About.com Rating



Erika M. Finn and Jessica T. Olmon share their advice on "Big Law" interviewing in The Insider’s Guide to Getting a Big Firm Job: What Every Law Student Should Know About Interviewing.

More About the Authors

Finn is a graduate of University of California - Berkeley School of Law and was a summer associate at Proskauer Rose LLP in Los Angeles. Olmon earned her law degree from the Ohio State University and is an associate at Fulbright & Jaworski in Los Angeles.

Inside the Book

Finn and Olmon cover every aspect of interviewing you can imagine, but before you get to that, there’s an excellent chapter about whether big law firm life is for you. The book then goes through the entire interview process, including what the firm expects in interviewees, your job search, on-campus interviewing (OCI), beyond OCI, networking, re-applying as a 3L, how to decide which offer to accept, and much more. There are even style tips for both your personal appearance and your resume and cover letter (including samples).

Chapter titles include the following:

• How Are You Evaluated?
• Research Outside of OCI
• Bidding for Interviews
• How to Get that Call-Back
• What to Avoid at the On-Campus Interview
• Etiquette for the Meal
• Recruiting Events
• Handling Inappropriate Questions
• Choosing Among Offers

Rating & Recommendation

Finn and Olmon's book gives an excellent overview of the law firm interviewing process, which can be invaluable information particularly for law students who don’t have a parent, relative, or close friend who is an attorney, but also for those would could simply use more tips and pointers.

I give this book five stars and highly recommend it to anyone embarking on the search for a big law firm job. Even if you understand the basic workings of the OCI system, The Insider's Guide to Getting a Big Firm Job offers a valuable peek into the minds of recruiters and interviewers and tells you exactly what you need to do to make yourself stand out and snag that job.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.