In today’s economic world, marketing is more important than ever. The people who are bringing in business are the ones who are going after it. Here’s a great opportunity: for the next 48 hours only, my colleague Paula Black is offering a collection of free bonus gifts to anyone who purchases her latest book: “The Little Black Book: A Lawyer’s Guide To Creating A Marketing Habit in 21 Days.” Designed to help lawyers integrate marketing into their daily lives, this book is quick, easy and inspirational. By purchasing it within the next 48 hours, you’ll receive special access to information and resources from more than 30 industry experts. A compilation of advice from some of the most sought-after experts in the legal arena, “The Smart Lawyer’s Toolkit” gives you instant admittance to an incredible collection of tips and information. Click here for details.
Legal Week recently launched a group for in-house lawyers. Established last month by Legal Week conference editor Anthony Parker, the group enables law department attorneys to to exchange information and build working relationships. The 500-member group is growing fast.
Members include in-house counsel from JP Morgan, Dubai International Capital, Virgin, Nomura, UBS, 3i, Carillion, Chevron, Barclays and IBM. Access to the group provides links to features and analysis from Legal Week and its US sister titles, the latest news stories relating to in-house counsel and corporate legal departments, discussion boards, and information about upcoming events.
To join, click here.
This month’s Corporate Counsel features the magazine’s annual review of top legal departments. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. earned top honors this year for its impressive accomplishments on the precipice of a financial industry meltdown and for its highly-developed internal efforts to promote success within the legal department.
Building a great team, of course, requires hiring great people, but Hartford Financial demonstrates how to push a legal department to truly excel. And having a legal department that excels has never been more critical than it is now in times of tightening budgets and increased scrutiny on legal expenses.
Key lessons your legal department can learn:
- Hire not just talented staff, but talented staff with complementary strengths. Each hire should strengthen the overall team and equip the department to be more agile in the face of changes to the business.
- Systematically implement mentoring and training programs. These are long-term investments that will pay off in recruiting, retention, and productivity.
- Train lawyers within the legal department to hire and manage the relationship with outside counsel. Legal departments of all sizes need their lawyers to take a consistent, strategic approach to working with outside lawyers, particularly in times of tight budgets. Even though most in-house counsel previously worked as outside counsel, many would benefit from training to get the most from outside lawyers.
- Take a hands-on approach to legal work. Keeping in-house counsel actively involved in the matters they manage encourages a better result.
- Encourage innovation. Lawyers are not natural innovators, and change often comes slowly. However, a culture that encourages experimenting with new methods, new approaches, and new perspectives will yield more successes than failures.
You can learn more about Hartford Financial’s successes here: http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202430800136.
Corporate bonuses decreased by an average of 25 percent in 2008, and experts are predicting that companies will continue operating under reduced budgets for at least two more years. To compensate for slimmer compensation packages and retain valued employees, companies will need to boost morale in other ways.
Here are some tips on how to retain talent when budgets are tight:
- Communication from Management. Employees want to be regularly informed and know what’s happening around them – even if the news isn’t positive. Status reports from management give employees a sense of visibility and control.
- Give Employees a Chance to Talk. Periodic “Town Hall” meetings are particularly effective and give employees an opportunity to voice their concerns. It might even be an opportunity to get some fresh ideas.
- Training and Development. This is a great time to cross-train your team and utilize the people who have institutional knowledge about your organization. Investing in training and giving employees an opportunity to broaden their skills demonstrates an investment by the company in their future. Training and development initiatives may also present an opportunity to identify top performers who can someday lead the team when times are better.
As companies consider ways to control spending in 2009, many are choosing to reduce outside counsel costs by bringing more work in-house. Despite layoffs in virtually all areas of the economy, major corporations have found that boosting their in-house team can have long-term cost-cutting benefits.
According to a Chief Legal Officer study released late last year, 75 percent of respondents said they expected budget cuts in 2009, with most of the cuts directed at outside counsel spending. Some will find it necessary to increase law department headcount in order to manage the additional workload.
For companies that choose, however, to refrain from hiring additional lawyers, the budget cuts will likely result in expanded responsibilities and higher expectations for efficiency by in-house lawyers.
