Strategies that work with sole practitioners are ones that demonstrate an understanding of their particular world. The world of the sole practitioner is different from the lawyer in the large firm. Same profession, different lives. The sole practitioner must worry about the business end of the practice, so the more accounting, balancing, bookkeeping, and/or cash handling you have done the more practical and "real world" you will appear.
The sole practitioner needs clients coming through the door, and values people who have had exposure to the public or been in customer service situations. A background in which you have learned that "the customer is always right" actually has meaning to a sole practitioner. Although you will not be relied upon to get clients or keep them, the sole practitioner is often concerned that clients will be impressed with your professionalism, appearance, and conduct. In some practices, the main support paralegal has close and continual contact with many key clients, in contrast to a large law firm where client contact is often minimal.
Successful sole practitioners have probably stood at the copy machine until midnight once or twice. They expect the same flexibility from you. Sole practitioners often make their own coffee and prepare their own documents. They have purchased their own equipment, or leased it. The sole practitioner does not see work separated out like a union shop in which certain individuals will not do this and others can only do that; he or she sees an end result-getting work out the door and keeping clients content. Work is what everyone pushes out the door. A sole practitioner knows how to interview for the quality of flexibility. They will ask "what if" questions and hypotheticals to determine what kind of worker you will be. Expect questions such as:
- What do you consider your most important attribute as an employee?
- Are you willing to make filings in court occasionally or run an errand or two?
- You probably have some favorite practice areas. How would you feel about working in a general practice like mine?
Approach: Friendly and Personal, Even (If You Dare) in Person
In general, you will find handing out resumes in person from office to office walking down Main Street to be an unsuccessful and discouraging exercise. You get so few interviews for all of your effort. Applicants with resumes are generally stopped at the front desk by the receptionist. However, it might work with the sole practitioner.
One paralegal candidate discovered that if she called between 5:00 and 5:30 in the afternoon, the attorney would answer the phone. She concluded that a visit might have a good result. She walked into a law office in a small shopping center at 5:15 one day and struck up a conversation with the only person there-the sole practitioner herself, sitting at the front desk, writing a note. She got a short friendly interview that led to an offer three weeks later.
Strategy for Winning over a Sole Practitioner
Let us assume you have made contact, you have the proper qualifications, and you are being considered along with other candidates. The winning candidate will probably be (all other factors being relatively equal) the one who builds enthusiasm in the sole practitioner about his or her practice and the role of the paralegal in it. You must:
- Be persuasive and convincing about your flexibility and enthusiasm.
- Ask questions about the practice. Build a level of genuine interest in the sole practitioner's practice areas. Convey your excitement for this new profession. Generate a sense of team spirit. Remember, the sole practitioner is succeeding without a full team of cohorts and equals; what little team they have is very important to them.
Looking like an enthusiastic potential team member and exhibiting flexibility are attractive features to any size law firm, but the sole practitioner has a personal attachment to their practice unlike members of larger firms. The key attraction then is not only your skills and enthusiasm but, most significantly, your ability to communicate a strongly felt desire to work for that person as a professional.
Approaching a sole practitioner on your feet with a cover letter and resume in hand takes a degree of boldness that most do not have, and it may seem to be a nonproductive use of time. In many cases it is. But because the sole practitioner is often in a small office, is more accessible, and is often more egalitarian and less stuffy than his or her big firm counterpart, showing up in person with a resume and a cover letter properly addressed could get you an interview.
