Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
More options
Toggle width
Share this page
Share this page
Share
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
WhatsApp
Email
Share
Link
Menu
Install the app
Install
Home
Forum Home
Law Firm Directory
Apply to Paul, Weiss
Wiki
Law Firm Events
Law Firm Deadlines
TCLA TV
Members
Leaderboards
Premium Database
Premium Chat
Commercial Awareness
Future Trainee Advice
Reed Smith is live in the forum now
AMA
Live now
Graduate Recruitment and SQE interns from Reed Smith are here to answer your questions.
Join the live thread →
Willkie Live: How to Write a Successful Vacation Scheme Application
7 Oct 2025
5:30pm (UK)
Zoom (registration required)
Learn exactly how to write a successful application to Willkie Farr & Gallagher, with live examples + Q&A with
Gemma Baker
.
Register on Zoom →
Home
Forum Home
Aspiring Lawyers - Applications & General Advice
General Discussion
Share your interview nightmares, sticky situations and stories!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="George Maxwell" data-source="post: 93662" data-attributes="member: 17165"><p>I will kick this off by sharing my (nightmare) interview story.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>The story </u></strong></p><p></p><p>To summarise: I brought up a topic that I <strong>really</strong> shouldn’t have.</p><p></p><p>So, this was one of my earliest interviews(!). For context, at the time I had been really enjoying studying International Political Economy at university.</p><p></p><p>When the interviewer (a Partner) asked me about a topic that I was interested in, I mentioned the possibility of introducing a global currency transaction tax (“<strong>CTT</strong>”). It sounds nerdy but I found it super interesting at the time.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, given that this topic was something I studied the term before, and was certainly not something I was planning on mentioning in my interview (so I had not revised it or looked over any relevant materials prior to my interview), I quickly realised that I knew less about a CTT than I thought.</p><p></p><p>After pretty extensive prodding by the interviewers (primarily the Partner), it became pretty clear that I didn’t really know much about the technicalities of a CTT, nor how it would actually be implemented… Suffice to say, it was a difficult (and fairly uncomfortable) experience which I definitely learned from.</p><p></p><p>Oh! And adding to this was that I had not appreciated the danger of mentioning a topic/area about which my Partner interviewer was an expert. Given that they were the Head of Tax of said firm, it was not the cleverest interview move. 😅</p><p></p><p><strong><u>My reflections</u></strong></p><p></p><p>Looking back, I would not have (voluntarily) brought up an extremely technical area which:</p><p></p><p>a. the Partner interviewing me was <em>extremely</em> knowledgeable about and</p><p>b. I didn’t fully understand (or remember the details of!).</p><p></p><p>Ultimately, it was an ok interview, although I was unsuccessful. It was a situation where I had to talk myself out of a <strong>really</strong> tough line of questioning (for which I didn’t really have the answer). This was honestly my nightmare scenario and I came out the other side.</p><p></p><p>So tell me, what is your interview fear/nightmare?</p><p></p><p>[USER=16764]@James Carrabino[/USER] [USER=17155]@AvniD[/USER] [USER=2672]@Jessica Booker[/USER] [USER=1]@Jaysen[/USER]</p><p></p><p>Also interested to hear from the wider community!</p><p></p><p>[USER=8218]@F1_Legal[/USER] [USER=4098]@futuretraineesolicitor[/USER] [USER=5247]@ek125712[/USER] [USER=4782]@SLKEJRWOI97[/USER] [USER=8794]@Roxana Tudosa[/USER] [USER=5277]@Breeg345[/USER] [USER=13768]@nkji500[/USER]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="George Maxwell, post: 93662, member: 17165"] I will kick this off by sharing my (nightmare) interview story. [B][U]The story [/U][/B] To summarise: I brought up a topic that I [B]really[/B] shouldn’t have. So, this was one of my earliest interviews(!). For context, at the time I had been really enjoying studying International Political Economy at university. When the interviewer (a Partner) asked me about a topic that I was interested in, I mentioned the possibility of introducing a global currency transaction tax (“[B]CTT[/B]”). It sounds nerdy but I found it super interesting at the time. Anyway, given that this topic was something I studied the term before, and was certainly not something I was planning on mentioning in my interview (so I had not revised it or looked over any relevant materials prior to my interview), I quickly realised that I knew less about a CTT than I thought. After pretty extensive prodding by the interviewers (primarily the Partner), it became pretty clear that I didn’t really know much about the technicalities of a CTT, nor how it would actually be implemented… Suffice to say, it was a difficult (and fairly uncomfortable) experience which I definitely learned from. Oh! And adding to this was that I had not appreciated the danger of mentioning a topic/area about which my Partner interviewer was an expert. Given that they were the Head of Tax of said firm, it was not the cleverest interview move. 😅 [B][U]My reflections[/U][/B] Looking back, I would not have (voluntarily) brought up an extremely technical area which: a. the Partner interviewing me was [I]extremely[/I] knowledgeable about and b. I didn’t fully understand (or remember the details of!). Ultimately, it was an ok interview, although I was unsuccessful. It was a situation where I had to talk myself out of a [B]really[/B] tough line of questioning (for which I didn’t really have the answer). This was honestly my nightmare scenario and I came out the other side. So tell me, what is your interview fear/nightmare? [USER=16764]@James Carrabino[/USER] [USER=17155]@AvniD[/USER] [USER=2672]@Jessica Booker[/USER] [USER=1]@Jaysen[/USER] Also interested to hear from the wider community! [USER=8218]@F1_Legal[/USER] [USER=4098]@futuretraineesolicitor[/USER] [USER=5247]@ek125712[/USER] [USER=4782]@SLKEJRWOI97[/USER] [USER=8794]@Roxana Tudosa[/USER] [USER=5277]@Breeg345[/USER] [USER=13768]@nkji500[/USER] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Our company is called, "The Corporate ___ Academy". What is the missing word here?
Post reply
Home
Forum Home
Aspiring Lawyers - Applications & General Advice
General Discussion
Share your interview nightmares, sticky situations and stories!
Top
Bottom
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…