Even after a tumultuous couple of years during and following the Covid-19 pandemic, 2023 also brings with it certain challenges for law firms.

Economic pressures, talent retention, and for many, adapting to the permanency of hybrid working are all factors that make business-as-usual still pretty unpredictable.

And, as well as a necessary focus on retention and recruitment of employees, law firms will no doubt be conscious of their business strategy, growth plans, and the retention of their client base.

It goes without saying that earning a client’s trust is paramount to the success of your law firm.

Additionally, you work hard for your clients and to maintain and build your legal professionalism. Retaining clients and your place in the legal marketplace requires strategies to help build relationships and keep those clients coming back to you as their firm of choice.

Client retention means you can avoid spending a lot of valuable time in marketing your law firm to earn new business. Also, happy clients who return to your firm may even provide a lead to additional work if they recommend you to others in their network. This can be a huge boost, especially if they have wide-reaching connections.

So, how can you help retain those valuable clients and increase your repeat business, thus placing yourself well ahead of the pack with a continued focus on growth? Here are our five top tips that could accelerate retention levels and see your firm’s reputation rise.

1. Communicate

How often do you hear clients complaining that their solicitor doesn’t return their calls, or that they don’t know where things are up to in their case?

Your clients want to feel valued, and it’s easy to make them believe their business is important to you. Start by returning their phone calls or emails. You can delegate some of this work if necessary, but if correspondence requires your personal attention – make the time to address it. This could be as simple as setting aside a specific time each day and blocking off your diary to give you space without interruption to answer clients’ questions.

2. Be Honest

Things don’t always go to plan. It’s critical for your legal team to be able to handle bad news, as well as good, and deal with unexpected results.

Therefore, it’s vital to be clear with your client that you can’t guarantee results. Managing potential outcomes can be tricky, but preparing your client from the start will make results easier to handle.

Remember that your clients have come to you at a time that they need assistance – it could be any one of several challenging issues in their personal or professional lives, and they will want to hear positive news from you.

But honesty is essential. Don’t be tempted to give false hope and be clear that there may be problems or even a negative outcome if you believe this to be the case.

It’s also essential, to be honest about your performance as a provider of legal services. For example, if you are late with documents, admit it. If a client discovers you were untruthful about a small issue like late documents, they will doubt you over more significant issues. Aim to protect your firm’s integrity in all circumstances.

3. Bill Clients Accurately

Overbilling or charging in a way that was not clearly demonstrated initially to the client will not help establish your firm’s professionalism.

Therefore, invoices should always correctly reflect the work done. Time tracking and billing software can help your firm create accurate bills, avoiding unhappy clients who believe they have been overcharged, and resulting in faster payments and higher levels of customer confidence in your firm.

Additionally, you may wish to offer various billing options such as fixed fee, hourly billing or flat fees for services – clients have different preferences, and to keep ahead of the pack it’s a good idea to consider offering different options. Being agile in this way could be the difference between keeping and losing a client.

4. Remain Professional

Of course, the most critical aspect of retaining clients and gaining market position is to complete the legal work you have taken on; providing services that are effective and offer value to your clients.

Meeting deadlines, employing skilled solicitors, and handling cases efficiently will ensure clients recognise your professionalism and return to use your services again – as well as recommend you to others.

Equally pivotal to ensuring your law firm remains relevant is to keep all your employee’s certifications up to date, and make sure you stay informed about legal changes and court decisions.

5. Consider Diversifying

It may seem a bold move, but diversification can give you an advantage over competitors and place you ahead of the curve. Addressing the ‘where’ and ‘how’ to scale your law firm should be considered carefully and will be dependent on your current position – both geographically and in terms of client base and marketplace.

Dramatic strategy changes may seem radical, and remaining credible is paramount, so you may wish to consider small steps if looking to increase your service offer. If you choose to consider this route, a good place to start is by re-examining your strategic plan to highlight areas you could develop as well as ensure you are on the right track for success.

Following these top tips will help you create better client retention, enhance your reputation and keep you one step ahead of the competition in a crowded legal marketplace.

Next Steps

If you’re reading this article because you are looking to develop your legal team, we’d love to be part of that conversation.

Don’t hesitate to call one of our regional or practice area specialists on 01772 259 121.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals, and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest Salary Survey & Market Insights Report Here.

The average time it takes to hire a legal candidate is increasing.

According to a recent post from LinkedIn, it can take more than forty days for a hiring manager to find and make an offer to the right employee. While part of this problem may be attributed to skill shortages in the legal sector, there’s a larger underlying issue.

Law firms are taking too long to make decisions.

While it’s important to be cautious when choosing the right employee to bring onto your team, a slow hiring process can have a number of negative repercussions. As competition for legal talent in the legal industry grows, taking too long to select a candidate could/will mean you miss out.

At the same time, there’s a risk you could end up impacting your employer brand, prompting future candidates to avoid applying for your roles.

Remember candidates talk to each other and especially online.

So let’s talk about why hiring faster is a good idea.

Hiring Fast vs Hiring Slow: Why Speed Wins

The best legal candidates are always highly coveted and receive multiple offers from a variety of different employers. If you’re not fast to act, the chances of losing your ideal employee are higher than ever.

As a legal recruiter, we can only do so much to persuade candidates to wait.

Recruiting faster doesn’t mean abandoning your standards when choosing the correct candidate. Instead, it means reworking your process so you can make intelligent decisions quickly.

Here are some of the reasons why law firms need to increase the speed of their hiring strategy if they want to remain competitive.

