Featured Candidates
Litigation Attorney
Jonathan is a senior level attorney with 15 years of experience in employment litigation and a portable book of business. See his full resume here.
Corporate
Associate
Jessica is a 3rd year associate and DU graduate with extensive compliance
and transactional
experience.
See her full resume here.
Tanya is an excellent paralegal with
7 years of domestic practice experience.
See her full resume here. |
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Doreen is a veteran legal assistant who types 80+ words per minute and has substantive experience in transactional work and commercial
litigation.
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Greetings!
The Colorado legal market looks stronger and its future appears brighter than we have seen in over 18 months. We are happy to report that a number of our clients are again looking for top billing talent, mainly attorneys and paralegals, to expand their ranks. Litigation practice areas are leading the way, but other practice groups have also increased their hiring. An increase in legal hiring may be just one indicator, but we believe that it foretells promising things for, first, Colorado's legal market and eventually the Colorado business market at large. As business grows, it will be even more important that you hire and retain the best available legal talent.
This month's newsletter focuses on building a better legal profession through happier and more productive employees. For business, company employees develop the ideas and produce the products that are sold to the customer. For law firms, partner and employee time is the product that is sold to the client. In either case, it is imperative that a working environment is created to get the most out of your working professionals. The first article, Building a Better Legal Profession, references the fact that law students now evaluate their potential law firm employers on more than just firm prestige. The second and third articles, respectively, address how firms and companies can bring new employees on-board and how some attorneys define 'happiness'.
We hope that you will find this newsletter edition both relevant and useful. As always, please see our featured attorney and legal staff candidates in the upper left hand corner. The resumes of our featured candidates and our other top notch candidates can be viewed on the 'Recruiting' page of our website at www.lawqteam.com. We hope that you have a great November and find both professional and personal successes. Please feel free to contact us with any of your recruiting or employment questions.
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Truly yours,
David James Fennell Esq.
LAW Q, LLC |
Building a Better Legal Profession
By Karen Dybis, The National Jurist
What started as a small group of committed law students has blossomed into a national effort - and a soon-to-be published book - that hopes to change the way law firms work.
Building a Better Legal Profession will release its "Guide to Law Firms: A Ranking of the Nation's Leading Law Firms" in January 2009. The book is a resource guide for students in the midst of the hiring process, said the book's lead student editor Irene Hahn.
"The BBLP guidebook gives you the information you need to navigate the hiring process knowledgeably, rather than throwing your hands up and declaring that all law firms are alike except for, say, their relative prestige. They aren't," Hahn said. "We want to help students distinguish between firms, and to get them started thinking about those distinctions well before the hiring process begins."
Hahn said the book attempts to give students a more holistic picture of law firms that asks them to consider factors such as geography, work-life balance, diversity and pro bono commitment.
"We really believe that thoughtful decision-making is good for students and also good for law firms," Hahn said. "It leads students to choose firms that they are likely to stay with longer, but it also rewards law firms who have done the most to improve, for instance, the diversity of their attorneys or the flexibility of their parental leave policies. Hopefully, this will encourage other firms to re-examine their policies as well."
BBLP was created in January 2007 by Stanford Law School students. Co-presidents Andrew Bruck and Andrew Canter headed the group, which wrote a well-received white paper about the negative effects of the billable hour requirements at private law firms. Their work was reported widely, including in The Wall Street Journal.
The group's next move would be even more controversial.
Using publicly available data, the BBLP studied law firms on various "quality of life" criteria. The result was a set of rankings for six primary law markets. The group released the data in October 2007 and word spread across media and online outlets nationwide. Law firms either loved or hated the resulting list.
Those that received top rankings liked the attention so much they published it on their Web sites; others made efforts to improve their scores for the next go-around.
These days, the BBLP is working on a campus lecture tour in hopes of starting more chapters, said President David Brook. The group recently expanded their rankings to 11 major markets. It also is launching a new effort that will study the partnership path at the nation's law firms.
So where are "The Andrews" now? Bruck moved home to New Jersey, where he will be clerking for Stuart Rabner, the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. And Canter is in Biloxi, Ms., where he is an Equal Justice Works Fellow with the Mississippi Center for Justice, representing residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast in a variety of housing matters.
* reprinted with permission 2009 |
| The 10 Commandments of Employee Onboarding
Careerbuilder.com
Effective employee onboarding has a positive domino effect: it ensures that new hires feel welcome and prepared in their new positions, in turn giving them the confidence and resources to make an impact within the organization, and ultimately allowing the company to continue carrying out its mission.
Much like the dreaded first day of school, the first day at a new job is rife with potential for embarrassing oneself - from getting lost on the way to the bathroom, to forgetting important paperwork, to not knowing the rules (both explicit and unspoken). But as nerve-wracking as starting a new job is for new employees, this time is no trip to wine country for managers either.
