Teaching Your Legal Assistants and Paralegals to Be an Asset to Your Law Firm

So, you’re the head of a law firm that you want to see grow and expand as quickly as you can. You’ve invested in leads, advertising, and your offices are positioned in one of the best locations in the city. Any client that is associated with your law firm is aware of your reputation for excellence, but you still have to make a good impression upon those who are not at all familiar with what you do. Hiring online masters in paralegal studies graduates from a top school like George Washington University is one of the things you can do to build your firm. Realize that having a great team means having the right players and then teaching them to give you impeccable performance.

Making the Firm’s Expectations Known

The best place to state your requirements is in your job descriptions, and then again during the interview process. It’s going to be tougher to ask paralegals, secretaries, clerks, and other professionals in your support staff to suddenly change parameters if they’ve been working for you for years already. This isn’t to say that you should fire all employees who aren’t providing a top level performance, but you do need to consider getting rid of anyone who is being a liability. Give your staff opportunities to improve before replacing the weakest links as it is expensive to hire and train new team members.

Putting Together a Training Program

The training that new hires receive will set the stage, so to speak, about how they are expected to perform, engage, and present themselves at all times. Sometimes paralegals and legal secretaries can be just as busy if not more so than the attorneys they support. Their training should include clues on how to multitask for effectively and what to do if they feel overwhelmed. In short, your law firm really needs a training manual that new hires can refer to. Additionally, there also need to be firmly spelled out rules for all staff, which should be presented by human resources during orientation and during the training period.

Using Your Star Employees as an Example

If you already have an online paralegal degree holder who always meets the mark, you should use that person as an example of excellence at your law firm. Top level performers also make great trainers when it comes to getting new hires familiar with your business practices. Whether you just choose to point out the exceptional service of your top performers during meetings or host events in their honor, prop them up as often as possible so that all employees know what your expectations are.

You want your employees to be assets so that your law firm can expand and become the most highly reputable firm in your region. While having great attorneys is vital, your support staff is extremely crucial as well. Look for paralegals who have experience as well as legal secretaries that are highly professional if you want each new potential client to walk into your offices and immediately be highly impressed.