1. Increases Your Chances of Securing the Right Legal Talent

The hiring marketplace has changed drastically in the last three years. Today’s legal employees don’t have time to wait around for an employer to offer them a role. More importantly, they usually don’t have to. Even if you don’t offer a role to a candidate straight away, there’s a good chance another firm will.

Making slow decisions about who to bring onto your team doesn’t necessarily improve your chances of getting a high-quality candidate. While you’re busy consulting with your recruitment team about whom to hire, your ideal candidate is already looking for alternative roles.

The longer you take to decide, the more chance you have of someone else swooping in and recruiting your top choice. This could mean you need to settle for a less-than-ideal alternative, just so you can fill the gap in your legal team.

2. Better Existing Employee Experiences

A slow hiring process isn’t just a problem for future employees, it can cause issues with your current workforce too. When positions go unfilled for too long in a firm, many leaders need to distribute the tasks associated with those roles to other team members, to fill the gaps.

This means staff ends up focusing more of their time on projects and initiatives not included within their general job description. This can increase your risk of burnout and overwhelm, and even encourage employees to start searching for new roles too.

Placing more strain on your existing team also means they’re more likely to be prone to making mistakes in their day-to-day work. Overwhelmed staff need to rush through tasks, rather than giving each job their direct focus.

3. Enhanced Candidate Experiences

Legal professionals are no longer just searching for great salary options and benefits when it comes to their job search. Amongst other things (and there is quite a list these days) they’re also looking for evidence their employer will treat them with empathy and respect. This means the candidate experience has become more important than ever to firms in search of new legal talent. Fail to deliver a good experience, and you’ll miss out on future opportunities.

A speedy hiring process delivers a better all-around experience for your candidates, showing them, you respect their needs.

The faster you provide your candidates with an offer, the more likely they are to feel committed to your brand and their role within your firm. The longer your hiring process takes, the more your new team members are likely to lose their enthusiasm about their new role.

Ethical recruitment (something we’ve looked at recently) means in simple terms, doing the right thing – always. This should be the very foundation and principles on which your hiring activity is built.

4. Improved Employer Brand and EVP

Ensuring you can attract and retain the best quality legal talent in the current market requires significant effort. You need to ensure you’re promoting an employer brand that convinces legal candidates you have the right opportunities to offer.

Your employer brand is influenced by everything you do when interacting with both your existing employees and future staff. This means if your candidate experience is poor, due to a long recruitment time and lack of communication, you could risk scaring off new employees. In fact, around 43% of job-seekers say they might even write a negative review about an employer when the hiring process takes too long.

Committing to quickly providing your candidates with insights into the success of their interview, and making decisions fast about who to hire will ensure you stand out in the legal sector.

Speed Up Your Hiring Process

The best candidates in the current legal landscape won’t wait around for a long hiring process. And it goes without saying that the more in demand they are, the more options will be open to them when it comes to choosing where to make that next move.

If you can’t act quickly to secure the best for your firm, simply put – you’ll miss out.

Recruiting faster doesn’t have to mean lowering your standards, but it could mean looking for ways to optimise your hiring process.

And, whilst time may be of the essence, it’s equally as important not to make any rash decisions or rush into a decision that could ultimately come back to bite you. After all, there is a significant commercial cost of a bad hire too.

Working with a legal recruitment agency can help to focus your activity – helping to source, and shortlist candidates faster, so you can get the right talent quickly  – whilst also ensuring that no balls get dropped along the way in ensuring that the candidates that are presented to you are still the right ‘fit’ for your firm.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviablese reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals, and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.

Call us on 01772 259 121 or get in touch with us here

Finding the ideal talent for your legal team is the first stage of building a successful business. Once you’ve attracted top-performing candidates to your workforce, you also need to ensure you’re taking steps to keep them around.

And with hiring activity still healthy across the legal landscape, employees have many opportunities to switch firms should they find themselves unsatisfied with their current employment. That means learning how to retain your top talent is more important than ever.

Legal professionals can choose to leave a firm for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they feel they’re not getting enough satisfaction from their role, or they lose interest in the firm’s vision for the future.

Other times, employees may feel they don’t thrive in their current position due to issues with colleagues or managers.

While the cost of replacing a lost employee can be significant, it’s worth remembering that anywhere up to 75% of turnover can be avoided.

That is why it is critical to recognise the signs that your employee might be looking elsewhere.

In this post, we are going to share several signs to be aware of.

1. They’re Avoiding Long-Term Projects and Growth

When an employee decides they no longer want to work with a firm, they often begin to reduce their involvement in long-term projects and strategies for development or growth. They stop envisioning a “future” with the business, which means they generally spend more of their time on short-term tasks and simply “checking boxes” on their to-do list.

When an employee who previously volunteered for various challenging projects no longer raises their hand in meetings or delegates long-term work to other employees. In that case, this could signify they’re not planning on being around for long.

Pay close attention to whether your staff members still invest in their future with the company by agreeing to learning and development opportunities or discussing goals during one-on-one meetings. If your employees no longer see a future with you, change their perspective by offering them insights into progression opportunities, they might miss out on if they leave.

2. They Show Visible Signs of Stress

The World Health Organisation says “burnout” is a significant occupational phenomenon that has increased drastically in recent years. Burned-out and overwhelmed employees disengage from the workplace, show clear signs of exhaustion, and often look for alternative work opportunities. With this in mind, tracking your employee’s mental and physical health is important.

Pay attention to signs of exhaustion, like the heavy reliance on caffeine, yawning, or even a slower-than-usual pace in your team member’s workflow.

The attitude of your employee might begin to change too. They may appear to be overwhelmingly negative towards other colleagues or attempt to isolate themselves from their peers, taking part in meetings less than usual. In some cases, they could even become more argumentative or aggressive. If you notice signs of burnout, speak to your staff member about how you can help them manage their workload.

