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1. Posted by NativeNewYorker - 1 month, 4 weeks, 2 days, 9 hours, 11 minutes ago

   In an interview for a legal assistant position in the late 80’s, I was asked if I objected to purchasing Hustler Magazine for the partner I was to be assigned to.  To be honest, I was desparate for a job and the location in Manhattan was my first choice because I would not have take the subway.  My reply:  “Only if I don’t have to pay for it.“  Depsite his preference for reading material and his horrible taste in clothes, the attorney I worked for was a pretty nice guy and actually encouraged me to go to grad school.

2. Posted by AttorneyMom - 1 month, 4 weeks, 2 days, 7 hours, 5 minutes ago

   Just a few years ago, after several years at an organization, I applied for a promotion and was recommended strongly by the outgoing supervisor.  During the interview, conducted by several other attorneys, I was asked “how are you *feeling.“  This was an obvious comment about the fact that I was visibly pregnant at the time.  Before the decision was announced, the female supervising attorney literally walked around the office asking most of the other younger women if they were or had any plans to become pregnant in the near term.  I had every intention of returning to work full time after a short maternity leave and had already made plans to do so, yet I was passed over for the promotion.  The successful candidate had a school-aged child and had stated unequivocally she had no plans to become pregnant again or have any other children.  I subsequently left that organization as a result (as did most of the other attorneys with whom I’d worked there for years).

3. Posted by Kim - 1 month, 4 weeks, 2 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes ago

   Not so much an illegal question that was asked, but a comment made.  Several months after starting work at a small firm in Manhattan, the office manager called me to the filing room to show me something “funny.“  The partner I’d interviewed with originally was a man of few words.  On the top of my resume, he wrote: “Seems smart, comes cheap, not bad looking.“  I’ve been tempted to use it as a headline on Monster.com ever since.

4. Posted by Lori - 1 month, 4 weeks, 2 days, 5 hours, 5 minutes ago

   I have heard entirely ridiculous comments during job interviews in Virginia that started with the phrase, “We love our women associates.“  In the first instance, a partner explained to me how a female associate at their firm went into labor on the day a motion for summary judgment was due, and she brought her laptop to the hospital and finished it in between contractions.  Another firm noted how a woman had given birth to her child and returned to work the next day.  I wish I could go back in time (and not be a 3L desparate for a job) and say what I was thinking, namely “You must be crazy!“

5. Posted by JR - 1 month, 4 weeks, 2 days, 4 hours, 35 minutes ago

   In my third year at Yale, an interviewer for a prominent New York City law firm asked me “Are you dati [the Hebrew word for Orthodox Jew]?“  Interestingly, the firm boasted iin some quarters that it had an Orthodox rabbi as a partner.

6. Posted by SS - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 14 hours, 1 minute ago

   I was returning to full-time practice while raising a special needs child and amidst the illness of my former husband when the managing partner of the Houston office of a national law firm interviewed me. He quized me in person and then sent me a menopause joke. He subsequently told me that they “only hire kids” but that my resume had interestedhim and he had wanted to meet me. He said he knew I was old because he had seen my dates. He proved to want a “personal” relationship.

7. Posted by Alyson Meiselman - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 11 hours, 19 minutes ago

   During an interview for a judicial appointment one member (of about 20) of the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission, during a discussion on recusal, quiried, “If appointed, wouldn’t you have to disclose your background as a transsexual to the litigants appearing before you?“  If discrimination based on sex is illegal, then the question based on change of sex is also illegal, just as a quiry on change of religion would be.  Sadly, the other members remained silent. Very poor form… needless to say, my name was not passed on to the Governor for consideration.

8. Posted by LGG - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 11 hours, 9 minutes ago

   IN my first interview with this firm, the Managing Partner asked me if I understood that being an attorney with his firm required a time committment and then asked me if I had anyone at home that I needed to rush home to cook dinner for.  My response was that I did not cook.  I did accept a position with that firm, learned all they could teach me, and moved on in 2 years.  Despite the Managing Partner’s general character flaws, he was a very good attorney and I was able to learn from him (and the rest of the more than capable attorneys in that firm).  However I hope he also learned something and never asked that question of any other female interviewee.

9. Posted by A Jonas - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 11 hours, 7 minutes ago

   This is a bunch of junk.  We have much more important things to worry about, with the economy going down the tubes.  Why the focus now on this fluff?

