How law firms score your answers during your interview

Jul 08, 2022

Written By Robert Greene

Prepping for a law firm interview can be overwhelming at first. But if you know what you are being assessed on, and the format of the interview and questions, you are likely to be more focused in your preparation and fare better in your interview. In this article, we look at how law firms score your answers during your interview, and what you can do to prepare.

Types of law firm interviews

There are a number of different types of interviews that law firms conduct.These include video interviews, assessment day interviews, and vacation scheme and training contract interviews. The format and assessment criteria for each are likely to be different. Some law firms only conduct one interview whilst others conduct multiple interviews throughout the application process.

Your first action point when it comes to preparing is to find out as much as you can about the interview: How long is the interview? Is it a first stage or final stage interview? Is it a video interview or an interview with a graduate recruitment manager or partner?

As a general rule, video interviews at the early stages of the assessment process are likely to be assessing you on your soft skills – communication, creativity, time management, work ethic etc. As you progress through the assessment cycle, the criteria will expand; you will be assessed not only on your skills, but also your knowledge of the firm, your motivations for working in law and training at the firm, your commercial awareness, and your personal interests and motivations.

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Types of questions

Competency-based and strength-based questions are two popular types of questions that law firms ask. The assessment criteria for both is different, so knowing whether the interview is a competency-based or strength-based interview (or a combination of both) beforehand can put you in good stead when it comes to preparation.

Competency-based Interviews

Competency-based questions test you on specific skills which you would be required to have as a trainee. The questions could be based on past experience or a hypothetical situation. Skills that you may be assessed on include teamwork, leadership, organisation, innovation and communication. Examples of competency-based questions include:

- Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult team member.

- What is the biggest challenge you have faced and how did you deal with it?

- Tell me about a time you had to manage multiple deadlines.

- What would you do if a fellow trainee was struggling to do their work?

A good technique for structuring responses to competency-based questions is adopting the STAR technique, which stands for situation, task, action and result. This means you start by describing the situation, then discuss the task with which you were assigned and the action you took, and you finish with the result. If relevant, you can add an additional R for reflection, and describe what you would have done differently or what you have learnt from the situation.

The benefit of adopting the STAR structure is that your answer will be succinct but well-rounded; without adopting an equivalent structure there is a risk that you will ramble and not answer the question posed.

A useful tip for preparing for competency-based interviews is to make a table with a list of key skills and four headings, one for each letter of the STAR acronym. That way you won’t be stuck in the interview trying to remember a relevant example.

Strength-based interview

A strength-based interview differs from a competency-based interview insofar as it focusses on your strengths, as opposed to your skills (though you may demonstrate your skills through your answers). Examples of strength-based questions include:

- How would your colleagues describe you?

- What motivates you to get up in the morning?

- What is your proudest achievement and why?

Strength-based interviews can be harder to prepare for as the questions are more difficult to predict. You could still prepare a table listing key experiences which you would like to highlight, but if the questions do not lead naturally to those experiences do not try to shoehorn them in. If you do not answer the question asked, you are likely to score poorly.

Skills

Regardless of what type of interview you do, and regardless of the types of questions asked, you are likely to be assessed on a range of soft skills. These include communication, problem solving, logical thinking, argumentation and commercial awareness. It is worthwhile doing a practice interview with your university’s careers service beforehand as they can provide you with invaluable feedback on the skills which you should work on.

When it comes to commercial awareness, there is no magic spell. You are unlikely to score very well if all you do is cram read all the business stories in the week prior to your interview. You need to be keeping tabs on the business and legal press on a regular basis, honing in on stories that peak your interest and tracking their development.

For example, if you were to discuss a recent increase in interest rates set by the Bank of England, you would be leaving yourself exposed if you did not understand the context leading up to that increase. The interviewer may ask you about why the Central Bank decided to increase interest rates, or whether this is the first interest rate hike in recent times.

Also, be prepared to give your opinion on a topic. Whilst arguing both sides of a debate shows that you are a logical thinker - and can anticipate what your opponent might say - you shouldn’t sit on the fence. You should come to a conclusion on which side of the line you fall.

Research

Every law firm interview is likely to test you on your research to some degree. This includes your knowledge of the firm; its practice areas, recent cases, its clients etc. It can be useful to set up Google Alerts for the firm to keep abreast of its news. If the firm has a podcast, listen to it on your way to work or uni. Make sure you follow the firm on social media too; this can be a treasure trove of useful information. If the firm runs events for the public, you could also think about attending some of these to learn more about its practice areas and clients.

The more sources of information you are drawing on, the richer your knowledge of the firm will be. Don’t just rely on the firm’s website and the legal directories – everyone reads them!

Motivations

Finally, you are likely to be assessed on your motivations for a career in law and training at the firm. Make sure you have your “narrative” worked out before you do the interview. This should be a succinct but impactful account of why you want to become a lawyer and/or why you want to work at that firm.

Try to avoid generic statements on the likes of international secondments and diversity and inclusion These are likely to be spouted as motivational factors by hundreds of applicants. Instead, focus on what unique factors attract you to the firm? If you do not know the answer, you might want to work it out before you apply!

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