What To Look For During Legal Recruiting Interviews

The legal recruiting process is very important when trying to make a hiring decision. If you are looking for a new attorney for your firm, getting the right person matters. Sometimes, it can be difficult to tell whether you have located the right attorney, or whether that particular lawyer simply interviews well. Making that determination before a hiring decision can save you a lot of trouble at a later date, when the person you have selected simply does not work out the way you intended. By learning what to look for throughout the recruiting and hiring process, you will be better prepared to get the best attorney for your firm.

What Interviewers Should Ask

Any interviewer who is focused on the legal recruiting process should be looking for the very best attorney for the job. Interviewers should look for attorneys who have a good work ethic, proper schooling, and a collaborative attitude that will help them at the firm if they are selected for the position. So, what can interviewers ask? Consider questions such as:

– What was the most important thing you learned in law school?
– What made you choose the legal profession?
– Where do you see the future of law in this country?
– Why did you choose your practice area? (personal injury, divorce law, etc)?
– What makes you most effective as an attorney?

Good Lawyer, or Good Interviewee?

Some people interview very well, but that doesn’t mean they are good attorneys. Deciding whether a person is truly competent, or whether they simply know what to say when they are being interviewed, can be difficult for an interviewer, but it is also a very important distinction to make. To make that determination, it is highly important to listen carefully to what a candidate says. Look for:

– Answers that are rehearsed or sound as though they are memorized
– Weaknesses that are actually strengths
– Smooth talk that avoids a direct answer
– Answers that are too fast, not well thought-out, or that delve into longer explanations than really necessary.

How Important is the Recruiting Process?

The legal recruiting process is extremely valuable. An attorney who is selected by any firm is one that has been chosen because it was believed that they would be a good fit for that firm. Not all attorneys are created equally, and many issues much be considered, including:

– Skills
– Abilities
– Where they went to school
– Quality of the work they do
– How well they fit into the firm where they have applied

In other words, personality matters in the recruiting process, as much as other aspects of hiring a new attorney to work at a particular firm. With the importance of various aspects, firms would be wise to take a careful look at their processes and make adjustments accordingly.