10. Posted by ladylawyer - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 11 hours, 5 minutes ago

    In the mid 1980s when applying for a summer associate position, I was asked whether I had a love interest that would cause me to move from the city. This came despite the fact that I had lived all my life in a suburb of the city, went to college in the city and to law school about one hour outside of the city.  I was also asked by a partner at another firm that year what my father did for a living.  The fact that I I was number two in my law school class was not sufficient to assure I was worthy of an offer. At that time I was shocked by these things.  Twenty plus years later I know that they were the tip of the iceberg in large law firms.

11. Posted by Al - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 11 hours, 4 minutes ago

    During my interview for an in-house employment counsel position in Kansas, I was asked whether I had accepted Jesus Christ into my heart.

12. Posted by Hadley V. Baxendale - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 57 minutes ago

    How about illegal/discriminatory questions from the clients?  It is illegal to refuse to enter into a contract with someone due to race. So the clients who require racial diversity as a condition of engagement (and the firms who acquiesce) violate that law.  W ewould never counsel a client to engage in illegal discrimiinatory conduct, but many firms participate in it.  It’s no different from a client saying, “I don’t want any girl lawyers working on this project.“

13. Posted by Susan Atkinson - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 51 minutes ago

    Twenty years ago, I transferred to a new school for my 3rd year of law school in order to be with my husband, who was working on his PhD. When I answered the inevitable interview question about why I had transferred, apparently my use of the word “husband” was seen (by multiple interviewers) as “opening the door” to a whole host of illegal questions.  One asked, “How does your husband feel about having a wife who is an attorney?“ (No matter that I was top 10%/Law Review - let’s make sure that the man is happy!)  After I gave my best generic answer, he continued with, “Do the two of you plan to have children soon?“  I tried to laugh this off a bit, said, “Probably not any time soon,“ and asked a question about the firm, but still the interviewer persisted with, “Well, are you taking steps to insure that those plans don’t change?“  The man was seriously asking about my birth control!!  I also have a “career advice” letter written in my third year by a partner at a large local firm, suggesting that I should shoot for a career in certain state government departments because (according to him) they are generally more understanding about time that women need to take off for family reasons or “at certain times of the month.“  I’ve saved this letter to show to my daughters some day, to educate them on the realities of the past and to celebrate what I’m sure will be the improvements of the futue!

14. Posted by Chris - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 49 minutes ago

    How is it illegal to refuse to enter into a K with someone because of race? This would be state specific, and how would you prove it? Furthermore, the 14th doesn’t prohibit this conduct by individuals. If I want a black lawyer, I’m entitled to have one. If I want a woman lawyer, I can have her too.

15. Posted by Susan Atkinson - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 46 minutes ago

    I also had a female friend whose office was near the fax/copy room.  Almost every night after 5:30, some man would wander into her office and ask her to fax something for him!  Of course she knew how to use the fax machine, buther work was constanty being interrupted, so she started telling them all (in her sweetest voice),“Oh, I WISH I could help, but you know I just don’t understand machines at all!  You men are so much better at mechanical things.“  Eventually they got it.

16. Posted by dm - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 44 minutes ago

    As a labor & employment lawyer representing employers, these comments make me cringe.  But they are the type of stuff that gives me job security.

17. Posted by HVB - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 40 minutes ago

    42 USC 1981

18. Posted by LO - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 39 minutes ago

    As a first or second year associate, I remember the 50-year old managing partner questioning why his assistant and I both didn’t stay as late at the office as he did (he like to stay until 11 PM).  I had to remind him that neither his assistant (a single mother of a 4- year old whom she would bring into the office after day care closed to continue working), nor I had a “wife” who took care of the household chores, nor yet had the means to pay for someone to pick up the drycleaning, buy groceries, clean the house, etc.  I could see the light bulb go off in his head, and he never asked again. I also billed 2300 hours that year…

19. Posted by associate - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 18 minutes ago

    13, Chris:

    Why didn’t you use the example of wanting a white, male attorney?  It’s because you’re worried about ruffling feathers and knowing that that kind of insistence would get you sued for discrimination if you were a corporate entity instead of individual, isn’t it?  You just proved the guy’s point for him.

    
    #3, Kim:
    I laughed about that story all day.  Thanks.

20. Posted by Beth - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 59 minutes ago

    It was more of a rhetorical question (and the year was 1973) when the male partner in a firm about to have a female partner named to the U.S. Court of Appeals said, “our clients feel more comfortable with a male attorney, and tell us that, so why should we hire you?“

21. Posted by Charlotte - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 56 minutes ago

    In my interview for my first job out of law school, one of the named partners in the firm asked me “How good of a Catholic are you?“ presumably because I went to a Catholic law school.  I replied, “Probably not as good as I should be” and thought to myself - now they have to offer me the job. :)

22. Posted by Joy Rushing - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 49 minutes ago

    When I interviewed for jobs in 1980, when I was graduating from law school, I was asked who did the housework in our house. One attorney went on and on about having to be physically strong (I was running 3 miles several times a week). My office mate was told that you had to have brass balls to be a lawyer. A local store advertised brass balls for sale so I bought some for several of my female law school friends, just so we could really be lawyers. I still have mine.

