Career

November 1, 2022 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

Continuing Education Will Help You Secure Your Next Legal or IT Job

Continuing Legal Education is a chess move in your favor.

To remain at the top of your field as a paralegal or IT team member, you must keep your skills current. In addition to keeping up with any changes in statutes and case law, paralegals should stay on top of changes that will affect their ability to do their jobs efficiently. Both paralegals and IT employees should remain tech-savvy and current with document management improvements, trial techniques, and court rules.

As a paralegal or IT professional, taking continuing education courses is an excellent way to stay on top of changes in the law and advances in the legal field.

Here are the top 3 benefits of continued education:

Increased value to the firm. Increasing your knowledge, building additional skills, and strengthening your current skills will make you invaluable to your law firm. In the long run, staying on top of your game may also lead to a raise or promotion.
Better performance. As you gain confidence by learning how better to perform your job, you will be able to handle more tasks. Your new techniques and skills will make you more productive and efficient.
Advanced communication skills. Paralegals often are the “go-between” for all parties involved in a case (attorneys, clients, courts, experts, witnesses). IT personnel are usually solving multiple problems at once under highly stressful situations. Successful law firms are built on great communicators!

Paralegals and IT team members who regularly attend continuing education courses are more marketable and have more opportunities for career growth. Not only does learning more help you to be an asset to your law firm, but it will also open the door for your career growth. Remember to update your resumes annually with your completed continuing education credits.

Top IT Skills

In February of this year, Team BRYTER wrote that in-house legal technology budgets will grow 200% by 2025. As these departments become increasingly dependent on technology to keep up the pace, IT specialists and tech-savvy legal professionals will most likely skyrocket.

One specialty predicted to continue in high demand is e-discovery/litigation. As document formatting changes due to improvements in software, professionals who are well-acquainted with the latest in e-discovery and knowledgeable about file compatibility across different platforms will have a leg up against other candidates. A paralegal with a background in predictive coding and further analysis software might cut document review by hours and make for a highly valued prospect.

What Recruiters are Looking For

Workflow, in general, will continue to embrace both automation and digitization, and having tech-friendly skills at hand will only help your chances on the market. Updating your skill set in these areas will raise your chances of success in the face of future tech innovations and a changing work environment.

Recruiters look for candidates with experience using legal research products such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. Potential employers may also expect proficiency in client software suites such as Google Workspace and Office 365. In addition, if you know law practice management software such as Clio and PracticePanther, you may gain an edge over your competition.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, we have matched top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for over a decade. Our focus is on building long-term relationships with the companies we assist. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team or aid job seekers in finding the most appropriate position for their talents.

June 25, 2022 by Amy Shanks

3 TECH TRENDS AFFECTING 2022 AND BEYOND

The legal profession leads the way in some of the first implementations of new technologies.

Our dependence on technology has made big changes in the legal industry. Whether an increase in automated tasks, the growing field of artificial intelligence, or the need for better cybersecurity, we expect these tech trends to affect legal firms’ workflow and reputation moving forward. For example, a shift toward higher “tech literacy” will send signals to your clients and potential clients about who can best serve their needs.

Stay current with technology by watching these tech trends:

Automated Tasks

Since lawyers will always be around, documents are here to stay. In fact, that’s how automation began to take over in the law business. Also, it’s created more jobs with eFiling, eDiscovery, and more. In 2017, researchers from the Mckinsey Global Institute stated that 23 percent of lawyers’ tasks could be automated.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that assists a user to send emails, automate logins, prepare documents, and copy data from document scans. Those that support RPA technology claim that firms can save somewhere between 30-40% of their time with automation. Because of the time saved, use of RPA in the legal sector is expected to rise in the coming years.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

More than half of all legal work done in-house is repetitive and easily repeated by a program. Allowing artificial intelligence to manage data and perform document analysis is the way of the future. It’s cost-effective in lowering the number of human mistakes and time dedicated to those tasks. As standard data storage increases, AI programs will index file volumes and streamline data management. Plan for an increase in your firm’s need for Tech-savvy employees who know how to work with AI to your advantage.

Cybersecurity

The amount of information that moves through an office network has reached critical mass. Since firms handle sensitive client and corporate data, there is always the risk of a network breach by profiteers. Attackers can pull off ransomware attacks with few resources. Due to this threat, it’s no surprise that network security, response plans, and crisis management have seen renewed attention.

