---

When law firms – even small-firm practices – think about recruiting lawyers, a difficult and befuddling process, they often look for "killer questions" that can help them get behind the curtain of superficiality and down to the nitty-gritty. Interviewers hope to "uncover" the weaknesses that often fail to reveal themselves until the candidate becomes an employee.

But in fact, the greatest amount of work should occur before you interview the first person, and even before posting the job. Unfortunately, most legal employers fail to take this important step.

Below you'll find some of the questions you need to ask yourself before you start the hiring process.

No candidate will feel insulted if you write down things they have said; and it will help you later on as you look for consistency and motivations. Related articles Are assistants necessary? (November 2006) Search and employ: hiring the staff you need (March 2006)

1. Know your culture

If you ask others outside your firm to evaluate your firm's culture, you will probably get a variety of answers, some accurate and others less so. But remember that perception is reality. Knowing your culture is key to hiring the right people. And if the perceptions of your culture in the marketplace seem negative, or inaccurate, you may not attract the type of people you wish to hire.

No job looks better to a candidate or an employer the day before employment begins. If you have the most hospitable work environment in your community, you will not have to recruit candidates — they will be knocking at your door. If you don't know the kind of culture that you have, you can't accurately assess whether or not a candidate will work well in your organization. And you can't sell your organization to candidates if you don't have an accurate view of your culture. Take the time to understand your firm and learn how to communicate its qualities to prospective hires.

2. Know the characteristics of successful people at your firm

Once you have a handle on the culture, you need to translate this to characteristics necessary for success in your environment. Who succeeds and indeed flourishes in your organization? Do you have an aggressive, winner-take-all mentality? Is your culture intellectual and reserved? Do you have an "up or out" start-up culture, or do you like to "bring people along" and help them develop over time?

And once you've decided which type of culture you have, you can more accurately assess the kinds of people who have achieved success in your environment. It may seem easy to identify the "stars" in your organization at any level. But you probably haven't actually analyzed what has made these individuals successful, and how they have added to the organization's success. If you are hiring lawyers, look across the organization for these examples of excellence. It will help you define what makes someone a success at your firm.

3. Know the direction in which you want your organization to move

If you continue to hire people who match your current definition of success, your firm culture will probably not change. If you are going through a culture change process, you may want to add some other aspects to your definitions of success. Do you plan to diversify your workforce, develop a "kinder and gentler" image, or add a new practice area? Then you need to add to your profile of success the characteristics necessary to make these changes.

4. Interview your best people

One of the best ways to reward people is to ask their opinion about something that matters to them and to your firm. Talk to your best people about what made them want to join your organization, and what has caused them to stay.

We all know recruiting, hiring, and training lawyers costs a lot. Most lawyers leave their first job within the first three-and-a-half years, at great cost to their employer. Your best people have most likely had many opportunities to go elsewhere. What made them stay? And what made them stay while others left?

Knowing what has made a positive difference in their work lives will assist you as you work on recruiting others.

5. Identify the roadblocks that keep people from their top performance in your organization

While you interview your best people, take the time to learn what kinds of things stand in the way of their best work. If you don't want to ask them about the present, ask them what assistance they could have used when they first started.

One of the interesting pieces of information about lawyer turnover is that although associates may leave their jobs in year three, many of them made the decision to leave in year one. While firms with summer law clerk programs may do a good job of wining and dining associates in the first summer, they don't do as good a job helping truly orient people in their first year.

Anything that you can learn from your people about how to make a more hospitable workplace will help you with future recruitment.

6. Write a job description that matches your needs

Often job descriptions sound vague or are simply recycled from a previous hiring process. Write something that matches the work that you expect this person to do. In smaller firms, you may have a difficult time getting a consensus on a job description, and often the firm alters the description, at least mentally, as candidates are interviewed. Unless you clearly define what you need from the potential employee and what you want the person to do, you will likely hire someone for a job that you don't really have.

“If you have standards and criteria that mirror your firm's culture, success criteria for your practice, and a detailed job description, you should find it easy to differentiate between candidates.”

