Law Practice Today

I was once hired by a law firm which had a 67% staff turnover rate. Even back then, good qualified staff were difficult to find. The turnover was costing the firm dearly in terms of direct cost —staff turnover costs between 1.0 and 1.5 times salary for each departure — and lost productivity of professionals. The firm itself was a high-production environment. When the chaotic state of the firm’s staffing was added to that mix, the trickle-down effect created tremendous attorney dissatisfaction, and thus increased turnover in the professional ranks as well. Morale was poor throughout the firm.

People are one of a firm’s most important assets, so my first priority was to improve this area of operations. My mission was to hold onto good staff, weed out those who weren’t, and stem the tide of turnover as quickly as possible. I knew if I could achieve my objectives, the morale issues would begin to take care of themselves.

Within two years the turnover rate was reduced to 17%, and within another year it was down to 4%, which was below the industry average —about 6%— at that time. What “magic” did I perform? Did I give out huge raises? Additional benefits? Nope. Not at all. And there was no magic about it, just good basic management, and a big helping hand of education in staff relations for attorneys.

Unfortunately, many small firms, and also mid-size firms which have grown rapidly from small firms without growing equally on the procedural, management side, suffer from a number of ailments which, when taken as a whole, create “staff turnover syndrome”. The ailments include:

 

• No orientation program for new hires, coupled with inadequate ongoing training for staff on technology and procedures.
• Unfair application of existing benefits, e.g. favoritism.
• No mechanism for staff to express concerns and complaints, or even to make suggestions on improvements.
• No teamwork, e.g. everyone works for their own attorney(s) instead of the firm, exacerbated by attorneys we are “possessive” of their secretaries and/or paralegals.
• Inadequate backup assistance for employees temporarily overwhelmed with work, or who need time off for sick, personal, or vacation requests. This problem was exacerbated by attorneys who would not work willingly or well with “substitutes” because it required more care and time.
• Unfair compensation schemes which are ego-based and reward “who” one works for instead of the quality and quantity of work performed. Or compensation schemes which reward poor performers as equally as superstars.
• Poor attorney/staff relationships exacerbated by poor attorney people-management skills.

Most of the issues mentioned can be resolved without raising payroll costs. But first and foremost, the compensation system must be fair. Benefits should be consistently applied. The easiest way to make staff comfortable that there is no favoritism is to have a staff handbook which sets forth the policies of the firm, and then follow it consistently. (Which is sometimes more about resisting the urge to make constant or frequent exceptions.)

Developing training and orientation programs for staff is an area which can create huge benefits for the firm. The first few days, sometimes the first few hours of employment, set the tone for the employee’s tenure. You can control whether that is positive or negative. Improperly trained new employees will pull down the productivity of all around them as people scramble to correct errors. This can also serve to reduce morale, as already overworked people must “cover” for the new person. And depending on how quickly the new person catches on, it can make for the start of bad relationships between employees, destroying any chances of good teamwork developing.

Attorneys form judgments regarding competency of individuals very quickly. It’s said that first impressions are lasting. That expression applies particularly to attorneys. If an attorney gets an impression that a new secretary is not bright or competent, it’s pretty much all over. That attorney will probably never develop confidence in that secretary, no matter how stellar the secretary’s future performance. And that lack of confidence usually becomes apparent in so many ways the relationship will languish, and eventually fail. But not before both have been tortured by it for some indeterminate length of time —usually much longer than either party would have preferred.

The really amazing thing about people is that they tend to reach toward our expectations of them, much like a plant leaning toward the light. If our expectations are unrealistically high, some will be challenged to rise to the occasion, but we risk that others who tend toward self-defeatism or are non-competitive by nature may be inclined to bow out of the process altogether when faced with an unachievable goal. The downside is that when we communicate low expectations, people will tend to under-perform in an (unconscious?) effort to meet those expectations. It can become a Catch-22: low expectations or belief in a person’s abilities often results in performance which reinforces those low expectations.

Building essential teamwork is not easy. The secretary’s vision of “we’re one firm” must come from above. There must be a consistent message delivered that the secretary is not “your” secretary, but the “firm’s” secretary. You may not be aware of the message you or other attorneys at your firm are delivering, and how possessive of this resource you or they may be. That possessiveness is counter-productive when you try to develop a team mentality. Without it, you will lose otherwise good people when they feel overwhelmed and get no support from their peers. It will make them resentful, and damage interpersonal relationships.

And while we’re close to the topic, let’s step right on delicate toes regarding in-house competition and rivalries. Too many attorneys speak disparagingly about other attorneys or staff members to their staff. You may not think that your comment is very negative, or that it might produce negative consequences. Trust me when I tell you that staff loyalty is very black and white. Your enemies are their enemies. So keep your opinions and in-fighting to yourself, please, unless you want to adversely affect the teamwork necessary to properly service clients and get your work out the door.

Regular staff meetings, and a practice of “management by walking around”, goes far in enabling staff to “vent” and feel that management cares about their problems and insights. It also helps head off problems before they become large and unmanageable. So don’t belittle or downplay the time your staff member spends attending. And don’t shortchange them on your time either. You must be accessible. You must answer questions in a forthright — not condescending — way. Those questions are necessary to clarify matters in order to get your work done to your satisfaction. Lack of adequate time to meet with ones attorney to ask questions and prioritize work is at the top of the list of common staff complaints.

Being considerate and polite, or not, is also at the top of the list of staff concerns. Remember to say thank you once in a while. Compliment publicly. Criticize privately. Plan your emergencies, so that you do not create an undue burden on staff (and their families) as a result of your procrastination and poor work habits. They don’t mind stepping up to the plate in a real emergency. But when you artificially create them on a regular basis, you will find your support eroding.

Don’t expect your staff to read your mind. Be clear in your expectations. Provide thorough instructions. If you are not happy with the result, say so in an attempt to provide clarification for the future, not as an exercise in assigning blame.

Don’t make mountains out of molehills. Sure you’re under stress. Gobs of stress. But don’t be tempted to take it out on the person who is there to assist you. Many attorneys have no or poorly designed stress coping mechanisms. And as a result they literally take out their stress on those hapless people around them. These are the individuals who acquire the reputation of being “900 pound gorillas” and experience constant staff turnover, with all the accompanying inconvenience and productivity losses.

Get to know the staff at your firm. From an attorney’s perspective, there are only two types of employees in a law firm: lawyers and non-lawyers. Unlike other business entities, the law firm has a uniquely horizontal pecking order, at least at first blush. Small wonder, then, that many attorneys are frequently confused as to the proper staff person to approach for a particular task, and others almost never get a staff person’s title correct when referring to or introducing him or her. It amazes me that an attorney can create a ruckus to go above another name on the letterhead due to a disparity of a few months in passing the bar, but will fail to recognize that a staff member may be sensitive about the use of their proper title.

Remember that not everything can or should be a major battle —not every issue is “Custer’s Last Stand”—pick and choose your battles carefully. Don’t break the rules just to be different, or just to show you can do it and get away with it. If your ego is that fragile, find another way to stroke it or you will be dealing with unnecessary and expensive staff turnover for your entire career.

It’s said that the most brilliant attorney can be made to look like an idiot by the actions of the firm’s lowest paid clerk. And no matter how facile you are on computer, think how productive you’ll continue to be if you none of your staff show up for work. The bottom line is that a top-notch loyal staff member can transform your practice into a more enjoyable, effective, and profitable experience. So it’s your choice – you can practice law the hard way or the easy way. It all depends on a factor some refer to as your emotional intelligence; on how you want to treat the people around you.