From paralegals to legal secretaries, hiring the right staff is critical for your law firm’s success. Not only do you need people with the right skills, but you also need people who will be a fit for your firm’s unique culture. So what can you do to enhance the hiring process? Here are 7 tips:

1. Maximize your resources.

Use all the resources at your disposal to recruit qualified candidates. This includes asking colleagues for referrals and tapping into the power of legal-related networking channels, such as bar association meetings.

2. Offer competitive pay.

The saying “you get what you pay for” is especially true when it comes to hiring legal staff for your practice. If you’re not willing to offer the going rate, you’ll lose the people with real talent and you’ll wind up with people who have weak skills. So make sure you’re offering competitive pay and benefits. To do so, conduct some research through your local or the state bar association’s website, contact a legal staffing agency in Woodland, or connect with the career development office at a legal secretary or paralegal training school.

3. Offer training and benefits.

If your hiring budget is tight and you’re not able to offer the fair market value to a potential employee, consider other benefits that could help you attract and retain top-performing talent. For instance, can you offer continuing educational opportunities? What about the ability to work from home part-time? Or will you pay for association membership dues?

4. Write a clear job description.

Make sure the tasks and duties are clearly defined in your job description. With that said, be as concise as possible. You’re writing a job posting, not a novella.

5. Prepare for the interview.

Just as you would spend plenty of time on trial preparation, make sure you spend enough time preparing for your interview. Rather than yes and no questions, create a list of open-ended questions you want to ask to elicit information about the candidate’s experience and skills. For example, “describe the litigation process as you understand it.”

6. Verify the candidate’s background.

It’s not unheard of for a candidate to misrepresent the facts on their resume, especially in a tight job market. So even if a candidate looks great on paper and performs well during an interview, don’t extend a job offer until you’ve verified their education and work history, and checked at least three references.

7. Work with a legal staffing agency.

If you feel you don’t have the time or resources to devote to hiring, then you may want to work with a legal staffing agency in Woodland. A legal staffing agency can source, screen, interview, evaluate, and verify high quality candidates, so you can focus on other priorities. In addition, a legal staffing agency can also give you access to an extensive database of temporary legal support staff if you simply need short-term help for a big case or a busy period.