Charged with the task of making new employees feel welcome, establishing their responsibilities, orienting them in their new position and familiarizing them with the company culture, there's a lot to cover and the process is often overwhelming.
"Transitions are periods of opportunity, a chance to start afresh and to make needed changes in an organization. But they are also periods of acute vulnerability, because you lack established working relationships and a detailed understanding of your new role."
The preceding is an excerpt from The First 90 Days, written by Michael Watkins, a professor at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland and renowned leadership transition expert. As Watkins points out - and as talent management experts have long asserted - employee onboarding, the orientation or mainstreaming process of a new position, is a crucial element in both individual and organizational development and establishes a foundation for future success.
Onboarding: Not just for employees anymore
True, employee orientation centers around and exists to help the individual employee, but it is the company that ultimately reaps the benefits of this practice. Consider the following benefits of proper orientation:
Reduces costs associated with learning on the job
Saves co-workers and supervisors time training the new employee, thereby increasing production
Increases morale and reduces turnover by showing the employee he/she is valued U.S. and U.K. employees cost businesses an estimated $37 billion every year because they do not fully understand their jobs, according to IDC.
Not convinced? U.S. and U.K. employees cost businesses an estimated $37 billion every year because they do not fully understand their jobs, according to IDC. Their recently released white paper, "$37 billion: Counting the Cost of Employee Misunderstanding," commissioned by international intelligent assessment company Cognisco, quantifies the losses that occur as a result of "actions taken by employees who have misunderstood or misinterpreted - or were misinformed about or lack confidence in their understanding - of company policies, business processes, job function or a combination of the three." Effective onboarding helps workers understand their roles and the company they work for, thereby significantly cutting these losses.
The 10 Commandments of Onboarding
Rules to live - and work - by for a divine onboarding experience.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy employee. Few things are more disappointing than the realization that the job you thought you were hired to do is sorely different than what you're actually doing. As an employer, misrepresenting your employee's new role destroys trust in you immediately, after which no amount of orientation efforts can undo the initial damage.
Thou shalt give a written plan of employee objectives and responsibilities. A written plan detailing objectives, strategy and expectations of future results helps diminish any confusion about a new employee's job functions and instead opens up the floor to discuss concerns or new opportunities.
Thou shalt give thy employ thy undivided attention. Letting email, phone calls or other employees distract you during orientation sessions sends the message, "I'm just not that into you" and kills morale. Prepare a checklist of subjects to review with your new employees, set aside the appropriate amount of time to do it, and let others know that you are not to be interrupted while you are orienting your new workers. This gives new employees the message that they are the most important item on your agenda. (Or: this lets new employees know that...)
Thou shalt have relevant paperwork ready. Make sure all administrative forms-such as employment, direct deposit, and benefits-are ready to be completed on day one so you don't have to waste time dealing with it later, and so that your employee can start getting these important matters taken care of right away.
Thou shalt introduce thy employee to thy neighbors. Provide staff members with the new employee's résumé and job description and advise them to follow a meeting format that includes sharing a description of their own positions, ways in which their roles interact with that of the new hire, and how they might expect to work together in the future. (This is also a good time to assign a mentor or buddy to the new hire as an immediate resource for any questions and key information about organizational culture and goals.)
Thou shall set up thy employee's workstation. An empty workstation is to a new employee what an unkempt home is to a houseguest. Before the employee arrives on day one, stock his or her workstation with everything from paper and pens to keys and, if possible, business cards. Make sure the phone and computer, complete with voicemail and e-mail accounts, are set up. Leave a copy of an organizational chart, staff list, and phone directory on the new hire's desk.
Thou shalt schedule one-on-one time to ensure you connect regularly with the new employee. If you can't do this on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, schedule meetings to provide feedback at 30- and 90-day checkpoints, or before a semi-annual review.
Thou shalt create a balance. The first day is always tough. Vary the first day's schedule by including less formal gatherings between meetings. Arrange for a group of staff members to treat the new hire to lunch on the first day to provide a little non-meeting relief and levity.
Thou shalt clarify the company culture. Again, to avoid future confusion (or embarrassment), provide the employee with company information, policies - including dress code and late policies - and benefits. If your organization has a new employee handbook, leave that on the desk as well.
Thou shalt think beyond the first few days. After 90 days, request formal feedback on the new hire's performance from his or her supervisor, and be sure to solicit feedback from the employee as well. Take this opportunity to address any issues of concern as well as note any accomplishments so that all parties are confident that the new hire is poised for success in his or her role.
