Tips for lateral interview Forum

[Anonymous User]

Background: I'm a 2015 grad of one GULC/UT/Vandy. I clerked at the fed dist level following graduation. I now work for a smallish firm in a tertiary market practicing general civil lit. I have an interview for a lateral position with a regional biglaw firm. The practice area is somewhat niche, and I have little direct experience with respect to same. But the firm indicated it was looking for a young lateral so I don't think my lack of experiencd disqualifies me given the interview. I also spoke to a partner before setting up the interview and told him my only experience in the niche area came during my clerkship.

Question: I just need general lateral interview tips. I know my biggest selling point is my clerkship and pretty extensive lit experience at my current firm. What are some good lateral interview questions to ask and what should I be on the lookout for?

[Anonymous User]

Bump. Do firms typically request references after the interview stage? Or should I have a list ready. For the record, I'm interviewing with four partners.

[Anonymous User]

Bump. Do firms typically request references after the interview stage? Or should I have a list ready. For the record, I'm interviewing with four partners.

I recently lateraled to a V100. They asked for references after my callback but pre-offer.

[elendinel]

It doesn't hurt to have a physical copy of your list of references handy, but no need to give it to them until/unless they ask for the list.

"general lateral interview tips" is incredibly vague, but the main difference between OCI and lateral interviews is that for OCI people know you don't really know what you want to do and that most people's goals at that point are just to get into the most prestigious firm they can get into; when you lateral, you're expected to have a better understanding of why you're interested in the job you're applying for and to be able to articulate why the new job will be a better fit than your current one. IOW lateraling is supposed to be more deliberate, so people are going to want to see that you've put some thought into the decision.

[SmokeytheBear]

Bump. Do firms typically request references after the interview stage? Or should I have a list ready. For the record, I'm interviewing with four partners.

I recently lateraled to a V100. They asked for references after my callback but pre-offer.

Much higher V. Same.

[Anonymous User]

I had a CB last month with a V100 and got asked for references toward the end of my interview. Radio silence since I emailed them in tho. Hope I'm not getting ghosted.