23. Posted by misha - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 36 minutes ago

    My first job out of college in the ‘70’s was a management training position with a company which saw nothing wrong with having the annual regional bash at the Bunny mansion in NJ.

24. Posted by Jobless - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 16 minutes ago

    Last fall I interviewed for a summer associate position at a Chicago firm.  The partner drilled me on whether my mom stayed at home with me or worked during my childhood.  Then the partner asked me if I’m going to quit working when I have kids.  I was so shocked that I hesitated before answering… I didn’t get the job.

25. Posted by LH - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 10 minutes ago

    I was asked the following “hypothetical” question during an on-campus interview:  “How would you handle it if you were pregnant and on the day you were scheduled for a court appearance you had morning sickness?“

26. Posted by ASolo - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 7 minutes ago

    I have worked at three Big Law firms and heard more sexist, racist comments and behavior than I care to ever remember.  The worst though came from a partner at Big Law in San Francisco.  This particular firm prided itself on being very progressive.  The partner, a woman, would never let a meeting go by without commenting on my sex life, love life, clothing or hair.  She consistently gave preference to junior male associates over female senior associates in doling out assignments.  Her most stunning comment though came during a meeting where an associate announced that he was going on safari to Africa.  We were very busy on the case at the time and in response she said “bring me back a slave.“  !!!  I left the firm shortly after that.  I reported her comment in an upwards review but she is still (unbelievably) there!

27. Posted by Ann - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours ago

    I was clerking for a federal district court judge, but looking for a position with a court of appeals judge.  One judge who was considering my application repeatedly asked the judge I was clerking for, asked another judge who’d been one of my professors in law school, and eventually asked me as well, what I would do if my daughter fell and broke an arm while I was off with him in the city where the court of appeals sat.  To his credit, he offered me the position despite his misgivings.  Not surprisingly, I took a position with a different judge.

28. Posted by dms - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 8 hours, 59 minutes ago

    While working as a paralegal/office manager for a sole (male) practitioner, we usually ate lunch together so we could continue our discussion of various office projects, cases, etc.  One day, he asked what I would like to do for lunch; I replied that I wasn’t certain.  He responded with “Well, I’m sure there’s a hotel nearby with decent room service.“ 
    I immediately called his wife and asked if she would like to join us for lunch at the local tex-mex eatery.

29. Posted by Lateral - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 8 hours, 53 minutes ago

    About two and a half years ago when I was making a lateral move I was directly asked during an interview at a Seattle firm:

    Are you married?
    Do you have children?

    I don’t know whether these questions are “blatantly illegal” but they sure seemed irrelevant.

30. Posted by zippy - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 8 hours, 34 minutes ago

    Some years ago, a newly-appointed executive in my government agency held “get to know you” meetings with her new subordinates.  She asked me a seemingly innocuous question about hobbies and volunteer work, and I mentioned that I was a volunteer leader in my son’s Boy Scout Troop.  Which caused her to immediately launch into a 20-minute tirade about “evil” Boy Scouts, and to directly assuse me of being a homophobe and bad parent for associating with such a politically incorrect organization.  I later learned my experience was far from unique; a co-worker who had volunteered for years with Catholic Charities literally left the boss’s office in tears.  Perhaps not coincidentally, this particular exec didn’t last very long before it was quietly suggested she submit her resignation to “pursue other interests.“

31. Posted by kaw - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 8 hours, 21 minutes ago

    I worked as a student manager at the fitness center in college.  About three years ago they were hiring a new student coordinator and thought it would be a great idea to have the student managers interview the final three candidates.  One of the other eighteen-year-olds asked her if she would be able to handle the late hours with her famiy obligations (there had been no previous discussion about her family, he just assumed a late twenties female was married with kids).  She replied that she had worked in the field her entire life and both she and her husband knew what to expect, and she enjoyed attending the late night events for students.  At the end she stated as pleasantly as possible, “Just as a learning experience, you probably shouldn’t ask the other candidates that question.“  I was impressed, but the other two (one male and one female) were actually offended and told the hiring manager we shouldn’t hire “that chick.“  I had faced problems before, but I never expected it from my age group.