Here are some tips on how to work smarter:
- Maximize the use of paralegals
- Develop a strong working relationship with your HR team to minimize labor and employment issues through training and compliance
- Embrace and use technology – now is the time to become an expert on software solutions, electronic invoicing or matter management
- Practice preventive law through training, dispute resolution procedures, contract administration and document retention policies
Budget cuts and efforts by law departments to do more with less this year may provide an opportunity for in-house counsel to diversify areas of expertise and broaden skills, which might come in handy someday.
The economic slump has caused demand for most transactions lawyers to come to a screeching halt. Deal flow is stagnant, credit is scarce, and many attorneys who specialize in real estate and structured finance are looking for jobs.
Areas that continue to experience growth – and hiring -- include:
- Renewable energy project development. Attorneys with experience in power project development, especially wind projects, are in high demand.
- International trade & global compliance. FCPA violations, import/export issues and customs audits keep GCs awake at night. These are mission-critical positions within legal departments.
- E-discovery managers. For many companies that experience a high volume of litigation, these positions are starting to become more prevalent. Recessions tend to increase litigation, so this position will likely play an important role on corporate legal teams.
- Regulatory practices. Demand is increasing for regulatory lawyers, including those who specialize in energy, environmental, securities and now banking.
The credit crisis has wreaked havoc on several practice areas, including real estate and finance. Many lawyers who specialize in these practices are seeking new positions. The problem is that there aren’t many openings for these lawyers right now. Worse, the trend for the last 5-8 years has been to hire “specialists,” those with niche areas of expertise – the round peg for the round hole.
Here are some tips on how to break into a new area, or “re-tool” your practice:
- Start building your résumé and your knowledge base. Attend CLE courses and list them. Research and write an article about a particular area. Better yet, find the experts and ask if you can assist with an article. These people are usually on the speaking circuit and are frequently publishing. They may welcome some assistance on a particular topic.
- Try to get contract work in that area. Many companies and firms need attorneys to fill in on a project basis (not just for document reviews).
- Take on some pro bono work in that area if you can find it.
- Work for a government agency. Although it may be a temporary financial setback, the hands-on experience can be fantastic.
- NETWORK. Despite the trend of hiring lawyers with a track record in a particular area, there are still employers out there who simply want hard-working individuals with bright minds. They just won’t pay a search firm to find them.
Given the state of this economy, I thought this topic deserved some additional attention (See Part I). Even in an economic downturn, companies continue to hire lawyers – but they hire lawyers with different specialties than the ones who are in demand when business is good.
Corporations are trimming budgets now, and in an effort to reduce outside counsel spending, many are adding to their legal departments. At the same time, candidates are skittish about making career moves in this market. “Bonus-driven cultures” are growing more distant in the rearview mirror, and prospective in-house attorneys are now focused on base salary, job security, and corporate financial viability. Despite lay-offs, falling stock prices and general gloom and doom, recruiting top candidates is not any easier!
A strong first offer still makes a powerful impression, and will increase the odds of landing an in-house counsel that may save the company hundreds of thousands in legal fees.
Finding the right candidate seems like the most difficult part of the recruiting process, but it’s frequently the offer negotiation that proves to be the challenge.
A successful negotiation, of course, results in a hire. Ideally, the employer extends the offer and (usually after some consideration), the candidate accepts. Both sides are thrilled and eager to begin a future together. However, the script doesn’t always read that way. Back and forth salary negotiations put the “new job honeymoon” at risk.
Coming out with a low-ball offer that eventually is accepted by the candidate is not necessarily successful. Even a low offer that is later accepted risks leaving both sides with less-than-stellar attitudes. Candidates view the offer as a measure of their value to the company. They are not thinking – at least on the front end -- about legal department budgets, future raises and incentives, and benefits.
The best outcome can be reached by understanding the candidate’s motivations and priorities. More vacation time might be worth less salary. Sign-on bonuses are effective and often can be compelling, even if the salary is lower.
Conducting a legal job search when you’re 50 or older poses some additional challenges. Hiring managers often pass on résumés of senior-level attorneys, assuming they expect a large paycheck, or that they won’t fit into the organizational structure of the legal department.
