We cover firm motivation questions in much more detail in our Law firm profiles and research course, which provides an incredibly comprehensive guide to researching law firms, identifying unique selling points, and linking these points back to yourself. In this course, we've also built up an extensive bank of in-depth firm profiles and analyses of key differentiators for 90+ leading commercial law firms and in-house teams.

In addition, we have created a video series covering what clients look for when choosing law firms, a series of videos explaining how a law firm can maintain a competitive advantage, and a case study (with model answer) focused on a fictional law firm pitch to a high profile client.

Firm motivation questions

Once you’ve convinced a firm that you want to work within their industry, the next challenge is to convince them that there’s nowhere else you would rather train. Now, I know that researching firms and differentiating them from competitors can be an onerous task, but you must remember that there are fewer roles available than the number of people good enough to successfully complete those roles. 

Moreover, hiring a student to undertake an internship is a fairly substantial investment for a firm to make (consider the cost of paying interns, the value of partner/director/ associate hours required to accommodate, train and assess interns, the expense of arranging social events etc.). Firms will therefore only select candidates that they believe will accept an offer and remain at the firm for the long-term (if given the opportunity). 

For these reasons, it’s incredibly important that you carry out high quality research into firms and spend time carefully articulating your answers to firm motivation questions. If you receive two or three rejections for answering ‘why this firm?’ too generically, odds are you would receive another fifty rejections if you simply tried to hedge your bets through applying to more firms. This is one of the reasons why you tend see candidates receiving either no offers or multiple offers. By all means apply to 10 or 11 firms, but only if you have the time to undertake sufficient research in order to ensure your answers are not too generic.

Examples of firm motivation questions

Q. Why do you want to work for this firm?

This is the question that most commonly arises, so I have covered it in detail throughout this section. Firms will generally expect you to differentiate them from their competitors, which to do so effectively can require ample research. 

Q. Which other firms have you applied to and why do you prefer this firm?

You may well be asked which other firms you have applied to, and it’s absolutely fine to mention the firm’s competitors. In fact, not mentioning a firm’s competitors might suggest that your career motivation is a little uncertain. For example, if you’re applying to a global investment bank and you say that all the other banks you’ve applied to are small, boutique investment firms, this might suggest that you don’t really know what you want (in turn suggesting you are a risky choice for the firm to make). 

However, be prepared to justify why you have applied to these other firms and explain why the present firm is your first choice. Of course, it’s not a problem if you’re still exploring your options (or hedging your bets) by applying to a range of different types of firms for work experience or internships; just carefully consider which firms you mention if you’re asked this question.

Q. Talk about a particular deal the firm has been involved in and why you found it interesting.

This type of question is designed to test whether you have researched the firm in-depth. I received this question in multiple interviews, so it’s definitely worth having to hand a couple of examples of the firm’s recent work.

Drawing out your motivations

Do not give generic answers that merely reflect a quick skim of the firm’s marketing materials. Think of legitimate ways to differentiate the firm and more importantly, relate these elements back to you in order to convince recruiters that these factors genuinely appeal. For example, which of your personal experiences have made the firm’s culture, values, reputation and training structure appeal to you? 

Below are some of the factors that you may want to keep in mind when considering your personal reasons for applying to a particular firm. However, as with the career motivation examples earlier in this course, this list is by no means exhaustive. These are just a handful of examples to guide you, so it’s imperative that you think about your own personal motivations so that you can then relate your answers back to yourself. 

People & Culture

One of the easiest ways to differentiate City firms (many of which engage in similar work for similar clients) is through considering their people and culture. In fact, many firms claim that their culture is their defining feature. However, ensure you can explain how you gained an insight into the firm’s culture, otherwise your answer might seem generic.

If you learned about the culture from an employee during an employer event, campus presentation, career fair, office visit or other networking event, mention why you liked them, what they said about the firm’s culture and how this impacted upon your perception of the firm. Feel free to include the person’s name and mention the context in which you met them, as retaining this information – and highlighting that you’ve previously interacted with the firm – can go some way to demonstrating your firm motivation. If you have personally spent time at the firm, remember to mention what you enjoyed (although make sure you’re prepared to talk about your experience in detail, including any work you got involved in).

If you have never met one of the firm’s employees, try to find out about the culture from other sources. Ask people at your university that have completed vacation schemes; LinkedIn connections that have experienced or worked at the firm; or firm representatives during webinars or virtual insight days (you could even look for video interviews with the firm’s employees). You may also have access to university lecturers or career advisers that used to work in industry (or know people who do). Once you present your insights, don’t forget to explain why the culture resonates with you. 