By providing dedicated resources to privacy and data protection, the firm protects clients’ rights. Also, a firm that cherishes privacy boosts its reputation. Make sure to include IT professionals in your personnel plan that know how to keep your legal software up to date. Even if you hire out cybersecurity, you will still need employees able to communicate with your cybersecurity company to keep your firm running seamlessly.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, your success is our success. Our reputation for client satisfaction results from our commitment to clients’ objectives and beyond. We are the legal and tech recruiting firm for top employers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf Region. Our focus is on building a long-term relationship with companies that employ the highest-quality professionals. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best fit to join a legal or IT team.

March 15, 2022 by Amy Shanks

HOW EMPLOYERS CAN NAVIGATE AROUND “THE GREAT RESIGNATION”

It’s a job candidate’s market, as employees request higher pay, flexibility and work-life balance.

For employers, the pandemic’s economic crisis caused plenty of revisions in employment policies and procedures. Most organizations found innovative ways to retain talent while keeping their employees safe and productive. However, not every employer successfully kept the economic fallout at bay. Many had to face impactful changes to their workforce. As of January, an estimated 4.5 million Americans quit their positions and sought employment in a new role or another industry.

The Achievers Workforce Institute reported in 2021, 52 percent of employees did not intend to stay in their current roles and were seeking new employment. In addition, 64 percent of employees polled thought about leaving. And a shocking 77 percent of those employed in their current position for less than a year said they were open to seeking employment elsewhere.

Recruiting and Retaining Talent In Law Firms

Employers lost workers and had trouble replacing them as other companies offered more incentives. As employees continue to request higher pay, flexibility, and work-life balance, it is undoubtedly a candidates’ market.

In its 2021 State of the Legal Industry Report, Thomson Reuters Institute and the Center for Ethics and the Legal Profession at Georgetown University stated law firms could lose up to 25 percent of their legal talent annually.

According to the report, here are some of the actions employers can take to improve a firm’s position for retention or recruiting:

provide resources for lawyer and professional staff support through wellness and mental health programs;
take a flexible approach to remote work, part-time work, and flextime arrangements; and
develop policies and procedures to assure equity and fairness in an assignment, evaluation, compensation, and promotion decisions;
make appropriate investments in technology to keep the firm on the cutting edge of technology; and
find additional ways to foster social engagement and camaraderie within the firm.

Finally, it is time for law firms to think beyond financial incentives. To effectively recruit and retain law firm talent today, you must continue to elevate the employee experience.

What Can Employers Do?

Listening to direct input from employees is one of the simplest ways to retain talent. If an action plan develops with employee concerns in mind, its success is more likely. Showing appreciation to a demoralized workforce is crucial. Seventy-nine percent of people leaving their jobs say they feel unappreciated.

The truth is the solution to keeping your best talent is not scientific. Employers willing to offer growth and opportunity within a high-performance work culture will incentivize employees to stay.

The solution is to bolster retention while ramping up your recruiting efforts immediately. Does your firm have recruiting marketing strategy? If not, now is the best time to create one.

Harvard Business Research suggests that employers take note of the following when retaining and recruiting employees:

The Best Employers Elevate Their Employee’s Purpose

Prove to employees that there’s more to your organization by defining your purpose. Don’t just talk about purpose. Use it to shape what you do and how you do it.

Provide Opportunities for Advancement

Give employees new opportunities to advance. Employees want to stay if you give them a reason to stay. Most importantly, each time you provide a chance for advancement, you provide incentives to the other team members to do their best work.

Prioritize culture and connection

Take the time to connect and build relationships. Research revealed that the social connections within an organization during the pandemic positively impacted productivity.

Our recruiters will partner with you in searching for highly talented legal, management and technology hires. Furthermore, our recruiters will lend their industry knowledge, experience, tools, and technology to enhance your recruiting strategy. We have been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for over a decade. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.

February 6, 2022 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

ARE OFFICE ROMANCES A GOOD IDEA?

Workplace Relationship Romance — Are office romances a good idea?

With Valentine’s Day around the corner and a future, as of publication, where regular, pre-pandemic contact with others seems possible, it’s an understatement to say quite a few people are thinking about romance. It isn’t easy to know why you have feelings stirring up over your co-worker, but office romance is an age-old phenomenon.

