yes yes yes everyone is interested in OCI, but what is your take on it Alex? This is just bland, recycled stuff

This is a great idea for an open thread.

Gentlemen at my preparatory academy used to revel in tales of interviews gone awry. It was not big deal.

~Unoriginal Lothario

okay since I am freaking out about early interview week this is kind of interesting, but I thought this was supposed to be an audition for a job... this tells me nothing about whether Alex will be good at the job

Gentlemen at my preparatory academy used to revel in tales of interviews gone awry. It was no big deal.

~Unoriginal Lothario

It's "breathe," not "breath."

Fail.

And, as a general rule, I've nixed anyone who didn't know the difference between breath and breathe.

Not a great showing, Alex--not as bad an F&D or Sophist post, but I think you can do better.

BTW, please fix the "breath" typo.

Do people really like to recall the OCI experience? I don't...

Is it possible for Alex to be funny? He even bombed telling a "horror" story

#3 Go away. This is a listless and boring topic, and Alex's tiresome post did nothing to capture my interest. Zzzzz.

People say that your OCI interview is like your personal statement for LS applications. With the right school and rank, the job is yours to lose. Without the right school and rank, the process is a formality before the equally formal ding.

For the class of 2003, on campus interviews began a few days after the September 11 attacks. During one interview, it came to be known that the interviewee was born in the middle east. Upon hearing this news, this partner from a law firm with no named gentiles cut the interview short--very short. They hadn't even hit the halfway mark yet. Ironically, the interviewee was a member of the tribe.

My horror story regarding OCI: I was really stressed out about OCI and I went to my favorite blog abovethelaw.com for some humor, but I still wanted it to be relevant to my legal career. Instead I got crap from a novice named Alex.

11- AGREE!! i'd even trade 'funny' for 'mildly entertaining'

My horror story regarding OCI: I was really stressed out about OCI and I went to my favorite blog abovethelaw.com for some humor, but I still wanted it to be relevant to my legal career. Instead I got crap from a novice named Alex.

What an unoriginal and dull take on a topic that could be interesting and hilariously funny. A guy put he's feet up on the bed and talked? Hilarious! Oh wait, no.

I ended up taking a call back at a firm whose interviewing partners creeped me out because I thought the head recruiter had a fantastic butt (which, objectively, she does). I work there now.

Is Alex trying to tank this competition? I don't know why else he'd write this boring crap and just hope commenters would pull his ass out of the fire

@ 13 - agree.

kids, the initial interview has almost nothing to do with whether you get the callback. sorry. they already know if they want to bring you back or not, and unless you brilliantly dazzle them with some amazing fact about yourself that somehow couldn't fit on your resume, or you throw up on them, nothing is going to change based on that 20 minutes.

yawn

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/230/518230944_ff235e5630_o.jpg

Where is the "Vote for Exley" button?

On his fifth day on campus at OCI, my interviewer from Wachtell was so tired he yawned during my interview.

-- BYU Law '02

Alex, initially I was your biggest fan. But you have failed to meet my (admittedly low) standards for support. Sorry dawg.

good topic - now lets get some good stories, tips, etc.

Wait is this Alex's "feature" piece? (a feature -- i.e., a longer piece that will span multiple posts and days) you mean there is more on this topic from this clown??? UGH

I guy I know told me about his friend whose classmate went to OCI and had a funny story.

Yes, please lets have some more fascinating stories like 24.

I'm bored. I hope one of the other candidates has a more enjoyable piece today.

Please don't let Alex-bashing obscure a thread I've been breath(e)lessly waiting for!

#24, news flash: No one at Wachtell has ever heard of BYU, let alone interviewed there for 5 days.

And this post actually could be useful for those of us who have OCI. Maybe if the rest of you would stop whining, the comments might be good.

Any estimations on what the callback rate is at a T10 school? 25% sound about right?

OCI interviewer told me (a woman) that they didn't have a lot of fun summer events anymore because "you just don't like to have the chance of another (!) date rape accusation." um, okay.

Exxxxxxxxxxxley
Exxxxxxxxxxxley
Exxxxxxxxxxxley
Say it louder

just heard that wachtell changed their schedule so that they will be at brooklyn law for 2 days!

Here's the problem with ALL these candidates. When Lat does something, I have faith in it. I have faith in what I know of his educational and professional background. Even not knowing that, his writing inspires faith in his experience, and that he is an appropriate guide through the dross he sifts for our amusement and edification. (Kash's writing has this same inspirational quality.) "Breath" vs. "Breathe" errors during the application process don't cut it. But that's not just a dig at Alex, that's a dig at ALL these lame mofos. Seriously, Lat, this has called my faith in you and this blog as a whole into doubt, like your writing and posts never have. That you could not conjure up more suitable candidates is really disappointing.

What are "2ls"? It is 2L - jeez, did this person even go to law school?

The only thing more boring than this article are these posts. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzz

Clueless west coast law student is told by the career counseling people that spring time interviews are just as good, so 2L student does the (fall only) England-abroad program. 2L student comes home to find out that career counselers were idiots and all the real good summer intership jobs gone. Eventually student does well enough to get a decent but not great job after third year interviews, but alway wonders if she could have gotten one of the high paying jobs if she hadn't gone to England in her second year.

The only thing more boring than this article are these posts. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzz

Anyone know if Kellogg Huber will even look at a non-SC clerk applicant for an SA position?

I don't have any horror stories but I have advice. I think the main thing interviewers are looking for is whether the candidate is someone they would want to work with and well-spoken enough to eventually introduce to a client. Also, make sure you can speak intelligently for a few minutes about everything on your resume and transcript.

Most abrupt ending ever.

"Poor little 2ls; the gravy days are over."

Why do you have to be such a dick? Lat always managed to empathize with people while mocking the absurdity of our chosen profession.

Also typical offer rate from callbacks.... 40%, 50%? Someone must have an idea about this.

If I'm doing well at a T30 school (top 5%, law review), is there any reason to think an OCI firm still wouldn't be interested, considering they recruit most of their summers from higher-ranked schools?

In other words, would a firm ever come to campus if they weren't interested in hiring someone?

13 - You are actually wrong.
At top schools, there is no class rank. Assuming you meant "rank" as a proxy for grades, that's only part of it. Most kids at my top 10 (even those with good grades) didn't generally get instant callbacks. One of my close friends did get callbacks for all of her OCI's and even instant offers, but she was the rare exception. At most top schools, if you have average grades or better, you've got a decent enough chance.