7. Write interview questions that address your job needs and your culture

When it comes to interview questions, one size does not fit all. Having a canned list of questions for all candidates doesn't make sense. I suggest that people complete a past to present history. Although behavioural interviewing is all the rage, I often find the best answers to questions that begin with "Tell me about a time when" come to the candidate on the way home in the car. Behavioural questions that ask for specific examples in the stress-induced environment of an interview often become tests of either a candidate's memory or his or her ability to create something on the spot.

Going back as far as college education to ask candidates about their choices and decisions can help you get to motivations and patterns of behaviour. Asking questions about a candidate's history in the context of your firm's culture can produce better information. And, when you start asking questions about the far-flung past, candidates often begin to relax and talk more objectively. They don't expect to be asked about their first college summer job and most likely won't have a canned answer to what was their worst class in college.

While you may not ask everyone the exact same questions, if you focus on the content of the candidate's résumé and talk in detail about their educational and work history, you will find that candidates believe they got a fair interview. While people may praise an interview that "felt just like a conversation," they may later feel cheated if they did not get a chance to discuss their work history. Candidates who get hired because they shared an interest in the local baseball team with their interviewer may not really be the best people for the job.

Interviewers should talk no more than 25 per cent of the time during an interview. If candidates do not spend 75 per cent of the interview talking, you won't get sufficient information to evaluate them adequately. You can sell your organization and highlight your firm's attributes later in the interview process. At this phase of the process, you are screening. Let candidates know that they will have adequate time later in the process to learn more about the firm, but that it is critical that you learn as much as you can about them now. They will appreciate the thoroughness of your approach.

8. Take extensive notes during your interview

Far too many interviewers do not prepare properly for the interview, in terms of either knowing what they need, or reading the candidate's letter and résumé carefully. The same goes for the interview. While we would like to believe that we have great recall, taking notes during the interview will prove invaluable to you as you compare candidates and content with other interviewers. No candidate will feel insulted if you write down things they have said, and it will help you later on as you look for consistency and motivations. When you have a defined firm culture and criteria for candidate success, it will also help you see if candidates have mentioned key criteria that you have determined important.

9. Have a candidate evaluation form that matches what you are evaluating

Just as generic questions do not make the most sense in an interview, neither does a generic evaluation form. Your criteria should reflect what you hope to measure during the interview. If your culture requires resilience, make sure you ask questions that give the candidate a chance to talk about this characteristic, and a form that enables you to record it. Make sure that all interviewers understand the evaluation form, and that you complete the forms as soon after the interview as possible — precisely why note-taking helps.

10. Learn how to separate screening from recruitment

You should focus on screening for the early part of your interview process. You screen candidates to interview, and subsequently screen those candidates during the interviewing process. At some point, you will end up with one or more people who meet your criteria. Only then do you begin to recruit.

Many firms start recruiting candidates long before they finish screening them. Interviewers tend to spend too much time during the early phases of the interview process talking about the firm and selling its attributes, cutting down valuable screening time. Once you have decided you want to hire a candidate, then you can make sure that he or she has ample time to learn as much about the firm as possible, and meet people in the firm that would help in the recruiting process.

Do not allow yourself to be seduced by the interview alone. Once you have decided on a candidate, you and the other members of your firm may believe everything that you have heard during the interview. Ask for references and follow up with them. Yes, most candidates will only give you the names of people that they believe would offer positive references, and yes, most calls to people not on a candidate's reference list will only yield dates of employment. But you would be surprised at how often candidates fail to alert their references that their names have been submitted as such. If you have specific questions raised during an interview, ask them. It may help you avoid making a big mistake.

Conclusion

If you spend time upfront preparing for the hiring process, you will find interviewing candidates easier and more enjoyable. If you have standards and criteria that mirror your firm's culture, success criteria for your practice, and a detailed job description, you should find it easy to differentiate between candidates.

So ask the right questions — of yourself — first.

Copyright 2006 Wendy L. Werner. All rights reserved.

Wendy L. Werner of Werner Associates, LLC is a consultant specializing in the areas of career management and law firm consulting. She works with law firms to develop effective hiring plans, and also screens résumés and conducts initial job interviews for law firms and corporations. She also coaches lawyers and other employees to improve performance and develop career options. For 15 years she was the assistant dean at Saint Louis University School of Law.

She writes a monthly column on careers and practice management for the Saint Louis Lawyer, the monthly publication of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is on the editorial board and serves as a contributing writer for Law Practice Today, an online publication of the American Bar Association.