3. They’re Not as Creative or Intuitive as Usual

When employees decide to leave a business, they stop actively contributing to its growth. You may notice some of your top performers who used to share ideas for development in previous meetings are now quieter when you’re asking for suggestions or advice.

Rather than trying to solve problems with out-of-the-box ideas and collaboration, your team members may simply pass difficult tasks onto other employees. They could stop taking the initiative with their work and may focus on doing just the “bare minimum” to get by.

An employee who’s occasionally quiet during business meetings isn’t necessarily a cause for alarm. However, if your team member seems to have lost their passion for helping the firm grow, they may no longer feel inspired by your firm’s mission or values.

A good way to address this issue is to give your team members regular feedback and let them know how much you value their input. Employees are more likely to contribute when they feel recognised and rewarded for their hard work.

4. They Focus More on External Networking

Networking is important in building a thriving career as a legal professional. It’s not unusual for dedicated employees to visit industry events and connect with other experts on social media. However, there may be a problem if your team members focus more on external networking than on building internal relationships.

If you notice your team members are disconnecting from their internal peers, failing to attend meetings, or spending less time chatting with colleagues, check out their external networking efforts. If they’re heavily invested in adding new connections on LinkedIn and improving their personal brand, this could be a sign they’re looking for a way to branch into new opportunities.

There are a few ways managers and supervisors can tackle this issue. Preventing staff from building external connections isn’t an option, but you can encourage your team to bond with their colleagues through team-building exercises and more consistent internal communication.

5. Their Performance Begins to Suffer

For a legal employee to thrive in their role, they need to do a lot more than just show up and follow the instructions given by a manager. The best staff members are constantly pushing themselves to be their best. However, if your employee is disengaged and disinterested in their work, you may begin to notice performance issues.

You might be able to notice more errors in their work, which they never used to make before. Or perhaps your customers are providing negative feedback concerning a specific employee’s behaviour. Other colleagues may even complain that one team member is no longer pulling their weight around the office.

If your staff member is no longer reaching their targets or making the right amount of effort, the first step shouldn’t always be to engage in disciplinary action. Speak to your team member and discover what’s happening behind the scenes.

Don’t Lose Your Top Performers

In today’s changing legal landscape, issues like disengagement, burnout, and even “quiet quitting” are becoming increasingly common. Fortunately, if you can recognise these signs ahead of time, there are still things you can do to re-ignite your staff’s passion for your firm and prevent them from seeking other employment options.

Pay attention to your top performers, and make sure you’re not actively pushing them away.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

Talent planning in 2023 – how can law firms ensure they are attracting and retaining the best talent in a job landscape that has been altered significantly by the pandemic?

In recent years, the U.K. legal profession has changed to meet client demands in terms of staffing, regulatory changes, the services that they offer – all in an increasingly skills-short market.

Skills shortages have become the norm in many areas of law, with mid-level professionals the most sought-after demographic; digitally skilled employees are also in high-demand, particularly since the pandemic.

Rapid growth in certain areas of law this year, namely Property Law, Conveyancing and Family Law, has only added to the challenge of finding exceptional candidates who say ‘yes’ to your job offers.

Today, we look at what factors are going to affect talent planning in the legal sector in 2023, and what your law firm must do to react.

Planning Your Talent Pipeline to Avoid Potential Risk Factors

Starting the new year by focusing on filling your talent pipeline is a must for any law firm looking to hit the ground running next year, and hit their hiring KPIs.

Identifying potential future roles for your changing law firm is a must. Think about how your organisation is likely to change, or areas you want to expand into.

There may not appear to be any signs of your current team leaving, but when you assume that no-one is planning to leave, this puts you in a risky position.

If your top family law solicitor handed in their resignation tomorrow, would you have anyone lined up to take their place?

With such a strain on many areas of law currently like family, property and commercial, the team’s workload would become unmanageable if a position lay vacant.

Working on your talent pipeline involves a focus on your employer brand; your online presence. Are you promoting your brand online as a great employer? Is your website mobile friendly? Do you regularly engage with legal professionals across your socials?

Building your talent pipeline takes work, and it’s easier when you work with a legal recruiter who will guide you through all the various stages involved.

Don’t let the potential risk of an unexpected vacancy get in the way of your success this year – start planning your talent pipeline now.

Finally, let’s look at how next year’s budgets could affect your legal talent planning.

Getting the Most Out of Your Budget

Legal business leaders understand just how essential budgets are going to be in 2021.

You will only have a set amount towards recruitment, and in our post-pandemic world, budgets are getting tighter everywhere.

One way businesses try to save money is by slashing budgets, but what smart law firms do is make sure that they are getting the most out of the funding they do have.

This means working with a recruiter who guarantees your investment and offers money-back guarantees to ensure peace of mind, like Clayton Legal.

When you are working with a tight recruitment budget, getting the best ROI is vital.

The cost of a bad hire can run deeply into your business. From interruptions to workflow, wasted time and training costs, and the cost to re-hire – wherever you are spending your recruitment budget next year, it needs to be with a recruiter who will guarantee your investment.

Talent Attraction – What do Candidates Want?

Knowing what you want from your legal candidates and finding them are two very different things. Our recruitment services are often called in when employers are struggling to find candidates with the right skills, attributes and attitude – the right mix can be hard to find, especially in a world where legal job roles and priorities are changing.

From the candidates we speak to, we have identified three areas to focus on which will help you attract and retain top legal talent.

Training and development – The pandemic might have got in the way of learning and developing in your law firm this year. Still, the most valuable candidates are looking for companies where they will be continually developed.

