Reply to Interview question - biglaw associate interviewing for in-house and government jobs

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You can mention quality of life as an add-on.  Something like:

"I want more responsibility hands-on directly in the field of Securities Law.  And of course, I'm looking forward to a more regular schedule."[/quote]

Honestly, I wouldn't even mention it as an add on. The better hours will come if you get the job, but I'm a federal lawyer and we interview so many people who are dying for the job even if it didn't have better hours. Hiring managers don't want to hear anything that sounds like your anything but 100% committed to getting the job done. [/quote]

Yeah, I wouldn't mention the hours unless they ask directly. For one thing, some federal lawyer jobs (DOJ, AUSA) actually require very long hours. I assume you will weed those out if you don't want to work like that.

When I transitioned from Biglaw as a fourth-year associate, I talked about wanting to specialize, get more hands-on experience, and have more control over my own cases instead of being fed them piece-meal by a partner. All true. Of course I also looked forward to the more regular hours that come with appellate practice in a small agency, rather than trial practice at a big firm. But I didn't volunteer that information. At one point the interviewer said "I'm sure you know the hours here are much shorter than what you're used to, and the pay is much lower as well" and I then agreed with him that the former was good and the latter was acceptable. It wasn't an issue.[/quote]
I think this PP provides a good response/talking points. Stress the experience, specialty area, common good, etc. I wouldn't touch the hours/work life balance/schedule with a ten foot pole in the interview phase.[/quote]

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