As the director of a litigation support department at a large law firm, I am sometimes asked for advice by law students and other candidates looking for jobs in this space. While my specific answers may vary widely depending on questions including what type of role is envisioned, some advice I always offer is universal:
1. Be yourself. As simple as it sounds, this fundamental point is often overlooked. Sophisticated interviewers can pick up on insincerity quickly, and it is an automatic disqualifier in my book. More importantly, it is my opinion that you do not want a job that you have to act like someone else to get. I read an article recently that suggested you should not worry about how you answer interview questions like, "what makes you the best candidate?" If the interviewer does not like your response, the job probably is not a good fit for you anyway. This is particularly true in a setting like a litigation support department, in which you will be collaborating and interacting with a number of people at different levels of the organization.
2. Never exaggerate your qualifications, either in writing or during an oral interview. There is a difference between advocating for yourself by putting a positive spin on professional experience, and saying you know how to process data when you do not. Litigation Support is a "hands-on" field where your technical skills will be tested early and often. Usually puffery becomes apparent during the oral interview, which then puts you in the "insincere" category referenced above. I am impressed when candidates know how to relate experience they have in one context to the (different) qualifications for a position I am screening. For example, a candidate who has demonstrated proficiency processing data in LAW is likely to have the aptitude necessary to learn quickly and become an effective member of a Viewpoint processing team. Similarly, an eDiscovery attorney who has successfully managed document reviews using Relativity is likely to have the technical skills necessary to learn a different software platform. Those types of relational skills also can be an early indicator that the candidate knows how to analyze issues and is not afraid to advocate for herself, which are two essential qualities in the litigation support field.
3. Always put your best foot forward. The professional and personal characteristics that make you a great candidate should be front and center in any communication with a potential employer. If the first sentence of your cover letter is an apology for the low grades you received in law school, I am probably not going to invite you for an interview. Instead, talk about how you worked full-time and took care of two kids while attending night classes. Sloppy communication skills like bad grammar or misspelling the name of the law firm you are contacting reflect poorly on you, and can be a disqualifier when you are applying for a job like one in litigation support that requires attention to detail.
4. Do your homework. You should walk into an interview with a law firm or corporation understanding its basic structure and other important information like the areas of practice or lines of business that the potential employer focuses on. Ask the person who coordinates the interview who you will be meeting with, and look them up on LinkedIn or the company’s website. With the scope of free resources available on the Internet, there is no excuse to arrive without this kind of information that is publicly available. I place significant value on a candidate who understands the "business" of electronic discovery and litigation support. I expect a candidate for most positions within my department to have foundational knowledge about concepts like those surrounding the Electronic Discovery Reference Model ("EDRM"), managed service arrangements and other vendor relationships, and basic law firm economic terms that apply to a litigation support department like whether it operates as a profit center and what implications that may have in the candidate’s day-to-day role.
5. Do not be afraid to "question the questioner" in an interview situation: I always ask at the end of an interview whether the candidate has any questions about the job, but am amazed by how often that person says "no." Hopefully, you have given the position enough thought in advance of an interview to have questions before you walk in. Even if you think I did a good job giving an overview of the role, I usually take a simple "no" response to mean that the candidate is not interested or knowledgeable enough to ask intelligent questions. In my mind, this relates to whether you understand enough about the field or the role at issue to know how you might fit in "the big picture."
Questions that I think are "fair game" to ask the interviewer may include:
• How would you define success in this position?
• Does the department operate as a profit center?
• Can you describe the process through which someone in this position receives assignments?
• Does someone in this position interact directly with case teams? In what ways?
• Does this position have a minimum billable requirement? What types of activities are billed, and how does that work?
• How does the department fit into the organizational structure of the firm/company?
• How does this position interact with other support roles like IT or paralegals?
• Does this role involve vendor management? Who are the major vendors I am likely to interact with?
• Does the firm/company belong to technology organizations like ILTA?
• If I am selected, what would you like me to focus on in the first 60/90 days?
• Can you describe for me how you envision a typical day for someone in this role?
• What opportunities for advancement may be offered? How do you see someone in my role potentially evolving in the next 3 to 5 years?
• What value do you place on certifications and continuing education, and how are those supported within your organization?
• Does the firm/company support involvement in organizations like Women in eDiscovery?
What interview advice would you give professionals interviewing for litigation support positions? What has worked for you?