????職業(yè)心理學家、法律博客The People's Therapist的博主威爾?邁爾沃弗也曾經(jīng)在Sullivan & Cromwell工作過,。他認為,，律所可以只聘用“老黃牛”來確保員工效力更長的時間,。這些人“能承擔漫長的工作時間,，能被金錢和勝任合伙人的前景鼓舞?！彼堰@些人稱作“書呆子”,、“極客”和“呆子”，“沒有其他什么興趣”,。

????很多律所都樂意招這樣的人,，但Williams & Connolly會定期具體分析，尋找那些不僅能給客戶,、也能給陪審團留下積極印象的律師,。“只會高談闊論理論和學術的人會在這兒面臨更大的挑戰(zhàn),，”Williams & Connolly的招聘合伙人麥格?基利表示,。基利稱,，事實上,，她的律所是在尋找“能在實務和個人層面進行辯駁的人”,。

????當然，候選人對于從事法律行業(yè)也應該真正有興趣,?！窘ㄗh：不要在面試中提起《法律與秩序》（ Law & Order）?！堪催~爾沃弗的話說,，要的就是那些能高高興興地“坐下來，爭論如何更好地起草某些條款”的人,。

????加州大學伯克利分校(UC Berkeley)教授瑪約利?舒爾茨和謝爾頓?澤得克2008年9月的一份研究報告指出,，基利說的有道理。報告試圖幫助法學院發(fā)掘日后可能大有前途的律師,，對眾多可能預示未來律師職業(yè)能力的“預兆”進行了分析,。典型的“好學者”標準，比如LSAT得分以及本科平均分,，并不是反映日后律師職業(yè)能力的可靠指標,。事實上，情景判斷測試,、個人經(jīng)歷以及7種特定人格特質(zhì)——野心,，適應力，社交能力,，謹慎度,，人際敏感度、好打探和學習方法——可以更好地預測應聘者日后作為律師的成功程度,。

????當然,，大多數(shù)律所都愿意聘用這些擅長社交、好打探的律師,，但要在眾多的應聘者中找到這些人并不容易,。法律專業(yè)的學生們通常不會向面試考官承認，他們不喜歡拼命工作,，他們對從事法律行業(yè)沒有熱情,。

????邁爾沃弗指出，有幾種背景可能預示未來會在大律所中獲得成功：第一代律師,，父輩不是最高法院大法官，也不是什么大律所的合伙人,；第一或第二代移民,；以及來自經(jīng)濟條件一般的家庭。她說,，這些人進來的時候想法往往不一樣,。他們不會把獲得金錢和成功視為必然,，他們想的是“我必須要努力賺取這些，走出自己的路,?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng)）

????Psychotherapist Will Meyerhofer, a former associate at Sullivan & Cromwell and author of the legal blog The People's Therapist, thinks firms can keep associates around longer by only hiring people he calls "workhorses." These are the ones "who can just handle the brutal hours, who are very motivated by the money and making partner." He describes these people as "nerdy," "geeky," and "dorky," and with "fewer outside interests."

????But while plenty of firms will happily snap up those recruits, Williams & Connolly regularly takes cases to trial and looks for attorneys who will not only make a positive impression on clients, but on juries as well. "Someone who can only talk on a purely theoretical, academic level, is going to be more challenged here," says Williams & Connolly hiring partner Meg Keeley. Instead, Keeley says, her firm seeks "someone who can make arguments on a practical and personal level."

????And, of course, candidates should also have a real excitement about the actual practice of law. (Tip: Don't mention Law & Order in an interview.) These are the people that Meyerhofer says will happily "sit and argue over the best ways to draft certain provisions."

????A September, 2008 paper from UC Berkeley professors Marjorie Shultz and Sheldon Zedeck suggests that Keeley is onto something. Attempting to help law schools identify promising future lawyers, the report's authors examined a number of "predictors" of lawyering effectiveness. Typical measures of "geekiness" like LSAT scores and undergraduate grade point averages were not reliable indicators of later lawyering abilities. Instead, situational judgment tests, biographical information, and seven specific personality traits -- ambition, adjustment, sociability, prudence, interpersonal sensitivity, inquisitiveness, and learning approach -- could better forecast an applicant's later success as an attorney.

????Of course, most firms would love to hire these social and inquisitive lawyers, but picking them out of the overflowing candidate pool is not always easy. Law students don't usually confess to their interviewers that they don't like to work hard or have no passion for practicing law.

????Woldow points to a few specific biographical indicators of future Big Law superstars: first-generation lawyers without legacies of Supreme Court justices and Big Law partners; first or second-generation immigrants; and people from modest economic backgrounds. These people, she says, often come in with different expectations. Instead of thinking they are due money and success, they think, "'I have to earn it and make my way.'"