David Behrend’s LawCareer Q&A

Q: Are law firms making hiring decisions now based on more than traditional interviews and GPA?

A. Yes. At least one BigLaw firm (McKenna, Long and Aldridge) has gone “corporate” to make sure they make the right hiring decisions. Soon after the recession hit in 2007, the firm’s hiring committee identified the factors and characteristic of someone who would succeed at their firm. The defining element was one’s attitude toward teamwork. Now, in addition to the traditional job interview, the firm administers a 30-minute Myers-Briggs-type test to help interviewers ask more probing questions. For example, what teams has the candidate been part of … what was their particular role … what specifically did the candidate do to develop productive relationships with their team members? This new corporate approach is the experience of just one law firm. But others, too, are taking new steps to learn how candidates feel about collaborating: whether they took leadership roles; whether they avoided being part of teams in the past; whether they built rapport with others. As firms begin adding head-count again, they want to be sure that new-hires fit into their work culture.

– David E. Behrend, M.ED., director, Career Planning Services For Lawyers
www.lawcareercounseling.com