Hogan Lovells Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process involved speaking with the recruitment team and then with partners. A case study was part of the partner interview. The recruitment interview focused on situational questions, assessing how I'd handle professional and social issues in the office. It felt more like a chat than a formal interview, pretty relaxed. The partner interview was more standard, covering typical questions like 'why commercial law.' There was also a pre-read case study, not overly difficult, designed to test commercial awareness more than legal knowledge, though basic legal understanding was useful. It was a more typical interview, but not too intense.

The initial screening interview went really well. The recruiter was very friendly and seemed impressed with my background. It felt like a good conversation, and she answered all my questions. When the next interview was set up, it was supposed to be in two parts, with five interviewers for the first part and a few more for the second. However, only two people showed up for the first part, and the second part didn't even happen. This felt unfair because I suspected others might have had a different interview experience than I did. The two interviewers who did show said the others were in 'meetings,' but it seemed unlikely they wouldn't have known about the interview scheduled a week prior. While I understand things come up, it felt disrespectful of my time. One interviewer was fine and didn't pressure me, but the other seemed to doubt my knowledge and experience from college, questioning if it related to the job. After the interview, I wasn't sure how I did, but I didn't think I performed poorly. I followed up pretty much weekly, and the initial recruiter assured me she'd update me when she had news. However, about a month after the interview, I received an automated rejection email (not from her) stating they had hired someone else. I never heard from the first recruiter again. It was a disappointing experience after trying to find a job for over six months, and this was the first interview I got.

First, HR reviews your application, looking at your CV and cover letter to see if you have the right experience and skills. Then, there's a short phone or video call with HR to check if you're a good fit, talk about your experience, what motivates you, and what salary you're looking for. After that, you'll have some tests to assess your skills in typing, formatting documents, handling emails and calendars, and proofreading. The final interview, which can be in person or virtual, is with the team lead or senior staff. This part focuses on situational questions and seeing if you'd fit into the team culture. Lastly, if everything checks out, they'll make a conditional offer, pending reference checks.

It's a 45-min interview with usually two grad rec partners. They'll try to play good cop, bad cop, so be ready for anything. Your performance on the Vacation Scheme (VS) will influence the difficulty of the questions: if you did well, expect easier questions; if you were average or performed poorly, you'll face tougher questions designed to make you prove why you deserve a trainee position at HL.