Questions You Must Ask

Of course, every firm with which you interview will assure you that their associates handle exciting cases and receive superb training and experience. You should, however, treat such claims with a great deal of skepticism. We encourage you to ask every associate with whom you interview this fall pointed questions about their experiences. Only by asking such questions will you be able to intelligently analyze a firm's claims.

Here are some questions we recommend you ask:

• How many depositions have you been the lead attorney on (not merely attended) in the past six months?
  
• How many expert and plaintiff depositions have you taken (again, not merely attended) in the past year?
  
• How many motions have you argued in court in the past year? What kind of motions were they (e.g., summary judgment in federal court or a motion to dismiss in traffic court)?
  
• How many settlement conferences/mediations have you handled (alone) in the past year?
  
• How many trials have you had? How many trials have you acted as second or third chair?
  
• How many times have you conducted an initial client interview in the past year?
  
• Do you regularly communicate with the client, e.g., in-house counsel, or only with a partner/shareholder?
  
• How many times have you directly (not using a partner/shareholder as an intermediary)counseled a client in the past year?
• How many contracts or similar agreements have you authored in the past year?
  

Client Development

We strongly support and encourage our associates to interact and develop relationships with our clients. All of our attorneys contribute towards our client development and marketing efforts. Close client relations obviously helps the practice of law, but it also gives our associates a long-term competitive edge - for client development is a skill that every lawyer must develop to be successful. The firm provides direction, resources and training in this important endeavor. As a result, our associates have achieved startling success in developing clients -- several have even brought in clients in their first year of practice.

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Questions You Must Ask & Client Development

The Southern California Region