Hiring & firing – Law Office Manager

PANDEMIC

Employment offers pulled and start dates for law grads uncertain

August 4, 2020 by Barb Manning Grimm

Law schools are reporting rescinded employment offers and law firms report uncertainty about associate start dates. These are key findings from a second round of pulse surveys conducted by the National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP) about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. legal employers, law schools, and JD students. In May 2020, NALP began conducting a series of short “pulse” surveys, releasing the first round of results in June. The surveys are designed to quantify the rapidly evolving changes in the industry. Key findings from the second round of surveys, conducted from June 18-30, 2020, are included in the report. In total, 356 offices completed the legal employers survey, of which 264 held summer programs in 2020, and 167 schools completed the law schools survey. A… . . . read more

TAGGED WITH: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Hiring

TECHNOLOGY

Take advantage of case management software benefits

July 27, 2020 by Barb Manning Grimm

By Elizabeth Miller bio Case management software is now so popular in law firms that it is rare to hear of a firm that does not have it. The problem is that even though firms have the software, they don’t take advantage of all the benefits. Managing incoming leads and cases Give your law firm an advantage over other firms by providing potential clients with an exceptional experience without the need for face to face interaction. Offer your clients e-signature to sign retainer agreements and other documents from anywhere. Digitize your client intake with forms making it efficient and convenient to sign on with your firm. Centralized case details The great thing about case management software is that all client information, communications, time entries and notes are in one place. … . . . read more

TAGGED WITH: Technology, Time tracking

Employment Law Update

Supreme Court ruling extends workplace protections to LGBTQ workers

June 18, 2020 by Jared Edis

By Mike O’Brien bio SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND TRANSGENDER STATUS NOW ARE PROTECTED CLASSES NATIONALLY: Federal civil rights law protects gay, lesbian, and transgender employees, the United States Supreme Court announced June 15 in a landmark ruling. The historic decision will extend workplace anti-discrimination and anti-harassment protections to about 8 million LGBTQ workers nationwide. The ruling also vindicates a position long taken by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). It is a defeat, however, for the Trump administration, which opposed the EEOC. President Trump instructed the Department of Justice to argue that the provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination based on sex did not extend to claims of gender identity and sexual orientation bias. This led to the odd circumstance where two parts of the same government argued for opposite… . . . read more

TAGGED WITH: Compliance, LGBTQ, Termination

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

New overtime rule now in effect

January 20, 2020 by Barb Manning Grimm

By Mike O’Brien bio Jan. 1, 2020 was the deadline to comply with new FLSA overtime rule. At the end of September the Department of Labor issued its long-awaited final rule updating the salary level test for white-collar overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under the new rule, the minimum salary level for exemption is raised from $455 a week to $684 a week, or $35,568 annually. The change marks the first increase in the minimum salary level to take effect in more than 15 years. It is expected to bring overtime eligibility to over a million employees who are ineligible under the current threshold. Although the DOL released a final rule raising the salary level in 2016, the rule was blocked by a federal district court and… . . . read more

TAGGED WITH: Compliance, Employee benefits, FLSA, Hiring, Hiring & firing, Managing staff, Risk management

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE

Pay rates, vacations while recovering, gig economy

November 19, 2019 by Jared Edis

Department of Labor enters final stage of update to ‘regular rate’ rule under FLSA. As we have discussed previously in these updates, the Department of Labor has been working to update the definition of “regular rate” of pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act

TAGGED WITH: Employee benefits, Hiring, Hiring & firing, Risk management

HIRING

Step by step guide to successful lateral hiring

September 27, 2019 by Barb Manning Grimm

Attracting a lateral hire requires more than sending out a request for resumes.
To find the candidate it wants, the firm has to decide on the specific qualifications it…