Our Recruitment Process

The Partner interview

The Partner interview is the final stage of our recruitment process for Trainees . 

This interview is with two different Partners from two different industry groups – for example one Partner from Shipping and one Partner from Insurance and Reinsurance. 

The interviewers will have a copy of your application form, so do make sure you familiarise yourself with your application before you come to the interview. The Partner interview is the final opportunity for us to check that the law and HFW are for you, so expect more questions around your career rationale and reason for applying to us.

You should expect a more commercial interview than the assessment centre interview – make sure that you are abreast of current news stories and that you are thinking about how any recent world events might impact HFW and our clients. The interview will also include some questions designed to test your analysis and problem-solving skills, as well as some professional ethics questions. Again be yourself, try to back up your answers with evidence and be prepared to show your thought process. There may not be a "right" answer to some of the questions, instead the Partners will want to see how you think and arrive at a logical answer, exactly as you would need to when working on a new problem for a client, or in a new area of law. 

Can I obtain feedback on my performance?

We provide detailed interview feedback to all final round interview attendees, and strongly encourage you to obtain this. We ask that you email grad.recruitment@hfw.com to arrange a suitable time for a feedback call. We are unable to provide written feedback.