I'm on the recruiting committee at my firm (and have been for a while), and we don't give callbacks to everyone. It would just be a waste of time and resources for the Recruiting Committee staff and attorneys who have to do the actual interviews during the callbacks. With all of the schools we go to, it already feels like we spend way too much time on callbacks anyways. We don't want to make it worse. Sure, we'd like to hire just from the top 14 and call it a day.

Certainly, if you're from HYS, you have a much easier time, but we're going to try to at least cut the mouth-breathers and navel gazers before the callback stage. We aren't a firm (and not many are) that just cares about your journal and whether or not you have a pulse. We have to work with you, or teach you, or read your work and have you breathe loudly in the corner on conference calls, so we don't want just any old person with a A in Con Law. Because, really, that A in Con Law doesn't tell me anything about whether or not you'll cut it as an associate.

32 obviously has never heard of sarcasm.

uh lat 37 raises some serious and correct beef. how could you not have found "top blogger talent" for eic of atl.

kash was good from the beggining and has even gotten better (which i admit will happen with whomever takes over), to the point where one can maybe think her blog is yours.

we know that kash is unavailable but others have had to have been around, maybe you should have offered some sort of incentive....

Talk about mailing it in!

this does nothing to impress me Alex.... Looks like I'll have to find someone new to back against the Marinheads...

Firms that hire at OCI are TTT. If you don't get 100% of your talent pool from other firms' investments you aren't that good.

47: Yes they would. It's called presence. Firm X never knows if a T-30 school might produce a S.C. clerk. So it hedges its bets.

More importantly, Firm X never knows when it may fall in the rankings or have an off year (like Cadawalder, natch) and top candidates flee. If Firm X is a constant presence at your T-30 but never hires, how would you know? You just think they're always hiring, from your T-30, instead of desperately showing up to pick off the lower hanging fruit that their poor fiscal policy has forced them to pick off.

I have one. I was an Associate at a top 10 firm, who interviewed someone from HLS. This guy told me that we would be lucky to have him, and that just by looking at his resume we should have been able to tell that he was "[my firm's] material." He went on to say that he didn't understand why all the top firms insisted on wasting his time and their money on interviewing him rather than just extending an offer for a summer position. I said, "YOU are why we can't select summer associates solely based upon their resumes. The fact that you think it's appropriate to say something like that in an interview is proof of why we can't rely entirely upon your admittedly stellar resume." His decline letter beat him back to his apartment.

I've interviewed on-campus for biglaw firm for years. Here's some advice - guys, don't act cocky. No matter how good your grades are, you have a lot to learn. Ladies, don't giggle and act 'girly'. Be engaged, friendly and mature. Put some real thought into what information is important to you - ask thoughtful questions. Nothing is a bigger turn-off than a kid who's phoning it in w the run of the mill "are there pro bono opportunities?" questions. If you really do want that sort of information, then think it through to why, frame your question differently, and do your research on the firm beforehand. Don't ask me something that you could have already found out online. That's lazy and we know it. When I interview that rare well-spoken, confident, interesting and friendly/normal kid, I'll go to the mat to get them a callback.

My horror Story:

I have a conflict with an OCI interview because of a call back and have the secretary in career services re-schedule to later in the afternoon.

Turns out the secretary places me into the interviewer's only break for the afternoon and the guy smokes. He thinks I am crashing the OCI process because the secretary never told him about the schedeling conflict. Needless to say, I didn't get the callback.

Tips for OCI from a 10+ year litigator at a large firm:

Have excellent grades.
Try not to be too weird.
Have excellent grades.

That is all.

55: it was a dumb move on his part, I agree, but his statement was correct. Considering his stellar resume, most of these places would have extended him an offer after formally moving through the process.

And what if he's the son of a prominent Fortune500 CEO? In that case, some firms couldn't afford not to take him.

58: why do grades matter so much? If it's a top school, you'll have their prestige in your court, anyway. Does it matter whether they earned an A or B in ConLaw based on the whims of some professor?

Boring post Alex. Pathetic attempt.
You were never in my top three anyway.
Fail!

wow, this really really sucks

56: how am I supposed to find firm information that's not online? Beyond Vault, your website, and hearsay, there's not much out there -- disregarding the fact that most firms are fairly similar from the outset -- and I'm not going to rely on hearsay for my questions.

Classmate of mine is interviewing and the interviewer is kind of busting his balls -- albeit jokingly--about a B+ he got (T10 law school). Classmate looks at guy and says, "I scored in the 99% percentile of the LSAT, so take that B+ and shove it."

Career limiting behavior.

Lose Alex. This sucks. Bring back the new Exley!!!!

top 15% from lower t14, secondary journal - chances at STB, Paul Weiss, Latham and Skadden?

63:

Obviously not 56, but a lot of those lame questions can be found on NALP. 56 mentions the standard "pro bono" question, and that could definitely be answered on NALP.

64: don't leave us in suspense. Did he get the callback and offer?

66,

I hear CWT is hiring.

My horror story:

I interviewed with a big New York firm’s HK office partners. The main guy was half awake and kept on yawning at a 2-minute interval. He looked at my resume in which says I grew up in a Mandarin-speaking country and finished undergrad in a Mandarin-speaking university. He then asked me whether I speak Mandarin. Of course, he is not satisfied with my answer and tried to test me with his (broken) Mandarin, asking again, do I speak Mandarin, in Mandarin. I felt the situation was too absurd so I asked him whether he was still suffering from jetlag. He ignored my question (or perhaps, not able to understand it, in Mandarin), and proceeded asking me whether I support Taiwanese independence. At the end of the day, I turned down their callback invitation, thinking, everything everyone was gossiping about the firm, was, unfortunately, true.

You guys complain endlessly about what you have and then cry like babies when its taken away- for example, the way everyone was upset about the blogger who got booted and posted this morning, or the way you all bitch about your jobs and then panic like maniacs about them being taken away/cry like babies when you're finally fired. Get lives, or at the very least stop bitching so much.

You guys complain endlessly about what you have and then freak out when its taken away- for example, the way everyone was upset about the blogger who got booted and posted this morning, or the way you all bitch about your jobs and then panic like maniacs about them being taken away/cry like babies when you're finally fired. Get lives, or at the very least stop bitching so much.

