- Present three arguments for no-deal Brexit and three against.
Second round interview
The first part was an interview with two senior partners. It was much shorter than the first one and also more "to the point". Questions revolved around motivation for career in law and other aspects of application so I cannot really sample the latter as they would be specific to the candidate.
Examples of questions:
- Why did you decide to study law?
- Why did you choose your university?
- What is your proudest achievement?
- Tell us about your time with us during your vacation scheme.
The second part was a case study in which I had to draft an email to a client. All necessary material was given and the scenario was rather straightforward. There were also three other additional "what if" questions for which only a very basic understanding of commercial law and some common sense were needed. I was given 1 hour to complete the task.
The firm came back with their decision a week later.
Huge thanks to @Dominika_95 for taking the time to share this.
Fairly relaxed, lots of opportunities to break some jokes. About half of the questions were CV-based, so make sure to review your application before the interview. Most of the questions were very specific to what I wrote, e.g. I put in my application that I was training martial arts and got into a long discussion about the details of my experience in this area - so don't lie in your application, they will test you!
I was interviewed by a partner and an associate. The interview lasted for a little over an hour. I received an invitation to the second round on the same day.
Examples of questions:
- Why did you decide to apply to us?
- Why did you decide on a career at law?
- Why did you choose your university?
- What are the disadvantages of working for the US law firm?
- What are the key attributes of a successful solicitor?
- How would you react if you saw your colleague being visibly distressed at work?
- Tell me about your biggest achievement.
- Tell me about a time when you contributed to the success of a team.
- What do you like to do if you had a rough day?
- If you could be a biscuit, which one would you be and why? (best.question.ever)
- If you were to have a dinner with any three people, who would you choose and why? (may that be historical figures, movie characters, family members, etc.)
- Present three arguments for no-deal Brexit and three against.
Second round interview
The first part was an interview with two senior partners. It was much shorter than the first one and also more "to the point". Questions revolved around motivation for career in law and other aspects of application so I cannot really sample the latter as they would be specific to the candidate.
Examples of questions:
- Why did you decide to study law?
- Why did you choose your university?
- What is your proudest achievement?
- Tell us about your time with us during your vacation scheme.
The second part was a case study in which I had to draft an email to a client. All necessary material was given and the scenario was rather straightforward. There were also three other additional "what if" questions for which only a very basic understanding of commercial law and some common sense were needed. I was given 1 hour to complete the task.
The firm came back with their decision a week later.
Huge thanks to @Dominika_95 for taking the time to share this.
