During Interviews, Focus on the Future

August 23, 2024
Albert Tawil is the Founder & CEO of Lateral Hub and a former BigLaw associate.

For many law firm associates looking for a new job (lateral or in-house), it is their first job interview since the 2L or 3L recruiting process, likely 4 or 5 years ago.

A lateral or in-house interview is somewhat different from a 2L/3L interview.  During law school, the question of why you are looking for a job is obvious: you are a student looking for a job after law school.  Sure, you need to have a strong and specific response about why that particular firm, and why you went to law school – but you are not leaving another job interviewing for a new job.

One common question in lateral or in-house interviews is “Why are you interested in this job?”  Some interviewers phrase it the other way: “Why are you looking to leave your current job?”  (I’ve even seen some firms require a written response from candidates on that question in the initial application.)

This can be a trap.  For this question (and any other interview question), it is important to speak in a positive tone about what you are looking for in the potential new opportunity, versus trashing your current job and describe what you don’t like about it.

Speaking negatively about your current job can be off-putting and come off as complaining.  In addition (and more importantly), it doesn’t give the interviewer information about why you want to work there – just that you want to leave your current job.  This can be construed by the interviewer that you don’t have a specific interest in their firm… it’s just a way for you to leave your current job.

Here are a few key examples that can be critical for you in preparing for a lateral or in-house interview:

“The hours for my current job are not sustainable and they don’t have much respect for work-life balance” (negative past-looking statement) à “I’m looking for an opportunity that is more sustainable in terms of the day-to-day experience and allows me to do my best work when at work.”  (positive forward-looking statement)

“My team is not very good to work with, and I don’t feel like I have a connection with any of them.” (negative past-looking statement) à “I’m looking for a team that is more collegial and collaborative.” (positive forward-looking statement)

“I don’t work with partners or clients much – I’m frustrated at the hierarchy and churn in my current job, making it hard to get things done.”  (negative past-looking statement) à “I work best on lean teams, where I can collaborate directly with partners and work with clients on substantive items.” (positive forward-looking statement)

“The work is not very interesting, and I’m stuck working on the same deals/cases.”  (negative past-looking statement) à “I am interested in a variety of topics and I’m looking for work that is more aligned with my interests [insert specific industries/sectors that the group focuses on] and provides more variety so I can continue to learn and do my best work.” (positive forward-looking statement)

“I don’t get substantive work, even though I can handle more advanced items and get more involved.”  (negative past-looking statement) à “I’m looking for an opportunity where I can maximize strengths more and contribute to the team – I have specific strengths in [name specific traits that you want to highlight] that I can use to be a valuable member of a team, and I’d like to utilize those more.” (positive forward-looking statement)

These are just a few examples but cover some of the most common reasons people lateral or go in-house.

A couple of notes:

-       --If you are leaving your current job because of a specific person (such as a toxic partner that you can’t avoid), don’t get into details during the interview.  Continue to provide positive forward-looking statements about your desire for more collaborative and pleasant colleagues, without mentioning the problematic colleagues by name or details about your experience with them.

-        --For attorneys leaving their job because the hours are too demanding or unpredictable (very common), many are concerned that they will come off in the interview as a “slacker” or that they are looking for a “lifestyle firm” (which most firms will deny that they are, even if it is less demanding).  It is important to tread carefully here – try to identify other substantive reasons that you are interested in the firm and highlight those, which are often the root cause of the long hours (for example, the types of matters you work on).  Understand how the firm brands itself: if the firm attracts BigLaw associates with very clear and public messaging that the firm is more flexible, better work-life balance, and more family-friendly (and you have specific information from attorneys that this is true), you can build this into your response in a positive way, that is consistent with how the firm presents itself – while reiterating that you are hardworking and looking for a place where you can do your best work.

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