"And, as a general rule, I've nixed anyone who recited information from my bio."

Wait, WHAT? So my asking "I see you've co-published a lot of articles with the chair of your department - does Firm X routinely offer this type of mentorship?" in my last interview could have nixed it? What type of rule is that? Or maybe someone could explain if there's a d-bag and a non-d-bag way of bringing up someone's bio info?

Thoughts on bidding at multiple cities?

55 - do these things really happen, and if yes what are these kids thinking? amazing what some kids think is coming to them...

An interviewer asked me how many door knobs there were in the city of New York. After I gave an answer and explained my reasoning, he said "What about the XYZ door knob factory in the Bronx." ... I wish I was joking

75: he went to HARVARD.

Why would you nix anyone who went to the trouble of actually learning something about you, the interviewer? Doesn't that suggest they've taken the time to be engaged in the interview and have thought through what they might say during it?

And, it is agreed that this is a terrible post. He put his feet on the bed!!!

White DC Latham interviewer at HLS got my asian name mixed up with another asian name and kept calling me by my wrong name and looked at the wrong resume throughout the interview. I kept correcting him and stating that I thought he had the wrong resume, but he refused to admit it. I didn't get the callback, so I guess the other asian dude had crappy grades.

76: why is that a horror story? He sounds like a witty guy. What did you answer?

OCI posts are well and good, but this is a weak blogging effort. I find it to be flaccid and disappointing.

Horrible post.

Alex, you are the sports radio guy who says, "Bowling isn't a sport. Agree or disagree. Let's go to the phones!"

Lazy lazy lazy.

76: McKinsey?

56 - "When I interview that rare well-spoken, confident, interesting and friendly/normal kid, I'll go to the mat to get them a callback".

Which firm are you affiliated with? Based on the above, I would really appreciate the opportunity to interview with you and prove that I belong.

81: that's what she said. Yes, I know . . .but I had to.

I interviewed at this short building law firm, and I was all like I know Alex and he knows tall and short, so I am sure you know him and I get the job automatically cuz it's a short building, right? And they said I was rude, but I couldn't be any worse than Alex.

84 = Loyola 2L

Sorry 84, I'm with CWT. No interviews this year.

-56

63, I'm not saying that you need to come up with a totally original and creative topic for your questions. Trust me, when an interviewee asks things like "If your firm were a game show, which one would it be?" - that did happen - it isn't really a good thing unless he/she has a point. Just don't ask things like "how many attorneys are in your New York office?" or "How does your summer program work?" or "Do you give billable hours credit for pro bono work?". Those are very basic questions and the answers are easily found online. By the end of the day, questions like that make me want to stab myself with my pen. You would be surprised how many people show up for an interview with little to no preparation and they all blend into the pack. When I can only give one or two callbacks max to the ten or twelve people I interviewed that day, I give them to the people who stand out.

And, sadly, agree with 58 - grades really do matter, especially in a market like this. There aren't that many ways to differentiate candidates - you all have stellar resumes and you all are at the same top schools. Your interview does count a lot, but your interviewer usually has to defend decisions to not bring back people with great grades (hence 58's "don't be too weird" comment), as opposed to arguing to give someone a chance who has mediocre grades but seems like a great candidate. I'm not a fan of that part of the process, but that's how it works. Your interviewer can end up being your advocate.

I was set on working abroad, so I made sure during OCI that I had interviews set up for every firm that indicated it had a foreign office. London, Paris, Hong Kong. One firm had listed Vienna as one of its offices, but I was so thick that I didn't realize that it was Vienna, VA (I'm from the west coast - who ever heard of Vienna, VA?) Of course, my answer to the question "Why are you interested in our firm?" referenced my belief that I could end up working in Austria. That was sure embarassing.

85: I know, you're right. I didn't get that callback either.
--81

I had some bad ones. The worst was 3L year, I had an offer at my firm from the summer but I decided to do a few interviews since my grades had gone up and as such, I wanted to interview with a few places that I didn't meet the grade cut-off as a 2L including a place that I had been rejected as a 2L. I have heard plenty of people getting offers as 3L's from places that wouldn't consider them as 2L's. It was towards the end of the day and I walked into the tiny dorm room in D'Ag. After a few minutes of Q&A (why us?, why D.C.?, etc.) and a few questions about why I was considering not going back to my summer firm (including a mention that he was friends with a senior associate at my summer firm), he said I remember you from the last EIW. He then cut the interview short because said he had to get back for his flight and that he would look over my resume and grades and I would hear back from them regarding a callback.

I was pretty annoyed. I had pretended I was interested in countless interviews and now someone ditched me in the middle of one. It was completely unprofessional and unnecessary (there is a shuttle flight every hour from NYC to DC). The worst part about it is I didn't feel I could complain to the career center as I was afraid he would then retaliate by telling his friend at my 2L summer firm (which I was likely to go back to).

Anyway, in keeping with this blog's new policy I won't say his name or the firm name. However, I will give a hint. He works at a firm where one of the former name partners is White House Counsel.

"When I interview that rare well-spoken, confident, interesting and friendly/normal kid, I'll go to the mat to get them a callback."

Why start wrestling? Why not just pick up the phone?

73: just so you know, "co-publishing" a lot of articles with the head of your department is neither mentoring nor co-publishing. It is non-billable credit-taking by partners.

When I did OCI a few years ago I showed up to my first interview and found out my school had inadvertently sent out the resume I used for 1L jobs (admittedly thrown together pretty quickly and piss poor). I found this out when the interviewer started asking me about my connections to NYC, which were obvious in the newer version. Thankfully I had a bunch of resumes on hand, but it was a miracle I even got OCI interviews...

As with Alex's 20 minute interview with his current firm, in this post he expects US to do all of the talking.

My OCI horror story: My grades sucked so I didn't get any interviews and summered at the Home Depot. In the paint department. Awwww yeah.

40: I think I know who your talking about, and I think she's just using the England thing as an excuse -- she wouldn't have got a good job even if she hadn't missed 2L fall OCI. Besides, who doesn't know that Fall OCI is the only real interview opportunity? At least the England thing appears to have worked out for her in the end.

