Questions to ask an associate

[lb0810]

I have a call arranged with an associate and was wondering what sort of questions I should ask them? I'm talking to them because they advise clients from the fashion sector (something I am very interested in) - they trained with the firm and have stayed post-qualification.

 

[Jacob Miller]

There's no one right answer here, to be honest. Some considerations to make, though, include:

• They generally shouldn't be things that can be easily found on google, as this is a waste of their time
• They should be questions you genuinely want to know the answer to, not asking things just for the sake of asking them or to try and 'sound impressive'
• They should be open questions which then facilitate a wider discussion in a way that closed questions don't
• Listen to what initial answers are and ask follow-up questions
• Think of some of the key issues at the heart of the fashion industry from both a legal and commercial standpoint and how these might impact on the advice the lawyer gives (I should think things like accountability in the manufacture process, intellectual property over designs and branding, etc etc should be quite high on that list) and see whether you're left with any questions after conducting research.

Hope this helps as a starting point, at least!

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

I have a call arranged with an associate and was wondering what sort of questions I should ask them? I'm talking to them because they advise clients from the fashion sector (something I am very interested in) - they trained with the firm and have stayed post-qualification.

Jacob’s advice is spot on. I’d add, don’t try too hard. You don’t need to impress this person, you just need to show you are interested in hearing their thoughts on things you are genuinely interested in learning more about.