When your firm practices law, it’s very easy to start thinking in terms of legal definitions and complex cases. But, as with any business model, it’s important to focus on more than the technicalities of your operations. You need to focus on the people who keep your company running. As is discussed extensively on this website, a people-centric mentality should be the driving force behind the decisions you make in your business every day.
People keep the cogs of your company turning. If you want to do more to start remembering the people at the core of your law firm then here are some useful pieces of advice.
Hire the right candidates
Obviously, every entrepreneur knows that they have to hire the right candidates for their company, but this is even trickier in the world of law practices. You’re not only looking for attorneys who are well-versed in the specific legal profession your business practices but professionals with the right mindset to merge with your team and deliver the type of service your current team is delivering. As we’ll discuss later in this article, teamwork is everything. When you interview candidates, you should be looking for people that will help you to maintain a balanced yet diverse workplace.
You might want to read up on Ogletree Deakins. Their firm has a shareholder class comprising largely of females. Obviously, you can never get a 50-50 balance between men and women, young employees and old employees, and so on. But the point is that you should be open to professionals of all demographics, backgrounds, and levels of experience.
Millennial attorneys will have a different approach to Generation X attorneys, for example, but that’s something to be cherished. They’re often motivated by meaning rather than money. You need to focus on talent management. Think about what’s important to people. It’s not just about meeting legal requirements for diversity, and it’s not about having an inclusive team for the sake of inclusion – it’s about having a diverse team with diverse ideas and approaches to situations. This will give your company the best possible chance of solving problems quickly and providing extensive advice to clients.
Encourage collaboration
You need to foster teamwork in your workplace if you want to keep people happy and keep your business successful. Of course, you can only do so much to keep your team happy. At the end of the day, you can’t force people to work well together. That’s why you have to choose the right kind of candidates during the hiring process. However, you can encourage collaboration if you notice that a lot of your employees are working independently.
In the legal line of work, certain cases and claims can be incredibly difficult for individuals (no matter how well-trained) to unpack. If you want to protect your brand and ensure your members of staff aren’t overworked then you need to get your attorneys to work together and support one another. Inexperienced attorneys shouldn’t feel intimidated by senior attorneys at your firm, for example. Otherwise, they might hold back from giving detailed legal advice to clients because they don’t want to say the wrong thing or make mistakes. Your team members need to encourage one another to speak out and give their opinions. That’s how they’ll all grow and learn.
If your team can work cohesively then your firm will more easily achieve its goals.
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