I had an interview with a female partner who was massively uptight and looked like Lilith from Cheers without the positive features. Her first question to me was literally, "If you could play any musical instrument, which would it be and why?" This was obviously very strange, but said that I play piano and I like piano, so I would stick with that. She replied, "OK, but what other instrument?" I thought it was weird that she kept pursuing this, but I said I guess guitar because it's very versitile. She frowned and said, "I wish I could play piano, but I can't" and she said it like I'd stolen her piano from her. The rest of the interview proceeded like that with her asking me these absurd textbook interview questions and then frowning when I replied with sensible, though pointless answers.

Another interviewer I had was a male partner at the branch office of a top 10 firm. He had his laptop out and was banging away on it furiously while yelling at me. He never once looked up and barely stopped yelling to hear my answers to his questions. I realized that this was probably what it was like to work for him and declined my callback.

In general, I think if the best, most sociable person a law firm can find to do interviews is actually a freak, then think of how awful all the people there must be who they wouldn't send to interview.

94: This is 73 again - thank you! Good to know...

Best interview I had as a student: We talked for 20 minutes about sailing. We literally never talked about my resume. I got an offer.

Worst interview as a student: interrogation. Rapid fire questions about things on my CV. I was bored. To top it off, at the little mixer afterwards, the guy refused to look at me. Literally. He walked around me twice without making eye-contact. Amusingly, I ended up with an offer there. But I didn't take it.

Silliest interview: The partner got a call about 1 minute into the interview, and asked me to step out because he didn't want me to overhear the talk. (which, I overheard anyway, because he was insanely loud). My interview was 1 minute of saying hi, and then 20 minutes of standing in the corridor wondering if he'll finish in time to talk to me more. He didn't. No offer.

Best OCI where I interviewed: The student had at least one interesting question that was relevant. She knew what our practice was (but didn't make it too obvious she'd looked up my bio).

Worst OCI: There is always that classic kid with body odor, halitosis, and no volume control. I got up 5 minutes into it and turned up the AC to get some air movement into that room. Then I sat down at a chair further away from him. At least shower!

Second worst OCI: The kid who earnestly held forth about a type of practice he wants to have which had zero overlap with what my firm does. I just hope he got the names mixed up and he gave that presentation to someone who gave a hoot.

A common interview blunder I've seen is canidates assuming that all firms are the same. They're not. Comparable firms often do vastly different types of work and service different clients.

Also, remember that firms want to hire associates who are smart, hard working and ambitous. Even if it's true, don't tell interviewers that you're just looking for the firm with the best quality of life.

40: I think I know who your talking about, and I think she's just using the England thing as an excuse -- she wouldn't have got a good job even if she hadn't missed 2L fall OCI. Besides, who doesn't know that Fall OCI is the only real interview opportunity? At least the England thing appears to have worked out for her in the end.

13--To some extent, I think that's true, but there's a little more to it than that.

First, your interests also need to align with the firm's--for instance, back in the day, you needed to show some interest in international law, ideally in the interview, to get a callback from Coudert. An OCI interview can help or hurt a lot if the interviewer gets the sense that you're allergic to litigation or dying to do secured transactions or whatever.

Second, I think that to a greater degree than with law school personal statements, interviewers want to find people whom they'll want to share many beers with over the summer, and many boxes of Chinese food late at night over doc reviews a few years later. In other words, there's a much broader middle ground of people whose credentials are adequate but unexciting, but will get asked for a callback if they seem to have a personality and that personality clicks with the reviewer.

Third, how you come across matters in law, so if you come across as a troll--no matter how slavishly you follow somebody's tips for good interviewing--you won't get hired.

Bottom line: yes, it's pretty arbitrary, and yes, good credentials are the most important factor, but even the best candidates will get some dings. With some good social skills, hopefully most of the more mediocre candidates will "click" with someone and get some nibbles too.

94: This is 73 again - thank you! Good to know...

40: I think I know who your talking about, and I think she's just using the England thing as an excuse -- she wouldn't have got a good job even if she hadn't missed 2L fall OCI. Besides, who doesn't know that Fall OCI is the only real interview opportunity? At least the England thing appears to have worked out for her in the end.

Like his job interview with his current firm, Alex expects others to do all the talking in this post....

98, oddly enough, I worked at a firm with a lot of cool sociable people, including partners, and for some reason they always sent the same tools to do OCI at my law school.

Best question I have ever asked an interviewee (and the one that tells me whether or not I'll be giving a callback):

What is a legal issue that has interested you in the last year?

I don't ask it to find out what interests them; I ask it to find out whether they can frame and understand a legal issue. You'd be amazed at how many students can't answer that question.

Does anyone think they know who 40 is talking about?

I got my new Brioni 3-piece tee'd up, red power tie ready, and my Allen Edmonds shined and ready to go. Its gametime baby!

109: what's a legal issue? Something that can be interpreted either way?

66- Yes, good chance.

To those who ask about callback/offer %- not sure, but it seemed last year, same time, to be above 50% at most firms, some less than that. But that is really only perception, though it is based on my experience and that of my friends.

My experience in OCI and at callbacks went really well. I had decent grades and job experience (the latter part helped, I believe), and the thing that I felt helped the most was being confident and "normal" during the interview. I didn't ask questions that made me sound stupid (asking about any economic concept, such as the credit crunch, unless you really know what you are talking about, makes you sound dumb), and I was decisive when asked what I was looking for. The more you seem like you have no idea what you want to do (maybe corporate or litigation? I don't know...), the less motivated and confident you seem, and the more they wonder if you are cut out for long hours reading/drafting documents.

If you seem like you know what you want to do, and can convince them that their firm is the best place to do it, then you've achieved all that you can in the interview. And remember, every lawyer likes to think that their firm is the best place to do whatever you're interested in. But don't blow smoke up their ass; Noname & Noname knows they aren't Cravath.

40: I think I know who your talking about, and I think she's just using the England thing as an excuse -- she wouldn't have got a good job even if she hadn't missed 2L fall OCI. Besides, who doesn't know that Fall OCI is the only real interview opportunity? At least the England thing appears to have worked out for her in the end.

80 -

You think that was witty? You are why most ordinary people recognize attorneys as social retards...

Not 76 -

Our OCI's were geared toward top ten percent. If you weren't in the top ten, you weren't even given an opputunity to interview.

Not impressed with this post.

115: sorry. I can't hear you over the sound of my Rubik's cube.

-- 80.

A pet peeve of mine is law students talking about how hard and stressful 1L year was. After working at t afirm for several years, I look back on law school as a truly happy time in my life. A lot of others do too. I just don't want to hear some kid with unlimited free time talk about how stressful it is to be a student.