Digital focus – Alongside legal and personal development training, legal employers who are keeping ahead of the digital curve will also attract the best talent. Law firms that struggle to offer comprehensive digital tools and training in a world where remote working is on the rise could fall behind.

Flexible arrangements – Since the pandemic, employees are more aware of the benefits of a hybrid working culture. Employers who can offer the choice to work from the office, from home or a mix of the two will attract a broader range of candidates.

In an ever-increasing skills-short market, failing to offer what candidates are really looking for could affect your recruiting process.

Getting your recruitment offer right is just one factor involved in talent planning.

Talk to Clayton Legal today about how we always guarantee your investment, and how our expert recruitment process will add value to your law firm.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

Taking the right approach to training your legal hires is one of the most important things any employer can do. The right education and guidance sets your employees up for success in any role and ensures they can thrive in your law firm.

What’s more, today’s legal employees crave training more than ever before.

A 2021 global workforce report from Randstad revealed that the vast majority of employees worldwide (especially those in the younger age brackets) believe they need to upskill to keep up with the labour market changes since the beginning of the Pandemic. Some other studies show that around 40% of staff members worry their skills will become outdated in today’s quickly-evolving landscape.

However, according to the same studies, 49% of employees want to enhance their skills but are unsure where to begin, and this correlates with the findings from the aforementioned report, which saw the majority of survey respondents say that they are unsure of which skills to acquire due to the rapid changes occurring in the global workforce.

For those in leadership positions at your law firm, the focus areas for training an initial new legal hire should revolve around developing critical soft skills. Most of your new team members already have the technical talents required for their roles. However, you can always look into upskilling and expanding this knowledge later.

Your legal team members need help with the critical skills that will define their future with your law firm. Here are the three areas you need to focus on.

Skill 1: Goal Setting

Goals are critical in any legal role. According to research from Harvard Business School, people who successfully visualise and write down their professional goals are often 20% more successful. Goals act as a compass in any career, giving direction and guidance to your team members.

Start by providing your legal employees with a clear insight into your firm’s core values and expectations for their work. This will help them monitor and measure their performance to ensure they’re delivering the right results. Next, arrange for a meeting during the onboarding process, where you can set different types of goals with your new team member, such as:

• Short-term goals: Define what your new employee should be working towards during the first few months of their position in your firm. As a manager, outline what you’d like to see from them, and ask what they would like to accomplish during this time.
• Long-term goals: Ask about where your employee sees themselves in the future. Do they want to work towards a promotion or a higher-paying role? Together, you can outline a plan for how they can make their targets a reality.
• Development goals: Where would your employees like to improve their skills or become more proficient during their time with your firm? What training opportunities would they want access to, and where do they feel they need the most help?

It’s also worth providing your employees with key tips on improving their chances of successfully reaching their goals. Discuss the difference between setting realistic and unrealistic targets, and look at how you can help your employee to become more focused.

One option could be to set your new legal team member up with a mentor, so they can constantly get feedback on their progress. It’s also worth having regular meetings with each employee throughout the year to see whether they’re accomplishing their goals and what you can do to assist them.

Skill 2: Relationship Building

Relationships form the foundation of any strong firm culture. Research shows positive relations between employees and their managers and colleagues lead to better job satisfaction, increased retention, and boosted productivity. However, many legal employees struggle with creating the right connections throughout the firm.

During the initial onboarding process, when you’re bringing your new team member into your law firm, introduce them to the people they will be working with. Some bonding activities can be extremely useful during this stage to help with breaking the ice.

Next, provide tips on strengthening your team members’ relationships with colleagues and managers. For instance, you can encourage them to:

Be proactive in offering help: Employees who constantly look for ways to support and assist their other legal team members are more likely to be appreciated by the rest of the team. Encourage your staff to be proactive team players.

Take part in meetings: While not all of your business meetings may be mandatory, many provide networking and communication opportunities. Asking staff members to participate in regular video and in-person meetings will help to strengthen bonds.

Develop emotional intelligence: Training your employees on how to demonstrate good emotional intelligence is fantastic for enhancing their relationship-building abilities. They should be aware of how to recognise and understand the emotions of others.

Communicate constantly: Make sure your legal team has a strong culture of constant communication and collaboration. Everyone should feel included in conversations, and every team member should feel as though they have a voice.

Network whenever possible: Allow team members to attend events and networking opportunities. This is a good way to help them expand their relationships in the legal industry and feel more confident communicating with others.

It’s also helpful to have diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which highlight how each team member should show respect for their fellow workers. If any of your employees seem to be isolating themselves from the group or show a negative attitude towards others, jump in and see what you can do to fix the problem.

Skill 3: Productivity

All legal employers want productive, efficient, and engaged team members. While the support you give your employees in the form of the right technical skill training and tools will help to enhance productivity, there are also steps employees will need to take themselves.

Ask your staff members how they currently pursue productivity in their workflows and where they’re most likely to struggle. If your team members are working in a remote or hybrid environment, they may need more assistance with scheduling their work and ensuring they adhere to deadlines.

Introduce your employees to different methods of boosting productivity, such as:

• Arranging their to-do list: Some employees will find it easier to tackle the toughest jobs first thing in the day. Others will prefer to start with easier tasks and work on complex challenges later. Encourage your staff members to discover what works for them.
• Taking regular breaks: While pushing your employees to be productive at all hours of the day is tempting, we all need breaks. Help your employees to take time out when they need it, by allowing them to step away from their schedule from time to time.
• Tackling one task at a time: Teach your employees that multi-tasking is rarely the best way to generate the right results when it comes to productivity. Breaking large tasks into smaller pieces and working on targets one at a time is more likely to generate results.
• Managing energy (not just time): Give your employees the freedom to adjust their work schedule according to when they have the best sense of focus. In today’s hybrid and remote work world, giving your employees more autonomy can boost productivity.
• Leveraging useful tools: Certain tools and technology in the workplace can assist with productivity. For instance, some team members might use time-tracking applications to discover how long they spend on different tasks. Others might organise their day with a centralised project management system.