32. Posted by RF - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 8 hours, 8 minutes ago

    This wasn’t in an interview or performance review, but I was once asked by some superior attorneys in the government office where I was working whether I could put together a short manual detailing how to “pick good black jurors.“  Because I did not routinely strike all black people from my juries and still obtained convictions, the up-highs in the office thought it would be great to teach the other prosecutors how to separate the “good” blacks from the “bad” ones.

33. Posted by Janie - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 59 minutes ago

    Worked at a Texas law firm in a legal technology management role.  Two contract attorneys/paralegals - both male - took it upon themselves to install software on the network and even brought in a vendor to show them how to use it.  They were also using scanning keyboards to scan documents randomly onto the firm’s network.  I was made aware of the situation once their computers no longer worked and they confessed to what they were doing.  After I informed them that this was against firm policy, they complained to the partner in charge of litigation technology, who was also my supervisor, about my ‘lecture’.  The partner ‘s response was to inform me that since “they were older men working for a young woman” (even though they did not report to me), I was in a better position to “take more sh*t” and therefore it was my job to “stroke their egos” and make them feel like they were contributing.  Worthy of note:  one of the contractors had previously been employed by the firm but was escorted out by security for bad conduct.

34. Posted by AroundtheBlock - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 50 minutes ago

    I’ve been working since the mid 70’s, so I thought I’d heard and seen just about everything.  What surprised me though, was the shock and surprise reported by the other responders – yes this really goes on – don’t be surprised, be prepared. 
    After working in various industries, I settled into a law firm several years ago.  The biggest difference in law firms is that since lawyers know the law, they are used to making decisions based on acceptable risk.  I have seen far more illegal questions, remarks, and activities in law firms than I ever did in the “outside” world.

35. Posted by nn - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 38 minutes ago

    While interviewing for a position in the Philadelphia office of a BigLaw firm based in New York, the managing partner of the office said, “I know I’m not supposed to ask this, but I’m going to anyway: Do you have any…obligations…that would interfere with the amount of time you can devote to your work here?  Husband, kids, anything like that?“

36. Posted by mills - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 36 minutes ago

    In the mid-1980s, I was in an interview at a company with the General Counsel and CFO.  The CFO asked me if I had any serious illness such as cancer.  He went on to explain that they had hired someone who had cancer and that person’s medical bills caused their health insurance premiums to increase.  I could not believe that the General Counsel would let an officer of the company not only ask such a question, but to explain why the question was asked.

37. Posted by Diana - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 25 minutes ago

    In 1999 I interviewed for an assoc job that was close to my home.  The partners (6) interviewing me noted that I lived 15 min away from the office.  They wanted to know how early I got up, what time did my husband go to work, and did I have any kids that I would need to pick up during the day.  The offer included getting to the office around 6 am, opening up, and starting the coffee.  I declined.

    Stupidly I took the job working in a firm with 2 partners, a secretary, and a paralegal.  By the time I started work there both the secretary and paralegal quit.  I was assigned to sit at the reception desk where I was expected to answer phones, type one of the partner’s work, and handled my own work load of 30-50 cases.  I left there after 2 years to start my own firm.

38. Posted by Karen Lipney - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 24 minutes ago

    I was asked if I was married.

39. Posted by mlm - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 15 minutes ago

    Two years ago I interviewed for a fellowship in NYC.  The job location was overseas.  The application requested information about family - spouse and children - ostensibly so they could plan for visas and housing.  But when I was in the interviewed, they asked “How do you think you will manage doing this fellowship in a foreign city with a child in tow?“  I replied that I would manage the same way that I had been managing during the five years that I had worked full -time since my child was born.  In hindsight, I wish I had called them on the question at that moment.  Of course, I did not receive an offer.  They denied a connection between their decision and my parental status.

40. Posted by Robbie - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 9 minutes ago

    8 years ago when I was just out of law school and searching for a job, i applied at a mid-size lawfirm in OKC.  Apparently there had been several other female attorneys who also had applied for the position.  The managing attorney (an older gentleman) and I talked back and forth for quite a while and I thought things were going great.  But then he started questioning me about my personal life, my husband and my children.  When he asked, “Does your husband usually take care of the children or do you?“ -I stood up and said “I really don’t think my personal life has anything to do with my abilities to do this job!“  You know what he said??  He said “Right answer!!  I have been waiting for a woman to stand up to me all week!“  - I got the job.