This article originally appeared on TechnoLawyer Archive. CBA members can get a free one-year subscription to TechnoLawyer at http://www.technolawyer.com.

Recruiting

Solo

Marketing

Tech Talk

Writing

5 Sites

CBA PracticeLink

---

Every lawyer has at least one client he or she would like to fire — and probably should — but lawyers are usually hesitant to take that major step. Those who don’t usually fear either the unpleasant nature of the exchange or the loss of work.

Those who do usually are motivated by one of three factors: unpaid accounts, the refusal to give reasonable instructions or follow advice, and a breakdown of trust in the relationship (often brought on by personality clashes).

Turn over anything that would be of assistance to a client’s new lawyer, including legal memos and other information about the case. Related articles A contrarian view: when to fire your client (CBA PracticeLink) Client selection: the single most important way to increase profits, reduce stress and better serve your clients (CBA PracticeLink)

Deciding whether to remove a client is never easy. The various professional conduct guidelines impose a duty on lawyers not to withdraw services from a client except for good cause and with appropriate notice. These guidelines are the first stop for any lawyer considering firing a client. But there are other steps you can take to protect your practice when it’s time to let a client go.

1. Act promptly. It can be wrenching to have to make these decisions early, but it’s of paramount importance to give both you and your client enough time to protect everyone’s interests. If a trial date is looming, it may be too late to fire a client, no matter what the underlying circumstances, and the lawyer will have to soldier on. As reluctant as you may be to actually do the deed, delaying it is worse than doing it.

2. Talk to the client about your reasons. Tensions will be exacerbated if the client doesn’t understand the reasons behind the firing. Give clear, written reasons for ending the relationship and set out a roadmap for what needs to be done. Both you and the client will benefit.

“Every lawyer has at least one client he or she would like to fire — and probably should — but lawyers are usually hesitant to take that major step.”

3. Account for and return the client’s property. This includes not just trust amounts, but papers and other property as well. Papers can sometimes be held under a solicitor’s lien if a lawyer is terminated without cause, but if you’re firing the client, everything should be returned.

What to turn over? Anything that would be of assistance to a client’s new lawyer should be on the list, including legal memos and other information about the case. Don’t forget that an immediate accounting for outstanding fees is also appropriate.

4. Co-operate with your successor to ensure a smooth transition. Rendering papers and memos to the new counsel is crucial, and forms a part of professional conduct guidelines. Take care, however, to preserve a client’s confidentiality when co-operating with a successor. The duty of confidentiality extends here as well, unless there is explicit consent from the client.

Craig Burley is a lawyer and writer.

Recruiting

Solo

Marketing

Tech Talk

Writing

5 Sites

CBA PracticeLink

---

Marketing is a continual and largely cerebral process. As much as it’s about getting your name out into the market, it’s also about knowing what market you want, understanding how to reach that market, and most importantly, answering the fundamental question: “Why should a client choose my services over those of my competitors?”

Getting marketing right isn’t an option – it’s essential. And good marketing begins with good planning.

No matter what strategies you employ to promote your firm in the marketplace, it’s important to remember that marketing is a fluid process. Related articles Make sure prospects know how you differ from other lawyers and you'll be miles ahead of competitors (March 2006) Five ways to measure the success of your marketing efforts (CBA PracticeLink)

The marketing plan

The first step in any good marketing plan is to divest yourself of the notion that you want to practise law generally, and instead to focus on a specific area. Pick an area of law in which you’re interested, and ideally one that is under-served or emerging in the marketplace.

By focusing your practice, it becomes easier to complete the second step in developing a marketing plan: deciding to whom you’re going to market your services. If your answer to the question “Who’s your market?” is “Everybody,” then you’re thinking too broadly. Narrow your focus.

Developing a marketing plan

A good marketing plan must include a number of key elements and will form the basis for the future direction of the practice. Here are eight steps to help develop a marketing plan.