*reprinted with permission 2009 |
Taking Control over Your Career and Your Life:
Happy Lawyers
By Mark L. Byers, Ph.D. and Ronald W. Fox, Esq.
The voice over the phone was breathless with excitement. "I'm so happy," she said, "I can't believe I'm a lawyer!" She was calling to say she had just made the transition from a large firm to a small tax firm which serviced family businesses. As time went on, she reported a deep satisfaction with her work, but as the usual thorny challenges of our profession mounted, the euphoria subsided.
I found myself thinking of this client as I reviewed recent postings to the forum which accompanies this column. When JLE asks if anyone knows a "happy lawyer", I assume she is not thinking about "happy" as in "having fun" because I would then have to say that I have not known many such lawyers nor would I ever expect to be one.
The sense of fun, if I ever had it, ended the day in 1970 when I took on the representation of a tenants' association in a public housing project in my hometown of Lynn, Massachusetts - and began to learn how and to whom the legal profession distributes legal services in this country. For most of that decade I was involved in efforts to deliver legal services to individuals with low and middle income - legal clinics, lawyer referral programs, divorce mediation, group legal services. The reality today is still that very few individuals in society can afford a lawyer for personal plight issues - family, education, health, employment, discrimination, environmental injury, housing, small business and consumer matters. Every day we read, see and hear mind-numbing stories of injustice in the inner cities and elsewhere. Not much fun there.
My work is not fun. My wife asked me the other day why I still get angry when the subject of law schools comes up. I told her that she should have the opportunity to listen to the stories that I have heard on a daily basis for the last fifteen years - from law students in the 80's and lawyers in the 90's. They entered law school with confidence, talents, smarts, dreams of justice and high hopes and left three years later with few legal skills, limited awareness of the values of the profession, little knowledge of the range of options for a career, not a clue about how to look for work and a mountain of debt. They were transformed into cynical individuals with a false, narrowed perspective of their choices and a dramatically reduced sense of self-worth. The long term effect of such an experience is evidenced by our realization that it usually takes from nine to twelve years before lawyers walk in our door. So, observing all of this is not fun.
BUT if JLE is asking whether I know of any lawyers who feel that they are doing something meaningful with their lives, lawyers who derive satisfaction because they believe that through their efforts the world may be a bit better, I respond that I have read about or known thousands in the 37 years I have been in the profession. What is more, I have been deeply gratified to have helped some of these people. I work with lawyers who are to varying degrees dissatisfied with their present situation. But I look forward to going to work each day - to responding to the questions of clients and those who call to ask what we do. When I have helped lawyers make transitions to positions where they are going to use their training to help people they want to help in areas of the law that appeal to them, I feel as though I have done something meaningful.
The thread of the recent messages that most deeply concerns me is the sense that it is hopelessly difficult to find meaningful positions in and around the law. I strongly disagree (unless you want to be an associate in a firm of 200 lawyers where your chances are probably less than 1 in a 1000). If you want to represent middle income people in the areas of family law, personal injury, criminal defense, small business representation, home buying, employee rights, consumer protection, products liability, all you need to do is become aware of the breadth of options the lawyer has and make a commitment to taking a position only if it is consistent with your personal values and professional goals.
Thousands of lawyers have found satisfaction simply by helping someone being treated unfairly - someone who has been wrongly denied some basic human right or service. Lawyers have felt good about standing up for disabled children, abused women, wrongfully evicted tenants, children who have ingested lead paint, AIDS patients denied health benefits, individuals denied social security and other benefits, homeowners whose land was polluted, victims of police brutality.
After all, something must account for the fact that the majority of lawyers still report satisfaction in their work despite the frustrations and difficulties that afflict the profession. Research on lawyer dissatisfaction shows that negative, deteriorating working conditions, in the form of long hours, little control over assignments and the like, are responsible for discouragement with the profession. The presence of positive work variables, such as the presence of intellectual challenge, can and do outweigh the negative. This is simply to say that we can put up with a lot when work is aligned with our deepest values. At least a third of those entering law school say they want to work in large or medium sized firms, but ultimately these goals will be viable only if they can find meaningful roles in those settings; and, past a certain point, meaningful does not imply remunerative. The same research shows that three quarters of all entering law students are seeking intellectual challenge or social service over financial reward. The options for finding these satisfactions are greater than they realize.
If your goal is being this kind of "happy lawyer", there is no reason you can't attain it. I find it hard to believe that you can't. Take the Career Options Exercise in Through the Looking Glass -What Are Your Options the fifth article in the Find Satisfaction in the Law Column. Write to the Forum and tell us what you want and what you have done so far and we will work together to help you find a position consistent with your hopes and your vision. Then you can say, "I'm so satisfied, I know now why I am a lawyer."
*reprinted with permission 2009 | |
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