University of Arizona does "OCI's" in Las Vegas. That's a horror story in itself. Make students pay for flight and hotel for a couple of interviews for jobs they may not get. Thanks CS.

University of Arizona does "OCI's" in Las Vegas. That's a horror story in itself. Make students pay for flight and hotel for a couple of interviews for jobs they may not get. Thanks CS.

I think grades are important, but good interviewing can definitely get you above the hump. I received offers from several firms for which I was below the grade cut-off because I interviewed well.

My advice would be to practice practice practice. I never understood why the kids at my school studied 10 hours per day for their exams, and then walked into these interviews cold. Practice will dramatically improve your interview skills and give you a lot of confidence.

Best OCI - We talked about college basketball the entire time and never touched on anything I'd done in law school.

Worst OCI - Partner who insisted on knowing what type of steak I would be, if I could be any cut of steak - I said fillet mignon - that was apparently the wrong answer. T-bone was apparently the correct answer. There was also a partner who noticed I was on an environmental law review and gave me a 15 minute speech on why he didn't believe "that Al Gore stuff." I didn't take the call back with either firm.

The Good: I'm stumbling through an unremarkable interview with my top-choice firm. As we're shaking hands at the end, the interviewer mentions she brought her husband and kids with her, and they're getting bored. I give her a bunch of sightseeing ideas. Despite crappy grades, I get callback, offer, and spend 4 years with this top-10 firm.

The Bad/the Ugly: I looked up one of the interviewers on the web, found a paper she wrote in college, and asked her about it. I thought it showed interest and initiative. She told other students she thought I was a stalker.

118 -

You are not 80, but you are funny. Ever thought about EIC of ATL?

Really 115

60 --- After 1L, I had a 3.2 at a lower ranked T14 and got tons of BIGLAW offers. It was all about the interviewing.

Alex, this stink. Yawn.

119: depending on the school, 1L is stressful because some of those kids may never get a chance to talk to you about the stresses of 1L.

My interviewer walked out of his hotel room bathroom without his suit pants, but with his boxer shorts and socks still on. Yes, just like a Seinfeld episode. I had to try and decide if he just FORGOT, or was testing me to see if I'd comment. I am male, and married, so it wasn't SH, just odd.

.... I'm 126.. It's important to note that I worked for 4 years before law school, doing some pretty interesting stuff that interviewers loved to talk about.... So I guess it would not really be wise to base anyone else's prospects on my experience...

Most stressful 1st year I have heard about was at UVA because of their rigorous academic standards and their passion for excellence.

130: what a fantastic omission! Thank you very much. Did you also forget about your stint as a Rhodes Scholar?

If someone dug up my college thesis and started asking me about it at an interview, I would no-offer them as soon as possible. Google your interviewers all you want, but confine your conversation to things available on the firm's website - if she referenced her fantastic college paper on her bio page, then MAYBE it's fair game, but otherwise no way.

133: that's ridiculous. We live in a world in which people google each other all the time. It's something you have to expect.

128,

I know that 1L year is stressful. I was a 1L too. And I went to a school where not everyone got the job of their dreams (certainly not in the city of their dreams). But it doesn't hold a candle to being an associate, at least in my experience. I'd love to be a law student again. It's just not something I want to hear anyone bitch about.

135: it must be tough to know that not everyone at HLS can clerk on SCOTUS. ;)

I kid, I kid.

98 - OMG, that laptop guy sounds like my ex-boss. If it is, yes, that is exactly what its like to work for him and that's why I no longer am.

Any advice for people who are transferring to T14's? I'm transferring to one and have around 20 interviews and I'm not really sure how to handle the transfer thing in the interviews.

112: It's usually what ANY case you've studied in law school is about. It's the I in I-R-A-C. About 80% of the time it starts with the word, "whether" HTH - 109

138: just explain that you wanted to trade 3 Ts for a T14. They'll understand.

138, what school?

141,

it's in the 9-14 range

138

Dear 123:

Same hiring criteria as Monica Goodling, apparently.....

A couple of years ago I had a student interviewee hand me one of my reported cases and start asking me questions about it.

Can't say I recommend it as an interviewing tactic.

144: it was probably 134. Clearly he doesn't think it's weird.

This isn't a horror story, but hopefully will provide some inspiration for my fellow underachievers:

After 1L grades, had <3.0 at a T14. Did all of the OCIs that my school allowed (25 or 30) and got no offers. I definitely think I fall into the "normal"/"un-intellectual" crowd, but my grades were atrocious. Summered as a 2L at a small, unprestigious firm where I had connections and which had probably never even seen a resume from my law school. Ended up with close to a 3.4 (average to slightly above average at my school) when interviewing as a 3L (did about 10 interviews) and got a callback from every one of them. Went on 7, got 6 offers. Working for a V20 firm now, where I lateralled from another V20. There's hope!

Worst Interview #1: I was interviewing with a male partner and a young female associate. I'm a married woman, younger than the female associate though. Female associate steps out of the room, and male partner turns to me and says "So, does your husband want to work in [town] or, is it just you?" (imagine emphasis on "just you" like discussing nastiness that crawled out of the sewer) I explained to him that my husband was going to follow my career wherever I chose to go, because I was the one making the decision and the one in law school. He definitely didn't believe me. I was annoyed.

Worst Interview #2: Female partner spent the entirety of our callback interview going on and on about how women left to have babies before they were 35 and they didn't know how to stick it out, make partner first, THEN have babies at 36-40. I mean, on, and on, and on. I just kept agreeing with her, because wtf, but seriously, someone might want to edumacate her on the whole biological clock thing and the chance of birth defects after the age of 35 but I certainly wasn't doing so in the call back.

Thankfully didn't have to take offers from either of these places and ended up somewhere awesome (where they don't assume the husband makes the decisions). Coincidentally I've noticed the same attitude in home remodeling people. If I hear one more time "Oh, well look over this and why don't we meet with your husband to decide things." Uh. Excuse me. I'm the one paying for it.... :P

After sitting on the summer committee for couple of years now, I've come to the conclusion that the process is pretty random and arbitrary. It really like doing due diligence. You've got a pool of resumes. And you know who to pay close attention to based on those resumes. If those people look and sound the part, they get the nod for a callback. If those people can't speak coherently or have other substandard social skills, we'll take a flyer on someone with a little lesser grades who we hit if off with. The real screening takes place at the callback stage anyway, where lots of opinions are solicited and the interviewing is usually much sharper.

