INTERVIEW CHECKLIST

HR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Tell me about yourself:

- Your degree and college
- Area of choice
- Extra-curriculars / hobbies
- Work ethic- proficient and dedicated
- Background (Place you hail from, family, 1st Gen lawyer, etc)

2. Why Law?
i. First Choice:
- Always drawn to problem solving
- Inspiration from someone you know
- Meticulous
ii. Not first choice:
- Deeper knowledge
- Varied perspectives
- Wholistic development
- Analytical nature of the subject
- Always scope for improvement and upskilling

3. Why this area?

- Commercial Acumen
- Wide scope of transactions
- Developing sector
- Financial initiatives and understanding
- Potential for wholistic development
(This answer will vary for every area. There is no perfect answer for this question, so
alter it as per the recent updates in your area)

4. Why this firm?

i. Khaitan:
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- Being one of the leading law firms in the country, Khaitan is also known for its
healthy work culture which provides associates with the necessary freedom to
operate
- Other than this, we were told during our internship orientation that Khaitan
believes in the motto that ‘earn we must but with dignity and pleasure’. I think this
resonates very well with my personality as well.
- The fact that Khaitan has one of the lowest attrition rates in the country also
speaks volumes about the way the firm treats its associates
ii. Luthra:
- Luthra has been a leading law firm in India for a variety of areas and I believe that
it gives its associates ample room to upskill themselves while being committed to
the growth of the firm.
- I have noticed that Luthra also provides great emphasis to research and thought
leadership. I believe I want to be a part of such a research-oriented firm wherein I
can contribute to providing literature and significant working models to the
nuances of my area.
- For me, monetary compensation is important but at the same time I need to be
contented with the kind of work I am doing. I consider myself extremely fortunate
that I got to work under seniors who were more than willing to help me
throughout the course of my internship. They were extremely approachable and
humble.

5. Where do you see yourself 5/10 years down the line?

- I am definitely interested in making a long-term commitment to my next position.
Judging by what you’ve told me about this position, it’s exactly what I’m looking
for and what I am very well qualified to do.
- As of now, my goal is to kickstart my career at a reputed law firm like [___].
- By the end of 5 years, I hope to have figured the area of law that is most suited to
my abilities. And I think to that end, the rotation system at [___] would help me
immensely.

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- Also, in 5 years, I see myself in a role with substantial responsibilities- firstly with
regard to clients; I hope to have skills to give my clients sound commercial advice
independently. Also I hope to be mentoring my juniors- and passing to them
values that were passed onto me.
- I hope to be leading a unit with minimal supervision and productively addressing
and advising clients.
- Further, I hope to start building my clientele- as an asset to the firm who not only
executes work but also starts bring in new business and clients.

6. Why have you done so many varied internships?

- Law school is a platform where you are exposed to so many opportunities and
there are so many intriguing and appealing avenues.
- While I have always nurtured an interest for the business world- but I wanted to
make an informed choice before I decided what I would like to take up.
- The experience of studying in a national law university is that exposed to all facets
of law.
- Further, in hind sight, I thoroughly enjoyed the wide experiences I gain. And even
if I were certain of my decision to pursue a career as a commercial and
transactional lawyer, I still would have liked to be exposed to those area- simply
because of the sheer knowledge and exposure I gained from them.

7. Strengths and Weaknesses:

(make sure you give examples of every strength and weakness)
i. Strength:
- Efficient worker- put a lot of effort into all my tasks- and do them with precision
and meticulously.
- Quick learner - I’m always enthusiastic to absorb new skills and expand my skill
set.
- Set very high standards for myself - I am very dedicated and passionate towards
my work and put a lot of effort in everything I do- and take great pride in my
work.

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-
ii. Weakness:
- I have a habit of taking on too much work, sometimes not realizing the limited
time I have. But I would like to believe at least I prioritize.
- Meticulous and almost obsessive with attention to detail. As a NUJS-HSF
researcher, we worked on our memorials, and till the last minute I kept re
reviewing and my team members wanted me to just submit it. Obviously
submitted on time.
- I deliberate too much over decisions to be made.

8. Why should we hire you?

- As I understand your needs, you are first and foremost looking for someone who
can has experience working in [_____] (your area).
- You can gather from my CV that I have spent a considerable amount of time
learning the nuances of this subject and in publishing varied articles in this area of
law.
- My curricular and co-curricular experiences like the moots I have done have
helped me develop with a strong background in research and drafting.
- I believe that I know the right trajectory, methods, principles, and successful
management techniques that a fresher is expected to know.

9. Tell me about a time when your work was criticized:

- Choose something fairly trivial that in no way is essential to your successful
performance. Add that you’ve learned from this, too, and over the past several
years/months, it’s no longer an area of concern because you now make it a regular
practice to…etc.
- Give an example of a not-too-damaging learning experience from early in your
career and relate the ways this lesson has since helped you. This demonstrates
that you learned from the experience
- Sample Answer:

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i. When I was interning with [___] at the start of my career, I was tasked
with an assignment to research on the waterfall mechanism under the IBC.
As I had not studied he subject, I could gather only a fraction of what the
mechanism was. I did not support my findings with case laws and did not
cite my sources. Once I submitted it, I received a feedback that my work
was not up to the mark, however I was grateful that my associate sat down
with me to explain how to properly draft a research note.

10. How do you feel about working weekends?

- I like to spend time with my friends and family. They add balance and richness to
my life, which in turn helps me be happy and productive at work.
- If I could handle some of the extra work at home in the evenings or on weekends,
that would be ideal.
- You’d be getting a person of exceptional productivity who meets your needs with
strong credentials. And I’d be able to handle some of the heavy workload at home
where I can be under the same roof as my family.

11. Where could you use some improvement?

- A good way to answer this question is to identify a cutting-edge branch of your
practice area (one that’s not essential to your job) as a topic you’re very excited
about and want to explore more fully over the next six months.

12. Do you have any questions for us?

- Research about the recent deals or policies of the organization
- Make sure you don’t ask generic questions
- Alter your questions for every firm you’re interviewing with
- Sample questions can be:
i. I recently read that Luthra wants to expand into other areas of law like data
privacy and AI. As someone who is interested in these areas, how do you
think my I can contribute to these practice areas?

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ii. Khaitan has recently released a policy for hybrid work models using a AI
software which allows associates to work from anywhere in the world. Can
you elaborate on that?