'Have you any questions for us?'-Law firm interview!

MilkTheGroup

I have an interview soon with a firm of solicitors. The position is mostly administrative with the possibility of a traineeship. What would be good questions to ask when at the end they say 'have you any questions for us?'. Their areas of law are property, leases, wills, family, litigation, employment law and commercial law.

I would imagine something like 'in which legal department would I be primarily be based?' (I gather that its not a very big firm so I'd imagine there isn't even seperate departments so that mightn't suit)

Jo King

The first thing you should do, is get a Law Directory and check exactly how many solicitors are in the practice. Unless there are upwards of 10 it is unlikely there are separate departments. Even a two or three solicitor firm there may well be a division of labour in that some individuals deal primarily with certain types of work. The chances are that in an administrative role you will be providing support to all of them. The real trick with these questions is to ask one which makes the interviewer feel good about themselves. This will require some research on your part to find is there anything the firm pride themselves on. Ask a question which shows your interested in the same thing or can add value in that area.

Delancey

Ask what the pay is

Thirdfox

MilkTheGroup wrote: »

I have an interview soon with a firm of solicitors. The position is mostly administrative with the possibility of a traineeship. What would be good questions to ask when at the end they say 'have you any questions for us?'. Their areas of law are property, leases, wills, family, litigation, employment law and commercial law.

I would imagine something like 'in which legal department would I be primarily be based?' (I gather that its not a very big firm so I'd imagine there isn't even seperate departments so that mightn't suit)

My advice (that worked for me but I realise everyone's different) - ask what you want to know, simple as that. Sometimes, it's not about strategising - the law firms don't give a very complete picture of what it's like to work there (prior to actually working there) so there must be lots of potential questions you can ask.

Jo King wrote: »

The first thing you should do, is get a Law Directory and check exactly how many solicitors are in the practice. Unless there are upwards of 10 it is unlikely there are separate departments. Even a two or three solicitor firm there may well be a division of labour in that some individuals deal primarily with certain types of work. The chances are that in an administrative role you will be providing support to all of them. The real trick with these questions is to ask one which makes the interviewer feel good about themselves. This will require some research on your part to find is there anything the firm pride themselves on. Ask a question which shows your interested in the same thing or can add value in that area.

I would advise against giving "smart" answers in which you're predicting what they might want to hear - "genuine" questions I've found, are much more appreciated. It's less about feel good and more about this person wants to know the information I'm about to tell him/her and doesn't already know it from reading our corporate webpage.

Delancey wrote: »

Ask what the pay is

I've done that before and gotten a straight answer. That wasn't the only question I asked though.


As for myself, I've been interviewed by 3-4 firms, offered 2 training contracts and am in my traineeship now. What works for me might not apply to everyone though - I've always been a straight forward person - and I think it's ridiculous if firms expect you to apply for a job without knowing the conditions of a job (pay etc.)

Also - I have to add that I've only applied to the corporate top 5 firms. Smaller firms might prefer other types of people.