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Built from the employer's own process and public material, not candidate reports. Sign up and tell us what you were actually asked.
02 / Hiring process
Five stages, and one of them decides it
5 stages from application to offer. Practical assessment is reported to be the one that decides it.
5stages
01
Application and route fit office, practice and role
Choose the correct regional route and show why the office, practice or professional role fits your evidence. Early-career applications may ask for a CV, transcript, motivation answers or a cover letter depending on the programme.
02
Initial interview motivation and strengths
Some student programmes publish a telephone or video interview focused on motivation, strengths and alignment to the role. Business-professional and lawyer formats vary by location and team.
03
Practical assessment reasoning under real constraints
DLA Piper says role processes can include assessment tools, practical exercises or panel presentations. Regional student programmes may use a case study, online test, team exercise or assessment centre. Read the invitation as the source of truth.
04
Manager, peers and collaborators how you work with the people around you
DLA Piper says candidates always meet their direct line manager, peers and close collaborators. Explain how you make decisions, handle feedback, protect sensitive information and make work easier for the next person.
05
Offer and checks role and jurisdiction requirements
An offer can include jurisdiction-specific eligibility, qualification, reference or other pre-engagement checks. The exact requirement depends on the position and local law.
Ask before the interview: what will this round cover, who will I meet, and is there anything I should prepare?The question almost nobody asks
03 / Question library
Interview question practice library
These guides use DLA Piper’s published career routes and recruitment roadmaps. They distinguish employer-published process facts from the role and country details you need to confirm in the invitation.
25questions
Asked in every interviewAsked in every DLA Piper interview
01 Why DLA Piper? Motivation Open guide
Find your angle. Tests whether your choice connects to a specific office, practice or business-services role rather than the firm name alone.
Build your answer
- Choose the route. Name the office, programme or role you researched.
- Connect your evidence. Link one experience to the work and people involved.
- Make it durable. Explain why the fit will matter after the first assignment.
Bring the evidence
Bring one DLA Piper office, practice or role fact and a matching decision from your work or study.
What weakens it
Do not use the firm’s international reputation as a substitute for explaining the local role and contribution.
Likely follow upWhich team or client problem would you want to learn about first?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.02 Walk me through your background. Background Open guide
Find your angle. Tests whether you can select the two or three decisions that explain your readiness for this position.
Build your answer
- Set a thread. Choose a clear starting point rather than reciting every role.
- Show a decision. Explain the responsibility, pressure and choice in each step.
- Land at DLA Piper. Connect the pattern to this specific route.
Bring the evidence
Bring two responsibilities, one difficult choice and a measured outcome that show a coherent professional direction.
What weakens it
Do not turn the answer into a chronological biography with no explanation of what you learned or changed.
Likely follow upWhich experience best prepared you to work with a manager and close collaborators?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.03 Tell me about making a handoff work better. Collaboration Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.04 Tell me about uncovering what a stakeholder really needed. Client impact Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.05 Describe catching an error before it mattered. Excellence Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.06 Tell me about deciding with incomplete information. Judgment Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.07 Tell me about feedback that changed your work. Feedback Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.08 Describe protecting confidential information under pressure. Integrity Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.Law Students and Summer Associates3 to practise
3 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 3 are specific to Law Students and Summer Associates, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountLaterals and Judicial Clerks2 to practise
2 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 2 are specific to Laterals and Judicial Clerks, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountLitigation and Regulatory2 to practise
2 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 2 are specific to Litigation and Regulatory, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountFinance and Billing2 to practise
2 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 2 are specific to Finance and Billing, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountTechnology, Security and Risk2 to practise
2 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 2 are specific to Technology, Security and Risk, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountHuman Resources and Talent2 to practise
2 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 2 are specific to Human Resources and Talent, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountMarketing, Business Development and ESG2 to practise
2 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 2 are specific to Marketing, Business Development and ESG, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountParalegals and Legal Support2 to practise
2 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 2 are specific to Paralegals and Legal Support, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountWhat you get
Less than the cost of one lunch, for a great deal more confidence.- Unlimited tailored interview preparation
- A massive database of actual questions and answer guides
Role specific
Pick your role and the list narrows to what that role tends to get asked.
A guide for every answer
What the question is testing, three steps to build your answer, and the evidence to bring.
Prepared, not guessing
You walk in knowing the shape of the round and which of your own stories fits it.
04 / In the news
Worth mentioning in the room
The strongest answer to why this company is something that happened last month.
4stories
Free account
What happened at this employer this month
Stories screened from everything published about this employer, chosen because they can be used in the room rather than because they are recent.
- Each one carries a line on how to use it in the answer
- Crime, recalls, litigation and share price moves are excluded outright
- Refreshed daily, so it is different the week of your interview
05 / The four values
What is actually being scored
The firm describes itself as bold, exceptional, collaborative and supportive. Bring evidence that makes those words concrete.
4stories
Client impact
A time you identified the decision behind a request and changed the work so it was more useful to the client or stakeholder.
Professional excellence
A time you improved the accuracy, reliability or clarity of work that others depended on.
Collaboration
A time you made a handoff, disagreement or cross-functional project work better for the people involved.
Growth
A time you sought feedback, learned a difficult skill and used it to improve a real outcome.
06 / Before you apply
Where candidates lose it
Pro
Where candidates lose this before anyone meets them
The part of the process that eliminates most people is not the interview. It is what happens around it, and almost none of it is written down anywhere.
- The assessment answers that read as dishonest rather than confident
- What the availability question is really deciding
- The application detail that cannot be edited once submitted
Interview in 48 Hours
Turn your experience into your advantage.Bring your own stories to the interview. Start with the role, build your preparation sheet.