41. Posted by Catherine - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 6 hours, 34 minutes ago

    I took the opposite approach - As someone who went to law school in my 30s almost 20 years ago, and had unexpectedly taken a relative’s children to raise on 1-week’s notice while in law school, I knew I needed a firm that was, as they now say, “family friendly.“  In order to make sure that I ended up working for a firm where last minute family issues would not be a problem, I intentionally mentioned the children during interviews.  If I got the wrong reaction, I knew that wasn’t the firm for me.

42. Posted by S. - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 6 hours, 20 minutes ago

    While in law school, I interviewed to be a law clerk at a large labor union.  During the interview I was asked by two well experienced counselors when I had graduated from high school.

43. Posted by Pops - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 6 hours, 19 minutes ago

    After graduating from law school in 1991 and clerking for a federal judge, I declined several very good job offers.  The reason: my wife had taken a leave of absence from her job and wanted to return to it, and the offers were too far away.  She delivered our first child during my clerkship.  So we moved back to the community for her job and I stayed home with our daughter.  We did this for over a year, until we felt comfortable putting her with a day care.  Meanwhile, I got a job search going in the community, and used a headhunter.  The headhunter, a woman, told me it would be very difficult to find me work as an attorney, despite a stellar gpa, graduating magna cum laude, and a federal clerkship—all because of a stint staying home with our newborn.  After some months she asked to get out of our arrangement because she wasn’t able to sell me.  Her example of typical reactions from law firms was this quote from one hiring attorney: “We want a lawyer, not a daddy.“  I persevered and have had a great legal career since.

44. Posted by RWC - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 6 hours, 9 minutes ago

    My husband and I both have stories to tell.  When I was interviewing for my current job, the interviewer (only 4 years older than me) asked if I have kids, when he saw me looking at the photos on his desk.  I jokingly responded, “Isn’t that question illegal?“ and then proceeded to tell him about my infant daughter.  We shared stories and to this day are friends.  Months after I started on the job, I ribbed him about his question, and he told me that after my interview he went to a colleague to ask if the question was illegal… he really had no idea! 

    As for my husband, while still a law student and after accepting a job at his law firm, he attended a fall recruiting event.  It was the middle of September, and a senior associate commented how she’d met her billables for the year.  My husband must have looked like he was going to pass out from shock… until the associate explained that the firm’s billable year ended Sept 30th (the end of the fiscal year)!

45. Posted by Soxfan - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 53 minutes ago

    I had an interview at a prestigious New York City law firm several years ago.  One partner detected my Boston accent and asked if I was a Red Sox fan.  I replied that I am.  He then proceeded to ask me when the last time the Red Sox had won the World Series, which every Bostonian at the time knew was 1918.  He then asked me how many times the Yankees had won the World Series since then and proceeded to tell me before I could answer.  Surprisingly, I got the job.

46. Posted by Maddie - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 40 minutes ago

    Not illegal, but nevertheless an amusing anecdote about stereotypes.

    While in law school in Los Angeles, I was looking for firms in DC because my boyfriend is originally from that area.  The DC firms would always ask why I wanted to move to DC, and I told them about my boyfriend.  Invariably, men, women, old, young, they ALL asked, “Oh, is he in law school, too?“

    Nope.  He never even attended college.  I always wondered if male applicants would be asked the same thing about their girlfriends.

47. Posted by Harold Sudbury - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Interesting scenarios and questions, but has anyone ever experienced the cold shoulder at Big Law firms if the applicant/ attorney is a member of the Armed Forces? I’ll bet that happens a lot, especially to grads looking to start a career. This may be the most subtle form of discrimination out there.

48. Posted by Dana - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 24 minutes ago

    While interviewing for my first job as an attorney, the associate interviewing me casually stated that she was taking a month off for maternity leave.  About 10 minutes into the interview she said something akin to because she would be gone for a month, the firm can’t hire an attorney that would also have to leave for a few days or weeks, within the next year.  Towards the end of the interview, I was asked, “I can’t really ask you this because it is illegal to do so, so you don’t have to answer, but are you planning on having a family soon?“  I was desperate for a job so I said, “No! Not for a few years at least.“  To which she remarked, good, because we can’t handle any more pregnancies around here…. I was shocked that this was coming from the only female associate in the firm that was pregnant!  If we are going to act as bad as our male counterparts, we’re doomed! 
    Amazingly, during my next interview at another firm, I was told that the female partner never missed a day of work during her pregnancy.  In fact, she dictated a letter over the phone to her secretary a few seconds before she delivered her child.  Shockingly, she was in the office the next morning, on time. 
    As you can expect, two interviews and two stories later, I was a little disgruntled about the career choice I had made in life!