Worst as a student: there was a pair of interviewers, which is bad enough, but they both were alums of my school and one asked me "Who is the prof that nobody likes?" - and I judicially answer "Oh, I wouldn't say anybody actually dislikes any of the professors, it's just personalities, learning styles, etc." This is apparently not good enough for them and the spend the rest of the interviewing needling me about the "worst prof"...I didn't get a call-back (not a firm I was really interested in anyways), but it's probably because I reported them to career services for being unprofessional.

Horror Story as an Interviewee: On a callback, a partner explains to me during lunch that the type of associate that his firm is looking for is one that is willing to make big sacrifices for the firm. I ask him what he considers a big sacrifice. He responds, "Well, being a partner here cost me my second marriage," to which I reply, "That's total bullshit." (meanwhile the second year associate who had just explained how she is a mother to a two year-old and the firm isn't a sweatshop is melting as her image of her firm is crumbling before her eyes). I experienced one of those moments where time freezes while I think to myself: Did I just say that aloud? Did I just curse in my interview, to a partner no less? My family's penchant for brutal honesty may have just bitten me on the ass. The partner pauses and says, "Really...How so?" Thinking I'd already blown it anyway, I just say f*ck it and lead with the truth. I explained how I think that everything in life is choice and he simply chose being a partner at the firm over his second wife and how for him (especially considering I don't know his second wife) that may have been the better decision.

I got the offer. And declined it.

In 3 years, 147 has already gotten pregnant and quit her V20 job to go to a firm that lets her work part time.

Given the expectations on Alex, I think its a good topic and good setup. Nice work, Alex.

Come on 146...how bad were they??

98 - women in power what do you expect?! ever try arguing with a woman cop...

Judge Halverson ate my 1 year old daughter while waiting in line at Dairy Queen. Where is the justice? Seriously 146 -- where is the justice?

Judge Halverson ate my 1 year old daughter while waiting in line at Dairy Queen. Where is the justice? Seriously 146 -- where is the justice?

The interviewer looked at my resume and tossed it on the bed saying, "we love guys like you. We'll call you back. No sense wasting each others time. Thanks for coming in." We shook hands and I left. The rejection letter came a week later.

Actually, 147 is a lifer and will never be a stay at home mother or part timer at her firm. She'd just rather pop kids out without birth defects early on and then hang out for partnership after.

Love,
147

Sadly, I have to agree with 154. I've had the most extreme experiences with women partners (not usually an issue with associates). They tended to either they love you or hate you as a fellow woman. Either someone that reminds them of themselves and they want to mentor (i.e. way too nice for someone they just met) or someone that they want to dress down (for whatever god awful reason--payback for how hard they had it, female cattyness/competition, etc.). When I was interviewing, I used to dread interviews with female partners the most.

Alex, you won me back. I have been rooting for you from the beginning, but on the last round Marin was crawling to first place. I want you to win. You got my vote again.

Biggest OCI mistake: getting firms with similar names mixed up and summarizing my answer of why I'd like to work at the firm by saying "and that's what really appeals to me about X firm" when firm's name was actually Y. Then, long pause as I realized my mistake, after which I burst out with "Just kidding! Y firm!" Partners completely knew I was full of it but luckily had a sense of humor and agreed that OCI could make for a long day or two. I got an offer, and in that phone call the partner informed me that he had told others in his office about the ditzy girl who had called their firm the wrong name but had great grades and seemed nice so was probably worth hiring.

Worst horror story as an interviewer: We had a candidate with stellar credentials (top 3 school). I literally was almost blinded by the gold stars on her resume, which is rather impressive since I work at a V6 firm where we get a good amount of impressive resumes. However, every single thing either involved something political or religious. Her interests line at the bottom was even better. I shit you not, they were: Renaissance Spanish Poetry, Victorian British Poetry, Chorale [something] and Interfaith Dialogue. I didn't understand why they all needed to be capitalized, but I figured that was the least of the issues. So I call up the other junior associate with whom I'm scheduled to have lunch with this candidate to brainstorm on how we should handle the interview since we literally cannot touch a single thing on her resume due to the religious or political nature of EVERY SINGLE ITEM. As we're heading over to the restaurant, my colleague opts for the very bland, "So why us?" She literally says, "Well my school changed their interview schedule this year and my husband and I had already scheduled a vacation. Your firm interview slot was one of the few that was still convenient, so here I am." Crickets.

It was the longest lunch of my life. Thank god we didn't extend an offer to her.

Alex is playing it safe by being boring. You can reach for the stars and get rejected completely, as Marin has been, or you can play it safe and run out time on the contest, knowing that Lat is too pigheaded to just cancel the whole ill-conceived venture. Alex is a canny social climber, and a shitty blogger. My prediction is that he will be the new EIC.

So after sending my resume to a firm as a 1L, I got an e-mail from an associate in recruiting: "You have a very impressive resume, I'd like to interview you." Sounded a little creepy, but I was excited to have an opportunity to work there. Fast-forward a month and I had 3 interviews scheduled at different firms in the same town. After finishing one set of interviews early, I want to meet the creepy associate. I arrived 15 minutes early (which I thought was a good thing), only to see that the associate was annoyed at my early-ness. We went to a conference room and had the weirdest interview ever. The guy kept talking about how awesome he was and about how he got an LLM in tax (to white-wash his JD, I thought) and about how hard he has to work to bill as a transactional attorney. "You have to work 2 hours for every hour you bill." (You must be very inefficient, I think to myself). I told him that I'd been in the military and that working long hours is not a problem. After going on for a while about how hard he works, he leaned forward and told me that his wife is Muslim....dramatic pause. I said, "great...?" I honestly think he was trying to get me to say something racist or inapproriate because he assumed all vets hate Muslims. Weird dude. Anyway, I've since spoken to others who've interviewed with him and all agree that he's a creep. Too bad I can't publish his name/firm.

Another terrible interview experience involved a callback I had with around 100-person law firm. The career center recommends interviews with a few places that you are more likely to get callbacks from, similar to a safety school.

Well, the place in general was horrendous. One of the lower level associates I interviewed with, when I asked her why she came to the firm, she said the money. Given that most firms pay the same, it wasn't a particularly good answer and was indicative of someone with no v-100 offers. In general, most people at the firm were from non t-14 schools and had a chip on their shoulder about it.

