The Interview Process to Beat All Interview Processes

I am sure many of us have their favorite interview horror stories, but this poor guy had to interview with 38 partners (not all in one day, of course). I am sure he is finding it worth it, however.

Williams & Connolly Hires First Lateral Partner in 22 Years
By Marisa McQuilken

Legal Times

September 29, 2008



The vetting process to become a lateral partner at Williams & Connolly might be tougher than the one for the vice presidency: Only one candidate has made the cut at the firm in 22 years. Kannon Shanmugam, who joins the firm Oct. 6 from the Solicitor General’s Office, met with 38 of its existing partners over a four-month period. Partners eventually voted unanimously to hire him.

Shanmugam says the new job will be a challenge “because everybody has kind of grown up together. I just hope that people don’t refer to me as ‘the mistake,’ ” he adds with a laugh. Williams & Connolly has a well-known policy of bringing associates up through the ranks rather than going outside. But Shanmugam found his way in through law school friends, as well as a next-door neighbor, who were already partners at the firm and vouched for him.

It’s a lot of pressure to be the first new guy in 22 years, but high pressure is something Shanmugam is used to. At 35, he has already argued eight cases before the Supreme Court as an assistant to the solicitor general, and he won six of them, including Tellabs v. Makor Issues & Rights in 2007, which examined the standard for pleading state of mind in a federal securities-fraud action. After graduating from Harvard Law, Shanmugam clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, worked as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and landed in the SG’s office in 2004. Now, he plans to help grow Williams & Connolly’s appellate practice.

Williams & Connolly made him the exception to the rule, says Robert Barnett, a member of the executive committee, stressing that other hopefuls need not apply: “This is a very rare exception to a very strong policy.”