In-House Counsel

Firms call them beauty contests, law department managers call them interviews

By Rees Morrison

Among the many ways managers decide which firm or lawyer to retain, the in-person interview is probably the most effective. As with interviews of prospective hires, many techniques help those managers do a better job (See my post of Nov. 24, 2007: coaches on how to interview; Feb. 8, 2006: a good question to ask; Jan. 16, 2006: length of questions and answers; Aug. 10, 2007: Exelon?s RFPs and extensive interviews; Aug. 4, 2007: bifurcated interviews of associates and partners; May 7, 2008: Union Pacific Railroad?s interview process; and April 7, 2006: interviewers should look beyond looks.).

The derogatory term for some elaborate versions of interviews is a beauty contest (See my post of Dec. 21, 2008: beauty parades with 8 references cited.). Law firms disparage competitive interviews with variations on that term, such as dog-and-pony shows. In-house, interviews is the term of choice.

For more on this topic, see my BLOOK on outside counsel management.

Full post as published by Law Department Management on May 24, 2009 (boomark / email).