What I wish I’d known before law firm recruitment

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Which water glass was mine at dinner?

That was one of my concerns as I prepared for law firm recruitment in 2006. I had not grown up around the formal business world, and I worried about getting the little things wrong. So, I took an etiquette class to learn how to navigate a formal meal, including which knife to use.

Twenty years later, I speak with law students almost every week. Their passion is unmistakable. So is their anxiety. As on-campus interviews and in-firm recruitment approach, students can feel that every answer, handshake, and dinner conversation carries the weight of their future.

Those of us who have been through the process owe them a more candid account of our own experiences. Alongside the successes, we should talk about the insecurities and awkward moments. Students deserve to know that the lawyers interviewing them once worried about whether they belonged in the room, too.

Recruitment matters. But a few days of interviews cannot define a student's worth, intelligence, or potential. With that in mind, here is what I would tell myself as I embarked on the process back in 2006.

Do the work before walking into the room

Preparation gives you something useful to focus on when much of the process feels beyond your control. Research the firms you are meeting and, where possible, the lawyers interviewing you. Look at recent matters, read a publication or post, and understand how the student program works. Does it offer rotations? How do students receive assignments? Which practice groups might you encounter?

You are looking for enough context to have a thoughtful conversation. Knowing what a firm does and what its lawyers care about helps you ask questions that go beyond what is already on its website.

Look through the profiles of current articling students as well. They can help you identify people whose paths or interests you’d like to ask about. If a recent deal, case, or publication catches your attention, think about why. A question grounded in your own curiosity is easier to discuss than a fact you have memorized simply to prove you did the reading.

I made cue cards for each firm, recording lawyers' names, practice areas, and details of the student program. Before an interview, I would review the relevant card to remind myself who I was about to meet. I recommend putting your phone away and spending some focused time with your notes.

Aim for familiarity. Rehearsing until every answer sounds scripted can make it harder to listen and respond naturally. Interviewers may change, and conversations may take unexpected turns. Your preparation still gives you somewhere to start.

Keep your notes short enough to review between meetings. Record a few details about the firm, the people you expect to meet and questions you want to explore. If a different lawyer walks into the room, introduce yourself and adjust. The research has still helped you understand the organization. You can prepare carefully without needing the conversation to follow a predetermined plan.

Prepare yourself, too.

It is easy to let recruitment occupy every available hour. There is always another profile to read or another question to practice. Set aside time for something that helps you feel like yourself, whether that means seeing family, going for a walk, or watching a movie.

Put it in your calendar and treat it as a real commitment. You do not need to spend the entire day before interviews imagining every possible outcome.

Decide in advance when you will finish your preparation for the evening. Review your notes, make sure you know where you need to be and then give yourself permission to stop. Leaving a little space before the next day can help you arrive with enough energy to listen, think, and respond. More preparation is not always more useful if it leaves you exhausted.

It may also help to step away from conversations with other law students and lawyers for a while. We can be an anxious group, especially when everyone is comparing interview schedules or passing along something someone else supposedly heard. Those conversations can leave you with more worry and little useful information.

Give yourself some room to breathe. Taking care of yourself is part of arriving ready to engage with the people you meet.

You know the activities and people that help you feel grounded. Make room for them rather than assuming that everyone else's preparation routine must be right for you. The point is to let the person behind the application come through. That is much harder when you have spent every spare moment measuring yourself against someone else.

Navigating interviews

The practical basics matter. Arrive early, silence your devices, and be courteous to everyone, including administrative staff. Travel light enough to have a hand free to greet someone. Take a breath and give the person across from you your attention.

Then, be curious. Ask about an interviewer's practice or the most recent assignment they gave a summer or articling student. A concrete example can help you understand what your own experience might look like.

Follow up on what you hear. If an interviewer describes a student helping with a transaction, ask what the student was responsible for and how the lawyer supported their work. Questions about assignments, feedback, and supervision can give you a clearer picture of how you would learn. They also turn an interview into a conversation about the work you may actually do.

Choose questions that reflect something you actually want to know. At a firm with several offices, you might ask how often lawyers work across locations. You could ask how the firm uses artificial intelligence and what that means for student assignments. If the firm advises owner-operated businesses, ask how working directly with founders shapes a junior lawyer's role.

Listen to the answers and allow the conversation to develop. Notice how the interviewers interact with each other. Do they listen? Are junior lawyers invited into the discussion? You are choosing people to learn from and spend considerable time with, so their interactions are worth your attention.

Remember that you are interviewing the firm as well. Ask yourself whether you feel comfortable asking a follow-up question or admitting that something is new to you. You’re still a student, and there will be a great deal to learn. The people across the table may become the people you turn to when you need guidance.

If you have a practice preference, share it. If you are still exploring, say that. We do not expect students to have their entire careers mapped out. If a firm interests you, express that interest sincerely and let your interviewers know you would welcome the chance to meet more people.

You don’t need to advertise how busy your interview schedule is. Be present with the people who have made time to meet you.

Navigating social events

Recruitment dinners and receptions can feel especially unfamiliar if you have had little exposure to professional social settings. I remember that feeling well.

Start with the people available to you. Speak with associates as well as partners, and give people across the firm a chance to get to know you. Stay with a good conversation instead of cutting it short to meet an imagined quota of lawyers. There is no scorecard.

Be thoughtful about how you enter and leave conversations. Introduce yourself, listen before jumping in, and make room for others to contribute. If you move on, thank the person you have been speaking with. The same courtesy that matters in an interview matters at dinner, whether you are speaking with a partner, an associate, or someone helping the event run smoothly.

You don’t need to talk law all evening. Ask about someone's day or find a shared interest. A conversation about the Raptors or Leafs may feel more natural than another discussion of practice areas. I would leave politics and drinking stories out of it.

If alcohol is served, remember that stress and fatigue may already be taking a toll. You can decline a drink, and accepting one does not create an obligation to finish it. Have water and make choices that help you remain comfortable and engaged.

Speak up about dietary restrictions, religious observances, or other needs. Let organizers know what arrangements would help. You do not owe anyone a lengthy explanation for saying that you do not drink or cannot eat something.

Where possible, share those needs ahead of the event so the organizers have time to make arrangements. If something comes up at the table, say so clearly and politely. You should be able to participate without feeling pressured to explain your beliefs, health, or personal choices to a room full of people you’ve just met.

When it’s time to leave, thank your hosts graciously. Staying longer for its own sake is not the goal.

Some interviews will go well. Others will be awkward or disappointing. You will meet people you connect with and people you don’t. None of those encounters erases what you have already accomplished to reach law school.

For those of us doing the interviewing, that is worth remembering too. We can make the process less intimidating by being open about our own beginnings and giving students room to ask questions and show us who they are.

My advice to students is to prepare thoughtfully, remain curious, and make room for what helps you feel confident. Let us meet that version of you.

You were enough before recruitment began. You will be enough when it ends.