Effective Work Sample Exercises for Hiring a Corporate Counsel

The Corporate Counsel role is pivotal to an organization's success, serving as the legal guardian who ensures compliance while enabling business growth. Finding the right candidate requires more than reviewing credentials and conducting standard interviews; it demands seeing potential hires in action through carefully designed work samples.

Traditional interviews often fail to reveal how candidates will perform in real-world legal scenarios. A candidate may articulate impressive theoretical knowledge but struggle when faced with the nuanced challenges of contract negotiation, risk assessment, or explaining complex legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders. Work samples bridge this gap by simulating actual job responsibilities.

For Corporate Counsel candidates, practical exercises reveal critical capabilities: their legal analysis skills, negotiation tactics, ability to balance risk with business objectives, and effectiveness in communicating legal concepts to diverse audiences. These skills cannot be adequately assessed through resume screening or standard behavioral questions alone.

The exercises outlined below are designed to evaluate the essential competencies required for a successful Corporate Counsel: strategic thinking, effective communication, collaboration, and adaptability. By implementing these work samples, you'll gain valuable insights into how candidates approach real legal challenges they'll face in your organization.

When properly executed, these exercises not only help identify the most qualified candidates but also give applicants a realistic preview of the role, ensuring alignment between their expectations and actual job responsibilities. This transparency leads to better hiring decisions and improved retention rates.

Activity #1: Contract Review and Negotiation Exercise

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to identify legal risks in contracts and negotiate favorable terms—core responsibilities for any Corporate Counsel. It tests their attention to detail, legal knowledge, negotiation skills, and ability to balance legal protection with business objectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a sample vendor or partnership agreement (4-5 pages) with 8-10 deliberately problematic clauses that present varying levels of risk.
• Include issues related to liability, intellectual property, termination rights, and compliance requirements.
• Designate a team member to play the role of the counterparty's counsel during the negotiation portion.
• Allow 45 minutes for review and 30 minutes for negotiation.
• Provide the candidate with relevant business context (e.g., "This is a critical vendor relationship" or "This partnership is strategically important but not essential").

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided agreement and identify problematic clauses that present legal or business risks.
• Prepare a brief summary of the top 5 issues that need to be addressed, with recommendations for each.
• Participate in a mock negotiation call with the "opposing counsel" to resolve the identified issues.
• Balance legal protection with business objectives based on the context provided.
• Be prepared to explain your reasoning for prioritizing certain issues over others.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the negotiation, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "You effectively protected our IP rights while maintaining a collaborative tone") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how you might address the liability cap more directly").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to reflect and then renegotiate one of the problematic clauses, incorporating the feedback.
• Observe how receptive they are to feedback and how effectively they implement it.

Activity #2: Compliance Risk Assessment

This exercise tests a candidate's ability to identify compliance risks and develop practical solutions—a critical skill for ensuring the company operates within legal boundaries while achieving business objectives.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a brief case study (1-2 pages) describing a new business initiative or product launch that raises potential compliance issues in areas relevant to your industry (e.g., data privacy, consumer protection, industry-specific regulations).
• Include enough detail about the initiative to allow for meaningful analysis but keep it concise.
• Provide relevant background information about your company's risk tolerance and compliance priorities.
• Allow 60 minutes for the candidate to complete their assessment.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the case study and identify the top 3-5 compliance risks associated with the proposed initiative.
• For each risk, provide:

1. A brief explanation of the legal issue and potential consequences
2. A practical recommendation to mitigate the risk
3. An assessment of how your recommendation balances compliance requirements with business objectives

• Prepare a one-page executive summary suitable for presentation to non-legal stakeholders.
• Be prepared to discuss your analysis and recommendations in a 20-minute follow-up conversation.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "Your analysis of the data privacy implications was thorough and practical") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how you might make your recommendations more actionable for the product team").
• Ask the candidate to revise their executive summary based on the feedback, focusing specifically on making their recommendations more concrete or better aligned with business objectives.
• Allow 15 minutes for this revision.

