Interview Prep Tips for Lawyers Meeting a New Prospect
Interview preparation is all about showing up as your most curious, engaged and credible self. The best candidates connect quickly with what matters to the company, ask smart questions that show engagement and interest in what they’re doing, and communicate in a way that feels both confident and human. You want the prospect to see how you would fit, feel your excitement and trust that you’ve done this work before. These interview prep tips capture the essence of that approach: how to lead with the experience that resonates most with the prospect, ask questions that demonstrate insight and enthusiasm, prove credibility through specific examples, and use your video presence to keep energy and engagement high.
Lead with Relevance, Not Your Chronology
- Get Ready to Dive Right In
- Meet and greets are often short calls but it’s a big decision for the buyer so they need to hear the most relevant signals first.
- Open with the parts of your background that speak to the company’s industry, problems, and ways of working by:
- Picking 2–3 bullets from your experience that mirror the company’s pain points or job description.
- We’re here to help! Goodlawyer can help you pick the highlights ahead of time.
- Translating each bullet into outcomes e.g. “shortened vendor cycle by 30%,” “cut external spend,” “unblocked launch”.
- No need to provide context unless asked.
- Ask High-Leverage Questions in Three Parts
- When you ask questions in this format, it eliminates defensiveness from the prospect, invites specificity, and shows that you care about outcomes.
- Signal enthusiasm!
- “This is right in my wheelhouse, I’d love to work with you.”
- “This is exactly the type of work that gets me excited as in-house counsel.”
- “I’m excited to help drive a better sales process.”
- Give context.
- Explain the background context to your question.
- “Whenever I take on a new opportunity, it’s really important to me that it’s a success for everyone. Something I’ve noticed that helps me bring my greatest impact to a new opportunity is understanding…”
- Ask the question you truly need answered to thrive.
- “For the first 30-60 days, what are the business outcomes that would make this a win for you and your team?”
- “Where does legal slow down today - is it process, approvals or ambiguity?”
- “Who are the two non-legal partners I should sync with weekly to keep velocity high?”
- Prove Credibility with One Concrete Example
- This is the shortcut to trust because it shows you’ve been in that role and know the cross-functional rhythm of in-house work. When you give concrete and specific examples, the
- Share a crisp, anonymized story that matches their operating reality
- E.g., product counsel cadence, sales alignment, privacy workflows, etc.
- E.g. Context: Series B SaaS company, we had a weekly cross-functional meeting with Product/Engg/Marketing/Sales. Action: I ran a 60-min agenda aligning user flows, claims, and deal blockers. Result: Shortened redlines cycle ~30%, reduced external spend, faster release approvals.
- Video Presence is Critical
- Keep eyes high and energy visible! Your non-verbal cues reinforce enthusiasm and calirty
- Move your self-view near the camera at the top of the screen or use a sticky note by the lens.
- Keep the mirror screen on to ensure your posture and facial energy match what you’re saying.
- Adjust your position on screen so that others on the call can see your head and part of your upper body (i.e. no floating heads).
- Only if it feels natural for you, bring more life to your on-screen presence by using your regular conversational gestures.