17 Questions Lawyers are Likely to Be Asked in a Job Interview

As a leading specialist legal recruitment agency, we are experts at interviewing legal industry candidates on our client’s behalf. With extensive experience gained over the years we have developed a library of interview questions that we use every day. You can see a more comprensive list that covers lawyers and legal industry support staff here.

It may have been some time since you last went for a job interview, or you may even be going for an internal promotion. Alternativley you might just be brushing up on your interview technique. Our list of questions have been designed to extract from you information about your background, what motivates you, your interpersonal skills, organisational skills, management skills, decision making and problem solving skills.

These are a selection of our favourite interview questions to ask Lawyers:

Background:

1/. What is the most significant contribution you made to your previous employer?

Motivation:

2/. Tell me what you know about our company? What attracts you to our Firm?

3/. How do you define professional success?

4/. Give two examples of things you have done that demonstrate your strong work ethic.

5/. Describe a time when you know your performance was below average. What did you do about it?

Marketing and Networking Skills

6/. Are there any relationships you formed that managed to bring in new business to your previous employer?

7/. What, in your opinion, are the key ingredients in building and maintaining successful business relationships?

Influencing Skills

8/. Describe a situation in which you were able to successfully convince someone to see things your way.

Decision Making

9/. Give me an example of a time when you used good judgement and logic to solve a problem.

Public Speaking and Advocacy

10/. What is the most significant presentation you have had to deliver?

Managing Team Members

11/. As a people leader, have you ever had to discipline or counsel an employee? What was the nature of the problem? What steps did you take? How did that make you feel?

Financial

12/. Can you provide an indication of monthly financial budgets you were set in your last role?

13/. What steps have you taken to improve your performance against budget?

Handling Difficult Situations

14/. Tell me a time about dealing with a difficult client.

Handling of Pressure & Stress

15/. Can you describe a recent high-pressure situation you had to deal with?

16/. Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses that tested your coping skills. What happened to cause the stress? How did you deal with it? How did the situation resolve?

Last but not least…..

17/. Do you have any questions for us? (Don’t forget to prepare some well researched questions that highlight your knowledge of the company you are applying to.)

So there you have it, our list of tried and true interview questions for Lawyers. Take some time to print it out and take some notes in relation to examples you can use to demonstrate the relevant competencies. Or ask a trusted friend to select a few and practice your answers. We hope they help you prepare for your next job interview.

Are you looking for a new role in the Legal Industry in Melbourne? Get in touch with us and come and have a chat with one of our experienced legal industry consultants about your career and what is next up for your career!

Legal People is your gateway to the best jobs in the legal industry. We are specialists in the Legal Industry and recruit Lawyers, Support staff and HR professionals in Melbourne, Australia. If you enjoyed reading this article, you can follow our Company Page on LinkedIn for regular updates.