Professional Personal Legal Adviser Interview Preparation Guide

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The employer isn’t really interested in what you are looking for: they are interested in what they are looking for. Fit your answer to their needs and focus on the benefits you can bring to the organisation.

Emphasise your best subjects and highlights of your studies. If grades were average, talk about leadership or jobs you took to finance your education.

Show you have gone further than just reading their website. Mention what you have read about them in the media; talk about products, services, history and people, especially any friends that work there.

You don't want actual names, so this question does not violate attorney-client privilege. What you want to find out is whether the average client is an individual or a business and whether the average job resembles what you need done, both in terms of the legal matters being covered and, when applicable, the dollars involved. If you have a big estate and fear lawsuits, so that you want to set up an asset-protection trust, you don't want to be working with an advisor whose idea of asset-protection is an ordinary estate plan and protecting life savings from Uncle Sam. You're looking for someone who can make you virtually "suit-proof," and the difference is huge.

This should be straightforward. Reflect positively on your current employer but state how you are looking for more challenges, responsibility, experience and a change of environment. Explain how your current role can no longer provide you with these things, but how you believe the role on offer presents an opportunity for growth that will make full use of your strengths and potential.

Be honest: this will allow your enthusiasm to come across. This is also a chance to demonstrate the research you have done about the company.

Show what motivates you. Explain why this sector appeals to you and use any work experience you might have to back this up.

Again, this answer should reflect company values, for example, by showing that you are a team player.

The interviewer is trying to find out your definition of ‘difficult’ and whether you can show a logical approach to problem solving. Select a tough work situation that was not caused by you. Explain the way you approached the problem, including the actions you took and the solution you applied to overcome the problem. Give your answer with the air of someone who takes setbacks and frustrations in your stride, as part of the job.

Find out if there are ways for you to minimize costs. In some situations, it may involve your doing the legwork to find certain documents or to drive documents around yourself, rather than relying on a courier service. The smaller a lawyer's practice, the more he or she will value your ability to do some of the menial chores on your own, and the savings will be very real.

You're the one paying the bill, and you want to get what you pay for. If the lawyer uses paralegals or junior partners to do the work, you should find out just how involved your attorney intends to be. It's dumb to pay for a figurehead. You also want to find out what, if anything, the involvement of others does to your projected costs; it can push costs up or keep them reasonable, depending on circumstances.

The interviewer is testing your problem-solving skills and how you manage pressure. Find an example of a task, at work or during your studies, which at first seemed impossible and show how you used your skills to resolve it.

A sense of purpose is an attractive feature in an applicant, so this question is designed to probe your ambition and the extent of your career planning. Your commitment is also under question, but avoid blankly stating that ‘I want to be with your company’. Instead, describe how your goal is to continue to grow, learn, add value and take on new responsibilities in the future that build on the role for which you are applying.

Attorney-client privilege can make this sticky sometimes, but someone who can act as a reference and say how the lawyer deals with clients will help cement your decision.

If the lawyer won't give you the names of clients, ask for professional references, perhaps the names of lawyers to whom he makes referrals. When you call those colleagues, do not identify the person who gave you his name at first, saying, "I was told you could be a reference for my attorney. I was wondering who you consider to be the best attorneys in town." If your lawyer's name comes up, then ask why the reference feels that way. If it's not on the list, ask why not.

The interviewer wants to know if you are a high achiever and ascertain how your accomplishments will be beneficial to them. Select one or two recent accomplishments that are directly related to the job on offer. Identify the situations, the actions you took, skills you used and the positive outcomes; quantifying the benefits where possible. Show how you can bring what you learned to the new role.

Law is not an area where you must see specific credentials to feel comfortable with a practitioner. The law degree and license speak volumes about someone having achieved the minimum standards for competency.

Still, there are some legal specialties, such as a "certified tax lawyer" or "certified civil trial lawyer." While there are major trade groups like the American Trial Lawyers Association that have developed credentials, most national specialty law groups are membership organizations, rather than education/credentialing institutions.

Thus, you may need to distinguish between whether the lawyer is a member or a certificant.

The best answers are similar roles in similar companies to the one on offer. Even if you are toying with many different ideas on jobs, don’t show this as it lets the employer know that you haven’t worked out what you really want yet.This is also a question recruiters ask to find out what other interviews really good candidates have in the pipeline so they know the time frame for a job offer.

☛ What do you know about our products/services?
☛ Do you need additional training?
☛ Tell me about the problems you have had living within your means.
☛ What major challenges and problems did you face?
☛ Will you take a psychological examination as a condition of employment?
☛ What would you do if you were fired in two years?
☛ What was your biggest failure?

☛ What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?
☛ What was the most rewarding experience at work?
☛ What new skills have you learned or developed recently?
☛ In what way did this type of work interest you and how did you get started?
☛ What would you like to be doing five years from now?
☛ Why haven't you found a position before now?
☛ Walk me through the important points on your resume.

☛ Tell me about a time you solved a difficult problem that could have had significant impact.
☛ Describe the most difficult decision you've made in the last 6 months.
☛ Tell me about a time you took initiative to do something that needed to be done, even though it wasn't really your responsibility
☛ Describe an important goal you have achieved, and how you achieved it. Tell me about set-backs you experienced.
☛ Describe a time when you had difficulty communicating your thoughts clearly to an individual or group.
☛ Tell me about a time you voiced a concern or disagreement to a coworker, supervisor, or professor.
☛ Tell me about a situation in which you had to collaborate with several people to achieve a goal.
☛ Describe your most disappointing experience. How did you cope with it? What did you do to move beyond it?
☛ Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that required coping skills.
☛ Give me a specific example of a time when you convinced your supervisor or professor of an idea. How did you accomplish this and what was the result?
☛ Tell me about a time when you took on a leadership role.
☛ Tell me about a time you provided excellent customer service.

☛ What qualities do you feel are most important for a successful legal assistant?
☛ What is your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?
☛ Can you give me an example of a situation where you needed to deal with multiple priorities at once and how you deal with it?
☛ How do you deal with stress?
☛ Do you work well under pressure?
☛ Do you enjoy working as part of a team?
☛ How do you deal with sensitive or confidential information?
☛ Can you give me an example of a situation where you demonstrated an eye for detail?

☛ How do you communicate goals to subordinates?
☛ Did you have faults as a leader? Describe the situation.
☛ What is your expected salary?
☛ If you were hiring a person for Legal Advisor job, what would you look for?
☛ Example when you were able to successfully communicate with another person.
☛ Give examples of steps taken to make each team member feel important.
☛ Why did you leave your last job.

☛ Which areas of law are you most interested in?
☛ Why did you decide to become a legal assistant?
☛ What subject did you like the most at school? Why?
☛ Which subject did you like the least, and why?
☛ What made you choose to attend [name of school]?
☛ How has your education prepared you to work for us?

☛ What was the last book you read?
☛ What research have you done on our firm and our industry?
☛ What would you do differently if you were in charge of this company?
☛ How do you define arrogance? Are you arrogant?
☛ Can you work without supervision?
☛ What clubs do you belong to?
☛ What management style do you prefer?

☛ Why did you leave your last job.
☛ How many Legal Advisor projects do you work on at once?
☛ Example when you were able to successfully communicate with another person.
☛ How do you see this Legal Advisor job developing?
☛ Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas?
☛ When you are not studying or working, what types of activities do you enjoy?
☛ What are your strengths?