General Counsel Interview Questions

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General Counsel Interview Questions

When hiring a General Counsel, you’ll want to look for someone with considerable (and relevant) experience that your organization can always depend on. The candidate you select should have excellent judgment and interpersonal communication skills. Keep in mind that this person will lead the legal team so they should have management skills (preferably) or demonstrate management potential. Make sure to ask interview questions about their communication and management style.

Here’s some fantastic interview questions we suggest when hiring for General Counsel:

• What appeals to you most about this role?
• How has your experience prepared you for this role?
• This position involves leading and mentoring the legal team. What are the most important things you’ll focus on to ensure you have a cohesive and effective team?
• Describe your management style.
• Tell me about the most complex case/project you’ve worked on. What did you learn from this experience- for your career, and about yourself?
• Can you outline a compliance issue an organization in our industry could face?
• Who has been the most influential person to your career? What are two important things you learned from this person?
• What does strategic thinking look like for a General Counsel? Please give 2-3 examples.
• How involved in strategic planning and business development initiatives do you want to be?
• Do you have any experience with mergers and acquisitions? *Sub out specific experience or skills as it relates to the role you’re hiring for
• Please tell me about your most significant career accomplishments to date.
• Have you ever had to advise an executive to make a different decision (due to legal reasons)? What was the result?
• Are you comfortable speaking up and insisting upon legally sound decisions? Please give 1-2 examples from your experience where you demonstrated this.
• What do you anticipate to be the most challenging part of this role?