Now that the summer is over and you're facing the final quarter, it's time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Here are some important tasks you need to address now to ensure that you finish the year strong and are realistically prepared for next year. 1. Plan your staffing Start thinking about your staffing requirements for the coming year. Will you be adding another … [Read more...] about To-Dos: Your September office checklist
Hiring
Cutting costs? What worked in 2008 won’t work today
When money is tight, firm administrators start rushing to make decisions to save the bottom line, perhaps relying on strategies that saw the firm through the recession. But hold on, cautions Peter A. Giuliani of Smock Law Firm Consultants in Weston, CT. These decisions have to be made with long-term survival in mind. And the cost-cutting approaches that worked for firms during … [Read more...] about Cutting costs? What worked in 2008 won’t work today
Mind-map your way toward creating a great employee handbook
Sitting down with pen and paper and freely jotting down ideas may not sound like the best path toward creating a well-crafted employee handbook, but it's a great place to start. That free-flowing process, called mind-mapping, unleashes the creative part of your brain and is far more effective than writing a content outline for your handbook, according to writing coach and … [Read more...] about Mind-map your way toward creating a great employee handbook
3 onboarding mistakes that put retention at risk
By Dina Eisenberg bio This is a tight market for legal professionals. The demand for paralegals is expected to rise 8% by 2022. If you've found the paralegal, legal assistant, or other legal professional that you want to add to your team, it makes perfect sense to create a remarkable, meaningful onboarding experience so you can retain your great find. Today's legal … [Read more...] about 3 onboarding mistakes that put retention at risk
How to hire stellar staff for your law office
Law offices are busy places, with everyone running around at top speed trying to complete a multitude of tasks. But if hiring law office employees is one of your tasks and you don't take the time to do so properly, you are doing your firm a disservice, according to Diane Camacho, founder of DLC Consulting Services, LLC, in San Francisco. Before sending out enquiries and … [Read more...] about How to hire stellar staff for your law office
How to detect a lie, especially when it comes from a job applicant
Lots of lying goes on in job interviews. Some management professionals estimate that as many as 70% of job applications carry some sort of misrepresentation. And business losses to fraud from dishonest applicants have been shown to be as high as $600 billion a year. Besides verifying the resume, the best way to separate fact from fiction is to know the signs of a lie, says … [Read more...] about How to detect a lie, especially when it comes from a job applicant
10 ways managers are improving their law firms
Ah, the woes of running a law office. You know them well: Reams of reports, scheduling squabbles, technology tangles, and so much more. It takes a lot of skill, patience, and strategy to make a law office run smoothly—plus a little bit of help from others who know your pain. That must be why the Reader Tips section of our website is so popular. It contains dozens of solutions … [Read more...] about 10 ways managers are improving their law firms
Orientation program sends new hires in the right direction
Staff orientation ensures a good start on the job. No matter what the work, the employer/employee relationship is made or broken in the first 90 days, says the director of administration at a 37-attorney office in California. It's during those first three months that people conclude either "I've made a good decision" or "What have I gotten myself into?" So to point new … [Read more...] about Orientation program sends new hires in the right direction
Entry-level law firm recruiting activity remains strong
The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) has released its annual Perspectives on 2018 Law Student Recruiting report, showing that law firm recruiting activity in 2018 was brisk, with offer rates coming out of summer programs reaching an historic high. On many other metrics, Big Law Recruiting volume and practices resembled those measured before the recession. The full … [Read more...] about Entry-level law firm recruiting activity remains strong
6 ways to optimize your recruitment efforts
Law firms are feeling the effects of today's talent shortage. More than three in 10 lawyers (31 percent) recently surveyed by Robert Half Legal said recruiting highly skilled legal professionals is the greatest practice management challenge facing their firm. Caseload or workflow management ranked second, with 19 percent of the survey response. These concerns come at a time … [Read more...] about 6 ways to optimize your recruitment efforts