Interviews

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Blog Posts

September 27, 2023
Which law schools interview applicants, and what are their interview formats?

If you're planning to apply to law school, you may be wondering, which law schools employ interviews as a part of their admissions process? Info here.

November 8, 2021
How to Survive a Kira Interview

Even in the Before Times (back before COVID-19 turned the word “Zoom” from a fun thing puppies did at dog parks to the bane of my existence), there was the Kira: an online asynchronous interview platform utilized by Northwestern, Cornell, and Texas, amidst others.

November 18, 2019
Illustrative Interview Story

My partner, Karen Buttenbaum, used to be the Director of Admissions at Harvard. In fact, years ago it was called "KB1" for an interview and "KB2" for an admit.

December 17, 2014
The 10 Essentials for a Great Law School Zoom Interview

Law school interviewing season is now in full swing with a range of interview formats and programs.

February 13, 2013
Why a Handshake Matters (more than you may think)

Study after study suggests that first impressions matter; indeed, in terms of creating a lasting impression, they matter more than anything else. You are going to be remembered from the first few minutes of your initial encounter—the question is, how do you want to be remembered?

January 17, 2013
Focus: Why It Matters So Much (& How You Get It)

This trait rings true for almost all highly successful people — they have the ability to stay on focus. But what is focus, and how can it help for a law school applicant or job seeker?

October 31, 2012
Legal Interview Advice from a Fortune 50 Hiring Authority

Our first guest blog comes from a hiring authority at a Fortune 50 company.

Podcasts

March 25, 2021
Preliminary Waitlist Movement Perspectives

In this podcast, Mike Spivey discusses perspectives and considerations as we head into the 2021 law school waitlist season.

You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

March 17, 2021
Interview with a Biglaw Partner (Jeff Chapman, Gibson Dunn Co-Chair of Global M&A)

In this podcast, Mike interviews Jeff Chapman: Partner, Co-Chair of Global Mergers and Acquisitions, and Executive Committee Member at Gibson Dunn. Mike and Jeff met when Mike was a law school Dean of Career Services, and they became good friends — in this interview, Jeff shares his story, some thoughts and advice about law school, and a bit of biglaw hiring advice.

You can listen to this podcast below, or on SoundCloud or Apple Podcasts.

March 31, 2021
Upcoming Podcast: Interview with Dr. Gabor Maté

We are thrilled to announce that we will be interviewing Dr. Gabor Maté — renowned physician, speaker, and author of four best-selling books including the critically-acclaimed In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts — for a podcast episode to be released on May 15. We will be discussing with Dr. Maté the roots of anxiety and addiction, particularly in relation to law school and the legal field. One in 5 attorneys struggle with alcohol abuse, 1 in 5 show symptoms of clinic anxiety, and 1 in 4 suffer from depression (source) — mental illness and addiction are very real and present problems in the legal field, and we look forward to sharing Dr. Maté's insights with you.

You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, or YouTube for access to all of our past and upcoming episodes. We post advice, analysis, and predictions about law school admissions, plus we interview notable people about admissions, legal education, and the legal field. Our last two podcast interviews featured Gibson Dunn Partner/M&A Chair Jeff Chapman and acclaimed psychologist/TED Talk speaker Guy Winch, and we are excited for upcoming interviews with a law school dean, the preeminent researcher on self-compassion, a current admissions dean from a top 3 law school, and many more.

April 13, 2021
Advice & Tips for Law School Scholarship Negotiation

In this podcast, Mike Spivey explains how the scholarship negotiation process works from the law school's perspective and gives some advice and tips for how to strategically approach increasing your merit aid offers.

You can listen to this podcast below, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, or RadioPublic.

You may also notice our new name and new look — thanks to u/lightningmcboops from r/lawschooladmissions for the name suggestion, and thank you all for listening to the first official episode of the Status Check with Spivey!

May 16, 2021
Interview with Dr. Gabor Maté, Author of “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts”

In this podcast, Mike Spivey speaks with Dr. Gabor Maté, one of the world’s leading experts on physical and mental health and author of four best-selling books including "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts" and "When the Body Says No." Dr. Maté shares his thoughts and advice on self-doubt, stress, anxiety, and addiction, and offers the following insight for prospective law students (among others):

"You're going to look at all your confident classmates, and you're going to go in there with all manner of self-doubt. You're making the big mistake of comparing their outside with your inside. You have no idea what their inside is like. And believe me, you're not the only one."

You can listen and subscribe to Status Check with Spivey on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Google Podcasts.