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Every industry will experience change, and this can create challenges. Indeed, the legal industry is no different. From a growing competitive market to mental health challenges, law firms have a lot of transitioning to do to make sure they can perform at their best in 2021. Here are the common challenges facing law firms and what can be done to tackle them.
2020 has been a year of many challenges and this looks to be the case for many months to come. For those embarking on legal education, the global pandemic is changing the way it normally operates. Those that already have their legal degrees will describe their time at university as traditional. However, this is the year that law schools have been forced to adjust and come into the 21st century. In particular, technology has saved the day for many institutions, as well as their law students.
For far too long, there has been a stigma associated with mental health issues. The stigma kept many attorneys, in high-pressure and demanding jobs, silent about their struggles with mental health problems. Far too many have left the profession, or at least the arena of big law, due to burning out. Burn out was more acceptable than calling it a mental health problem such as anxiety, depression, or any number of other issues that ended the big law careers of many promising attorneys.
There is little question that Biglaw is a drinking culture. Meetings take place over drinks, wins, and losses are celebrated and mourned with alcohol, and firm social events seem to always revolve around the open bar. Contributing to the high rate of alcoholism is the high-stress work environment that marks most Biglaw firms.
Law students who interview with numerous firms before making a final decision can tell you that each firm makes a standard pitch largely undifferent from every other firm of a similar size. If the firm is large, they all try to emphasize the diversity and experience, and if they are small, they pitch the angle of a faster trip up the ladder. The same is true when attracting new clients. If a business shops for new counsel, they are likely to hear the same pitch about why they should choose this firm over and over again.
The American economy tanked fast as soon as closures started rolling out because of the coronavirus pandemic. The country needed a stimulus bill and needed it quickly, and every politician in Washington knew it was in their best political interest to appear bipartisan on the issue. A global pandemic and the tumbling economy was not enough to stop them from padding the bill with ridiculous amounts of money for their pet projects, though.
Performance check-ins can be a formal review or a casual conversation between the parties, but it is essential that they happen frequently. Performace reviews, or check-ins, help attorneys, partners, and legal support staff address problems and acknowledge improvements promptly.
A law firm is a demanding workplace, and each has a very defined culture. Some firms view attorneys who are seeking lateral moves potential problems because they are leaving one firm for another. Those in charge of the hiring process want to a clear understanding of why they are seeking a lateral move.
Trends That Are Changing the Market for Biglaw
Fox Rothschild LLP is officially out of the porn game
Lawyer Stress: Let's Deal with the Root Cause & Not Just Manage the Symptoms
As the deadly COVID-19 pandemic is twisting 2020 beyond all recognition, the visibly overwhelmed legal field is beginning to process its severity.
Many people who choose the law as their career fantasize about working for the large, prestigious firms located in large cities throughout the country. They envision the luxuriant conference rooms where they will make powerhouse deals and the never-ending fast pace of being a rising star in the legal profession. They may realize that they might not start with the large corner office and private paraprofessional staff, but they assume it will one day be part of their rise to success.
Large firms that employ one hundred attorneys or more, typically offer some of the most competitive pay and benefits in the legal industry. They recruit from prestigious law schools and are often the most sought after positions straight out of law school. The thinking, among those in the legal industry, is that if you can make a name for yourself in big law, then your career path is guaranteed an upward trajectory.
Deciding whether to have a female lawyer or a male lawyer represent them in court is a preference that comes down to comfort. Since a client should choose a lawyer they are comfortable with, a study performed by Acritas, owned by Thomson Reuters, found that only 17% of male clients choose female partners to handle their legal matters. In 2009, a small survey of 142 legal secretaries was conducted by a Chicago-Kent law professor. None of the legal secretaries expressed a preference for working with a female partner. Will female lawyers or female partners ever be the preference by male clients or legal staff?
Skill Set vs. Cultural Fit: Which One Wins? Hiring employees is a complicated task and must take into account many variables. When a position opens up, there is usually an established minimum skill set that potential employees need. Beyond the minimum, how much do skill and experience matter versus how well the employee will fit with the company culture.
How to Hire a Lateral Attorney
Finding qualified attorneys and legal staff is one of the most challenging hurdles faced by many law firms. Most law firms value education and training, but real-world experience is what they most need. To further contribute to the difficulty in hiring, there is a drought of young fresh professionals who want to work in large firms.
With fears of a recession looming for the legal industry, record low national unemployment, and an ever-competitive legal market, knowing how to attract attorneys and legal professionals, as well as how to retain attorneys and legal professionals, takes on more significance than in previous decades. In addition to a more competitive environment, a law office must also consider how the needs and desires of top legal talent have changed. If your law office wants to attract and retain top attorneys and legal professionals, it must change its approach. In this article, we're exploring innovative ways law offices can attract and retain top legal talent.
Whether you’re a legal recruiter or a law firm looking to fill attorney jobs or jobs for legal professionals, it’s important to focus on your legal recruiting efforts so that you’re able to attract, as well as retain, top legal talent. After all, law firm jobs aren’t only competitive for legal candidates. They’re also competitive among law firms. As the most trusted resource for both the attorney job search as well as jobs for legal professionals, LawCrossing strives to help legal recruiters and law firms alike improve their legal recruiting efforts. Here are eight best practices you should be using to attract top legal talent.