Why Dissing Another Law Firm in an Interview Isn’t a Good Idea
When interviewing for a law firm job, it’s a good idea not to criticize other law firms, especially if the firm happens to employ the hiring partner’s spouse.
One person violated that rule, and needless to say, it made a big impression—in a negative way, according to Baker Botts hiring partner Cristina Rodriguez. She spoke to the Careerist blog about her firm’s push to hire eight to 10 first-year students and 22 second-years for the law firm’s summer associate program. The idea of hiring 1Ls, she says, is to “get out front on the diversity issue.” A “significant portion” of 1L hires are diverse, she said.
Rodriguez told of one would-be lawyer’s faux pas when responding to a question about any bad interviews. “I remember someone was negative about another firm, and it happened to be my husband’s firm,” she told the Careerist. “It underscored the bad judgment of criticizing another firm. Why go there?” Rodriguez’s husband, Mark, is a partner at Vinson & Elkins.
Rodriguez says her firm looks for people with “gray matter,” good writing skills and the right personalities. “We expect people to be well-spoken, tactful and able to communicate with different audiences,” she said. “We tend to do a conversational style of interviewing, but we ask for examples when [candidates] faced a challenging situation, made decisions, or took on a leadership role.”