If any of your employees are struggling with productivity, it’s important to reach out and find out what’s happening. The problem could be with their schedule and how they organise their day. Alternatively, you could find your employees are experiencing the early stages of burnout. Either way, you can work together to develop a plan to promote the best workflow.

Finally, remember that the success of any new hire depends as much on the kind of training and guidance you give them as their own input and engagement into their work. Getting this part of the onboarding process right not only provides them with what they need to thrive at your firm, but can also help to improve employee retention, and avoid high employee turnover.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

Though some of the challenges of hiring in the last couple of years are beginning to diminish, the legal sector is still a skills-short market. Trends like the “Great Resignation” and an increasing demand for global, remote work are leading to massive turnover for all kinds of companies.

Since any law firm can’t thrive without the right employees, it makes sense for every business leader to think about how they can improve their hiring strategy in this new landscape. Ensuring you have the right plan in place can help you to attract the most sought-after talent, improve your chances of employee retention, and strengthen your employer brand.

Here are some of the hiring strategies generating powerful results for law firms.

1.    Adapting to Your Candidates’ Changing Priorities

The first step in ensuring you can successfully hire and retain legal talent, is knowing what your candidates really want from their employer. In the last couple of years, the evolving workplace has led to the development of new priorities for many staff members.

Today’s employees still want to get the salary they deserve, but they also want:

• Empathy: A focus on respect, empathy, diversity, and inclusion will be crucial to attracting candidates in any environment. Showcasing your empathetic side will help you to attract employees who share the same values as your business.
• Flexibility: Today’s employees want more flexible roles. With the rise of cloud technology, it’s possible for some legal jobs to be more hybrid, remote, or flexible than they once were. Some companies are even exploring concepts like the 4-day work week.
• Development: Your employees want to see a future with your company, and a path for them to improve and enhance their skills. Have meetings with your team members to identify their current and long-term goals, and how you can help them reach them.

2.    Leveraging a Specialist Legal Recruiter

Recruiters are one of the most valuable tools you’ll have in your hiring strategy, particularly when they specialise in your industry. An experienced legal recruiter will be able to help you identify the most important things your candidates are looking for when you’re writing your job descriptions and interviewing potential employees.

Recruiters can also save you significant time in collecting applications from a diverse range of backgrounds. Their existing presence in the industry means they already have access to various environments where they can find people to fill your talent pipeline.

With a recruiter, you’ll also have access to support and guidance to help you with everything from improving the interview experience, to making your job listings more impactful.

Just remember, to get the most out of your legal recruiter, you’ll need to walk the line between clarity and flexibility. It’s important to be clear about the things you really want from your candidate, but don’t get lost in the search for the perfect unicorn employee.

3.    Enhancing Your E.V.P.

In today’s digital world, employers have endless opportunities to learn more about their potential candidates by looking at their social media profiles and personal brand. However, it’s worth remembering your candidates also have the same opportunity to evaluate you.

Before considering whether to accept a job offer or even send in an application, most of today’s candidates will research your brand. It’s important to make sure your offer and E.V.P. (Employer Value Proposition) stands out.

Start by assessing your current employer brand, and what you communicate to potential staff members. Are you active on social media, constantly sharing valuable information about your company culture and the growth of your team members? Do your employees talk positively about you on social channels and review sites?

Next, consider your job offer and how it compares to roles available from your competition. Are you delivering the same level of flexibility for your new candidates? What can you provide that your team members can’t get elsewhere? Remember, organisations who implement a successful employer brand cut their cost-per-hire in half!

Your legal recruitment professional will be able to help you with cultivating the right employer brand.

4.    Upgrading the Candidate Journey

In today’s changing landscape, employers need to make sure every stage of the candidate journey is as convenient and engaging as possible to avoid losing the attention of top talent. With the help of your legal recruitment agency, look at every touchpoint you’ll have with your candidates, and how you can update them to suit the current trends.

For instance, are you posting your job listings on social media, so they’re easy to find, and making sure it’s easy for your candidates to learn more about the role on your website? When candidates apply for a role, how will you interview them?

Video and remote interview processes are becoming increasingly common, particularly for remote and hybrid roles. You may also need to think about:

• Following up with candidates: How will you keep your candidate engaged by following up and providing insights into their progress?
• Onboarding: How will you onboard your team members when you decide who to hire, and how can you make them feel like part of the team as quickly as possible?
• Diversity: How will you ensure you’re making hiring decisions without bias, and you’re respecting the concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion?

5.    Planning a Comprehensive Strategy

Finally, it’s worth remembering that being prepared will save you a lot of time, effort, and money in today’s skills-short market. Rather than just rushing to fill gaps in your legal team when someone leaves your workforce, it’s worth thinking about your long-term talent strategy.

Work with Clayton Legal to build a talent pipeline, filled with diverse professionals from different environments, who can add something valuable to your team. When creating this pipeline, don’t just think about the skills you need now, but the expertise you may need in the future.

A good talent pipeline will mean you always have somewhere to turn to access crucial talent when your company needs it most.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 3,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

The interview process can be a gruelling task for all parties involved. When most hiring managers think about the complexity of interviewing, they focus on the challenges facing the person being interviewed. However, those hosting the interview also have their own hurdles to overcome too.  

