Solicitor Interview Questions & Answers
Solicitors act on behalf of and give legal advice to private and commercial clients. Solicitors may also use some of their time to represent clients who are unable to pay for legal services themselves. Once qualified, solicitors can work in private practice, in-house for a commercial or industrial organisation, in local or national government or in the court services.
Specific work activities will vary depending on the setting. Activities will also depend on the solicitor’s area of specialism and the nature of the case. Solicitors who work with commercial clients often specialise in one legal area such as litigation, property or tax. Private client work usually involves minor legal matters such as writing wills, property conveyancing, custody cases, divorce settlements and so on.
Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Solicitor or
an employer preparing to interview candidates for Solicitor position,
these Solicitor interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.
Solicitor Interview Questions
Below are a list of some skill-based Solicitor interview questions.
- Discuss a time when you lost a case in court. What lessons did you learn?
- What would you do if you had a case that went against your moral values?
- How do you manage projects that have demanding deadlines?
- How do you handle criticism?
- Describe a time when you had to give bad news to a client/management.
- How would you react if one of your colleagues was sabotaging your case?
- Describe a time you had to convince a client to drop their charges?
- Tell me about a time you encountered a difficult client? How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time you had conflicting ideas with your superiors.
- How do you handle disagreements with your superiors over a legal matter?
- What's the most interesting legal issue you've dealt with?
- What was your favourite subject in law school?
- Tell me about a time you had to deal with an unpopular client such as a murderer or a terrorist.
- Imagine I’m a person with no legal background. How would you explain inheritance tax to me?
- When should you disclose your clients' illicit endeavors?
- How do you give legal advice to a client?
- Have you ever attended an employment tribunal?
- How do you build a relationship with your clients?
- Tell me about a time you had to negotiate a deal. How did you go about it?
- How do you handle multiple clients? Give examples from your previous firm.
- Explain your approach to solving problems.
- Which assistive services might nonverbal witnesses benefit from?
- What qualities do you think a good solicitor should have?
- How do you handle a client that has conflicting interests with that of your firm?
- Do you have any experience drafting legal documents?
- Do you prefer to work as a team or as an individual?
- How would you demonstrate to a new client or stakeholder that you understand their situation and needs?
- Have you written any legal papers so far?
- Tell me about your internship experience.
- Describe a complex case you dealt with in your previous job.
- How do you handle having multiple cases to work on?
- How has your prior working experience prepared you for this role?
- What was your most rewarding academic experience?
- What was the most challenging part of law school?
- How do you define a successful solicitor?
- Which extracurricular activities were you engaged in during law school?
- Is what you learnt in school relevant when handling cases?
- Tell me about a current issue affecting law firms.
- What is your view on the franchising of legal aid firms?
- How do you keep yourself current with emerging issues in law?
- How would you encourage non-adherence to unfair legal precedents?
- What do you think of pro-bono cases?
- Describe a time you added value to a client or organization beyond the services expected of you.
- Why are you the best solicitor for us?
Solicitor Interview Questions and Answers
Every interview is different and the questions may vary.
However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.
Below are some common questions you'd expect during Solicitor interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.
- Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
- What is Your Greatest Strength?
- Tell Me About Yourself
- Why Do You Want This Job?
- Are You a Leader or a Follower?
- What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
- What is Your Salary Expectation?
- Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
- Why Should We Hire You?
- What is Your Greatest Weakness?