• A good plan should include the following items:
• services to be provided and client groups to be served
• how the services will be delivered and client care policies in this regard
• the practice’s resources, including skills and knowledge
• the objectives for the clients or the activity to be developed
• how the practice will be developed to attain the objectives
• Make sure your plan is consistent with your practice’s mission and goals – a marketing plan should be akin to a roadmap; your practice’s goals are the destination on the map and your practice’s mission will help you plot your route.
• Review the current quality and level of business activity – a marketing plan will be much more detailed for the practice that wishes to expand or is uncertain about its client base than for the practice that is satisfied with the status quo.
• Is the current situation satisfactory? – an important element of your marketing plan may be limiting demand to an acceptable level, as opposed to encouraging more work.
• Concentrate on developing the existing client base – word-of-mouth recommendations are the most effective form of marketing. Client satisfaction must be the highest priority.
• Decide how you will put the plan into action – what is the best mix of communications options – website, advertising, public relations – for your firm to promote itself? Take into account the cost to the business, versus the potential client audience.
• Set up a method to implement the plan – provide a timetable and a budget, and always leave room for flexibility.
• Monitor the response – ensure that there are arrangements for monitoring the results of the marketing effort; see, in particular, that there are records of the sources of referrals.

To be truly successful, your firm needs to identify itself in the marketplace. Susan Van Dyke of Van Dyke Marketing and Communications in Vancouver says a lot of law firms could go a long way towards improving their standing in the market with just a few simple changes in the way in which they do business with clients:

• Keep a well-maintained office in an accessible location.
• Train staff to be as friendly as possible.
• Return phone calls promptly.
• Greet clients with enthusiasm.
• Don’t be afraid to refer matters to other specialists if you don’t have the answer yourself.

The key is to make the experience as easy on the client as possible. “In the end, lawyers are in the service sector,” notes Van Dyke. “How a lawyer responds to a client’s needs – quite apart from the legal advice they provide – is critical.”

Once you’ve established your niche and your target clientele, you need to set down a series of goals and objectives for the future development of your practice. After all, “if you don’t have a destination in mind,” observes Van Dyke, “then any road will take you there.”

“Even the best-laid marketing plans will go awry if they are not constantly revisited and updated to ensure efficiency and consistency with the firm’s goals.”

Some of your goals might include increasing your client base, reaching projections for growth, and possibly expanding your business into other practice areas. Remember to leave room for flexibility in the plan and to consult a professional if you feel out of your depth.

Implementation

With a marketing plan in place, the actual process of implementation should follow fairly easily. Advertising through traditional media or on the World Wide Web is a great way to attract clients, while networking through business or community groups can generate valuable leads.

Evaluating marketing activities

To ensure success, your firm must be constantly assessing and reassessing its marketing activities, with a view to refining the process and eliminating any inefficiencies.

• Monitor activities against the plan and against budget – check regularly to ensure that the plan is being followed and budgets met.
• Evaluate marketing performance against key objectives – check whether the key objectives defined in your strategic plan are being met.  
• Consult about variances – where there are significant variances in performance against plan, consult and decide upon the best course of action to correct the situation and to minimize any adverse effects. 
• Take action in case of variances – take prompt corrective action where performance is significantly different from that expected.
• Inform people of the implications of variances – let relevant people know promptly of the financial effects of variances.  
• Clarify ambiguous information – where information for monitoring is lacking or is unclear, take action promptly to obtain valid information.  
• Provide information to authorized people – let authorized people have the monitoring information promptly, but ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
• Communicate any changes of plan – make sure that all those involved or affected are aware of the changes and their revised responsibilities. 

No matter what strategies you employ to promote your firm in the marketplace, it’s important to remember that marketing is a fluid process. Even the best-laid marketing plans will go awry if they are not constantly revisited and updated to ensure efficiency and consistency with the firm’s goals.

James Raiswell is a freelance writer. This article adapted from 30 Best Practices: Strategies for Law Firm Management, published by the Canadian Bar Association.

