Legal Counsel Interview Questions

1.1The legal counsel role - providing legal advice, managing risk, and supporting the business

1.2Types of legal counsel positions - generalist, specialist, senior, and how the role scales

1.3The in-house mindset - commercial pragmatism, risk management, and knowing when to say yes

1.4Building the business partnership - becoming the legal adviser that the business actually wants to call

2.1Drafting commercial contracts - the art of writing clear, enforceable contractual terms

2.2Contract review and red-lining - identifying risk, suggesting changes, and explaining the commercial impact

2.3Contract negotiation - balancing legal risk management with commercial objectives

2.4Template management - building and maintaining a library of standard contracts and playbooks

3.1Company secretarial basics - statutory registers, filings, and the legal administration of a company

3.2Board support - preparing minutes, resolutions, and maintaining the governance record

3.3Corporate transactions - the legal workstream in fundraising, M&A, and restructuring

3.4Group structure management - maintaining the legal entity structure and managing intercompany relationships

4.1GDPR obligations in practice - the day-to-day data protection questions a legal counsel handles

4.2Data subject rights - handling access requests, erasure requests, and other rights efficiently

4.3Vendor data agreements - reviewing and negotiating DPAs and standard contractual clauses

4.4Cyber incidents - the legal response to a data breach, including notification obligations

5.1Employment law for legal counsel - the questions that regularly come to the legal team

5.2Restrictive covenants - drafting, enforcing, and defending against enforcement of post-termination restrictions

5.3Settlement agreements - drafting, negotiating, and advising on exits

5.4Disciplinary and grievance - the legal input into HR processes and when to involve legal

6.1IP portfolio management - the legal role in registering and maintaining the company IP assets

6.2IP licensing - drafting and negotiating licence agreements for the company IP

6.3Open source software - the legal risk of open source use and the policies that manage it

6.4Brand protection - monitoring and enforcing trademark rights against infringers

7.1Compliance programme support - the legal counsel role in policy, training, and advice

7.2Regulatory developments - monitoring and advising on regulatory changes affecting the business

7.3Bribery and corruption compliance - the legal framework and how to advise the business

7.4Consumer protection law - the rules that apply to business-to-consumer trading and how to comply

8.1Pre-litigation strategy - how to resolve disputes before they become formal proceedings

8.2Managing external litigation counsel - briefing, supervision, and controlling costs

8.3Arbitration and ADR - when to use alternative dispute resolution and how to manage it

8.4Insolvency - the legal risks when dealing with insolvent counterparties and how to protect the company

9.1Legal technology - contract management systems, e-signature, and the tools that make legal efficient

9.2Process improvement in legal - how to serve more of the business with the same resources

9.3Knowledge management - building a legal knowledge base that empowers the business

9.4Managing external legal spend - panels, budgets, and getting value from law firm relationships

10.1Technical questions - contract law, data protection, employment, IP, and regulatory compliance

10.2Commercial questions - demonstrating pragmatic, business-aware legal advice

10.3Scenario questions - managing a contractual dispute, a data breach, or a difficult commercial negotiation

10.4Salary negotiation, evaluating an in-house legal team, and questions that reveal the scope of work and culture of the legal function