Interviewing with the Federal
Department of Justice
Introduction
The interview process with the federal government is considerably different from
other legal interviews. You can anticipate a much more policy-oriented,
knowledge-based interview than what you would experience in a law firm
environment. The interviewers will be scoring your responses and will use this to
compare your performance with that of other candidates. They will be writing as
you are giving your reply. The questions are designed to ensure that not
everyone can or will score 100% in their interview. You should strategize to
maximize the points that you will achieve: focus on keywords, recognizing that
the breadth of knowledge rather than an in-depth ability to speak on only one
topic will score you more points. In preparation, you should familiarize yourself
with current issues the department is dealing with, any proposed legislation or
recent pertinent cases, and certainly any recent coverage in the media.
The interview process differs from region to region. Upon applying, you will
receive details regarding the interview process from each regional office to which
you have applied.
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Interview Process
Ontario Regional Office (Toronto)
Summer Recruitment
The Ontario Regional Office participates in on-campus interviews (OCIs). The
OCI interview held in Ottawa is a 17-minute interview and as a result will be a
little less formal and structured than an interview during interview week in
Toronto. You can anticipate being asked questions about yourself, the
department and about the work DOJ does in Toronto. You may also be asked
some substantive or policy-oriented questions.
Interviews during the Toronto Interview Week are a structured hour-long
interview. Typically, you will be interviewed by a panel of two or more
interviewers. It is unlikely that you will know who your interviewers are before
your interviews.
You can anticipate questions about your resume, short answer questions,
substantive questions, and questions dealing with ethics or a legal hypothetical
situation.
Articling Recruitment
When you are offered an articling interview with the Ontario Regional Office in
Toronto, you will receive a confirmation in writing with a clear description of the
interview process. The Ontario Regional Office does not conduct tours after the
interview or host a reception for candidates. Generally, the interview process will
consist of a 45-minute first interview immediately followed by a 20-minute second
interview. You will be interviewed by a panel of two or more interviewers and it is
unlikely that you will know who your interviewers are before your interviews. You
can anticipate questions about your resume, short answer questions, substantive
questions and questions dealing with ethics or a legal hypothetical situation. Be
prepared to ask questions at the end of your interview.
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National Capital Region (Ottawa)
Articling Recruitment
Within the Ottawa region, traditionally, you will be contacted once you have been
selected as an interview candidate. At this time, you will receive a clear
description of the interview process, any specific requirements and the names of
the members of the panel that will be interviewing you. In Ottawa, there are
three distinct sections to the interview: a series of short answer questions, a
“what if” question dealing with ethics or a legal challenge where you are asked to
describe the approach you would use, and a presentation where interviewees are
asked in advance to prepare and present a ten-minute talk on a legal issue of
your preference. You can anticipate that you will be asked questions regarding
your presentation.
Preparing for the short-answer section
Within the short answer section of the interview, which can only be likened to “the
Trivial Pursuit Game,” you will be given a number of short answer questions: i.e.,
Who is the Minister of Justice? What are the functions of the Minister of Justice?
It is important to remember to just move on if you cannot answer the question, do
not get rattled. Offer the relevant information that you do know about. Take your
time in answering the questions and feel free to ask permission to return to an
earlier question if you suddenly remember the answer. It is important to say
everything that you want to say, so the interviewers write it down.
Preparing for the ethics question
There is no fool-proof way to prepare for an ethics question. Answer these
questions as honestly as you can, acknowledge the conflict if it is clear to you,
and describe how you would act to avoid any misconduct or perception of such.
As a federal government employee, you will be expected to act in a manner that
upholds the honour of the Crown; therefore, you may want to reflect this in your
responses. Another thing to reflect in your answers is that the government is
responsible for “big picture” considerations.
Preparing for the presentation
In the presentation, include case law and correct tests, because accuracy will be
verified. It is advisable to talk about something that you are very familiar with: a
topic you have written a paper on or a case you found particularly fascinating. Try
to keep the topic to a manageable level of complexity as ten minutes can fly by
very quickly. There may be a certain advantage in picking a somewhat obscure
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topic with broad implications, as it can be challenging to present a topic which
your interviewers are very familiar with, particularly if they disagree with the
position your presentation takes. Practise your presentation before the interview,
work out the timing, and ensure that your presentation is clear and unambiguous.
Cue cards or notes can help with organization, structure and a visual prompt. Try
to anticipate questions that your interviewers may pose. Some interviewers adopt
a “good cop-bad cop” approach to this section of the interview, so you may wish
to plan how you will respond to your interviewers should they be somewhat
argumentative. Always maintain your composure and answer professionally.
Concluding the interview
Conclude with some questions for your interviewing panel, for example: What are
the possibilities for hire-back? How will my performance be evaluated?
Regional Offices
Each regional office will have a different interview process. When interviewing in
a regional office, it is important to review the information available online, in
brochures or through contacts, and understand the nature of the work that it is
done in that regional office. Be prepared to illustrate that you understand the
difference between the work conducted in the regional office and more central
offices, as well as to explain why you are interested in the experience offered at a
regional office.
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Sample Questions
Below are some of the questions you can anticipate:
General Questions
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Describe your current work (or some other experience from your resume).
Why did you decide to go to law school?
Has law school lived up to your expectations? How?
Why are you interested in the public service? Why the DOJ Ontario
Regional Office in particular? Why government and not an NGO or other
public interest institution?
What qualities make a good litigator? What qualities/skills do you need to
litigate in our office?
What achievement on your resume are you most proud of?
