Lawyer Center

If your law firm needs to hire an attorney, chances are that you already know what you are looking for in terms of the person’s experience and credentials. However, actually finding the right person often requires more than the mere placement of hiring ads. Law firms that conduct a traditional hiring process often waste precious time interviewing candidates whose experience and credentials don’t read as well in person as they do on paper. As a result, many law firms turn to legal staffing companies and litigation services providers to narrow a pool of candidates to only those candidates whose credentials and experience will meet the demands of a real legal setting. But in addition to determining the working knowledge of an attorney’s experience and credentials, legal staffing companies also take the guesswork out of hiring attorneys on the basis of other important factors, such as salary requirements, personal traits and dedication to the job.

Salary Requirements

One of the worst parts of the interview process at large is the discussion of salary. Because companies want to save as much money as possible and potential employees want to earn as much money as possible, finding a middle ground that benefits both parties is often like walking on egg shells, especially for jobs where employees’ salary is determined in part by their ability to earn an employer money. Because attorneys’ salaries can be predicated as much on their qualitative abilities as their quantitative abilities, establishing a set salary range before interviews begin is ideal. By extensively interviewing attorneys face-to-face, legal staffing companies can arrive at attorneys’ realistic salary expectations, allowing law firms to interview candidates whose salary requirements do not conflict with their financials.

Personal Traits

During the interview process, every one puts his or her best foot forward. However, once hired, employees soon begin to show their true personalities. While a law firm will always demand professional behavior of its attorneys, it is unrealistic to expect that personal convictions and proclivities will not enter the workplace. In other words, even if an attorney never loses a case, he or she could end up being toxic to a firm’s morale, which could easily affect job performance. By conducting an extensive screening process that evaluates attorneys as much on their personal traits as their professional abilities, legal staffing companies can direct law firms to attorneys who best fit their firm’s culture and do not possess views that would conflict with a firm’s mission or some of its current employees.

Dedication to the Job

If someone goes so far as to attend law school and pass a state bar, they would seem to be dedicated to the practice of law. However, there is big difference between being dedicated to one’s career and being passionate about what one does. Because depositions and court proceedings require attorneys to be passionate about their profession and the firm that they work for, trusting the extensive interview process conducted by legal staffing companies to elucidate this quality is a smart choice.

To hire attorneys that are as skilled at workplace relations as they are at depositions, many law firms turn to litigation services providers to identify the best attorneys for a particular job. In addition to evaluating attorneys’ credentials and experience, staffing providers can also evaluate attorneys by less objective criteria, such as salary expectations and personal traits.