Recruiting

Solo

Marketing

Tech Talk

Writing

5 Sites

CBA PracticeLink

---

The 2007 ABA TECHSHOW served up a bevy of valuable tips for forward-thinking lawyers, including an entire day of sessions devoted to solo and small firms. Here are 10 of the best tidbits of useful information discovered by this TECHSHOW attendee:

• Create a “TripTik” for your clients – Remember those CAA roadmaps that were so helpful in the pre-Google days? Apply the same concept to guide your clients through the entire process, from engagement to closure. (Presented by Debbie Foster, InTouch Legal)
• You can finally rely on speech recognition – With the release of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, speech recognition and digital dictation are now viable options for the law office. Take full advantage. (Presented by Jim Calloway, Oklahoma Bar Association)
• Don’t manage staff by e-mail – Recent surveys show that recipients correctly interpret the tone of e-mail only 50 per cent of the time. E-mail shouldn’t replace face-to-face interaction with staff. (Presented by Reid Trautz, American Immigration Lawyers Association)
• Use client extranets – Clients appreciate the ease and immediacy of having electronic access to information on their matters. It can also save you having to report using billable time. Of course, be aware of the security of the information you make available. (Presented by Walt Karnstein, Kolisch Hartwell, P.C.)
• Determine your effective hourly rate (EHR) – After factoring in the normal write-ups and write-downs that occur during the preparation of a bill, you may discover that your hourly rate is a tad misleading. Your EHR (the amount received divided by the hours actually spent on a file) shows why it’s critically important to record ALL of your time. (Presented by David Bilinsky, Law Society of B.C.)
• Google yourself – Google yourself regularly to find out how potential clients see you through the eyes of the Web. Better yet, set up Google Alerts to ensure you’re not the last to know what’s being said about you online. (Presented by Dan Pinnington, LawPRO)
• Create (and actually remember) better passwords – A good password should be unique, sufficiently long and include different character types (letters, numbers and symbols). Sites such as Roboform.com can help you create and safely store your passwords. (Presented by Tom Mighell, Cowles & Thompson, P.C.)
• Bring e-discovery experts in early – Not everyone is knowledgeable in terms of e-discovery, so you’ll likely need to involve an expert early in the process. This can take the form of an e-discovery vendor, a computer forensics expert or even a specialized lawyer. (Presented by Bruce Olson, Davis & Kuelthau, S.C.)
• Expose e-mail spoofing – E-mail ‘spoofing’ is a common dirty trick whereby an e-mailer masquerades as a different person by falsifying their name and e-mail address. Samspade.org is an online tool that can help you expose these culprits by decoding e-mail header information. (Presented by John Simek, Sensei Entreprises, Inc.)
• Become a collaborator – With the growing popularity of wikis, Google Docs and project management tools (BaseCamp and activeCollab), not only do clients appreciate the convenience of online collaboration – they expect it. (Presented by Rick Klau, Feedburner, Inc.)

For more information on ABA TECHSHOW, visit www.techshow.com. Plus, be sure to consult CBA PracticeLink (www.cba.org/practicelink) for more useful tips gathered at this year’s show.

Mark Kuiack is editor of CBA PracticeLink and a regular TECHSHOW attendee.

Recruiting

Solo

Marketing

Tech Talk

Writing

5 Sites

CBA PracticeLink

---

Professionals – be they doctors, dentists, lawyers, computer programmers or social workers – have a vocabulary that they learned during their studies and use regularly in their professional lives. Technical terms and expressions become commonplace and are easy for them to understand. However, for people who don't have the same background and training, these terms can be mystifying.

Lawyers need to communicate legal information to their clients in ways that their clients can understand. This means explaining legal terms or finding other words to convey the same meaning.

Take extra care with your written communications to clients to make sure you have avoided jargon, explained legal terms clearly and expressed your ideas in a way that a non-lawyer can understand. Related articles Real estate claims on the rise: poor communication is the culprit (November 2006) Plain-language legal writing (CBA PracticeLink)

For instance, an "examination on discovery" is a chance for the other side to ask a person questions to get information before the case goes to court. Once you've explained a technical term, you can use it with greater confidence that you are communicating effectively. Just don't take for granted that your client always understands you.

When you are having a conversation, you can generally tell when the person is not quite grasping what you are saying, either because of body language or because of the questions asked.

When you write to someone, you don't have this instant feedback. Take extra care with your written communications to clients to make sure you have avoided jargon, explained legal terms clearly and expressed your ideas in a way that a non-lawyer can understand.

A 1992 study for the Law Society of Upper Canada found that "When selecting a lawyer to represent them, the public attaches the greatest importance to lawyers' interpersonal skills, especially the ability to communicate with clients."

By following the basic principles of plain language writing, you can improve the quality of your writing dramatically – and make your clients much more comfortable.