In a 2021 survey from Zety, the site found that 58 percent of people responded “yes” when asked if they had dated a co-worker. While there are ways, as discussed in a previous SRS Insight, that an office romance can be kept professional, Zety also reports that of the 75 percent of respondents who tried to keep their romance discreet, their co-workers found out 82 percent of the time. With these numbers in mind, it might be worth considering how dating in your workplace might be a terrible career decision that negatively affects you, your partner, and the work environment as a whole.

Gender Complications

When asked if the office romance harmed the professional relationship, 25 percent of women said “yes” compared to 13 percent of men. The power dynamics between genders should be considered before dating your co-worker. Especially in businesses that have traditionally favored men in positions of power, When there are 72 percent of women and only 59 percent of men saying their office fling was long-term, that is revealing. There is no stopping turbulent relationships from directly affecting the office culture.

Is it “Right?”

It depends. Certainly plenty of people, 33 percent formed a stable, committed relationship while and after working together. But much like concern over power dynamics due to gender or role, there’s also a question of ethics. Zety reports that 52 percent of respondents had dated a peer, with 24 percent dating a subordinate. That’s nearly 1 in 4 in higher positions that had romances involving possible conflicts of interest and nepotism. Within these office romances, there were many decisions made that may have affected their romantic partner’s career. Furthermore, the survey revealed 11 percent of respondents dated their boss, and 8 percent had dated someone who outranked them. Dating your boss or manager is a horrible idea and can cross some dangerous ethical lines depending on the situation.

Thinking about how to move forward in your career? At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, your success is our success. Our reputation for superior client satisfaction results from a tireless commitment to exceeding our clients’ objectives. We are the recruiting firm for top employers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf Region. Our recruiters will partner with you in searching for highly talented legal, management and technology hires. They will lend their industry knowledge, experience, tools, and technology to enhance your recruiting strategy. Furthermore, we have been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for over a decade. Our focus is on building a long-term relationship with your company. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.

December 3, 2021 by Amy Shanks Leave a Comment

YOUR PARALEGAL RESUME SHOULD FEATURE THESE FIVE TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

Being a great communicator is one of the five transferrable skills that paralegals need to land their dream job!

Your paralegal resume should always be strong, but for recent graduates and those new to the profession, experience may be lacking on the page. However, you most likely have a varied skill set to offer, and these skills are highly transferable. If you find yourself without a substantial amount of experience to highlight in your resume, building the document around your transferable skills is a sound strategy for guaranteeing you stand out from the other applicants.

1. Paralegals Must Demonstrate That They Can Prioritize

Planning is a simple but invaluable skill in all sectors. Any activities, assignments, and projects you organized while attending school make for a sincere demonstration of your ability to plan and act on the blueprints you create. Events you’ve put together are also significant items in your history that show the importance you place on solid planning.

2. For Paralegals, Communication is Key

Interviewers will always favor excellent communicators. Both written and spoken communication skills are vital in paralegal work. By providing the details of papers, projects, and presentations that you’ve completed, you can give your resume a leg up in this department.

3. Problem-Solving is the Universal Skill for Paralegals

All of us have solved a problem in a way unique to us. Even if you believe it to be unrelated to law, chances are you’ve found a way to clear a hurdle in your personal or professional life that was more efficient than your previous tries at it. By showing you can improve on how a task is completed to make the result more effective, you’re also illustrating how you can better guarantee client satisfaction.

4. Knowing How to Negotiate and Mediate is Key

Are there situations where you have met resistance head-on and made progress? These anecdotes reveal how savvy you are at knowing when to push and when to give under pressure. Moot court, debate, and panel discussions are a few examples of activities you could include in your resume to exhibit your capability in this area.

5. Paralegals Must Excel In the Details, Details, Details

Proving you are detail-oriented is far more helpful than stating it. To make sure you’re viewed as having a knack for accuracy, proofread your resume carefully for any mistakes. Listing any editing experience, responsibilities where you managed data such as cash flow, and preparation of policy and procedure documents are all great instances where your attention to detail will be on display.

At Strategic Recruitment Solutions, your success is our success. Our reputation for superior client satisfaction results from a tireless commitment to exceeding our clients’ objectives. We are the recruiting firm for top employers in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf Region. Our recruiters will partner with you in your search for highly talented legal, management and technology hires. They will lend their industry knowledge, experience, tools, and technology to enhance your recruiting strategy. We have been matching top companies with top talent in the Gulf Region for more than a decade. Our focus is on building a long-term relationship with your company. Call us today at 888-366-6508. We can help you find the best candidate to join your legal or IT team.