Research Tips to Help Law Students Prepare for a Job Interview – Part 1 of 2

This two-part post offers research tips for law students as they prepare for job interviews.  This first post focuses on researching biographical and background information on potential employers.  Part two will offer advice about deeper research recommended to prepare for a job interview. 

To prepare for a job interview, you should conduct some background research on a potential employer.

First, spend some time reviewing a potential employer’s website.  You should be able to find basic biographical information on the lawyers and useful information about their representative work and clients. 

If you want deeper biographical information (especially if the website is not too robust), you should consult a legal directory: 

- West Legal Directories (available on Westlaw or a free version on Findlaw.com),
- Martindale Hubbell (available free online), or
- NALP Directory of Legal Employers (available free online). 

If you are interviewing for a federal judicial clerkship position, you should consult:

- Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, and
- Almanac of the Federal Judiciary (available on Westlaw).  The Almanac will allow you to view the rulings that the judge has marked as “noteworthy” as well as evaluations from lawyers who have argued before the judge.

If you are interviewing for a legislative position, you may want to take a look at the following resources:

- Congressional Directory at Congress.org
- 50- State Legislative Directory (available on Westlaw)
- National Conference of State Legislatures

(dkh)