Boutique Law Interview Forum

[jemi1588]

Hi all, a boutique lit firm formed by former big law partners in NYC emailed me at the beginning of the week to see if I would be interested in coming in for an initial interview. The firm asked me to send in dates that worked with my schedule for the following two weeks. I emailed back and have yet to receive confirmation of my email or an interview date. This will be day three of waiting. Normally with big law it seems that once you've been chosen to interview, the turnaround time for scheduling is quick, so I'm wondering why it's been radio silence for a few days. I was thinking about emailing again although I don't want to come off as overly eager or desperate.

Anyone have advice or experienced something similar?

[HarrisonBarnes]

Small law firms typically do not have professional recruiting coordinators doing the scheduling. The scheduling may be done by people that do not always know what they are doing, or who are new on the job. Newer firms also tend to be busy and not have the resources to follow up. You will hear from them most likely and I would not take it personally. New businesses (especially busy ones) are always somewhat disorganized.

[SFSpartan]

One thing to keep in mind here is that boutique firms may either (a) have no recruiting or HR support; or (b) have a single person that is responsible for all administrative matters. Because boutiques often have reduced overhead to keep rates lower than their biglaw counterparts, this can result in processes being less crisp and things taking longer, as attorneys may need to take on some of this themselves.

I moved from a midlaw firm to a corporate boutique and was surprised by the lack of process/how much administrative stuff I end up dealing with.

[jemi1588]

This all makes sense, it is nerve-wracking waiting but I appreciate the follow-up!