From avoiding unconscious bias, avoiding ageism, and making sure you sell your candidates on the idea of working with your law firm, there are several important points to keep in mind as well as remembering all the main points covered at the end of the session.  

Here are some of the top strategies to follow as a legal professional hiring manager if you’re concerned you might not be getting the most out of your interviews. 

1. Know Your Interview Options 

The first step in ensuring you can master your interviews as a hiring manager is knowing what methods you can use to best connect with potential candidates.  

Today, the traditional face-to-face interview isn’t your only option. Video interviews have increased by 67% due to the pandemic and the rise of remote working with technology advancements being key. As hybrid employment options continue to thrive and companies look for ways to streamline the interviewing process, video conversations will likely grow to be more common in many law firms throughout the upcoming years if not already popular.  

But not forgetting, there’s also the time-old classic of picking up the phone for simple phone interviews as well to simply hear the person who could potentially be working with you. 

Each type of interview has its own challenges to consider. For instance: 

• In-person interviews:
  You’ll need to think about where you’re going to host your interview, whether it’s a welcoming space, who will attend, and whether the candidate will present or just have a simple face to face conversation. 
• Video interviews:
  Consider what kind of video meeting software you’ll be using, the background you’ll have in your video, and how you can present yourself as professionally as possible over a webcam. Always test the sound and camera quality beforehand and check whether all those participating are visible on screen. 
• Phone interviews:
  Ask yourself whether you may need to record any phone interviews to go back over them later and how you can ensure you get a promising idea of what the candidate is like based on voice alone. 

2. Avoid Inappropriate Questions 

Inappropriate questions are becoming more common than you would think in legal interviews. While certain topics of conversation can feel like polite small talk at first, they often cause more problems than you’d think. For instance, asking people about what they did on the weekend can create an unconscious bias if you also have a shared hobby with them – but also at the same time, could be harmless conversation to break the ice. 

Unconscious bias could favour one candidate over another because you like certain things about their lifestyle or personality, which have nothing to do with the role or the ability to complete their tasks. 

Some other questions to avoid are: 

• Where do you live?  
• How did your childhood shape your professional life?  
• If you could choose a different career, what would you choose?  
• What is the worst trait of your previous manager? 

All the above questions could be classed as too personal, too confronting and encouraging speaking badly about others – all traits you want to avoid when interviewing someone for the first time and something you don’t need to hear to assess their capabilities for this role. 

3. Interview Styles and Formats 

There are many kinds of interviewing techniques that today’s business leaders and hiring managers can use, including competency-based or collaborative interviews, presentations, and group interactions to get a real feel for the potential candidates. 

Interviews are always best performed with two people from the hiring company, which can help avoid bias. It also gives those hiring the chance to discuss different opinions on those they are interviewing and not decide based solely from one person’s perspective and therefore giving the candidate a fair chance. 

Other methods are to consider using a first and second stage interview format before the final decision is made. In today’s environment, many first and second stage interviews can take place over Zoom or Teams so that it suits all parties involved. Carrying out interviews online also gives you more chance to interview more people, without the need for travel, time allocation and gives the candidates a better chance of being able to partake at a time that suits them and you best. 

4. Generalise Your Interview Questions 

Standardising your interview questions makes it easier to assess your candidates when you have interviewed several people for a role. It also means you’re less likely to allow unconscious biases to get in the way of your hiring decisions because you’re evaluating everyone based on the same set of guidelines, criteria, and questions. 

Create specific competency-based interview questions for the specific legal role in question, which allows you to score each potential employee based on their specific values, behaviours, and results.  

For instance, you can ask questions like; “share examples of times they’ve acted as a leader” or “shown exceptional teamwork”, and then make notes about their responses. Assigning scores to answers will also help you see who you should be shortlisting based on their answers compared to others if you are interviewing a larger number of people. 

Your interviews need to maintain a level of flexibility. It will be logical to ask follow-up questions to elicit more detail at times when needed if the candidate doesn’t elaborate themselves. 

“Tell me more about X or Y or why you decided to do B or C” are classic follow-up questions that work well to get more of an understanding of the candidates’ experiences.  

To make sure you know about a candidates’ hard skills, behavioural and soft skills there are some questions that LinkedIn Talent Solutions suggests you cover.  

• “Say you’re negotiating a contract or administrative action or settlement in which the parties are far apart in what they want. Use a past example of this to talk me through your negotiation process.” 
• “What would you do if you were asked to work on a case, contract, or business scenario that gave you ethical qualms? Has this ever happened to you—and what did you do?” 
• “Tell me about a time you had to make a tough call that required you to decide between a gut feeling and the strategic decision-making of outside counsel.” 

5. Make Notes and Follow Up 

Finally, make sure you take notes as often as possible as you progress through the interviews. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of the conversation and then forget everything you needed to know about the candidate when you come back to review later.  

Always set aside some time at the end of each interview to gather your thoughts and catalogue what stood out to you most about the candidate (good and bad) before heading into another interview or meeting.  

Making notes can also help when you’re following up with your candidates by allowing you to provide a more contextual and relevant message and feedback, should they be successful or not. Showing you remember what you said (like any requirements for their starting dates or training they need) shows the potential candidate you’re invested in working with them and that you are attentive to what they were talking about during their time with you. 

Remember, if you’re struggling with your interviewing process, it’s often helpful to seek some help from a specialist recruitment company like ourselves that can help with a lot more than just finding you new candidates – we can also give you advice on how to interview more effectively, with tips on questions you might need to ask. 

About Clayton Legal 

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers. 

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here. 

The last few years have certainly seen monumental shifts in the hiring landscape from talent shortages to remote and flexible working.