The Ten Commandments of plain-language drafting

(from The Decline and Fall of Gobbledygook, Report on Plain Language Documentation
Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Bankers Association, 1991)

• Consider your reader and write with that reader's viewpoint in mind.
• Write short sentences.
• Say what you have to say, and no more.
• Use the active voice.
• Use simple, everyday words.
• Use words in a consistent manner.
• Avoid strings of synonyms.
• Avoid unnecessary formality.
• Organize your text:
1. in a logical sequence
2. with informative headings, and
3. with a table of contents for long documents.
• Make the document attractive and designed for easy reading.

Remember:

In a 1993 study, the American Bar Association found that over 50 per cent of clients whose lawyers frequently or occasionally used legalese would not return to or make referrals to those lawyers.

Adapted from “7 Keys to Great Client Service,” published by the Canadian Bar Association.

Recruiting

Solo

Marketing

Tech Talk

Writing

5 Sites

CBA PracticeLink

---

Electronic discovery – sifting through documents in electronic form for useful evidence in civil suits – may be more common in claims against large corporations, but that doesn't mean it won't impact your clients, whether you're representing a claimant or defending a small- or medium-sized business. In this month's 5 Sites, we take a look at e-discovery, how it works, Canadian case law, and what you'll need to know to protect yourself and your clients.

1. Electronic discovery: a reading list.
   http://www.practicepro.ca/practice/eDiscovery_Rlist.asp.
   Developed as an electronic supplement to an issue of LAWPRO Magazine, this reading list provides all the background you'll need on e-discovery in Canada, including guidelines, info on metadata, how solos and small firms can conduct their own e-discovery, and much, much more.
2. Canadian E-Discovery Case Law Digest via the Ontario Bar Association.
   http://www.oba.org/en/main/ediscovery_en/digest.aspx.
   Developed and maintained by members of the Sedona Canada Working Group (http://www.thesedonaconference.org/wgs), this summary of Canadian case law dealing with e-discovery covers everything from the scope of discovery to the process of review to examining IT staff during a trial to dealing with Anton Piller orders.
3. A survey of e-discovery case law in Canada via Gowlings.
   http://www.gowlings.com/resources/PublicationPDFs/BurkeT_SurveyEDiscovery.pdf.
   Gowlings lawyer Todd Burke and Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP's Glenn Smith take an in-depth look at e-discovery case law in this PDF document. A great way to look at how specific cases apply to specific issues in electronic discovery.
4. LPT Virtual Roundtable: A Conversation Among Veterans of Electronic Discovery Battles.
   http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/articles/ftr07041.html.
   From the American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section comes this roundtable discussion on e-discovery. Moderated by practice management guru Dennis Kennedy, this article brings together lawyers, consultants, vendors and experts to discuss issues surrounding e-discovery. There's also some great illustrations of how e-discovery is relevant to solos and small-firm practitioners in cases like divorce, parental fitness, fraud, and the like.
5. E-Discovery in Canada.
   http://www.ediscoverycanada.com/.
   Martin Felsky, CEO of Commonwealth Legal, maintains this educational blog on the law, strategy, and technology of electronic discovery in Canada. Great for getting updates on recent developments in the field.

Recruiting

Solo

Marketing

Tech Talk

Writing

5 Sites

CBA PracticeLink

Tag and save to del.icio.us

---

With recent advancements in technology, it’s easier than ever for solos and small firms to work efficiently and effectively without printing and storing huge amounts of paper files. This month on CBA PracticeLink, we talk to several lawyers who share their tips on going paperless.

Also new on CBA PracticeLink…

Podcasts:

• Developing a Client Service Standards Policy for Your Law Firm  (audio download)
• A Fresh Look at Fee Collection for Lawyers (audio download)

Articles and tips:

• Lessons Learned: Lawyers’ Biggest Career Mistakes and Successes
• Blogging Policies and Best Practices for Lawyers and Law Firms
• A Contrarian View: When to Fire Your Client
• Lawyer Coaching Will Boost ROY – Return on Yourself
• 10 Things You Should Do Before Installing Windows Vista

Plus, don’t forget to check out our section devoted to starting out and going solo. For all this and much more, visit http://www.cba.org/practicelink.

Recruiting

Solo

Marketing

Tech Talk

Writing

5 Sites

CBA PracticeLink