One interviewer, made a big deal about how many activities I was involved in at my top-five law school and how he couldn't be that involved b/c he had to keep up his class ranking at Hofstra.

The worst was a partner though. He asked me to tell him about myself (always a crappy open-ended question). So I ended up discussing how I liked sports and was a Yankee fan (which he then interjected to say some snide remark about the Yankees). He then glanced at my resume and saw that I went to a certain law school. He goes my daughter wanted to go there but she didn't get in. What I could say to that? Do better on the LSATS next time:-) Needless to say the rest of the interview with that partner and law firm was horrific.

150 - You were the sole diversion in what has been a pale and unamusing thread, and so I would fain commission you write an opera.

165 -

"In general, most people at the firm were from non t-14 schools and had a chip on their shoulder about it."

Your experience couldn't have been the result of you being arrogant about going to a T-14 school? Remember, the majority of practicing attorneys didn't go to a T-14 school.

One of the more entertaining interviews I went on, back in the day.

I'm interviewing with this older, fairly obese partner towards the end of the afternoon. He's obviously exhausted, and halfway through the interview he stops asking and answering questions and starts running on about different programs, committees, etc. the firm offers. I nod and smile politely/encouragingly, waiting to run out the clock since there was no way I'd take a callback from this guy. Then he goes "Yeah, and we have a Women's Committee, but I don't know what they do. For all I know, they could be a cloven [sic] of witches plotting against us." Unable to resist, I replied "I think cloven is what their feet look like?" Ah, OCI.

167 is from a non t-14 school and has a chip on his/her shoulder about it

169 -

This is 167, and you're correct. I do have a chip on my shoulder about it, but the whole point of my post was that 165 was a wee bit condescending towards those of us who didn't go T-14. Which is why most of us who didn't go T-14 have a chip on our shoulders towards those who did go T-14.

I'm in the bottom half of my class at Touro, what are my chances for call back interviews with Cravath, Wachtell, STB, and DPW?

162's story = Exhibit A for why grades alone are not enough. Listing interests/hobbies is always a crapshoot too. Sometimes I think it is way too personal for an initial interview. It gives the interviewer too much of a chance to draw snap judgments about who you are and where you come from. And that's not always a good thing. Those are appropriate topics when someone asks you about them first. And even then try to pick something that is fairly neutral.

The best OCI interview didn't take place. Slept through the initial interview and 5 days later got the letter . . ."Thank you for interviewing . . . blah, blah, blah. We would like to invite you for additional interviews in the firm's New York offices"

The best OCI interview didn't take place. Slept through the initial interview and 5 days later got the letter . . ."Thank you for interviewing . . . blah, blah, blah. We would like to invite you for additional interviews in the firm's New York offices"

Having summered at one BigLaw firm my 1L year, I interviewed with some others as a 2L. A partner from a major Atlanta firm interviewed me and asked if, in my previous summer, I'd worked at all with a particular [African-American] partner. I said I had, and this guy chuckled, remarking, "yeah, when he was a solo practitioner we used to bring him in to sit at the table in certain cases, depending on the jury, but mostly they could smell Uncle Tom coming a mile away." I declined the call-back offer.

Lunch with a couple associates at the end of the interview, going OK until food arrives. I drop out of the conversation for a second to have a bite, and the topic shifts from superficial but fun stuff to the associates all talking about how much their friends in i-banking make and how they wish they could be bankers. This conversation is too depressing and douchey to enter, I'm a little too timid to just cut them off, and the conversation consumes the remainder of the meal. I become "that awkward quiet kid" and feel indifferent about the subsequent rejection.

165,

I'm kind of suprised there weren't more people form top schools. 19 out of 20 associates at my firm, the vast majority of which went to T14 schools, will never be partners here. I realize some will go in-house, and a small percentage will make partner at lower V100 firms, but I imagine the majority will end up partners at law firms like the one you interviewed at.

Once I had an OCI with a really old partner at a v-6 firm. He pulled his worm out. I watched the clock for the next 19 minutes.

Why would a law firm interview at a school if they had no intention of hiring someone from there? Isn't that a big waste of money?

167/170, this is 165. I was nothing but polite. The fact that someone from Hofstra made a big point about needing to maintain class rank was his doing, not mine. Moreover, it is pretty bad form for a partner to make a big point that his daughter wanted to go to my law school but didn't get in. In general, they gave off less of an impression of a nice mid-size firm to work and more of a sleezy place with all of the hours of a big firm with less prestige.

177, there were some from top law schools (although not at the associate level) but the ones I met were not. The head of the firm went to the University of Akron Law School.

had one OCI interview w/ 2 associates - man and woman - one of whom passed the most horrendous gas during the entire interview. Needless to say, it was mighty awkward, as the non-flatulant associate might have thought it was me making the stink. At the conclusion of the interview, however, the woman associate asked me where the bathroom was.

On a callback at a different firm, I had a senior associate fire rapid questions at me in a monotone voice (imagine ben stein interviewing you). To make matters worse, he was the strangest looking dude I've ever seen and had a small bit of spittle between his two lips the entire time.

I didn't end up at either firm.

MAN! this guy SSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!!!

I barely made it through the first paragraph... and then I got to "didn't breath out of their mouths" and I decided to stop pretending to be slightly amused.

this guy's done.

What is the big difference between the T14 schools and the rest? Other than better branding?

173: thank 79.

Horror story as an OCI interviewee: I got listed for an interview with a well-known D.C. lobbying shop and realized about a week before the interview that I had no interest in what the firm did. At the end of a nice discussion, I asked the partner I was interviewing with if he thought it had gone well. He said he thought it had -- but then no call back. (Shocking, eh?)

Horror story as an OCI interviewer: After landing a gig with a V10 firm, I interviewed at my alma mater and talked to a guy who couldn't stop telling me about how great he was at baseball and how he must have been a lot better than I was. That was fun.

I've got a good one.

It was near the end of OCIs my 1L year, and I was getting antsy about getting a job, so I left class pretty early to get ready for an interview. I made sure my hair was perfect, my tie was in place, my breath was good, everything. Then, I got this funny thought in my head: "you should check your zipper." The next thought to go through was "no, why would I do that? Of course it's up."