There is more to come. The impact of the war in Ukraine and rising inflation due to fuel costs and supply chain issues will undoubtedly impact even more candidate decisions to move for more money as the year progresses.

At the end of 2021, there was a record 1.2 million vacancies according to the O.N.S. across all sectors in the U.K. More than fifty per cent of companies reporting staff shortages said they were struggling to fill vacancies.

Unemployment continues to decline, falling to 1.4 million in the three months to October 2021. While unemployment is still above levels before the pandemic, it is now below the average level in the five years before the beginning of quarter one of 2020.

Before we dive into the legal landscape, let us look at recruiting across other sectors first, which naturally will impact the business growth of the legal sector.

The Hiring Trends Index

The hiring trends index reveals that vacancies reached a record high in quarter one, although the growth rate is slowing down compared to the end of last year.

In the recruitment sector, this is known as a candidate-driven market. This is demonstrated by the fact that over forty per cent of businesses have increased their recruitment since the start of the year.

Most companies plan to keep hiring this year, with only 4% planning to decrease recruitment in Q2 2022.

A few points of note from the index, which are present across many legal firms in the U.K., is that companies are seeing an increase of over 20% in hours worked, resulting in one in ten employees leaving because they ‘feel’ overworked. This is connected to over a quarter of employers being concerned about their staff’s mental wellbeing.

All parts add to a complex hiring equation playing out for legal firms across the U.K.

The War For Legal Talent Will Get Worse

In a recent Law.com post, several U.K. law firm leaders were interviewed about their predictions for 2022. The war for legal talent was a key area for discussion on the back of an increasingly dynamic legal landscape in 2022.

Though several leaders predict a slowdown of the transactional surge that occurred in the last half of 2021, they anticipate a rise in restructuring, insolvency, and dispute work, which will continue to fuel what many call an “unsustainable” war between firms to attract the best.

In today’s marketplace, firms need to consider their benefits package overall. Though increased pay rises and higher salaries will carry on, law firms will have to focus more on aspects such as their company culture, the quality of clients they work with and how they look after and develop their staff.

This was backed up by a recent post in The Guardian, where Jon Boys, the labour market economist at the C.I.P.D. confirmed what is happening across the country. Employers are working harder than ever to keep their staff ‘happy’ and do more for them, be that better clients to work with or the option for flexible working.

As a result of market conditions, many firms are coming to the Clayton team seeking advice on how to improve their employer value proposition in the market, from salaries to looking at alternative working patterns that offer greater flexibility.

Work-life balance is no longer simply a buzzword in the H.R. departments of law firms that want to attract the right legal talent for their growth. Working hard is a given in most law firms; however, many legal candidates are actively considering moving to a more empathetic firm that will allow them to create some balance in their lives.

Alison Brown, an executive partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, a respected international firm, when interviewed by Law.com, also commented that firms need to create a culture that appeals to people. Giving people the best work with work-life balance would be the differentiator when legal candidates choose their next employer.

In summary, candidates are willing to move firms, but with an abundance of choice in such a competitive market, it remains a challenge for employers to truly stand out and offer compelling job opportunities in a Firm that has an already strong employer brand, and is able to articulate it’s vision, culture, and wider employer value proposition.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

The last few years have been challenging for the legal sector. Dealing with the fall out of the pandemic, increased workload, and the impact of overworking on employees’ wellbeing means that many firms also now need to uplevel their leadership skills alongside recruiting new lawyers into their team to lead their firm moving forward.

In turbulent times, everyone looks to great leaders for guidance. Leadership resonates throughout a business, and the quality of your leadership can be the difference between your firm’s ultimate success or failure.

Good leaders exhibit specific traits which allow them to inspire, motivate, engage, and boost the productivity of their legal team.

Today’s post shares five key leadership skills for today’s legal workplace to develop in your team and those to look out for as you recruit.

The Ability to Set Goals Based on a Vision

Great leaders have a vision. All successful law firms were started because the founder had a vision of what they could create.

As you build your legal team at every level, remember that employees often join firms because of the vision and direction shared during the interview, as well as fair pay and conditions, and the opportunity to work with great clients. Unequivocally, elements such as this should be communicated as part of the hiring process.

Innovating and reacting to change is part of a law firm’s growth and is necessary for development. So, it’s vital to deploy your strategy to manage challenges while considering that you need a solid business plan that indicates where you are adjusting and setting relevant goals.

Effective legal leaders ensure everyone is on board with the strategic plan and its ultimate objective – alignment across the firm will be key to success.

Greater leaders can tap into team creativity, developing a sense of purpose that develops an inspired team.

Setting goals in a S.M.A.R.T.  way can also increase performance – specific objectives that are challenging yet achievable are more likely to inspire your team and give them something to work towards collaboratively.

Clear Communication Skills

Part of sharing the vision is the ability to communicate both authentically and with authority.

Law firm leaders must develop the ability to communicate with people at every level, from a stressed-out client to every member of their wider legal team.

Effective leaders must be able to express ideas and information to the people they want to lead.

Successful communication also involves clarity of message, which happens when leaders ditch the jargon and listen to what is important to their team.

As human beings, before we mentally agree to follow someone, we need to feel listened to by our leaders.

Decision-Making Ability

It is easy to assume that everyone in the legal profession has good judgement alongside the ability to make decisions. This occurs as lawyers handle complex caseloads, though not always when addressing challenges in the team or performance managing a difficult employee.

Lawyers are generally confident individuals by nature. However, making decisions in a team setting isn’t always as black and white as it might first appear, as highlighted by Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning professor who developed prospect theory which shifted opinions on decision making.

To make a good decision, you need to understand how different choices change the likelihood of various outcomes and how desirable each of those outcomes is. In other words, decision making requires both prediction and judgment.

