Interview Stories
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Interview Stories, Job Searches, Layoffs, Notes from the Breadline
Notes from the Breadline: Always Seem to Get Things Wrong (Part I)
Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Notes from the Breadline,” a column by a laid-off lawyer in New York. Prior columns are collected here. You can reach Roxana St. Thomas by email (at roxanastthomas@gmail.com), follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook. The news that filters down to the breadline these days […] -
Interview Stories, Job Searches
Open Thread: Is Anybody Coming to OCI This Year?
It’s a little bit early to be looking ahead to on-campus interviewing — unless, of course, you are a rising 2L who is about to get reamed. Law firms are already making plans for how they will approach the class of 2011. The early indications are not pretty. Mayer Brown sent out a message that […] - Sponsored
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Interview Stories, Job Searches, Layoffs, Notes from the Breadline
Notes from the Breadline: And So Begins the Task
Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Notes from the Breadline,” a column by a laid-off lawyer in New York. Prior columns are collected here. You can reach Roxana St. Thomas by email, at roxanastthomas@gmail.com, or find her on Facebook. After a few weeks of unemployment, I begin to wonder whether some sort of […]
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Harris Beach, Interview Stories, Job Searches, Rudeness, Women's Issues
Lawyers You'll Swear At, Not Work For
Many people have interviewing horror stories. But few people actually bother to send a letter to the offending firm. One Georgetown University Law Center student did just that. After her interview with Harris Beach, the student sent a letter to James Spitz, CEO of Harris Beach: I was looking forward to the interview until Mr. […] -
Biglaw, Interview Stories, Job Searches, Rudeness
OCI Bloopers By Students: Share Your Horror Stories
We’ve done a few posts on screw-ups and rudeness on the part of lawyers conducting on-campus interviews (see here and here). But what about the interviewees? They’re not perfect either — even if some of them think they are. What are some ways that law students have torpedoed their chances of getting callbacks or summer […] -
Fashion, Interview Stories, Job Searches
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Suitable Suits?
We’ve noticed that the comment thread on the cold offers post has morphed into a fashion advice column. Here are some of the on-campus interview attire questions that have been posed: — Is a light gray suit a bad choice for interviews? Dark brown shoes, black, or either? — What suit colors are acceptable? — […] -
ATL Idol, Biglaw, Interview Stories, Job Searches
OCI Open Thread Follow-Up
[Ed. note: This post is by ALEX, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition that will determine ATL’s next editor. It is marked with Alex’s avatar (at right).] We received nearly 200 comments on the OCI Open Thread, and to my surprise, most of them were not directed solely at how […] -
Britney Spears, Celebrities, Crime, Food, Intellectual Property, Interview Stories, Law Professors, Law Schools, Non-Sequiturs, Sex
Non-Sequiturs: 11.29.06
* After being subjected to Prince Charles’s tampon metaphors, is there really anything more to know about the Royal Family? [The Guardian] * Pussy. Labia. Vagina. (Yeah, I too know way too much about Britney’s and, thanks to the above, Camilla’s.) Salary? Buzz! That word is taboo. [Feminist Law Professors] * But I think in […] - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Fashion, Interview Stories
Interview Horror Stories: Wait 'Til You Have the Offer Before Busting Out the Piercings
Over the years, law firms have become more relaxed about the attire and appearance of their associates. But there are limits. From the National Law Journal: “It’s really hard,” said [hiring partner Matthew] Jones, with Duane Morris. He recently interviewed 18 University of Virginia School of Law students in about six hours. He had 15 […] -
Biglaw, Crime, Fast Food, Feminism, Food, Interview Stories, Murder, Music, Non-Sequiturs, Nude Dancing, Racism, Supreme Court, Television
Non-Sequiturs: 11.13.06
* In law school, a burrito was not only a sandwich, but breakfast, lunch and dinner. And midnight snack. [AP via Yahoo! News] * When you have too much self-respect for a reunion tour, or another farewell tour is just not feasible, or you haven’t securitized your music catalog, then this may be your last […] -
Biglaw, Interview Stories
Interview Horror Stories: It's Getting Hot in Herre [sic]
Remember the slogan for those Dry Idea deodorant commercials, “Never Let Them See You Sweat”? It’s good advice for both interviewers and interviewees. That’s why, in ATL’s Top Ten Interview Tips, we recommend the use of deodorant (tip #5). Anyway, here’s our next interview horror story: At the start of my 2L year, I went […] -
9/11, Interview Stories, War on Terror
Interview Horror Stories: September 11 Has 24 Billable Hours
Neither rain, nor snow, nor the largest terrorist attack in U.S. history will keep certain lawyers from their work. Here is our next interview anecdote: I was a 2L at a western law school in the 2001-2002 school year. September was, of course, prime interviewing season, and there were usually 5-10 firms interviewing at the […] -
Biglaw, Fashion, Interview Stories
Interview Horror Stories: How Do We Interview While Our Beds Are Burning?
