Outten & Golden Interview Questions
& Process

I had to come into the office three separate times. The first visit was about an hour with the HR coordinator. The second time, I was there for about two hours for some testing. The third time, I was tested for an hour and a half, and then met with the HR manager for about forty-five minutes. They mentioned they were hiring for two positions and that the job would be permanent, with a lot of overtime emphasized.

So I met with 4 people in total, some of them were partners, and others were associates. They asked me about my background and experience, and why I was interested in joining their firm. It was kind of weird because a couple of the partners directly told me they were looking for someone with more experience, even though the HR person had picked me for the interview. I figured HR would have screened my resume beforehand to make sure my experience was a match, so it felt like a waste of everyone's time. Maybe HR should do a better job of vetting candidates and talking to the partners about what they're looking for before scheduling interviews.

The interview process involved a single panel interview. The questions were challenging, focusing on writing and research abilities. While the panel was professional and approachable, the interviewers can change each year, leading to potential variations in questions and interactions. The firm's attorneys and staff are generally very helpful, readily addressing any queries, including those from partners. The work itself is demanding due to the need for rapid legal issue research. As a law clerk, you'll have the opportunity to observe a client interview alongside a partner. I was tasked with preparing a final presentation on a legal issue I found interesting during my research. The firm holds weekly meetings where associates and partners discuss ongoing legal matters and their work. To conclude the summer program, the firm hosted a party for all the summer law clerks, attended by everyone, including the managing partner.

We had at least two zoom meetings with a few different partners and also did a writing assessment. They were timely, efficient, and responsive to questions and follow-up. After submitting the writing test and references, we moved forward.