Here are some tips on marketing yourself:
- Prepare for a longer process. It takes an average of 22 weeks for someone over 55 to find a new position, compared with a much shorter time for attorneys at the lower end of the career experience spectrum. And the higher up on the career ladder you are, the fewer openings you’ll find. Setting your expectations realistically will help maintain a positive outlook.
- Packaging. What is your niche? Having a specialty makes it much easier to get your foot in the door. The majority of job openings seek a particular skill set that the legal department needs. Ironically, once on board, in-house counsel tend to handle a wide variety of matters.
- The Right Recruiters. Once you’ve identified your specialty, it’s wise to target recruiters who focus on that area. They’re likely to have a higher profile and stronger relationships in the industry.
- Networking. Expanding your business and social circles increases the odds of hearing about new openings and getting referrals. Sites such as LinkedIn.com and Plaxo really work!
- TECHNOLOGY. This is crucial. To combat age bias, you must be knowledgeable about all the basics (Outlook, Excel, Word at a minimum). Better yet, get up to speed on instant messaging and blackberries.
- First impressions count. Everything on the outside conveys a message. A contemporary style can erase the impression that you’re stuck in a different generation.
As you gain experience in your legal career, you’re likely to be contacted by a legal recruiter at some point. Here are tips on building and managing strong relationships with them:
Know what you want. Offer yourself as a candidate only if you’re serious about making a change. Headhunters don’t like “tire-kickers.” Legal recruiters are engaged by their clients to find qualified and motivated candidates.
Be available. Once you’ve agreed to submit your resume for a particular position, make yourself available for interviews. Although it’s time-consuming, being too difficult to schedule potentially sends a message to a prospective employer that you’re not interested in the position.
Is everyone on board? Be sure to discuss career moves with family members who would be impacted by a change, or whose voices count in your decision-making process. Don’t get to the offer stage before you discuss relocating with your spouse.
Disclosure. If you have submitted your resume to other firms or companies, and by all means, if you are currently interviewing for a different position than the one for which you’ve been contacted, disclose this information up front. No one likes surprises, especially the firm or company that’s about to make you an offer.
Stay in touch. Check in with legal recruiters about once every two weeks to stay on the radar screen, and especially if you have a status change.
In a recent survey on the effects of associate salary increases conducted by Altman Weil Inc., companies are feeling the ripple effects. In addition to restrictions on the extent to which junior associates can work on files, these increases are having an impact on corporate law department recruiting and hiring.
Attracting and landing qualified candidates is getting harder. In the past, non-executive level lawyers usually took a decrease in salary of approximately 20% when moving from a law firm to a corporate legal department. That percentage has jumped to about 30% - 35% now, which has caused some associates to think twice about leaving.
Corporate human resources departments are also feeling the pressure. As outside counsel rates climb, many GCs are bringing more work in-house, as Law.com reports (see, “General Counsel Keep Close Watch on Associate Pay Hikes,” July 12, 2007). And more work in-house means legal hiring managers are leaning on HR to make budget adjustments in order to attract top lawyers. Hiring a new lawyer at a higher base salary than those at comparable experience levels often necessitates across-the-board adjustments. So, the ultimate beneficiaries of associate raises may end up being the lawyers who are already practicing in corporate departments.
Top attorney candidates often have multiple job offers to choose from, especially in a tight legal job market. How do you maximize your chances of recruiting these lawyers to join your legal team?
1. Quick Contact. Let a candidate know you’re interested quickly. If several days go by following the submission of the resume, candidates assume there’s no interest and move on.
2. Scheduling. After you’ve decided that a candidate is interview-worthy, scheduling an interview quickly demonstrates your interest level.
3. Communication. Prior to the interview, send a written job description and a list of the people with whom the candidate is scheduled to meet. Ideally, that list should contain a brief bio for each interviewer to give the candidate valuable information about the people on the team.
4. Feedback. Candidates have taken time off to come to your office for interviews. They want to know how the meeting went and whether they’ll be advancing to the next step. If you’re on the fence about moving forward, just make a call to let them know you’re still in the evaluation process. It’s the thought that counts.
5. Branding. Every communication with a candidate brands your company. Difficulties with scheduling, last-minute interview changes, changes to the job description and delays in feedback following interviews not only risk losing strong candidates to other jobs, but may suggest to outsiders that things are a little crazy or disorganized on the inside. At worst, candidates may get a negative impression of how the company values people.
