When a new employee starts at your law firm, it is important to set the tone on the first day. First impressions do indeed matter a great deal for a new employee in terms of whether the hire will be successful. As I talked about in a previous article, law firms do not have a…
Category: Recruiting
Trimming the fat from your law firm budget
As the end of the year approaches, you should take the time to reflect on the yearly law firm budget. Reflect on the good that has happened and on the areas where you fell short. After looking at the revenue that was brought into the firm, you must break down where those funds went. Were…
Us versus them mentality in a law firm
If you are a law firm manager or owner, you want your law firm to succeed. To succeed, you generally need everybody moving in the same direction. Whether the issue is the quality of the legal work being performed to the business aspects of the firm, you want your entire firm on the same page….
Law Firm Recruiting and Job Advertisements
When lawyers and law firms would look to make hires, they traditionally post a job advertisement. They would then review the resumes submitted and hire the best candidate. In the legal industry, posting job advertisements is still important. It is still important to post job advertisements in various places, from your local bars, SmartRecruiters, ZipRecruiter,…
Shrinking law school classes effecting law firms
In case you have not been paying attention, law school classes have been shrinking for some time now. The decline in the size of law school classes is widespread — and is not something that is isolated to specific schools or regions. Law firms that are excelling are well aware of this trend and are…
Open source program for designing advertisements
If you are putting out law firm advertisements in magazines, newspapers, or even online, putting these advertisements together can take a lot of time and skill. Some of the programs many use to put together these advertisements can be quite expensive. For many law firms, the cost, or recurring cost, of these programs can be…
Applicants who reference social activities in job interviews
Interviewing applicants for law firm jobs is tough. You have to sit and listen hard to the answers and questions of applicants. You have to attempt to read between the lines to get to the heart of an employee. What are they looking for in a job experience? Why do they want to work for…
Avoiding the me-monsters in the hiring process
Recruiting new employees in a law firm is an important task. It is vital that when you make hires, you get the right employees. Whether it’s a lawyer, paralegal, or other administrative staff member, you want employees who are selfless and care about the firm’s clients, the firm itself, and other employees. During the interview…
Promote from within or hire from the outside?
In any law firm, positions are going to open from time to time that need to be filled. It could be that somebody departs, and an important position needs to be filled. It could be that your firm is growing and you are creating a new, important position within your law firm that needs to…
Asking Open-Ended Questions in Interviews
Most attorneys probably understand that they should ask open-ended questions on direct examination. During cross-examination, that is generally the time to ask leading questions. A job interview is much like a direct examination, so open-ended questions in interviews are preferable. A good job interview consists of what, where, when, why, and how questions. The purpose…
Experience versus personality in law firm hires?
In a previous blog entry, I discussed the importance of making experienced law firm hires. Applicants who have experience and experience in the areas of law in which your law firm practices can have a positive impact on your law firm. It is certainly helpful to have new employees who are able to hit the…
The Law Firm Hiring Process
Periodically, any law firm is going to have a job open up. In some cases, the position might be important and needs to be filled expeditiously. Cementing the law firm hiring process is critical to the success of the law firm. The better the hire that is made, the better it is for the clients…