Focus on listening and gathering data from your team as you would for any case you are handling, and you will notice how your decision-making ability improves.

Create a Learning and Development Culture

Here at Clayton Legal, we often ask candidates applying for roles whether the law firm hiring has a development culture and one where the team is encouraged to grow and develop. A stronger leader will make this part of the plan for their firm.

With advancements in digital platforms, online learning is easy to implement alongside more formal events in your firm.

Create a training program for your law firm’s team that allows them to engage at their own pace and with topics that interest them personally. These topics should be largely focused on the team member’s speciality and what your firm needs from them, but it’s also valuable to offer the opportunity to learn about areas outside of their speciality.

Being Accountable

Being accountable for both actions and results is the hallmark of a great legal recruit. This is even more vital when we consider the approach of our legal leaders.

Leadership accountability in your law firm is an essential component of a healthy culture. But what is an accountable leader, and how do they drive business results?

Being accountable suggests that leaders are ultimately responsible for outputs, which is true.
There are multiple layers of accountability, including business performance, company culture, client experience, and the legal workforce itself.

For leaders to be accountable, they need to be committed to the business and its people. They must take their role as people leaders seriously, building trust among team members. Accountable leaders clearly communicate their goals and objectives to their teams to foster alignment and team focus. They accept responsibility when things go wrong and give credit for success where it’s due.

What Next?

The legal sector experienced increased growth last year. Many firms are looking for new legal leaders and hires for their teams. This is where Clayton Legal can help. For a conversation about your legal talent growth plan, do not hesitate to contact one of our team.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you’ve never heard of an employer value proposition or brand before, now is the time to expand your education.

According to the CIPD, an employer value proposition is a way your law firm will differentiate itself from competitors when it comes to attracting talent.

The question is, what characteristics do you need to demonstrate to attract talent in the legal sector today?

The U.K. is currently in the grip of one of the worst skills shortages in the last twenty years. Skilled candidates are in the driving seat of their careers, and many will naturally  pick a company based on their brand presence in the market and the narrative related to how they treat their employees.

The last few years have seen talented people re-evaluate their careers and the expectations of the companies they work for. Today, employees will consider moving to get what they want, as highlighted in our recent great resignation post. That might be better pay and conditions, development opportunities and the option to work remotely, amongst other reasons.

Considering the commercial value good legal talent brings to your firm, perhaps it’s time to energise your current employer brand to attract the talent you now want to take your firm forward.

Let’s explore this more in today’s post.

Definitions: EVP versus Employer Brand

According to various sources online, employer branding became prevalent in the early 1990s. Since then, it has become a recognised term in both H.R. and recruitment circles.

An employer brand is an impression your law firm gives as a good place to progress your law career to current employees and key players in the external market. From a talent perspective, these would be active and passive candidates.

So, EVP versus employer brand, what is the connection? The CIPD reminds us that we have an employer brand whether we have consciously developed it or not.

If we were to sit around a table and talk about Wetherspoons or Uber, we would all have an opinion about their brand and how they treat their employees.

The employee value proposition for both these brands could potentially do with some work when it comes to their EVP; in other words, “why would I want to work for Uber of Wetherspoons?”.

EVP is, therefore, the conversation and communication points around why I would want to work for this brand.

Building a Stronger EVP

The topic of this post relates to energising your current EVP to attract and keep legal talent.
Fundamentally an employer value proposition is a list of specific and unique benefits an employee can expect to receive when they join your firm.

Vision, motivation, development, acceptance, a diverse and inclusive environment , benefits, pay, wellbeing, and community. The CIPD defines EVP in a simple and jargon-free way: “The value proposition describes what an organisation stands for, requires and offers as an employer.”

If your people are leaving your firm, your recruiting partner is offering feedback about your perception in the market, and your job offers are being turned down, it’s time to look at your EVP and how you are communicating ‘why you’ into the market place.

Considering the changed expectations of legal talent today, which parts of your EVP need a revamp?

If you want some ideas, look at Microsoft’s Workplace Trends Index. The report highlights an important point that over 40% of the global workforce are considering leaving their current employer for an opportunity to work remotely.

Remote work has created new job opportunities for some, offered more family time, and provided options for whether or when to commute.

Review and Redefine Your EVP

The much-used term related to talent wars is based on the current volatile market and a shortage of skilled applicants for your roles.

More now than ever, it is critical to communicate your compelling offer and make the connection in a candidate’s mind that you are the firm to join.

As a specialist recruiter to the legal sector for over twenty years, we have seen past clients struggle because they have not given their EVP the importance it deserves.

Our role is to showcase your firm to prospective candidates, but it’s not easy if your EVP isn’t an attractive offering in today’s marketplace.

So how do you become more attractive?

As a starting point, review your current state and EVP as you plan your journey.

• What is our vision and mission; has it changed?
• When did we last conduct an employee survey?
• What is our purpose and ‘why’ as a law firm?
• How engaged is our current legal team?
• Do we have a strong leadership team to represent our brand?
• Why would people join us, and why do they stay?
• Do we have an attractive development culture?
• Is our current offer relevant and on point for the talent we want today?
• Do we have an experienced legal recruitment partner that can support our growth goals?

Create an Action Plan With Milestones and Timelines

Once you have assessed where you are, it is vital to take the necessary action. It is all too easy to procrastinate and blame what has happened and assume the current market will change; it won’t.

We are in an age of rapid innovation and digital disruption, with a workforce expecting more from their employers, including support, vision, direction, and development.

Knowing that candidates’ expectations from you, their employer are different, how will you change?

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country
since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and
reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from
Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T.
personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.