Not long ago, in-house counsel positions were highly coveted and in far greater demand than supply. With recent consolidation trends, new law firm associate salary raises, and the often large compensation disparities between law firm partners and in-house counsel, deciding whether to accept that in-house offer requires due diligence.
Preliminary Research
Learn as much about the company as you can. Good sources of publicly available materials include Hoover’s, Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, and of course, the company’s website. Search the Internet for company news items from the past year and read the analysts’ reports. Finally, use your own network of personal contacts – do you know any former in-house lawyers from the company, or lawyers who might have worked on an outside counsel basis for this company?
Ask Good Questions
Part of your research involves asking good interview questions (see my post of August 2, 2007 on good interview questions).
Law Department Profiles
How long has the General Counsel been in the role? If approaching retirement, what’s the succession plan? Do you like, respect and want to work for this person?
Get information about members of the legal department. Simply knowing experience levels, titles and practice areas can be useful.
No amount of research, insightful questions and diligence can reveal every potential problem, but you’ll hopefully have a better feel for the department and the company before you take the job.
My clients frequently consult me on law department benchmarking as an initial step in the hiring process. According to the 2006 Altman Weil/Lexis Nexis Law Department Metrics Benchmarking Survey (conducted and published annually), most legal departments are staffed in accordance with lawyers per total revenues. Averages are as follows:
- 3.49 lawyers per billion in revenues
- 1 paralegal per billion in revenues (or .3 paralegals per lawyer)
- 2 administrative assistants per billion in revenues
According to the survey, average internal costs per lawyer were $333,000. In my experience, the balance tips in favor of adding an additional lawyer to the department when outside counsel costs in a particular area exceed $400,000. However, certain industries have much higher headcount needs, such as electrical and chemical manufacturing. See also the Law.com In-House Counsel section for additional information.
Another excellent resource for law department benchmarking is Rees Morrison, a consultant with Hildebrandt International.For an industry that runs on natural resources, it’s the human component that is becoming its newest challenge. The energy sector of the economy is more active than at any other time in the last 20 years. However, the industry has not only failed to attract new graduates, but it has lost seasoned professionals.
Despite periodic spectacular earnings over the last 20 years, the oil and gas attorney workforce has been declining steadily for almost 20 years. The industry slump of the 1980’s was unusually severe and left long-lasting scars. Moreover, the “dirty industry” image has not done much in the past to attract people to the profession. Many recall the oil-soaked birds and dead otters on the beach following the Exxon-Valdez spill. Others simply viewed the industry as a slow-growth, old economy behemoth.
Like other oil and gas professionals, lawyers left the industry for less cyclical sectors of the economy. However, unlike other industries affected by the economic downturn, the energy industry recovery did not bring these professionals back, nor were they replaced with new talent. And the high tech boom of the late 1990’s provided refuge for the best and brightest.
Adding to the problem, the average age in the oil and gas industry workforce is 49 – among the oldest of any sector in the U.S. economy. According to Martindale Hubbell, 85% of the lawyers who specialize in oil and gas law have more than 10 years of experience. In addition, a Labor Department study found that more than 65% of workers in the oil and gas industry are between the ages of 35 and 54, while only a “small” percentage are in their twenties.
With the retirement wave approaching and global demand at record levels, energy industry legal departments are headed for a human resource crisis.
Continue Reading...After months of filling multiple roles in your legal department, you’ve finally received approval for a new attorney hire. The first step is creating the job description. Often, we become so familiar with our own organization that we fail to include the “sizzle factor” when advertising legal job openings and consequently, miss out on a great marketing opportunity.
Here are 6 tips to make your job description stand out:
- Brief Summary. Provide a one-sentence opener with simple information about the company and the position. For example: “Fortune 500 energy company based in Houston seeks a senior commercial transactions counsel to support the pipeline division.”
- Ideal Experience. List the type of experience that will lead to success in this position. Providing this information sometimes causes candidates to self-screen (depending on where you post the job), and might save you from an avalanche of unqualified résumés.