49. Posted by Bobby Guei - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 23 minutes ago

    How is it possible that Ellen Barshevsky hasn’t weighed in with a comment yet?

50. Posted by Withheld - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 5 hours, 17 minutes ago

    Are you LDS (Latter Day Saint aka Morman)?

51. Posted by Anonymous - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 4 hours, 25 minutes ago

    Pre-law college interview (yacht brokerage, for an office job), but still wonderful:  “Do you put out?“

52. Posted by USC Lawyer - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 3 hours, 41 minutes ago

    My father, age 65 at the time, was asked how old he was in an interview for a position on a the board of a state bureaucracy.  He was retiring from his position in the industry that the bureaucracy regulated and, a picture of health anticipated working for a few years on the board.  The interviewer said, “I know I’m not supposed to ask this, but, how old are you?  Do you think you really want to do this job for long?“  My father thought that the interviewer, having already decided to give him the job, was asking him out of curiosity.  To his surprise, he was not hired.  Can you say, “per se?“

53. Posted by nunya - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 3 hours, 25 minutes ago

    Looks like I’ll have to take the flame here.  As a small business owner, I don’t have the pocketbook to hire a female, invest thousands of dollars in education (IT) and then have her disappear.  It doesn’t work when a male disappears either.  But, frankly, I haven’t ever had that problem.
    I worked for years in Germany, and had bosses that stated they would not hire a young female unless they took the pill in front of their desk every day.  Flame away, but I sympathize with them.

54. Posted by Nicole - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 3 hours, 17 minutes ago

    In an interview with an employment immigration firm, the Partner of the firm asked me what my husband thought of my working full-time as an attorney. I responded that since I had met my husband in law school, I’m pretty sure he was already prepared for that eventuality. The partner then proceeded with a description of how diffiuclt a demanding law career in his firm would be for a woman with a husband and family.  I couldn’t believe that a partner of an EMPLOYMENT law firm asked me such blatantly illegal questions during a job interview in the 21st century!

55. Posted by Female Attorney - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 3 hours, 6 minutes ago

    My former boss said to a client in front of me, “female attorneys can never be that good because they all want to make babies.“  Needless to say I moved on to another firm, and no, I haven’t made any babies yet either.

56. Posted by Jean Novak - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 2 hours, 17 minutes ago

    Said with a thick Southern accent, “What kinda name is Novak?“  (I got the job.)

57. Posted by Ricardo - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 1 hour, 4 minutes ago

    Where are you from?

58. Posted by Ricardo - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 1 hour ago

    Gee, you sure are lucky to be here (ie. not in a third world country).

59. Posted by Ricardo - 1 month, 4 weeks, 1 day, 29 minutes ago

    After I got the job, I still had the continuous re-interview treatment. The “prove yourself, suck up to me, pay your dues, treatment that is standard fare for most people now.
    Interviewing for a project within the firm – Comments come from a director who knows my family:
    “What kind of name is THAT?  Your wife is Japanese, and I always wondered why she has that name, but now (with a rude gesture of his hands and greasy smirk on his face) I can see. What a strange combination.”

60. Posted by Jessica - 1 month, 4 weeks, 14 hours, 14 minutes ago

    51, very disappointed…all you see is a uterus.

61. Posted by truestory - 1 month, 4 weeks, 6 hours, 9 minutes ago

    When I first started interviewing for lawyer jobs after graduating from law school.  I had 3 (yes 3) interviewers (male by the way) straight up ask me if I was married and/or if I had planned to become pregnant because they don’t offer health insurance.  Funny thing is that I had worked before going to law school and had several jobs with businesses who never asked me that once.  Here I was working for people who “supposidly” know not to discriminate based on gender and they were the ones doing it the most.  And, by the way, I had no wedding ring on but did not answer the question.

62. Posted by Female Attorney - 1 month, 3 weeks, 5 days, 7 hours, 10 minutes ago

    This year in an interview in Chicago the male managing partner used the phrase “mommy track” to describe the longer course in making partner.  I wonder if fathers take longer as well.  Funny thing is that he has children.

63. Posted by khazeh - 1 month, 3 weeks, 5 days, 6 hours, 43 minutes ago

    nunya, what you have is a self-fulfiling prophecy.  If your attitude is that you only hire women because you have to, your female employees are not going to be eager to come back after maternity leave or try to minimize the impact of their family life on your business.

