Hiring decisions affect liability exposure

To err is human. Lawyers sometimes err, being human by and large.

Hiring errors are not unique to law firms, but can be costly, sometimes more so than missed court deadlines or unforeseen conflicts of interest. They don't appear in professional liability insurers' lists of top 10 causes of claims against lawyers, though they may be the root cause of some errors in practicing law.

Bringing someone new into a law firm is a risky proposition, regardless of his or her experience level, but the converse is also true - not hiring someone can be risky if the current staff cannot meet the clients' needs. In this context a "hiring mistake" isn't an employment practices liability issue, it's a professional liability one.

For most of my 36 years as a lawyer I've been involved in or in charge of recruiting and hiring attorneys, in addition to carrying a full caseload. My training as an interviewer was mostly on-the-job - it's not a subject taught in law school - and I made my share of mistakes.

This isn't to say these people were incompetent lawyers, but that their skills and goals were not a good fit for firms that primary defend tort litigation, often as insurance-appointed counsel. Some of them went on to have successful and fulfilling careers as transactional lawyers or in-house counsel. (Those roles also entail deadlines and pressures, though of a different kind.)

Look in the Mirror

Bringing on an additional lawyer is more than simply filling an empty office. It's a candid assessment of workloads and the specific skills needed to serve the clients who have assigned that work to the firm. Before posting a position to look for candidates, the first place to look is in the mirror.

It's not enough to say, "I think we need a five-year lawyer." Postings for attorneys often use that kind of shorthand to describe an experience level, but an attorney with two years of highly relevant experience in the same area where the firm and its clients have a need may be much more experienced than a five-year attorney for whom the job would be not only a change of venue but a change of career as well.

Within an area of practice there are many needed skills. As St. Paul wrote, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit ... If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" By the same token, there are many talents among lawyers. Some excel in trial skills and arguing motions, but wouldn't be the best choice to write an appellate brief. By looking in the mirror and honestly assessing the aspects of the firm that need shoring up we can avoid mismatches between the person we hire and the work that we truly need help to get done.

Personal Qualities

Candidates for law firm jobs have sometimes asked what personal qualities the firm is looking for, in addition to technical competence. Speaking only for myself, I look for the same qualities in a new lawyer that I would want in my partners: someone who is smart, hardworking and honest. No other personal attributes are relevant, because all other qualities - demeanor, comportment, etc. - flow from them.

For the same reason diversity must be a core goal in hiring. That may sound contradictory: Isn't diversity independent of being smart, hardworking and honest? It is, and that's exactly the point. If a legal team isn't diverse, a lot of smart, hardworking, honest people have been overlooked.

Engaging Millennials

Hiring trends parallel the legal talent pool, and this is especially true when hiring millennials. Maintaining high quality in legal work and building teams than span three generations requires an understanding of the perspectives of lawyers who have recently entered the profession.

In a thoughtful article in the August/September 2016 issue of Experience, the ABA's journal for experienced, older lawyers, Caroline LaPorte explores the myths about millennials and the events that influenced their perspectives toward large organizations.

Generalizations about millennials, like those about any other group, have little predictive value about how a given individual will perform. LaPorte suggests setting aside biases, and taking five steps in managing millennials, which I'll summarize:

1. Firing underperformers, so as not to let performance slip to the least common denominator.

2. Be honest and transparent about expectations - don't make people guess about whether they are doing well.

3. Consistently apply expectations regarding collaboration, such as whether and with what conditions working remotely is allowed, and have the technology needed to allow flexibility while ensuring that time is being used productively.

4. Millennials have grown up with instant feedback, such as Yelp and other online comment systems. Firms that incorporate electronic communications beyond email and use electronic employee review systems can adapt to this preference.

5. Recognize that there are incentives other than salaries, such as paid attendance at work-related conferences.

A dedicated, collaborative team of attorneys, each using his or her special skills to serve the clients' needs, is less likely to make mistakes, and more likely to enjoy working together.