Tell us about a situation where something didn't go as planned and what
steps you took to remedy the situation?
Why don’t you want to work in private practice for a couple of years, pay
off your student loans, and then come work with us?
We have 30 seconds left: what is the one thing you want us to remember
about you? What one thing about yourself do you want to leave as your
lasting impression?
Short Answer Questions
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Who is the Minister of Justice?
What are the functions of the Minister of Justice?
Who is the Minister of Justice responsible to?
In addition to the title of Minister of Justice, what other title would this
person hold? (Know that the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice
are the same person, but have different roles)
To whom is the Attorney General responsible?
Public Prosecution Service of Canada is a new addition to the Department
of Justice – explain what it does and how it works.
Name three initiatives the federal Department of Justice has been involved
in recently.
Name three federal departments that employ Department of Justice
lawyers.
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Substantive Questions
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What is the role of DOJ counsel?
What do you think is the most important legal issue facing the country? (an
opportunity to show understanding of a legal topic, while explaining its
importance. This should be prepared and rehearsed in advance.)
Name one initiative or bill (currently) that the Department of Justice is
working on and explain the significance.
What is an area of the law in most need of reform?
Give an example of how the legal system in Canada evolved throughout
history.
Compare how the civil and common law systems have evolved over time.
Discuss a recent case or a case you have studied where you agreed with
the decision or did not agree with the decision.
If you were a member of parliament, what law would you change?
Tell us about a research project or moot you took part in. What were the
facts/issues, what was your argument, etc.?
Ethical / Hypothetical Questions
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A colleague has an opinion you disagree with and she bursts out in front
of the client expressing a view that you strongly oppose. What do you do?
Hypothetical: A Kenyan man is going to immigrate to the US but has a
connecting flight via Toronto. He booked his flights at the last minute and
doesn’t have much luggage. The security guards in Toronto detain him
and send him for a secondary search. The guards at the secondary
search tell him they think he’s smuggling drugs and strip search him. The
man is sent back to Kenya. He sues the Canadian government, alleging
that he was unreasonably detained and purposely humiliated (the strip
search). Our office has some information that one of the guards involved
in the search is racist. You’re asked to handle the case – what do you do?
Does it make a difference if you know for sure that the fact the guard was
racist has nothing to do with what happened?
You're working on a project with a junior and senior lawyer. The junior is
not carrying his weight and it's affecting your work and life – what do you
do?
A senior lawyer asks you to do something you don't agree with – what do
you do?
You're in a team meeting with other counsel. They arrive at a collective
decision with which you disagree, what do you do?
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You are in a public elevator and notice that a senior lawyer is discussing
something that is privileged with a colleague – what do you do?
You are assigned a file that raises an ethical dilemma or conflict with your
personal beliefs – what would you do?
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Top 10
Federal Department of Justice
Interview Tips
1) A DOJ interview is NOT like other firm interviews. The government is
required to maintain consistency and objectivity during the interview
process, which means asking the same questions of all candidates. Don’t
disadvantage yourself by giving your friends advance notice of the
questions. This can also backfire on them, because they might appear too
rehearsed.
2) Know what the DOJ does. Attend an info session, review the Regional
Office Legal Excellence Program website or speak with former/current
students about the type of work we do. Interest in public law is assessed
in the interview, so it never hurts to be enthusiastic!
3) The Statement of Merit on the Legal Excellence Program website lists the
qualities that will be assessed in the interview. It can help you get a sense
of the questions and how to focus your responses.
4) In the interview, it’s okay to take a moment to organize your thoughts and
make a few notes. Two mistakes students make: 1) writing out their entire
answer during an extended period of awkward silence; and 2) launching
right into an answer without thinking about it first, resulting in the number
one interview pitfall: The Ramble.
5) There will be scenario questions designed to assess your judgment in
certain situations. A good answer discusses what you would do in that
situation. A great answer discusses what you would do if that course of
action didn’t work and exhausts all possible options.
6) There will always be a question asking you to brief a case and to discuss
a certain aspect of it. This question allows the interviewers to assess your
legal knowledge and oral communication skills. Prepare before the
interview by familiarizing yourself with a few simple, memorable cases that
are easy to discuss. Don’t just memorize one case: you don’t know if it will
fit within the parameters of the particular question.
7) Answer the questions concisely, but be sure to answer all parts of the
question. It’s okay to ask the interviewer to repeat the question at the
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beginning or at the end of your response to make sure that you covered
everything.
8) Don’t speak too quickly! The interviewers will be writing notes of
everything you say and after 25 interviews, it takes its toll. They are
assessing your ability to represent the Crown in a courtroom setting, so
always be mindful of your audience.
9) Don’t be too nervous: easier said than done, and a moderate amount of
nerves is to be expected. But try to relax in the moments before the
interview. Chat with the other students, listen to music, take deep breaths
and remind yourself that, despite the formal interview, DOJ is an
extremely warm and friendly place. The interviewers are very supportive
and remember all too vividly when we were on the other side of the table.
10) Be yourself. Again, easier said than done. Successful applicants are
always able to answer the questions correctly and articulately, while also
allowing their personality to shine through. We work in a team
environment so it’s important for the interviewers to get a sense of what
you would be like to work with.
The CLCDN would like to thank the Career and Professional Development Office
at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law (Common Law) for the information
contained in this guide, as well as Career Development Office at Dalhousie
University’s Schulich School of Law and Kristy Foreman-Gear,
Counsel/Coordinator, Law Practice Management, Department of Justice Canada,
Vancouver Office for the top 10 tips for DOJ interviews.
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