Legal Interview question 5 (with answer) How do you react if you find that someone you work with does not like you?
This question is positively evil! There is very little you can say that will result in a positive outcome. If you say "well I always try to work through our differences and create a comfortable working environment", you have opened yourself to cross-examination to ask why someone would not like you, and if you say you never have, your answer is very short and doesnt give you the chance to explain things further.
In reality, there will be very few fee earners who have not worked in a solicitors firm or a legal job, and discovered that someone else there does not like them. It is a fact of life that not everyone can like you, and vice versa! I used to work in an office where almost everyone was at war, from the senior partner down to the receptionist, and the whole firm would degenerate into a brawl if things got out of hand!
My advice on this one is to go with the "I have never worked with anyone who did not like me, I always get on well with everyone from all walks of life." Although this makes you sound like Mother Theresa, it prevents any interviewer from cross examining you on negative points, which of course is something you very much want to avoid... You could always try saying "I send some heavies round to give them a beating" or "I call crimestoppers and grass them up for running a smuggling ring".
Jonathan Fagan, MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - no.1 online legal recruitment agency - save time, skip the legal job boards and let us do the work - register online at
This question is positively evil! There is very little you can say that will result in a positive outcome. If you say "well I always try to work through our differences and create a comfortable working environment", you have opened yourself to cross-examination to ask why someone would not like you, and if you say you never have, your answer is very short and doesnt give you the chance to explain things further.
In reality, there will be very few fee earners who have not worked in a solicitors firm or a legal job, and discovered that someone else there does not like them. It is a fact of life that not everyone can like you, and vice versa! I used to work in an office where almost everyone was at war, from the senior partner down to the receptionist, and the whole firm would degenerate into a brawl if things got out of hand!
My advice on this one is to go with the "I have never worked with anyone who did not like me, I always get on well with everyone from all walks of life." Although this makes you sound like Mother Theresa, it prevents any interviewer from cross examining you on negative points, which of course is something you very much want to avoid... You could always try saying "I send some heavies round to give them a beating" or "I call crimestoppers and grass them up for running a smuggling ring".
Jonathan Fagan, MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - no.1 online legal recruitment agency - save time, skip the legal job boards and let us do the work - register online at
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