Potential considerations

• Does the prospect of working with bright, ambitious, like-minded people on a daily basis appeal? If so, why? Will this provide you with significant opportunities to learn and develop? Does this also appeal on a social level?
• Does the firm’s welcoming, supportive and non-hierarchal culture appeal? If so, why? Do you feel are most likely to succeed in such a working environment? Or can you give an example from your past of when you have enjoyed working in a firm or team that had a similar culture? 
• Does the firm put a higher focus on volunteering and social opportunities for its employees than others? Does this appeal because you’re passionate about volunteering and would like to continue to have a positive social impact? However, whilst volunteering is something that may be worth mentioning, do not focus too much on it as you’ll ultimately be hired to earn money or generate value for the firm.

Training & Development

When it comes to training, most firms have at least one distinguishing feature, for example shorter rotations between practice areas, better international secondment opportunities (or even guaranteed secondment opportunities), specialist learning and development programmes, smaller trainee intakes and the like. However, as with career motivation answers, remember to relate your answers back to yourself by explaining why you think the firm’s approach to training will suit you best. 

Potential considerations

• Does the firm offer opportunities to work in overseas offices during your training programme? Does this appeal because you have a genuine interest in working internationally? If so, explain how you have developed and explored this interest to date.
• Do opportunities exist to experience a variety of different departments? If so, does the firm offer more variety than its competitors (e.g. by offering shorter rotations between departments)? If this flexibility appeals, explain why. Does this mean you’ll be able to experience a greater range of work, which will increase your chances of identifying the type of work that most interests you and best aligns with your skills?
• Is the firm highly ranked across a range of departments, which in turn perhaps suggests you will receive market leading training and invaluable exposure to high quality work regardless of which departments you experience? Will this positively influence your personal development? 
• What kind of supervision and support are you provided throughout? Do you have dedicated mentors or frequent appraisals? Are there focused training sessions and/or seminars on offer? Are external speakers invited to deliver supplementary training or is there an academy you are able to enrol in? Does any of this suggest that the firm’s approach to developing its employees aligns with your preferred means of learning and developing?
• Does the size of the intake appeal? For example, does a smaller intake suggest you will receive greater responsibility during the early stages of your career? 
• Are you afforded opportunities to further develop your skill sets during your training? For example, are there grants available for language courses or opportunities to take additional qualifications or study for an MBA. 

As mentioned, do not just recite the phrases in this chapter. This will not necessarily come across as convincing. Support your statements. Give examples of when you have enjoyed experiencing a particularly steep learning curve in the past, or discuss the conversations you have had with the firm’s employees about their positive training experiences.

Reputation, Awards, Work, Sectors, Clients & Growth

It’s fine to briefly mention that you are attracted to a firm as a result of its reputation, the awards it has received, the work it carries out, the sectors it services, the types of clients it attracts, its global footprint and the like. However, don’t linger on this point too much, as it can be very difficult to distinguish a firm on the basis of these factors alone. Remember, most of the firm’s competitors will probably have a similar reputation, have won similar awards, carry out very similar work (many will often be on opposite sides of the same deals), service predominantly the same sectors, work for many of the same clients and operate across the same jurisdictions.

In this context, you could try to identify one or two specific attributes that make the firm unique. 

Potential considerations

• Does the firm have a team that focuses on high profile sporting or media clients, whereas its major competitors don’t tend to carry out work in those sectors? 
• Has the firm been the undisputable leader in the Latin American market for a number of years and won a series of awards in recognition of this? 
• Is the firm the first in the market to open offices in a new and exciting emerging market?

If you manage to identify a unique attribute, be sure to explain what it is about that attribute that aligns with your skills, interests and experiences.

Potential considerations

• Do you have a particular history of working with sports people (or do you come from a professional sporting background)? 
• Have you previously worked or lived in Latin America? 
• Does the firm’s decision to open office in a new emerging market demonstrate its desire to grow and excel in a region that you find particularly interesting?

If you mention the firm’s work or clients, make sure that you can give examples of the work that the firm has carried out. Research the details and be prepared to talk about it and give an opinion (if applicable). For example, why did the firm’s client proceed with a particular acquisition? Was it successful? What was important about the deal? Were there any (publicly known) challenges? 

If you’re applying to an international firm, it might also be worth briefly explaining why the international nature of the work appeals, but again, it can be difficult to differentiate a firm on this basis. 

Potential considerations

• Would you like the opportunity to work for a firm with a global network of offices because this could provide the opportunity to benefit from knowledge, insights and expertise from all over the world? 
• Do you feel that you’re more likely to have the opportunity to carry out complex, cross-border transactions if working for a truly international firm, and that this in turn will present a greater intellectual challenge? 
• Or might there be more opportunities to work abroad if the firm has a comprehensive global footprint?

Make sure you don’t talk about a firm as if it is a travel agency however! Travel opportunities vary between firms and industries and can be few and far between for juniors, so focusing on your desire to travel may not reflect well on your suitability as a candidate. 

Legal Tech, CSR & Pro Bono

You could also talk about a firm's investment in legal tech, its pro bono and corporate social responsibility initiatives, its diversity and inclusion initiatives, and anything else that might align with your interests, values and ambitions.