Legal support staff are essential to any law firm or legal department. Finding the right staff can help legal practitioners thrive, while hiring the wrong ones can lead to disaster.
Often, an organization that needs a new member of the legal support staff has little time to meander through piles of resumes or schedule leisurely interviews. When time is of the essence, how can an organization help ensure it finds the right legal support staff? Talk to your recruiter, and keep your eyes open for these five common red flags when hiring legal support staff:
- They seem uncertain about the practice areas you’ll need them to cover. Practice-area knowledge is crucial for legal support staff. While they shouldn’t be expected to have the same expertise as the lawyers on staff, they should know enough about the practice areas they’ll be exposed to in order to carry out their work effectively and efficiently. This is especially true in practice areas that have specialized or unusual rules of procedure.
- Their “follow-through” is lacking. Legal support staff are relied upon to make the phone calls, send the follow-up emails, prepare documents and other information, and to meet deadlines. A candidate who fails to follow through on promises like scheduling interviews, sending in application materials, or staying in touch may also lack the “follow-through” needed to succeed on the job.
- They have issues with confidentiality. Keeping client information confidential is among the highest priorities in a law firm or legal department, and it should become second nature for any experienced legal support staff member. Beware any candidate whose past indicates difficulties protecting client information.
- They claim never to have made a mistake or cannot explain how they fixed one. Mistakes are inevitable in any field, including legal support services. Candidates who cannot discuss their mistakes candidly and with an emphasis on how they addressed the problem in order to prevent it in the future may be hiding something, or they may simply lack the self-awareness and self-confidence to discuss their work.
- Their values or work style don’t align with your firm or department culture. Even the most qualified and organized legal support team member will struggle in an organization that doesn’t “fit” with his or her values or approach to work. Make sure this is a place where the candidate will perform well, so the organization can get the best work from the candidate.
At Kent Legal, our experienced recruiters strive to match qualified legal support candidates with each of our clients’ specific needs within the greater Toronto area. Contact us today to learn more.
