ROBO-LAWYERS! ROBO-LAWYERS! - National

THOMAS DANNENBERG
Perfect Practice
StatSHOT
Hot properties
C’est votre affaire
You’re theboss
Unless you’re operating
a truly solo
practice, you have
employees: receptionists, secretaries,
paralegals, bookkeepers or
other lawyers. And that makes
you an employer — with all the
responsibilities and pitfalls the
role entails. If you’re not a specialist
in employment law, Jamie
Eddy of Patterson Palmer in
Lawyers need to understand
their obligations as
employers.
Fredericton suggests eight simple
ways to avoid costly mistakes.
Hiring employees
1. Get it in writing: Describe the
basic employment terms and
conditions in an engagement
letter and have the new employee
sign it. Include the job
description, salary, probationary
terms and start date. For articling
What’s the next big growth area for lawyers? Robert Half Legal, a leading
staffing service specializing in legal professionals, conducted a survey
of 300 lawyers among the 1,000 largest law firms and corporations in the
U.S. and Canada to find out.
Q1.
In your opinion, which one of the following areas of law
will experience the most growth in the next 12 months?
Ethics and corporate governance 25%
Litigation 23%
Intellectual property 19%
Real estate 8%
Bankruptcy 5%
General corporate/commercial 5%
Employment law 2%
OCTOBRE · NOVEMBRE 2006 www.cba.org
students, specify whether the
firm will cover bar exam fees,
insurance and other expenses.
2. Specify a probationary term: A
probationary period lets you
“test drive” new hires without
an indefinite commitment, so
you can terminate your new
bookkeeper without notice (or
pay in lieu of notice) if he turns
out to be a poor fit.
3. Communicate workplace policies:
Knowing your workplace
policies will help employees
adapt to your office as smoothly
as possible. A policy manual
sitting on a shelf isn’t enough,
however — make sure employees
actually read and understand
it.
4. Beware of inducement: If
you’ve lured a ten-year employee
from a secure job with a
competitor and then let her go
six months later, you could be
paying severance that’s based
on 10+ years of service. To
avoid this, establish an initial
probationary period.
Retaining employees
5. Conduct regular performance
reviews: It’s vital to review an
employee’s performance annually
— quarterly, in the case of
articling students — to address
any shortcomings before they
become major issues, uncover
any possible workplace problems,
and make your expectations
clear.
6. Establish harassment policies:
Psychological harassment cases
are increasingly common, creating
a significant exposure for
employers. Make sure you have
harassment policies in place, and
deal with problems before they
fester and affect productivity.
Terminating employees
7. Follow progressive discipline:
Unless you’re firing someone
for cause, you need to document
the problems and provide
opportunities for improvement
— or be prepared to provide
pay in lieu of notice. Because
progressive discipline can be
lengthy, many employers choose
to swallow the costs of an immediate
dismissal.
8. Act in good faith: When you
terminate someone, choose a
private meeting room and
have two members of management
present to avoid disputes
about what was said. Explain
the reasons for termination
verbally and follow up with a
written letter. N
— Julie Stauffer
WWW
5 Sites
Generation
gap
To keep the business
pipeline flowing after
your firm’s senior rainmakers
move on, look to
the next generation …
and to these five sites.
www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/
articles/mgt08061.shtml
How to keep generating
revenue after baby boomers
retire.
www.sugarcrest.com/
articles.htm
Make yourself a rainmaker:
strategies for law students
and young lawyers.
www.lawjournalnews
letters.com/pub/ljn_
marketing/19_10/
Investing in your associates:
the key to your law firm’s
future success
www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt
/articles/mgt07052.html
The importance of training
young partners to be successful
marketers.
www.cba.org/CBA/Practice
Link/WWP/youngrainmaker
s.aspx
How to pass rainmaking skills
on to the next generation.
— Mark Kuiack
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