Harrison Barnes' Legal Career Advice Podcast · Harrison Barnes

Part 4 - How to Answer the 'Do You Have Any Questions for Me' Interview Question: Harrison Barnes Legal Recruiter from BCG Attorney Search

·30 min·1 clip

Barnes says candidates sometimes put two or three lines of pro bono work at the top of resumes for $280,000 jobs.

1. Harrison Barnes' Legal Career Advice Podcast episode focuses on how to answer the “Do You Have Any Questions for Me” interview question in legal hiring. 2. Harrison Barnes appears as host and legal recruiter from BCG Attorney Search, and he uses a listener question about a failed boutique placement to frame the discussion. 3. The episode asks what a new attorney can infer when a firm seems hostile, unstable, or a bad fit after a short tenure. 4. Barnes says the issue comes up weekly, especially when lawyers report being fired for “minor errors.” 5. He introduces the “one-third rule,” saying one-third of people will like you, one-third will not care, and one-third will dislike you. 6. Barnes argues that law firms have distinct personalities, so a candidate needs to land in a place where “two-thirds to four-fifths” of people are likely to like them. 7. He says people hire and work well with people who resemble them in background, politics, religion, and social style. 8. Barnes describes law firms as sometimes looking like one social type, from “nerdy” people in glasses to firms that resemble “a magazine ad.” 9. He says boutiques are especially vulnerable because they are small, intimate groups that can turn on someone quickly when tension appears. 10. Barnes also says boutiques are more sensitive to economic changes and practice-area disruptions, using bankruptcy and IP litigation as examples. 11. He argues that many firings for “minor errors” happen because the person was already a bad fit rather than because of the mistake itself. 12. Barnes says candidates from elite schools and firms can still fail if they seem unlike the people already in the office. 13. He warns that asking about pro bono can signal a lack of commitment to billable work. 14. Barnes groups maternity leave, vacation, and working remotely with questions that can make an interviewer think a candidate wants too much time away from the firm. 15. He says some candidates overemphasize pro bono on resumes, including placing multiple lines of it before substantive practice experience. 16. Barnes says firms want someone who looks like they want to practice law and commit themselves to the business. 17. His tone is direct and repetitive, with a strong lecturing style and frequent restating of the same hiring warning. 18. The format is a long listener Q&A mixed with career commentary, plus brief sponsor reads for LawCrossing and BCG Attorney Search. 19. Lawyers applying to boutique firms and lateral candidates. 20. Anyone looking for courtroom strategy or doctrinal law.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Harrison Barnes' Legal Career Advice Podcast