Deakin Law Students' Society & Baker McKenzie Client Interview Guide 2023
About Client Interview
The Client Interview competition is the best stress-free competition of the year! It ends off Trimester 1 with an easy, conversational competition. You will be provided a hypothetical legal matter and your aim is to find out as much information from the client as you can in the allocated time. Some clients are chatty and some will be hard to get information out of. Your goal is to work with the client to gather relevant information. You will not need excessive legal knowledge as the focus is on your interviewing and information gathering skills!
Benefits of Competing
The Client Interview is a great opportunity for you to practice your communication and critical thinking skills. These are skills which are necessary in the legal field and can only be improved with persistent practice. The Client Interview will allow you to work on these skills and prepare for the future. You will be able to see how a hypothetical client interview operates and will allow them to put their legal knowledge into simulated real world use.
Gain conversational and personable skills and experience
Learn how to navigate different types of clients
Get experience that will be beneficial for working in the profession
CLIENT INTERVIEW
CLIENT INTERVIEW
Who is Involved in Client Interview?
Party Role
You and your partner are in charge of running the interview! Ask the questions and find out the information you need to know
To provide answers and engage in discussion with the Practitioners The Judge
A member of the Law Faculty or Senior Law Student who will provide your team with a score DLSS
Key Dates
Practitioner
(You)
The Client
Organisational and time-keeping
Representative
duties
Dates Round / Days Trimester 1 Week 5 Signups open Trimester 1 Week 7 Fact Scenarios Released Trimester 1 Week 8 (Week starting 1st May) Heats Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Trimester 1 Week 9 (Week starting 8th May) Semi-Finals Tuesday, Wednesday Trimester 1 Week 10 Grand Final Evening of Thursday 18th May
CLIENT INTERVIEW Structure
Pre-Interview
One week prior to commencement, competitors will be provided a brief ‘one sentence memo’ of a possible legal issue. Competitors are expected to use this information to brainstorm questions they may wish to ask their client during the interview.
The Interview
Section 1: Introduction
5 Minutes: You will be given a short period of time to introduce themselves to the judge and client. This time will provide the you with a opportunity to discuss the rules and address any concerns they may have prior to formal commencement.
Section 2: The Interview
30 Minutes: This portion of the interview is where you address the purpose of the discussion with the client. This includes asking questions to ascertain the facts.
Section 3: Conclusion
10 Minutes: The final component of the interview will consist of provisional feedback regarding your performance.
Total competition time: 45 minutes.
Workload:
Light
How to Prepare
1. Introduction Tips
When meeting the client for the first time, it is important to break the ice and feel comfortable. Be relaxed and collected and share some information about your role as a lawyer, any ethical responsibilities you have that may be relevant for your client to know, and what you hope to get out of the interview.
2. Conducting the Interview Tips
Ask open-ended questions to allow the client to talk and provide detail uninterrupted. You should try and balance your talking and listening skills. There may be times where you need to ask a direct question to get the conversation back on track. You can take notes of key information if you wish and circle back to it during the interview.
3. Conclusion Tips
Ensure that you keep track of your 30 minute interview time. Use the final moments to recap the information you received. You do not have to give legal advice, simply engage in conversation and remember to thank them for their time! Be professional and courteous as you would in any interview.
4. Clear Communication
It is important to remain professional but also approachable and engaging. Avoid legal jargon that may confuse a client not versed in legal language!
5. Plan Ahead
With a brief memorandum provided prior to the interview, you should meet with your partner and begin discussing how you may approach your interview. You may discuss how you intent to greet the client, how you may split the discussion, and which questions may be suitable.
CLIENT INTERVIEW
What am I marked on?
Structure/Opening (10 points)
Questioning (15 points)
Communication (10 points)
Closing (15 points)
Total: 50 points
Please note that 15 points are allocated to closing which also covers things like: Were all the facts ascertained? Did the team work collectively?
Any more questions?
You can find Frequently Asked Questions such as: What do I wear? How do I verbally cite cases?
In the General Competition Handbook available at deakinslss.org
Any other questions to director-competitions@deakinlss.org
CLIENT INTERVIEW
Stay Up to Date
YOU CAN STAY UP TO DATE WITH OUR COMPETITIONS ON OUR SOCIALS (FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND DLSS WEBSITE)
ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE LATEST NEWS RIGHT HERE:
INTERNAL DLSS COMPETITIONS:
HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/RMQEE7VWFWZCSQZ69
EXTERNAL COMPETITIONS:
HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/GRF4SUGTWAQQEFAA8
Thank You!
WE WISH YOU LUCK ON YOUR COMPETITION ENDEAVOURS SHOULD YOU WISH TO COMPETE IN 2023.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO OUR TEAM IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONCERNS OR QUERIES AT DIRECTOR-COMPETITIONS@DEAKINLSS.ORG