64. Posted by MommyEsq - 1 month, 3 weeks, 4 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes ago

    I have to agree with Catherine (# 40).  I intentionally look for signs that a particular workplace will not be hostile to my having a family, such as pictures of children on desks.  I would ask my interviewer about their children and their “typical day” intentionally to see how much I could find out about their arrangement with spouse/children.  The best managers are the ones that are juggling it all, too.  (I look for ones that have working spouses.)

    That being said, when I became pregnant with my first child, my boss (the GC of a national corporation and a mother of three) asked me if I would be coming back to work after his birth or quitting the job.  I had only recently graduated from law school and started the job two months prior (the pregnancy was a surprise) so I was astonished that the question even needed to be asked.  No man announcing his wife’s pregnancy would be asked if he was quitting his job to raise his child!  As it turned out, my husband was the one who switched careers away from the legal field to be at home more with our son.  Not the worst question in the world since a lot of women do quit their jobs when they have children, but given my particular situation it was a surprise to have it asked of me.

    And, when I was a paralegal at a law firm I participated in interviews for another paralegal position.  One candidate, a woman in her late 20’s/early 30’s, was dismissed as “not focused” and “not likely reliable enough” because she was trying to resume work as a paralegal after taking time out of the job market to have a baby.  The job went to a young woman, age 22, right out of college who was a “go-getter.”

65. Posted by Jittery, Esq - 1 month, 3 weeks, 4 days, 5 hours, 45 minutes ago

    All I will say (to protect my hard-won secrecy) is don’t ever insinuate you have ADD.  You might as well write it in 72-point font and turn it in as your resume.  It is a death sentence on your entire career.

66. Posted by HVB - 1 month, 3 weeks, 4 days, 4 hours, 13 minutes ago

    For a little perspective from management’s side:  we all know the reality than young women are more likely—I’d even say likely—to leave their jobs when families come along.  We all know that many areas of law demand time flexibility—that means last-minute demands for “off-hours” work and even travel.  So while we might not be able to ask, we can’t help but wonder.  As one applying for a job, you might either give the employer some assurances that you have considered those dynamics and whether you can (or want to) handle them.  You also get points for saying you’re not sure what the future might bring; no 25 year old is taken seriously who says she knows exactly how her life will pan out.  And believe me, the women in management are far more aware of the odds.  You can be smart, and realistic, without selling your integrity.

67. Posted by inhouse - 1 month, 3 weeks, 3 days, 2 hours, 41 minutes ago

    I looked at this question this morning…  and thought… wow, I don’t know if I have any experience in this.

    This afternoon in a meeting I was told we could not give a female employee a raise because she would make more money than her husband (also our employee)... 

    now I have to go back and really ponder.

68. Posted by attynow - 1 month, 3 weeks, 2 days, 9 hours, 5 minutes ago

    Between law school and college, I was interviewing for a job at a telecom company where the interviewer asked why I was changing jobs.  I explained to him that I had gone as far as I could go with my other company and I wanted to go somewhere with more opportunity for advancement, which was the truth.  I had gone as high as I could go in the other company, not because of sexism or discrimination (all my superiors were women), but because there were no open opportunities in my region and I was lower on the seniority chain because I had not been there as long as some of the other people.  I just wanted to go to a larger company that had more locations, positions, career opportunities, etc. 

    Without any comment from me or insinuation that my complaint about my job had anything to do with me being female, the interviewer commented to another interviewer who arrived late that I was seeking a job with their company because, “She hit the glass ceiling.“  To which the other interviewer said, “Oh,“ in a very sad and somber tone like he had just received news of someone’s death. 

    The rest of the interview went terrible as I tried to clarify the situation, but they had already made up their minds not to hire the young, potential pain-in-the-butt female!!  I did not get the offer, and I did not want it anyway after that stupid comment.

69. Posted by LawStudent - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 12 hours, 56 minutes ago

    Dickens had it right: “...the law is an ass.“ Why in God’s name would a man who has sweated blood to start and build a business not be allowed to inquire if a prospective employee is engaged in or plans to engage in activities of any sort which will damage his business if he hires this person, man or woman? Why would he be expected to hire and train a person, when there was a reasonable possibility that he or she would leave soon for personal reasons? I guess the answer is politics, because it certainly isn’t reason.

70. Posted by Cesar - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 36 minutes ago

    On an interview for a law clerk position in Boise, I was asked by the senior white male partner whether or not I gave yum yums.  I still don’t know what that means.

71. Posted by Valerie Dunbar Jones - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 11 minutes ago

    Every time we have this argument, I am disappointed that so few advocate male lawyers taking time away from work to be better dads.  I was encouraged some months ago to hear an anecdote about a Ft. Worth judge ordering a young attorney to leave the courtroom and join his wife in the labor room.  We need more judges like that.

