How to research a law firm before an interview

Firm research expands to fill every available minute. You can read biographies for three hours and still feel unprepared because the website contains no natural stopping point.

Use a 45-minute process. The goal is not to memorize the firm. It is to understand the office well enough to explain your interest and ask questions the website cannot answer.

Minutes 1-10: understand the office

Start with the office page, not the global homepage.

Record:

• office size if available;
• major local practices;
• founding or growth context;
• industries connected to the city;
• office leadership; and
• summer-program details.

Look at the lawyer directory filtered by office and practice. A practice page may sound enormous while the target office has only a few lawyers in it.

Minutes 11-20: identify two practice strengths

Read the firm's description of two relevant groups. Then check an external source.

Chambers can help identify practice strength within a jurisdiction. Confirm whether a ranking is national, statewide, or city-specific and whether it applies to the firm or an individual lawyer.

Do not memorize rankings as interview facts. Use them to ask better questions:

"I saw that the office has strong privacy and data-security work. How do junior associates split time between counseling and investigations?"

That question turns research into a conversation about daily work.

Minutes 21-27: check recruiting information

Check the firm's current recruiting pages and written summer-program materials for office-level hiring, program, demographic, and organizational details. Compare the national overview with the office-specific page whenever both exist.

Check the reporting year. Employer-provided data can become stale, and not every office supplies the same detail.

Look for:

• summer class and assignment structure;
• practice placement;
• office demographics;
• partnership or promotion information;
• recruiting contacts; and
• program dates.

Minutes 28-35: research the interviewer

Read the firm biography. Note practice, office, law school, prior roles, and one matter or subject that creates a useful question.

Do not dig through personal accounts or turn the conversation into a recitation of facts you discovered.

A useful note is:

"Joined after DOJ, now antitrust investigations. Ask how government experience changes case strategy."

The note helps you listen. It is not a script.

Minutes 36-40: check recent changes

Search the firm's news page and reputable legal or business coverage for the office and practice. Look for:

• major lateral arrivals or departures;
• office openings;
• combinations or mergers;
• significant matters;
• practice expansion; and
• leadership changes.

Check dates. An article from five years ago should not support a claim about the current managing partner or office strategy.

Do not ask for confidential details about a matter. Ask how the change affects the work.

Minutes 41-45: write the interview card

On one page, record:

1. Why this office.
2. Two relevant practices.
3. One structural detail about summer or staffing.
4. One interviewer connection.
5. Three questions.
6. One concern to investigate.

Then close the tabs.

Questions the website cannot answer

• How are new assignments distributed?
• What work did a junior do last week?
• How does feedback happen in practice?
• When do associates choose groups?
• How often does the office work across locations?
• What has changed in the group recently?
• What makes a summer especially useful?
• What is harder about the office than recruiting materials suggest?

These questions invite examples, which are more valuable than another adjective about culture.

Research mistakes

Reading only the homepage

The homepage is marketing for clients and recruits across the entire firm. Your job is in an office and team.

Memorizing deals

One matter can demonstrate a practice. Listing five does not prove interest. Connect the matter to a question.

Treating rankings as conclusions

Rankings can point to a strength. They do not explain staffing, junior work, or culture. Read what rankings really tell you.

Trusting undated information

Partner counts, leaders, office lists, and programs change. Prefer current firm pages and date-sensitive sources. BigLaw Bear explains its own refresh process in where our data comes from.

Researching instead of practicing

After 45 minutes, spend time answering questions aloud. Knowing every practice name will not help if you cannot explain your own resume.

The final output

Good research gives you a specific why-firm answer and better questions. It should make the conversation easier, not fill your head with disconnected facts.

Use the firm directory to gather the first comparison, then verify anything important against current primary sources before the interview.