Vol.
72, No. 3, March 1999
Risk Management
Help Wanted: Law Firm Risk Manager
Finding a top-notch assistant who can act
as your safety net is becoming increasingly difficult. Learn
how to find the best employees from the shrinking labor pool
in the first of this two-part series on recruiting and retaining
support staff.
By Ann Massie Nelson
Open the Sunday
classifieds to the help wanted section and you will see it's
a job seeker's market. Signing bonuses, generous benefits
and promises of good pay, advancement, and a fun work environment
are increasingly common as employers try to tempt workers to
join their team. With the state unemployment rate averaging 2
percent, the smaller law firm looking for a sharp assistant is
hard pressed to compete.
The composition of the labor pool is changing as well. "No
one wants to grow up to be a legal secretary anymore, even though
the salary is excellent for someone without a college degree,"
says Carole Hahm of Carole Hahm & Co., consultants to the
legal profession. "The days of the loyal, career secretary
who could practically practice law are history."
Monica Hansen, office manager at the Madison firm of Solheim
Billing & Grimmer S.C., agrees. "Five years ago, we
could advertise for an experienced legal secretary and receive
several applications. Now, we look for people who show initiative
and problem-solving skills, and we give them the legal training."
Concurrently, lawyers are embracing technology that allows
them to prepare written documents, complete forms, and schedule
time-sensitive work with less reliance on support staff. "With
clients' demands to keep fees down, you have to find ways
to operate more economically," Hansen notes. "You cannot
afford to have a one-to-one ratio; one assistant may work for
two, three, or four attorneys."
Technology alone does not create efficiency, however. The
lawyer who is not proficient with technology cannot justify billing
clients the full hourly rate for clerical tasks. Furthermore,
the ideal assistant does what no computer can do: acts as your
firm's designated risk manager to catch errors and omissions
before they result in potential malpractice claims.
How does a law firm find the ideal assistant in the current
job market? Here are some tips.
Create an announcement that will attract the right candidates.
Chances are your future assistant is already employed, so
your classified ad or job posting needs to capture the casual
reader's attention and invite further inquiry. For starters,
the position title should reflect the professional responsibilities
the job entails. Avoid titles such as "office help,"
"secretary," "clerk," or "Person Friday."
"Most employment ads are either too general or too specific,"
Hahm says. For example, an ad that describes your law firm in
glowing detail but fails to adequately describe the position
is unlikely to attract many qualified candidates. On the other
hand, when you list a half dozen software programs in which you
expect proficiency, you prompt skilled candidates to disqualify
themselves.
Key phrases to use in advertising for an assistant are "highly
organized," "detail-oriented," "problem-solving
skills," "professional communications ability,"
"enjoys working with clients," "opportunity for
growth," and "experience with word processing and time
and billing software."
A real carrot to use is "flexible hours" or "willing
to consider part time." "There's a big untapped
market of people who are interested in part-time employment,"
Hahm notes.
Get the word out.
Ask your newspaper to help you create and place an ad that
gives you the most exposure for your dollar. Sunday newspaper
classified and display (boxed) ads generally draw a higher readership
than weekdays. Place the ad in both the office/clerical and professional/technical
sections. Inquire about the publishing schedule for special career
or business sections; you might reach a wider audience if you
can wait a month.
Consider advertising in newspapers and magazines other than
your daily newspaper, including those published for the legal
profession, minorities, seniors,
and college students. (Hansen's firm also posts job announcements
at the local
technical school and universities.) Word-of-mouth is the oldest
and most successful form of advertising. Be careful to avoid
raiding other law firms for employees; not only will you risk
the ire of your colleagues, you may find yourself saddled with
a conflict of interest.
Screen applicants carefully.
With the standard two-week notice of resignation, many law
firms scramble to find a replacement assistant. Hahm has seen
law firms so desperate to hire someone that they "want to
believe the best about a candidate, even when there are obvious
shortcomings."
Study the cover letters and resumes for organization, grammar,
and spelling ability. Would you feel confident asking this person
to write a letter to your clients? If possible, personally telephone
the top candidates to schedule interviews and evaluate the applicants'
telephone communications skills. Does the candidate sound professional?
Enthusiastic about the job? Again, ask yourself if you would
feel confident having this person represent your firm on the
telephone.
Some lawyers rely on an employment agency to locate and screen
candidates for them. Be aware that agency commissions run between
18 and 33 percent of the first year's salary. "If the
person the agency sends doesn't work out, you may be out
of luck. The agency may send a replacement, but no refund,"
Hahm says.
Take your time interviewing.
Admit it: You spend more time with your coworkers than you
do with your family, so take some time to become acquainted with
candidates, not just as job applicants but as people. Don't
be so eager to hire someone that you fail to ask the questions
that a human resource professional would ask: Why are you considering
leaving your current position? Can you explain the three-year
gap in your employment history? How would your current employer
describe your work ethic?
"Lawyers tend to talk too much in interviews," Hahm
says. "Ask open-ended questions that invite the person to
talk about himself or herself."
Corporate human resource departments often use a checklist
to make sure they ask the same questions of every prospective
employee. Following the interview, rate each candidate on the
qualities you are searching for, such as technical skills, experience,
professionalism, attitude, and personal communication skills.
Note on the form if the candidate was punctual and dressed appropriately
for an interview. A rating form is particularly helpful if you
are interviewing several candidates or have more than one person
involved in the interviewing process.
Finally, check references. "Lawyers say, 'No one
is going to tell us the truth.' But references are rarely
reluctant to say good things about a person. If they won't
comment, that's a danger sign," Hahm advises. Some
corporations have a strict policy against giving references.
Make an offer.
The economic laws of supply and demand apply to salaries,
so know what the market rates are for assistants in your area
before you make an offer. Check the classifieds, ask your colleagues
at other firms, or consult the annual salary and benefits survey
of Wisconsin Association of Legal Administrators. (Note: Only
firms with WALA members are surveyed.) An informal survey conducted
at the Law Practice Symposium Breakfast at the State Bar Midwinter
Convention in January found salaries ranged from $15,600 to $30,000
(median salary $20,800) for assistants with three to five years
of legal experience.
|
Ann Massie Nelson
is director of communications at Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance
Co. Past risk management columns appear on the WILMIC
web site, with permission of the State Bar of Wisconsin. |
Hahm says a candidate should not change jobs for less than
a 10 percent increase in salary. She cautions lawyers to be prepared
to defend a new employee's salary. "In a firm with
three or four staff people, they will know what each person makes.
You have to have some parity or you will soon be filling another
position."
"I believe it's a mistake to underpay people, but
money isn't everything," Hansen says. "Flexibility,
fun and interesting work, an inclusive atmosphere where the attorneys
involve them in solving clients' problems, seeing (not just
being told) that their work is important - all these factors
play a critical role in creating an atmosphere where people want
to work."
See the June issue for the next installment in the "Help
wanted" series: How law firms can retain staff.
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