I left the bathroom and proceeded to the hallway outside the interview room, where I checked my resumes, played on my phone, paced around, etc. I had plans for this interview. I was going to revolutionize my interview strategy. Rather than leaning forward, pulling close to the desk, and seeming keenly interested, I was going to pull the chair back, lean back, cross a leg over, and seem relaxed and calm.

Finally my time came, and I entered the interview room. I was telling all my good stories, and I thought everything was going great. But I noticed that, although the male interviewer was seemingly having a great time, the female interviewer was not looking at me or asking questions. She was looking at the ceiling, checking her watch, looking at the wall behind me, etc. Of course, I just thought she sucked, so I focused my efforts on the dude..

After the interview, I thought I had nailed it. I was sure I was going to get a call back. I pulled up to a urinal to take the victory wizz, and what do you know? My zipper was down. And with me leaning back with my legs crossed, I was sitting and the angle of maximum crotch exposure with the female interviewer right in the line of fire. I did not get that job.

Maybe if you were bigger you would've gotten the job!

As someone who does OCIs for a top-30 firm, I can tell you that the following won't guarantee a callback, but will substantially increase your chances:

1. Practice your basic talking points - you don't have to have everything in a canned, ready to go speech, but you should be ready to give a succinct 30 second answer to the 8 or 9 obvious questions (e.g., why are you interested in our city? what practice groups are you interested in? what interests you about our firm?) There are few things more brutal for an OCI than when a basic question like this gets fumbled. An important part of this is integrating an open-ended question (in your response) that keeps the conversation going. So easy to do, yet a surprisingly large number of people don't do it. Example: I'm interested in coming to DC because of X and Y. What brought you to DC?

2. Do your homework - if you have 15 OCIs in the space of a week (3 per day), you should plan to set aside at least 4 or 5 hours for preparation. You don't need to be capable of writing an essay on the firm in question, but you should have a basic understanding of their key practice areas, recent high-profile matters, and who you're interviewing with. It takes suprisingly little time to accomplish this. When you think about the arc of a legal career, the networks, etc., and the key role that your first 3 or 4 years plays in that progression, the OCI process is actually one of the key points in your career, and you should treat it as such.

3. Come prepared and come early. First impressions are exactly that. All of the cliches are true. Simple things such as having an extra copy of your resume can make a big impression. Back when I was interviewing, I met with a lawyer from a big NY firm who spilled coffee all over his copy of my resume and the simple act of me giving him a clean copy on the spot made a nice impression. This rule is also defensive in a sense - if you're not ready for contingencies like that, it leaves a very poor impression.

4. Don't shy away from talking about social things, as long as they are (a) not controversial and (b) truthful. If you were selected for an OCI, it probably means that you already satisfy the firm's requirements for grades and resume and that the OCI is focused primarily on whether you are normal, a good fit for the firm, etc. Some of the best OCIs I did while in law school or as an interviewer were the ones where we barely discussed the law at all.

5. Don't draw too many inferences from who is interviewing you - some firms send senior partners, some send junior associates. The one thing that you should assume is that whoever the firm sent is trusted and respected by the firm and is assessed by the firm as a good judge of character.

6. Memorize the name of the interviewer - do whatever you need to do to get the interviewer's name down cold, but you need to do whatever is necessary to lock this down. THERE IS ALMOST NOTHING THAT WILL KILL YOU QUICKER THAN FUCKING UP THE INTERVIEWER'S NAME.

7. Be proud of your school and enjoy your time as a law student - the odds are overwhelming that the people who interview you fondly remember their law school days and would pay a huge sum of money to switch places with you so they could relive them. Its not that working in a firm isn't fun, its just that law school was (for most people) an awesome time in their lives.

Why are grades important even at a top 10?:
1. They show that you can work your a$$ off, which is what you'll be doing for the next 5-7 years.
2. They show that you are, at least, of above average intelligence.

Sorry guys: you deserved your B's (or even C's GASP!) because you were out drinking instead of studying your a$$ off like you should have been 1L year. The only person to blame is yourself: if you had studied hard enough, you would have gotten A's. No, it's not that your professor didn't like you, not that the exam was "hard,' it was that you didn't put in the effort necessary. That is the type of effort needed at the top of the food chain in a big firm. If you aren't willing to survive on 3-5* hours of sleep a night for weeks on end, you don't deserve the top tier job.

*8 hours for the super geniouses among you.

End Note:
OCI is just like Law School: If you don't have perfect grades, you need to interview around 30-50 times to have real options. If you don't put in the effort, unemployment awaits. Funny how the real world rewards hard work.

I agree and disagree with 172. I think the activities section of your resume is really important.

You basically get to pick five things that you'd like to talk about in 40% of your interviews. If you list football, someone's going to ask about your favorite team. If you list reading, people will ask you about books you've read. If you list guitar, they'll ask what kind of music you play and whether you're in a band. These are free points. And if the interviewer has the same interests, this can make for a really good interview.

But don't write something really wierd or controversial. It's ok to say you like fishing, but list taxidermy if you're interviewing in manhattan. There's an outlying chance you'll meet the only other biglaw taxidermy enthusiast in NYC and hit it off, but everyone else will just think wtf?

Having done a lot of interviewing for my law firm, I strongly suggest treating the Interests section of the resume as an Icebreakers section. My eyes used to glaze over while reading the academic/experience section of the resume. Finding something interesting at the bottom was a treat.

I was on the fence, but I think Alex has made a good comeback with this post.

Interests section is critical- if you come across as too vanilla, that hurts, if you come across as too bizarre, that hurts, and if you aren't ready to talk easily about all of them, that hurts. But, it can be vastly helpful, because you essentially give the interviewer a choice of four or five conversation topics that are easygoing, and chances are they will be familiar with one of them, and if not, it won't hurt.

Examples:

Pre-Colombian art. Bad idea; makes you seem bizarre and no lawyer will have any familiarity with it to want to discuss it with you.

Wine- can be good, but be sure you know what you're talking about. And don't sound like a drunk.

Golf- can be good, lots of lawyers play golf, only put it down if you are decent.

185 - Your horror stories are not anywhere near horrific. They are much closer to lame.

189--I bet you went to a TTT. That's all I have to say.

Also, learn to spell.

I still do not understand what it is wrong about asking an interviewer about stuff that's on her bio.

147-

I would never date you . . .Aren't you supposed to make decisions together?!