The on-campus recruiting game has always carried a bit of capriciousness to it. There are lotteries and scheduling conflicts and just the bad luck of hitting a distracted interviewer who just got a bad email about a deal. Law students can’t guarantee they’ll manage to get in front of the firm that really suits them and firms can’t guarantee they’re seeing the complete pool of ideal candidates.
The on-campus recruiting team from White & Case is introducing a new video interview platform this year called Launchpad with an eye toward casting a wider net in recruitment efforts by untethering the process from scheduled on-campus interviews from specific schools. And, of course, this frees up the student’s scheduling options too. This isn’t a replacement for the traditional in-person interview — if students are lucky enough to score one they can go for it — but it allows those who might not be able to meet in-person to get themselves in front of White & Case.
The way Launchpad works, a student records the interview at any time, from any device, which is then uploaded to the White & Case recruiting site. It mirrors a successful process the firm has employed in the UK for awhile now.
This doesn’t replace the full hiring process. Obviously there will still be callback interviews at the office and everything. But it’s a good way of getting a look at a broader pool of interviewees. And, importantly, it provides a measure of consistency that in-person interviews can’t always match because every candidate is responding to the same questions asked in the same way allowing reviewers to make apple to apple comparisons when deciding upon callbacks.
This isn’t the first technological fix White & Case has offered law students. Last year, we wrote about a tool the firm unveiled allowing students to get a handle on Biglaw work assignments with InsideSherpa. That platform offered students a virtual access to the day-to-day work of a young attorney.
Once again, White & Case is thinking outside the box when it comes to getting an advantage over its peer firms when it comes to winning the talent war.
Earlier: Technology Allows Law School Students To Work On A Deal Before Joining Biglaw
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.