This is an article in a series of articles called Your Ultimate Guide to Law Student Recruitment. Don’t forget to read the previous article here: I Didn’t Get an Interview…Now What?
Introduction
Congratulations. After a lot of hard work doing research, networking, and building your application package, you’ve landed an interview (or a few)!
No interview? Don’t sweat it. Take a deep breath and read this article instead.
What to Expect
The structure and content of law firm interviews will differ depending on the law firm and what phase of the interview process you are in. Again, each law firm is different so don’t expect conformity, but interviews during the law student recruit generally consist of the following:
- OCIs or On-Campus Interviews
- Second “In-Firm” Interviews
- Socials
On-Campus Interviews (“OCIs”)
On-Campus Interviews or OCIs are called as such because they are held “on campus” i.e. law firm representatives will come in-person to your law school to conduct the interviews (pre-Covid, anyway). During Covid, OCIs were temporarily held online but as far as I know, they have since gone back to being in-person.
OCIs are the first round of interviews in the law student recruitment process, at least in Edmonton. They are short in duration (about 20-25 minutes) and meant to give you and the firm the opportunity to get to know each other. For that reason, OCIs tend to be very casual and conversational. Your interviewers might ask about your hobbies and why you decided to pursue law. They will want to see your personality and whether you would be a good fit for the firm. They may ask you behavioural questions or about your resume but if they do, it will be one or two questions at most. Keep in mind that 20-25 minutes is really not a lot of time (even though it may feel like it in the moment), so there’s not much room for a lot of questions. During OCIs, don’t focus too much on preparing for questions. Just be yourself and try your best to let your personality shine through.
Update: one of my mentees who is currently in law school told me that their first interview/OCI was held at a law firm so it seems “OCIs” are changing and may no longer be held on-campus despite the name so make sure to check with your law school or the law firm you’re applying to what the process is.
“In-Firm” Interviews
If the recruiters at a law firm liked you or at least enjoyed their conversation with you during your OCI, they might extend you an “in-firm” interview offer. I say “might” because law firms can only offer so many candidates an “in-firm” interview and you might not get one even if they like you simply because they’ve already offered “in-firm” interviews to a number of other candidates and can’t afford to offer any more.
An “in-firm” interview is referred to that way because unlike OCIs that are held at your law school, it’s generally held at the law firm. Most law firms will have just one “in-firm” interview so it’s also often called the second interview (the first interview being your OCI). But again, every firm is different so there are some firms out there that have multiple “in-firm” interviews and you might have to do a third or even fourth interview with them. “In-firm” interviews are also sometimes called “callback” interviews because law firms call you back after the OCI.
The time it will take for you to get an “in-firm” interview will vary. Some law firms might offer you an “in-firm” interview within a couple of hours after your OCI, others might take longer but generally, you should hear back within a couple of days. If you didn’t get an “in-firm” interview, that’s okay. Go back and read this article for what to do next.
Now, if you did get an “in-firm” interview, great! On to the next phase of the recruit process. In-firm interviews, compared to OCIs, are meant to be longer (about 40 minutes to an hour) and more formal. Where the OCI was all about your personality and whether you’re the right fit for the firm, the “in-firm” interview is likely to be more about your qualifications. Are you the right candidate for the position? Your interviewers are likely to ask you several behavioural questions, and questions about your resume and other documents.
Pro Tip #1: Know your resume inside and out. Have a story or short blurb about each experience or job listed on your resume. You don’t want to trip up if someone asks you “I see you worked at so and so, can you tell us about your time there?” It shows a lack of preparation and it’s simply embarrassing. Know your resume.
Pro Tip #2: Know ALL of your other documents by heart. Read over your cover letter, and your reference letters. I once had a firm ask me about a paper I wrote for a class that one of my references praised in my reference letter and let me tell you…I choked. I could not remember for the life of me what my main argument was for that paper. Don’t be like me. Know your documents.
Socials
Socials are my “catch-all” term for any event that law firms invite you to. It usually involves meeting other members (plural) of the firm in a more casual setting. This includes coffees, lunches, soirees, mixers, etc. And yes, socials are a part of the interview process. The purpose of socials is to see how well you mix with different members of the firm. Are you truly a good fit? Or did you just vibe with the recruiter(s)? Remember that law firms often choose their most social students/lawyers to be recruiters but that doesn’t necessarily mean that, that’s what the whole firm is like. So of course, they want to see you mingle with all the different types of people at the firm and get a feel for how you would get along/work with them. So put your networking hat on and socialize!!
The good news is, socials are often held towards the end of the interview process so if you’ve made it this far then kudos to you because you’re in the home stretch baby (although again with my little disclaimer—not all firms!!! Some firms might invite you to lunch early on in the process and some might not have social events at all).
Like OCIs, socials are very casual and conversational. It’s not structured like an in-firm interview so you will be asked questions designed to get to know you. Make sure to show your personality. Smile, make jokes, talk about your hobbies, and ask questions back. You’re there to get to know the firm too and assess whether you can actually work with these people (and if you even want to).
Pro Tip #3: Don’t be fooled. Socials might sound really informal but it’s still part of the interview process so remember to keep things professional.
Conclusion
The law firm interview process typically involves three key phases: the OCI, the in-firm interview, and the socials. Each phase serves a specific purpose, from getting to know you to assessing your qualifications and determining your fit within the firm’s culture. While every law firm is unique and you can expect some variation, this interview structure is typical for private law firms (government interviews are totally different but that’s for a whole other blog). I hope this is helpful to you as you prepare for interviews during the law student recruit. Good luck. You got this!
This is an article in a series of articles called Your Ultimate Guide to Law Student Recruitment.
Next article: Scheduling Your Law Firm Interviews
Previous article: I Didn’t Get an Interview…Now What?
Start at the beginning: Law Student Recruitment