Activity #3: Cross-Functional Communication Exercise

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal colleagues—an essential skill for effective collaboration across departments.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a scenario where a significant legal or regulatory change affects your business operations (e.g., new privacy regulations, industry-specific compliance requirements).
• Create brief profiles of three different stakeholders who need to understand the implications: a C-suite executive, a product manager, and a sales representative.
• Provide relevant background materials about the legal change (can be a real or hypothetical regulatory development).
• Allow 45 minutes for preparation and 30 minutes for the role-play discussions.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the materials about the legal/regulatory change and understand its implications for the business.
• Prepare tailored communication approaches for each stakeholder that:

1. Explain the legal requirements in terms relevant to their role
2. Outline specific actions they need to take
3. Address likely questions or concerns from their perspective

• Participate in three 10-minute role-play conversations with team members playing each stakeholder.
• Adjust your communication style and content appropriately for each audience while maintaining legal accuracy.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role-plays, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "You effectively translated technical requirements into business language for the executive") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider providing more concrete examples when explaining concepts to the sales team").
• Ask the candidate to redo the conversation with one of the stakeholders, incorporating the feedback.
• Observe how they adapt their communication approach based on the feedback.

Activity #4: Legal Strategy Case Study

This exercise assesses a candidate's strategic thinking abilities and how they approach complex legal issues that impact business strategy—crucial for a Corporate Counsel who will help shape the company's approach to legal matters.

Directions for the Company:

• Develop a case study about a strategic business decision with significant legal implications (e.g., entering a new market, responding to a competitor's patent filing, addressing a potential compliance issue).
• Include relevant background information about the company's position, objectives, and constraints.
• Provide any necessary legal context (e.g., relevant regulations, case law, or industry standards).
• Allow candidates to prepare for 24 hours before their presentation and discussion.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the case study and develop a comprehensive legal strategy that addresses the situation.
• Prepare a 15-minute presentation that includes:

1. Analysis of the key legal issues and risks
2. Recommended approach with 2-3 options and a clear recommendation
3. Implementation plan with specific action items
4. Metrics for measuring success and compliance

• Your strategy should balance legal protection with business objectives and demonstrate practical thinking.
• Be prepared for a 20-minute Q&A discussion about your approach and reasoning.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation and discussion, provide feedback on one strength (e.g., "Your analysis of the competitive implications was particularly insightful") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider how you might address the timeline constraints more explicitly").
• Ask the candidate to spend 10 minutes revising one section of their strategy based on the feedback.
• Discuss how their revised approach addresses the feedback and demonstrates adaptability.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should we evaluate candidates' performance on these exercises?

Create a standardized rubric for each exercise that aligns with the key competencies for the role. For example, for the contract negotiation exercise, evaluate legal analysis, negotiation tactics, business acumen, and communication skills. Use a consistent rating scale (e.g., 1-5) and have multiple evaluators when possible to reduce bias.

Should we use the same exercises for candidates with different levels of experience?

You can use the same basic exercises but adjust expectations based on experience level. For more junior candidates, focus on fundamental legal analysis and communication skills. For senior candidates, place greater emphasis on strategic thinking and business alignment. Consider providing more guidance to less experienced candidates.

How do we ensure these exercises don't take too much of the candidate's time?

Be transparent about time expectations upfront. The in-office exercises (Activities 1-3) should fit within a half-day interview. For Activity 4, which requires advance preparation, consider compensating candidates for their time, especially if they're currently employed. Always respect candidates' time by being well-prepared and adhering to the schedule.

What if our company doesn't have the internal legal expertise to evaluate responses?

If you don't have internal legal expertise, consider involving your outside counsel in the evaluation process. Alternatively, focus more on the communication aspects and business judgment demonstrated in the exercises, which non-legal executives can evaluate. You might also engage a legal consultant specifically to help with the hiring process.

How can we adapt these exercises for remote interviews?

All these exercises can be conducted remotely with minimal adjustments. Use video conferencing for the interactive portions and shared documents for written components. For the contract negotiation, use screen sharing to review the document together. Consider breaking longer exercises into separate sessions to avoid video fatigue.

Can these exercises be modified for different industries or company sizes?

Absolutely. Tailor the specific scenarios, contracts, and compliance issues to reflect your industry's regulatory environment and the scale of your legal operations. A startup might focus more on versatility and business partnership, while a larger company might emphasize specialized expertise and process management.

The right Corporate Counsel can transform your legal function from a cost center to a strategic business partner. By incorporating these practical work samples into your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' capabilities and fit for your organization than traditional interviews alone can provide.

Ready to elevate your entire hiring process? Yardstick offers AI-powered tools to help you create comprehensive job descriptions, generate targeted interview questions, and develop complete interview guides tailored to your specific needs. Check out our sample Corporate Counsel job description at https://yardstick.team/job-description/corporate-counsel for more insights into this critical role.

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