I had a phone interview with the two founding attorneys, which went very well, and was invited to visit the firm in Santa Monica for an in-person interview. The interview was between 5-6 hours long in total. I had a group interview with all of the Legal Assistants first, followed by individual interviews with each of the attorneys, including the two founding attorneys again.
The group interview with the Legal Assistants did not go well. From the moment I walked into the firm, all but maybe 2-3 of the Legal Assistants were very standoffish. I felt that they were trying to intimidate me as opposed to inviting me into a conversation with them or encouraging genuine questions. The interviews with the attorneys, conversely, all went very well. I enjoyed speaking with all of them, despite how tiring it was to speak with 6 (I believe, can't really remember now) attorneys back to back. They definitely want to see how well you maintain composure under the pressure of a marathon interview.
I should note that the firm generously put me up in a hotel that was MUCH too nice, paid for all of my meals while there, and paid for me to go to lunch with the Legal Assistants sometime in the afternoon/near the middle of my interview.
I also had to complete a 1-hour writing assignment as part of the interview.
A few days after I left Santa Monica, I received an email stating that they wanted to hold a third interview over Skype, as 3 of the attorneys were not available when I came to the office that day. The Skype interview was horrible. One of the attorneys was unbelievably condescending. He brought up an anecdote related to an experience I had in high school I had brought up in the interview that, I suppose, made him question my ability to deal with unexpected difficulties in the workplace. He said something to the effect of “Now we think that you’re going to quit when things get hard.” He was combative and asked me, "Why would you say something like that in an interview?" before forcing an incredulous laugh. Never mind that the experience to which he was referring was over 5 years old at the time of my interview (maybe a poor choice to reference on my part, but that’s neither here nor there now) and I spoke plenty about other adversity I overcame during my time in college as a low-income, first-generation student who moved across the country for school.
It really did sound to me like he was hearing what he wanted to hear, focusing on one poorly chosen anecdote I brought up on the fly instead of assessing everything I had said during the interviews holistically. The worst part was that he said something to the effect of, “Listen, I’m going to give you some advice for your next interview so you don’t make this same mistake and mess everything up again. You’re lucky, because I don’t usually give free advice like this.” The other attorney who was sitting next to him nodded his head in agreement. I felt so condescended, as if I should be thanking them for being so generous as to point out how royally I had messed up my own interview AND on top of that, offer me advice on how not to suck so much next time.
That being said, I genuinely enjoyed speaking with the attorneys with whom I spoke in person. I had a great back-and-forth with Greg Dovel. What ruined this experience for me was the behavior and attitude of some of the Legal Assistants (not all, but some) and the insistence of the few attorneys with whom I spoke over Skype on condescendingly offering me interview advice and expecting me to be grateful for it.
TL/DR: Some of the people who work at this firm are condescending and unwelcoming, but not all. Didn't feel welcome throughout the entirety of my interview and uncertain of whether I would have easily integrated into the firm's culture if offered the position.
