I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at A&O Shearman (London, England) in Dec 2018
Interview
The process was very straight forward. The recruiter put my CV forward, I had two rounds of onterviews at the London Office, each with 2 partners from the Real Estate team and it was very relaxed and informal. Most of the interview was asking me about the experience I had had on my CV and then asked how I would advise a client in particular situations and finally a series of questions designed to test my legal knowledge. It felt like an Oxbridge interview in that it seemed the questions were designed to go beyond what they expected me to know to see how I responded and applied knowledge to unknown situations.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
If you were acting for a company buying a portfolio of pubs, what would be the key things you would be looking for when carrying out your due diligence?
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at A&O Shearman (Singapore)
Interview
I was lateraling from overseas and used a recruiter to help me arrange interviews. First around was a remote interview with two partners, each for less than 30 minutes. Then I happened to travel to Singapore and met with one of the partners and an associate in the team in person. I also did a written test that took less than 3 hours. Overall smooth experience.
Questions were generally not too difficult to answer,
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at A&O Shearman in Jul 2025
Interview
Typical 1 hour screener interview, then a 2 hour callback about a week later. Very straightforward. Met only with partners, did not meet with associates. Everyone was very personable and easy to talk to. Asked about my experience and why I was looking to leave current firm.
I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at A&O Shearman (London, England) in Feb 2025
Interview
Was 2 interviews with 2 people in each (partner and associate in each). Was great getting to know them and was a positive experience. Asked some questions about previous work and why the firm.
Associate applicants have rated the interview process at A&O Shearman with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 78% positive. To compare, the company-average is 71.1% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Associate roles take an average of 31 days to get hired, when considering 10 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at A&O Shearman overall takes an average of 26 days.
Common stages of the interview process at A&O Shearman as a Associate according to 10 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 23%
Group panel interview: 18%
Phone interview: 14%
Skills test: 14%
Personality test: 14%
Background check: 14%
Other: 5%
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