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You are here: Home / Archives for topics / Working with lawyers
MANAGING STAFF

Use your high performers to engage the rest of the team

January 4, 2021 by

Among the goals of any manager is to create and maintain a high-performance organization. That means you have created a machine that operates at top efficiency, and your employees are engaged. Some organizations don’t believe this really applies to them. Research has suggested that only 25 percent of the typical workforce is engaged. This means that only a fraction of your employees are in tune with your mission, vision, and values. As a high-performance organization, with a larger core group who can be counted on to care about the organization’s success, your results would be much higher. But nothing stays the same. Employees leave for reasons that have nothing to do with job satisfaction, and it can be a challenge to replace former employees.  It can be a challenge to… . . . read more

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INCREASING PROFITS

Can every attorney in your office answer these 10 critical questions for 2021?

December 14, 2020 by

Want to see more profit in 2021? Get each attorney to draw up a practice plan for the year. A plan forces the attorneys to organize their work agenda by focusing on practice development, production, and self-improvement. What’s more, it ensures that everybody does work that furthers the firm’s goals, it keeps the marketing focused, and it keeps the collections in line. Use this 10-point format: First are the hours goals 1 What is the number of hours you will devote to billable work? This forces the attorneys to take a serious look at how they should spend next year’s time. It also forces them to look at their historical performance. It’s not reasonable, for example, for an attorney who has billed 1,400 hours for the past two years to… . . . read more

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HUMAN RESOURCES

5 people problems and how to solve them

December 14, 2020 by

By Lynne Curry bio We can’t guess all the challenges facing us as office managers in this new year, but we can assume that we will be dealing with an old one: people and their personalities. Whether working together virtually or in-person, chances are good you will be dealing with people problems. Here are five common problems and strategies for dealing with them. Stopping a bully senior manager without losing your job Question: I face a situation that has no easy answer and no easy solution. As the office manager and human resources director, I supposedly enforce our corporation’s code of conduct and oversee the human resource issues. I report to the report to the chief operating officer, a bully who runs roughshod over any employee unlucky enough to cross… . . . read more

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MANAGING STAFF

Professionals working remotely clock long and weekend hours

December 3, 2020 by

A new study by global staffing firm Robert Half shows employees are working around the clock while at home. More than half (55 per cent) of professionals who transitioned to a remote setup as a result of the pandemic said they work on the weekend. In addition, one-third (34 per cent) of remote employees reported regularly putting in more than eight hours a day. “Despite the significant benefits of working remotely, such as saving time spent commuting and increased flexibility, it can also lead to putting in longer hours,” said David King, senior district president of Robert Half. “Heavier workloads have become a reality for many professionals during the pandemic, making it more challenging to disconnect while at home. It is critical that employers encourage their teams to take regular… . . . read more

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PRODUCTIVITY

Technical issues and too many participants are biggest virtual meeting pet peeves

November 28, 2020 by

Have you had about enough of video meetings? If so, you’re not alone. A new study by global staffing firm Robert Half shows video calls may be wearing on workers. Almost three-quarters of professionals surveyed (72 per cent) said they participate in virtual meetings. Those respondents reported spending about a quarter of their workday (24 per cent) on camera with business contacts or colleagues. In addition: 44 per cent said they’ve experienced video call fatigue since the start of the pandemic. 59 per cent said video calls can be helpful but are not always necessary. 22 per cent noted that the practicality and novelty of video conferencing has worn off over the past eight months. 15 per cent confirmed they find virtual meetings inefficient and exhausting and prefer to communicate via… . . . read more

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JOB PLACEMENT REPORT

Class of 2019 is the most employed since the Great Recession

September 1, 2020 by

The Class of 2019 experienced the highest employment rate in the dozen years since the start of the Great Recession, according to the National Association for Law Placement, Inc. NALP has released its Employment for the Class of 2019 — Selected Findings, a synopsis of key findings from the upcoming annual Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Law School Graduates. The release of the full Jobs & JDs report is anticipated in October 2020. This year’s Selected Findings show that the Class of 2019 experienced the highest employment rate in 12 years. The overall employment rate for the Class of 2019 was up 0.9 percentage points to 90.3% of graduates for whom employment status was known, compared to 89.4% for the Class of 2018. This marks the highest… . . . read more

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PARTNERSHIP PATTERNS

Study identifies generational similarities, differences in the workplace

July 4, 2020 by

The National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP), in partnership with PP&C Consulting principals Aric Press and Yolanda Cartusciello, has released Multiple Generations in Law Firms: Working Together. The first-of-its-kind study provides insights into some of the generational dynamics at play in the current law firm work setting. The survey gathered responses from 2,473 lawyers—1,394 partners and 1,079 associates during 2019. With members of the Baby Boomer, Gen X, and Millennial generations all working together in today’s law firms and popular culture providing so many tropes and stereotypes for each of these distinct generations, the study seeks to measure some of the similarities and differences in the opinions and attitudes held by partners and associates of a variety of ages. The oldest members of the Millennial generation have become partners… . . . read more

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GOING AHEAD WITH SHORTER SESSIONS

Survey shows COVID-19 impact on summer programs, recruiting, and OCI

July 3, 2020 by

The National Association for Law Placement, Inc. (NALP) has released the results of two short “pulse” surveys about the impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. legal employers, law schools, and JD students. The surveys, conducted in May, were designed to quantify the rapidly evolving changes in the legal profession and the industry as a result of the pandemic. NALP is following up with a second set of surveys to members in the coming weeks. Key findings for legal employers include: • The overwhelming majority of offices (86%) that originally planned to host a 2020 summer program still plan to do so. • Almost two-thirds (64%) of offices reported that their 2020 summer programs will now be 5-6 weeks in length, a considerably shorter period than in recent summers. In 2019 the… . . . read more

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TRAINING & TECHNOLOGY

Proof of tech skills: Everybody’s doing it!

February 13, 2020 by

By Jay Stromberg bio When it comes to professional upward mobility, it’s looking like assessments are where it’s at. According to a recent article in TechCrunch.com, even LinkedIn is getting into the assessment game. “LinkedIn, the social networking service for the working world, is today taking the wraps off its latest effort to provide its users with better tools for presenting their professional selves, and to make the process of recruitment on the platform more effective. It will now offer a new feature called Skills Assessments: short, multiple-choice tests that users can take to verify their knowledge in areas like computer languages, software packages and other work-related skills.” In some ways, the legal industry is ahead of this curve. Ever since the American Bar Association updated their Model Rules in 2012 to include technological… . . . read more

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TRAINING YOUR ATTORNEYS

“I thought you had the baby!” “I thought YOU did!”

January 20, 2020 by

By Jay Stromberg bio Sorry about my alarming headline, but I thought it was the perfect analogy for a topic I want to discuss today. If you’re a parent, you have likely experienced this terrifying moment: You and your spouse look at each other and realize that you both assumed the other one was in charge of the kid(s). A mad scramble ensues and, hopefully, your cherub is playing happily in the backyard. I honestly think this is very similar to what happens in law firms that need to train attorneys and staff to use new technologies: No one wants to be responsible for demanding that attorneys advance their skills. So, no one talks about it and no one takes responsibility. And when attorneys refuse to learn, their secretaries will… . . . read more

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