Big Law OCI Interviews — Common Questions (Part 1 - Updated)
Recently during pre-OCI interviews with law students I’ve noticed a few repeat questions come up. Given that on-campus interview season is right around the corner, here are a few topics and questions that I've personally discussed and some of my responses that I've shared with law students. I've also received a ton of responses/messages from law students about this past over the past few weeks, so I've added additional feedback below. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and good luck in your interviews!
1. How did you choose your practice area? I was a paralegal in an investment funds group prior to law school, so I had pre-existing experience. However, I didn’t choose the investment funds practice area because it was the obvious choice — it also “works” for my brain.
You should consider how your brain works — beyond just your interest in a particular area of law, certain topics will just “click”. For example, the varying levels of seriousness in criminal law may make more sense for some law students, and no sense at all for others (such as myself). In my case, the practice of investment funds mainly involves structure charts and carefully orchestrated processes and steps that require a detail-oriented approach and a quarterback-like focus on the various teams/parties involved in a private fund transaction. In law school, all of my outlines were flowcharts and checklists that kept me organized and focused, so investment funds naturally fit well with how I typically prefer to organize my work. You should consider which assignments/classes “click” for you at law school and consider related areas of law when the time comes.
2. How do you choose one firm over another? One word: “vibes”. It always feels unprofessional to say that, but it’s the best description. After moving between several top law firms since I graduated law school, I realized that every big law firm generally has similar characteristics: the best attorneys in the largest cities working for the most prestigious clients. There is some variability of course (certain firms excel in certain practice areas or a practice group may be particularly well-regarded), but for the most part the “Big Law” firms are relatively homogenous when stripped down to their bare characteristics.
I advise students to look beyond the AM Law, Vault or Chambers rankings and instead get a real feeling for the attorneys you are interviewing with. Do they seem like somebody you’d like to work with on a difficult matter? Do they seem to enjoy working at their current firm and do they have positive things to say about the firm's objectives, culture and future? When it’s 2am and you’re struggling, will this person help? If your immediate gut-reaction is “no” to any of these questions after your interview, then perhaps consider whether such firm is the right fit for you (or try to meet additional attorneys for a "second-look" interview to get more data points).
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3. How did Covid-19 change in the legal field? The pandemic simultaneously increased two elements in every lawyer’s life: flexibility and accessibility. Attorneys now enjoy more flexible schedules which allow for more personal (or family) time. Before, it was expected that attorneys would be in the office Monday through Friday and generally log off around 6 p.m. Now, the expectation is that attorneys will be in the office when necessary (or when required due to client obligations or other meetings), but are mostly free to define their own schedules. Most attorneys are in the office Tuesday through Thursday and most work from home on Monday's and Friday's, which is a great alternative to the old-style of five days in the office.
However, greater flexibility had the unintended consequence of greater accessibility. Before, an attorney’s job was mostly confined to their physical office with some limited work at home after-hours. Now, we all have a home office which means we are more likely to fully plug-in from home after our typical workday. Instead of saying “I am heading home for the day” I now say “I am transitioning home,” which really means I will be offline for my transit but then back online afterwards (I really need to kick this habit, personally). The wall between a lawyer’s professional and personal life was always incredibly thin, but the pandemic knocked that wall down. It is especially unfortunate for people who are bad at setting boundaries (me) and for people who either struggle to pay attention while working from home or are unable to transition between their home and office efficiently.
4. What’s the top “skill” you look for in a potential new associate? Accountability. It’s a difficult skill to master, but it’s something that attorneys at all levels, from associates to senior partners, appreciate from a junior associate. “Accountability” gets thrown around a lot, but rarely defined — it is the willingness to take responsibility for a task and be liable for its outcome.
For a junior associate, this can be as simple as taking good notes when a task is assigned or double-checking your work before submitting it for review. Accountability can also manifest through asking to handle follow-up assignments after submitting one piece of work for review or offering to update the document with comments or notes. Accountability is an incredibly tough skill to teach (especially to younger generations), so if you can arrive on the first day with motivation to be accountable, your efforts will be appreciated by your peers.