Attorney 

How did you get your current job?
On campus interviewing at my law school landed me a summer clerkship which resulted in the job

What was the application process?
Electronic resume, personal statements, grades and writing sample submitted electronicaly through school service

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
First interview was a brief on campus (about 15 minute interview) with 2 attorneys. Callback interview was a 1/2 day office interview with rotating attorneys (about 4 hours) including lunch.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
Pretty standard interview questions — education, strengths, weakness, career goals etc plus a ton of just personal conversation with each interviewer.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes and no. There is no “training;” you simply start working and learn as you go. Sometimes you feel OMG over your head scared when you get assigned something new. Depending on who you’re working with, sometimes they’re great and patient about showing you the ropes and sometimes you just fumble through the dark and hope.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Undergraduate degree (in any field) but to get into a good law school, you’ll need a good GPA and a good performance on the LSAT test. Completion of a J.D., preferably with good GPA if you want to be asked back for any interviews.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Somewhat. Law school provides you with the underlying legal concepts but is primarily academic. It provides very little preparation for client or attorney interaction and very little courtroom type experience.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
Definitely yes. Firms are usually pretty easy on summer interns but if you keep your eyes open you’ll see a lot of what’s going to happen. You also get a very good idea of the types of work you’ll be doing (just expect twice as much!)

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Go the best law school you get accepted to, regardless of scholarship money. The loans are easily paid back with a good salary. Better firms often do not recruit at all at lesser schools, and if they do, significantly better grades are usually required even for a 10 minute introductory interview.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Writing skills are surprisingly likely the most important, as most work done for the court is in the form of written pleadings, not oral arguments. Most work done for senior attorneys will also be in the form of written memoranda. Social skills for client interaction, new client solicitation and development and interpersonal attorney contacts. Organizational skills for sure since you’ll have maximum amounts of hours you can likely to charge for certain tasks and if you can’t get it done in that period, you’re doing the remainder of it for free (and for an unhappy boss). Oral/Debate skills for trials and hearings.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
You cannot be an attorney or take the bar exam without a J.D.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
View everything as a learning experience and do your absolute best even at the less pleasant assignments. The time and effort will show and will land you bigger and better projects. Expect to put in very long hours (50 hour regular weeks, more hours + saturdays if anything big is due) and make sure they’re something you can deal with. If you can’t, a large high end firm is not going to be the right fit–look for government legal work (public defender, prosecuting attorney) or smaller firm work.