This next interview horror story isn’t a true “horror” story. It starts off like a horror story, but then — well, just read it yourself: I had an on-campus interview at 10 AM on Monday for a well-known litigation firm in Orange County. At 10 PM on Sunday evening, my apartment building caught on fire, […]
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Profit Powerhouse: Elevating Law Firm Financial Performance
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Bad Ideas, Biglaw, Interview Stories, Rudeness
Interview Horror Story: The Perils of Palaver
This next interview story has something for everyone. Both the interviewer and the interviewee can be made fun of. Here you go: A friend of mine was interviewing at a big law firm. As a 1L who basically went straight through from undergrad, his résumé is not terribly long, though it has some interesting tidbits […] -
Boutique Law Firms, Interview Stories, Rudeness, Supreme Court Clerks
Interview Horror Stories: SCOTUS Clerks Can Be Really Rude
Supreme Court clerks, aka “the Elect,” are gods and goddesses of the legal profession. But as our latest interview horror story shows, they aren’t perfect — at least not all the time. Sometimes SCOTUS clerks let their lofty status go to their heads, treating the Great Unwashed like “the little people.”* Check out our latest […] -
Biglaw, Interview Stories, Rudeness
Interview Horror Stories: We're Trying Hard Not To Call Her a Witch
The Interview Horror Stories just keep on coming — and we love ’em. So if you have one to share, please send it to us, by email. Our latest tale concerns an interviewer who was, er, less than welcoming: I had an interview [for a summer associate position] at a large, downtown DC law firm […] -
Biglaw, Interview Stories, Rank Stupidity, Shameless Plugs, Silicon Valley
Interview Horror Stories: Don't Make Him Beg (Part 2)
This is the continuation of an interview horror story that we started earlier. You can read the prior installment here. When we last left our hero, an applicant for a lateral position at a top Silicon Valley law firm, he had just said a bunch of completely boneheaded things at an interview lunch with two […] -
Biglaw, Interview Stories, Rank Stupidity, Silicon Valley
Interview Horror Stories: Don't Make Him Beg (Part 1)
Another interview horror story from the West Coast (just like our last two). And this one is a real gem. Here you go: Back when I was a junior associate at a BigLaw in Silicon Valley, a colleague of mine grabbed me to take a candidate to an interview lunch. My colleague had heard through […] -
Biglaw, Fashion, Interview Stories
Interview Horror Stories: Clothes Don't Make the Man
This next tale isn’t really an interview “horror” story, and it’s from many years ago. But we found it somewhat interesting. From another western reader: This may shock you, but there are white shoe firms in the West. I had an interview with one in 1983. I showed up for the interview in cowboy boots, […] -
Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Interview Stories, Pets, Sex
Interview Horror Stories: The Curious Incident of the Dog That Loved To Hump
Some of you think we don’t give the West Coast enough love here at ATL. We’re happy to report that our next few interview anecdotes come from west of the Rockies. Here’s the first: Some years ago, I was a junior associate at a Big Firm in San Francisco. I was asked to take a […]