Acing Your Faegre Drinker Interview: The Top Questions You’ll Face and How to Prepare

Faegre Drinker is one of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the United States, formed in 2020 through the merger of two highly respected firms, Faegre Baker Daniels and Drinker Biddle & Reath. With over 1500 attorneys across 24 offices globally, the firm is a powerhouse in providing legal services to major corporations, emerging growth companies, and individuals.

Landing a job at Faegre Drinker is highly competitive, so being well-prepared for the rigorous interview process is crucial. In this article, we’ll explore the most common Faegre Drinker interview questions, along with tips and sample responses to help you put your best foot forward.

Overview of the Faegre Drinker Interview Process

The interview process at Faegre Drinker is typically quite extensive, involving multiple rounds of interviews with partners, senior associates, and recruiters over a period of weeks or months. Here’s a quick look at what to expect:

• Initial Screening: 30-minute phone call with a recruiter reviewing your resume and interests.

• First Round Interview In-person or video interview, 60-90 minutes focused on your experience and fit.

• Second Round: Panel interview with 2-3 attorneys, probing your technical skills, client service, communication, and legal knowledge relevant to practice area.

• Third/Final Round: Day of in-person interviews with a mix of partners, associates, and senior leadership assessing your competencies and cultural fit.

• Offer Stage Reference checks and discussions around compensation, benefits, and start date

Throughout the process, the environment is described as friendly yet challenging, aimed at uncovering your experience, problem-solving abilities, and motivations through both standard and situational/behavioral questions.

7 Common Faegre Drinker Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Let’s take a look at some of the most frequently asked Faegre Drinker interview questions along with strong sample responses:

1. Why are you interested in working at Faegre Drinker?

This is a common first question aimed at gauging your genuine interest and understanding of the firm. Demonstrate that you’ve researched the firm and have specific reasons for wanting to join based on their values, practice areas, and opportunities for professional growth.

Sample Response:

I’m highly interested in Faegre Drinker because of its outstanding reputation in the areas of litigation, corporate law, and regulatory compliance, which align well with my experience and interests. Beyond the firm’s expertise, I’m drawn to the collaborative culture that emphasizes teamwork, diversity, and inclusion. I appreciate that Faegre Drinker invests heavily in professional development through formal training and mentorship programs. As someone passionate about continuously evolving as an attorney, I find the opportunity to learn from top lawyers across your national platform while working on sophisticated, complex matters to be the ideal environment for the next stage of my career.

2. Walk me through your resume. Why did you choose to work at X firm or pursue Y internship?

The interviewer is looking for you to connect the dots on your resume and tie your interests, experiences, and goals together into a cohesive narrative. Be sure to highlight how each role or activity has contributed to your skillset and prepared you for a career at Faegre Drinker.

Sample Response:

As you can see, my background includes both law firm and in-house counsel experience, giving me well-rounded corporate law expertise. I began my career at Morrison & Foerster, where I gained foundational training in M&A, securities filings, and private equity work. I chose MoFo because of their reputation in emerging tech and growth companies, allowing me to hone skills around strategic transactions and advising startups.

Seeking more hands-on legal operations experience, I next moved in-house to a Fortune 500 retail company managing legal aspects of their expansion into new markets. This role developed my business acumen and ability to support cross-functional teams.

Most recently, I returned to law firm practice at Fenwick & West, deepening my capabilities in corporate governance, SEC compliance, and representing private and public company clients. This diverse resume has equipped me to handle complex matters, operate at the intersection of law and business, and provide quality counsel, making Faegre Drinker an ideal next step to leverage my background.

3. Tell me about a time you faced a challenge on a legal team. How did you handle it?

Behavioral questions like this allow you to demonstrate key competencies such as problem-solving, communication, and relationship-building. The interviewer wants to understand how you respond to roadblocks. Be sure to structure your story using the STAR method:

Situation – The context/challenge you were facing

Task – Your role and responsibilities in this scenario

Action – The steps you specifically took to address the challenge

Results – The outcome of your actions and lessons learned

Sample Response:

In my previous role, our legal team encountered internal resistance when implementing a new contract management system. This resistance risked hampering user adoption of the system, undermining its value. To address this, I took proactive steps focused on stakeholder engagement.

First, I worked cross-functionally with IT colleagues to optimize system training resources and documentation to simplify the learning curve. Next, I conducted hands-on workshops for the legal team, providing ongoing support to build their confidence. Recognizing people’s differing learning styles, I offered one-on-one coaching sessions as needed.

Finally, I gathered user feedback to identify ongoing pain points we could improve, demonstrating that we valued their input. This multifaceted stakeholder engagement approach resulted in successful system adoption. I learned the importance of empathy, persistence, and cross-functional collaboration in driving change management. This experience equipped me with skills to support successful initiatives under challenging circumstances.

4. How do you stay up-to-date on legal developments relevant to your practice area?

Lifelong learning is essential for legal careers, so interviewers want to know what systems you use to stay current. Demonstrate your curiosity and initiative by highlighting specific resources, activities, and memberships you leverage to build your legal knowledge.

Sample Response:

Staying current with legal developments is critical, so I take a very proactive approach. My primary methods include setting alerts on key legal news sources and journals to receive the latest updates, regularly reviewing relevant case law databases such as Westlaw, and attending CLE seminars in my practice areas.

For example, as a member of the state bar association’s Young Lawyers Division, I participate in their annual corporate law symposium, which allows me to hear directly from experts on emerging legal trends.

I also make a point to engage with my in-house clients on the legal issues impacting their industries. This helps me not only anticipate their needs but also identify emerging risks they may face. By making continuing education an ongoing habit, I ensure my legal knowledge never becomes stagnant.

5. How would you handle a situation where you disagreed with a supervising attorney’s legal position or approach?

This question tests your professional maturity, communication skills, and ability to navigate conflict. Acknowledge respect for authority while emphasizing logical reasoning, collaboration, and upholding ethical standards.

Sample Response:

If I professionally disagreed with a supervising attorney’s legal position, I would first seek to fully understand their rationale and perspective through an open dialogue. I would listen closely, asking clarifying questions as needed.

Next, I would present my viewpoint in a clear yet respectful manner, supporting my position with sound legal analysis and facts. Where possible, I would aim to bridge our perspectives by finding common ground or a compromise solution.

Above all, I would handle the conversation with the utmost respect for their experience and authority. I’m committed to resolving differences of opinion collaboratively while maintaining ethical integrity. If we still could not agree after a thorough discussion, I would defer to their judgment as I continue developing my skills under their guidance. My aim would be to learn from the experience while upholding the highest professional standards.

6. Walk me through your process for conducting legal research. How do you ensure you find reliable information?

This tests your systematic approach and information literacy when tackling legal research – a fundamental skill. Showcase your methodology and proficiency using key legal databases to find authoritative sources.

Sample Response:

When conducting legal research, I leverage a combination of primary source documents and reputable secondary materials. I always begin projects by first identifying seminal cases, relevant statutes, and any binding regulations pertinent to the legal matter.

For case law, I rely heavily on Westlaw and LexisNexis to pull up authoritative precedents and the most legally significant court decisions. For statutory and regulatory research, I utilize government databases to identify legally binding codes.

To supplement this primary source foundation, I will consult legal treatises, law journals, and expert analysis to provide additional context and perspectives. However, I place the most weight on binding legal documents over secondary materials.

Throughout my process, I cross-reference any sources against accredited law lists to confirm their validity and credibility. This meticulous approach ensures I build legal