- Position Details. What is the role? To whom does it report? If you have a range with an absolute maximum, list it. If you think you might want to consider candidates with on-point experience but who might have higher compensation expectations, leave the range open or negotiable, depending on experience.
- Opportunity. What’s great about this job? What will this employee get to learn and accomplish? How will it advance a career?
- Describe the company. Along with the basics, such as company size (in revenues and number of employees), industry and location, be sure to include information about the company vision for the short and long term, and what it’s like to work there.
- Benefits. Provide detailed information about your benefits offering. Many descriptions merely tack on a line at the end that says, “… and excellent benefits.” Remember – this component is increasingly important to Generations X, Y and beyond. Most law firms don’t offer a 401(k) with a matching contribution to non-partners, and very few companies these days offer defined benefit plans.
You’ve been through the pile of resumes for the last time and have finally selected your top five attorney candidates to interview. How will you elicit the information you need during that initial meeting?
Here’s a list of good questions to ask (of course, after the small talk):
- What interests you about this company? About this position?
- If you could design the perfect job for yourself, what would you do? Why?
- As a professional, how would others describe you? How would your boss describe you?
- What can you do for our company that no one else can?
- How do you structure your time?
- What do you like about your current job?
- What are your three biggest accomplishments in your current job? In your career?
- Describe a work situation in which you had to delegate responsibility. How did it turn out?
- Describe a time when you took initiative with respect to a particular project at work.
- What is the best constructive criticism you’ve ever received? Why?
- Tell me about a time when you made what you consider a mistake or bad decision on the job. How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time when you set specific work goals for yourself. How did things turn out?
- How do you typically handle stress on the job? Describe an example.
- Can you describe a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty for a client?
- Imagine it’s six months after you started this job. On what criteria will you rely to determine you’ve made the right choice?
Federal and state laws prohibit asking certain questions during an interview. The basic rule of thumb for playing it safe when conducting an interview is to keep it job-related.
Here’s a list of topics to avoid:
- Age or date of birth
- Sex, race, creed, color, religion or national origin
- Disabilities of any kind
- Date and type of military discharge; military service
- Marital status
- Maiden name (for females)
- Citizenship (however, “do you have the legal right to work in the U.S.” is acceptable)
- Whether a person has children and what childcare arrangements have been made
- Psychological treatment history
- Arrest record
- Number of sick days last year
- Worker’s compensation filings or injuries on the job
- Retirement plans
- Residence ownership
- Pregnancy status
- Credit history
- Birthplace of parents or spouse
For more information, you can consult the EEOC: http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeo/overview_practices.html .
Letting an employee go is one of the most difficult tasks to navigate as a manager. And yet, talent management, cutting costs, and redundancy elimination following a merger may all be eventual business necessities.
Here are 8 tips to make it as painless as possible:
- CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY. Make sure you understand the law and get coaching on traps to avoid.
- Read the employee handbook. It contains all your company’s policies and procedures.
- No surprises: make sure you’ve documented performance issues in the file.
- If this is a performance issue, this is your opportunity to put the employee on notice and give her time to correct the problem.
- If you plan to offer a severance package, a fair trade is a release of liability.
- Keep it short and resist the urge to “sugar coat” the news.
- Being “layoff-friendly” and helping the employee find a new job is a good idea, if possible.
- Respect the privacy of the departing employee, but don’t underestimate the importance of communicating news to existing employees when appropriate.
1. Learn the Business: What are your clients’ daily challenges?
2. Be a Partner: Don’t just identify problems – solve them.
3. Deliver Great Work: Empathize and prioritize.
4. Communicate: What’s the bottom line?
5. Build Relationships: Networking still counts for in-house lawyers.
6. Manage: Start by managing staff or integrating new lawyers.
7. Watch the Pennies: You’re part of a cost center.
8. Diversify: Get out of your comfort zone.
1. In what capacity did you work with Jane Doe?
2. How would you describe her overall performance?
3. What would you say are her strengths?
4. What do you feel would be areas for development?
5. How did she get along with co-workers?
6. How capable is she of working independently?
7. Tell me about written (or verbal) communications – did her work require much revision?
8. If you could, would you re-hire her? Why or why not?
9. [Describe the job]. Do you believe she would be effective in this role? Why?
