Within the environment of law office staff, there are many different cogs that need to work together in a very specific fashion. In order to keep things moving forward for your clients, you as a lawyer and your employees need to be on the same page at all times. Whether you’re a small firm in need of an extra hand, or a larger firm looking to expand your legal representation services, a very important piece of optimizing inner-office function is to hire a skilled professional as your legal assistant. Based out of Winter Haven, KB Staffing has been assisting Central Florida businesses and law firms fulfill their office administration employment needs for over 15 years. So, when we receive a phone call asking for assistance in finding the best possible candidate, we know just what to do.
It may already be clear to you that you’re in need of additional staff to add to the law firm’s efficiency, but before we continue, ask yourself these questions:
- Is the office producing more work than the current staff can handle?
- What are you doing that could be delegated?
- Where are the changes needed in order to increase office efficiency?
- How can you make better use of your time?
Taking the time to assess your needs will help you down the road of finding the ideal candidate. When looking to hire a legal assistant, there a few considerations we always keep in mind. Remember, when going through the hiring process you will never find a candidate who is perfect in every way. You may, however, find the person who is the ideal candidate for that particular position and its accompanying responsibilities.
An important part of the hiring process when searching for the right legal assistant is to be as specific as possible when detailing the job description. It’s crucial to avoid generalities when it comes to outlining what you expect from the prospective employee.
Also, conducting a competency test is essential to help ensure that the actual day-to-day activities attributed to the position can be met. While an applicant’s demeanor and professionalism may match up with your needs, if the skill set is not up to par, then both parties will simply be wasting each other’s time.
Another key to successfully hiring a competent legal assistant is to authenticate the candidate’s prior work history. Unfortunately, in today’s highly competitive job market, résumés are sometimes subject to embellishment to the point of inaccuracy, so fact-checking is an essential part of the interview process. If you find you are uncomfortable with this process or lack the time— which of course, you’re hiring because you’re producing more work than you can handle on your own, so naturally time is already of the essence— then KB Staffing can perform this process for you and ensure the candidate is qualified and capable to fulfill the needs of the position. If you have questions about this process, or would like more information about how we can be a Human Resources solution for your law firm, don’t hesitate to contact us.
