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‘What’s the trickiest or strangest TC interview question you’ve ever been asked?’

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By Legal Cheek on

10

Curveball


In our latest Career Conundrum, an aspiring solicitor wants to hear from viewers about the trickiest questions they’ve faced in training contract interviews.

“Hi Legal Cheek. This isn’t strictly a career conundrum but more just something that interests me, and might help others. I’m in the middle of applying for vacation schemes and some direct training contracts and I read your article this week on what to ask (and what not to ask) a partner during your training contract interviews.”

“I’ve been told that some firms like to throw their own curveball questions to candidates and I wanted to ask your readers about some of the trickiest/strangest/weird questions they’ve been asked in interviews. Thanks.”

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10 Comments

Old fart

I was once asked to argue against the smoking ban. I didn’t smoke. I’d never smoked. I didn’t get the job.

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(4)(0)

4PQE

‘Why do you want to be a lawyer?’

Didn’t see it coming.

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(6)(1)

Mape

‘Why did’t you go to Oxbridge?’

You could probably guess which firm asked this…

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(9)(0)

realist

If you think this (or similar questions like ‘Why do you have a B in X?’) are strange you’re missing the point. They don’t care you didnt go to Oxbridge (or have a B) – if they did, you wouldn’t be there. It’s purely to see how you react to someone getting under your skin or trying to see if you have a chip on your shoulder about it.

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(0)(2)

Door enthusiast

Are there more wheels or doors in the world?

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(1)(0)

Anon

In a Latham VS interview, I got asked ‘why the hell are you applying for a VS whilst at university instead of going and living your life for a few years?’

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(3)(0)

…

‘Do you think lawyers earn too much’

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(0)(0)

Anonymous

DLA Piper exit interview on the back of a VS – asked to go through a contract and asked to provide changes that could be made to amend/add in boilerplate clauses. I was a 2nd year undergrad at this time in the middle of Covid.. I only found out about what boilerplate clauses are a few years later during the LPC. I was told the interview questions would be suitable for both law and non-law applicants. Something tells me a geography undergrad wouldn’t know about boilerplate clauses…

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(2)(0)

Dansk

one interviewer (early stage partner): “tell me something about Turkmenistan”

other interviewer (more senior partner) visibly cringed. I had a think, told them a few things, wowed them both, senior partner said it was a “very strong answer for a deliberate curveball question”. got the TC.

never worked on anything to do with Turkmenistan

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(0)(0)

17PQE mid-level Associate

What is the capital of Peru? And why?

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(0)(0)

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