Lazard Interview Guide 2026

Lazard has a sophisticated, intellectual culture that attracts analytically minded bankers. The firm is known for its global perspective and focus on the most complex advisory situations. Hours are demanding but the culture tends to be more cerebral than aggressive. Training is excellent and exit opportunities are top-tier, particularly to mega-fund PE and hedge funds.

Lazard's 2026 IB recruiting process follows the structure of other elite boutiques but with a few distinctive features rooted in the firm's international footprint and traditional culture. Recruiting opens in February-March of sophomore year for U.S. summer analyst positions, with separate processes for Paris and London-based offices.

The first-round interview is balanced between behavioral and technical, lasting 30-45 minutes with one or two interviewers. Technical questions at first round are firmly in elite boutique territory: full DCF walk-through with WACC derivation, accretion-dilution mechanics, EV/equity bridge with the standard adjustments and one or two curveballs, LBO intuition. Restructuring group candidates should expect Rx-specific questions even at first round.

The Superday is conducted in person at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for New York final rounds, with four to six interviews over a half or full day. Lazard Superdays involve senior banker participation from second-round onwards, and final-round Superdays include at least one Vice Chairman or Senior Managing Director interview. A distinctive Lazard interview pattern is the international or sovereign question: 'how would you think about advising a European government on a privatization,' or 'what makes cross-border M&A more complex than domestic.'

Behavioral evaluation at Lazard is weighted heavily and the firm screens for what bankers internally describe as 'gravitas and judgment.' Common behavioral questions: 'tell me about a time you operated in an unfamiliar cultural context,' 'describe the most complex problem you have worked on,' 'what is your view on a recent geopolitical or macro event affecting markets.' The international flavor of Lazard means that candidates with genuine cross-cultural experience, language skills, or international academic backgrounds are particularly well-positioned. Decisions typically come within a week.

**The old-school senior partner** — a Vice Chairman or long-tenured Managing Director, will conduct a discursive interview focused on judgment, market views, and intellectual seriousness. Strong performance looks like genuine engagement and earned views rather than recited talking points.

**The restructuring specialist** — only encountered in Rx group interviews, will ask detailed questions on Chapter 11 process, distressed valuation, debt-for-equity exchange mechanics, creditor priority, and recent restructuring cases.

**The international sophisticate** — often based in or associated with Lazard's European offices, will probe cross-cultural awareness, language skills, and understanding of how M&A works differently in European jurisdictions.

**The modeling rigorist** — typically a VP or senior associate, will run a technical interview with detailed accretion-dilution, DCF mechanics, and valuation methodology questions, with particular attention to assumption-defense rather than just mechanical correctness.

**The sovereign and policy interviewer** — a senior banker from the sovereign or government advisory practice, will ask about macro and policy themes; this is one of the few interview contexts where a sophisticated view on monetary policy or geopolitics is genuinely useful.

Lazard has remained an active advisor on M&A and restructuring mandates through the 2024-2025 cycle, with particularly notable franchise strength on the restructuring side given the credit cycle. On the M&A side, public roles have included multiple cross-border European transactions and continued sovereign and government advisory mandates that the firm has historically dominated.

On the restructuring side, Lazard has been a lead advisor on multiple high-profile bankruptcy and out-of-court restructuring mandates as the wave of leveraged credit stress that began in 2023 continued into 2025 — sectors of focus have included healthcare services, retail, real estate, and parts of consumer. Lazard has also continued its sovereign advisory work, including roles on debt restructuring mandates for emerging market sovereigns navigating macro stress.

For interview prep, candidates should be conversant on the broader restructuring cycle dynamics, on cross-border M&A complexity (regulatory review divergence, foreign exchange considerations), and have a view on at least one or two Lazard-advised situations.