    We must stop thinking of children as a threat to the firm’s bottom line.  They are the investment we all make in our community.  And perhaps young interviewees should be asking what the interviewer will do if his mom breaks a hip on the first day of trial, or how many of the partners are planning to take time away for elder care, funerals and estate matters.  Or is it a given that lawyers will stand at the grave side with dirt in one hand, Blackberry in the other, barking dictation into their Bluetooth headsets and parsing the will for their siblings?

    Penalizing families, even for the benefit of small firms, creates a net social loss.  And it’s destroying us as well as our profession.  This issue goes hand in hand with the stories of lawyers stressing out, breaking down, and failing their clients.  What ever happened to gracefully giving and receiving help?  What sort of mythical, infallible, omnipotent, omniscient creatures do we think we are?  If we expect to be 100 percent all the time, we’re all fooling ourselves.

    The only inquiry should be whether you commit to hitting a billable target.  Everyone is going to need time for something, and everyone is going to be needed to pitch in for others.  Given the economic times, let’s consider that firms that can’t accommodate human beings being human and can’t form working teams just may not survive.

72. Posted by Tracy - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 58 minutes ago

    After law school I was seeking my first job while continuing to work as an insurance adjuster at a compnay I had been with for 8 years.  I had an “informational” interview that was set up with an attorney that a friend of mine knew through a charity organization.  The attorney had a small firm north of Boston and was looking to expand his practice.  He started off by stating that he was not looking to hire me, but wanted to assist me with my job search.  He then asked me personal questions about whether I was planning to have a family.  Ultimately he told me that a Boston law firm was no place for a woman with a family and recommended that I stay a claims adjuster because the insurance industry is a much better place to be.  I told him I had no intention of remaining a claims adjuster as the reason I got a law degree was to make a career change.  He said he knew a lot of attorneys, so if I would really consider leaving the insurance company, he could contact them about employment opportunities, but could not believe that I would leave the security of an insurance company to go work for a law firm.  I told him that was my plan, but I never heard from him again.

73. Posted by jackcatscal - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 38 minutes ago

    Number 67: the exact quote is “the law is a ass,“  which is even funnier.
    The full quote: “”“If the law supposes that,” said Mr. Bumble, . . . “the law is a ass—a idiot. If that’s the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience—by experience.”“

74. Posted by eash - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 55 minutes ago

    In the late 1980s, I was told by a middle-aged male partner that a hysterectomy should be a licensing requirement for any woman who desired to practice law.

75. Posted by Warren Woessner - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 7 hours, 35 minutes ago

    I graduated as the second oldest student in my law school class (I was 37). At an interview with a partner at a big NYC firm, I was asked if I would have “difficulty taking orders from a younger associate”. This may not be per se illegal but it is one of the few stories I have seen here about age discrimination

76. Posted by AL - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 6 hours, 16 minutes ago

    Probably not illegal, but… viewpoint discrimination??
    While interviewing for a clerking position with a circuit judge, I was asked about my affiliation with the Federalist Society while in law school. Since I knew the judge was appointed by a democrat governor (and I have no problem working for someone of a different political affiliation),  I talked only about the benefits of being involved in a school activity (meeting other students and lawyers) and the leadership and organizational skills I gained (I was president). I was subjected to a really nasty look and about 10 minutes of criticism of the law professor who served as our advisor, and his position on changing the method by which judges were appointed in that particular state. Needless to say, I didn’t want the job by then!

77. Posted by J. Clarke - 1 month, 3 weeks, 1 day, 2 hours, 14 minutes ago

    Before I entered law school, I worked in a doctor’s office.  During my interview, the office manager showed me where I would work if I accepted the job and explained to me that the desk was pushed up against the wall so that when he came around to chase me, I would not be able to escape.  Although I accepted the job, needless to say, I avoided him at all costs.  Several years later (and after being fired from his job) the former office manager was discovered to be a serial killer and has been convicted of the murder of several women and placing their bodies in barrels!

78. Posted by gjc - 1 month, 3 weeks, 23 hours, 45 minutes ago

    In the mid-70s when I was first interviewing with Atlanta law firms (over ten years after Title VII was passed), a named partner in one firm said, “I only have two questions for you:  1) Do you support the Equal Rights Amendment, and 2) Do you participate in any women’s revolutionary activities?“

79. Posted by emjaycee - 1 month, 3 weeks, 14 hours, 24 minutes ago

    Oh my Gawd!!!  I declare #77 the winner!