Callback or lateral interview coming up? Book a free 15-minute consultation to talk it through.

When a callback comes, the instinct is to prepare for it like a harder version of OCI — more research, higher stakes. That instinct is wrong, and it leads to callbacks that go sideways for candidates who were clearly going to get the offer. The same principle applies to lateral callbacks: by the time they invite you in, they already want to hire you.

They Already Decided They Like You

By the time a firm invites you for a callback, they have already decided they want to hire you unless something changes. The callback is not a second audition. It is a confirmation process. That reframe changes everything about how you should show up. Be more yourself — not more polished.

The Lunch Is Not a Break

The associates at lunch are evaluating you harder than anyone else, because they’re the ones who will be working alongside you at eleven o’clock on a deal closing the next morning. What they want to know: are you someone they’d want to be around under pressure? Be curious. Ask real questions. Do not complain about anything. Do not ask about salary.

Have Real Opinions

Attorneys spend all day arguing, drafting, negotiating, and thinking critically. They are not looking for diplomatic non-answers. When a partner asks what you found interesting about a case, have an answer. Opinions expressed with appropriate humility are memorable. Careful nothing-answers are not. This matters double for laterals — they expect you to have a real view of the practice.

The Questions You Ask Matter

Every interviewer ends with “do you have any questions for me?” The best question in a callback references something specific from earlier in that conversation — something the interviewer said that you want to understand better. This signals that you were listening and that you are genuinely interested in this person’s perspective.

The callback is not a second audition. Show them the version of you that made them want to invite you back — not a more cautious, more rehearsed version of that person.

If you want to walk through the specific firms on your list or work on how to position yourself, the first 15 minutes are free. More here. For a complete walkthrough of biglaw interviews — OCI through lateral — my book Biglaw Interview Advice is on Amazon.