The Importance of Background Checks When Hiring at Law Firms

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Earlier in the year we spoke about ways to recruit and retain top performing attorneys. Perhaps you just recently interviewed the attorney of your dreams and can’t wait to make them an offer for joining your practice! But wait just one moment; don’t jump the gun!

Do you know the importance of performing a background check on your new employee? This quick and easy step could save the “face” of your firm. As attorneys, we know that reputation is everything. Therefore, it’s important to know everything and anything about the person who’s ready to represent your law firm.

An investigative check will reveal whether or not this attorney has been disciplined, is in the process of losing law licenses and the related right to practice law, his/her history with the state bar and associations, whether they’re highly rated in their area of expertise, surveys conducted in the local community, quality of work, ethics and more!!

If the candidate is a new attorney straight out of school, a background check to confirm the candidate’s degree, GPA, academic track record, associations, and more is equally important. As we learned in an earlier entry, 50 percent of all resumes and applications contain false or overstated information (according to the Society for Human Resource Management). Guess what? This includes attorneys!

Reputation is everything when it comes to practicing law. Conducting a background check will ensure that you’re hiring a reputable and well respected attorney, and save you from the costs (and headaches) associated with termination at a later date.

Remember, before conducting a background check you must always obtain an applicant’s written authorization. Be wary of the attorney that “forgets” or declines to sign an application permitting you to move forward with the screening. If you, as the employer, make a decision based on information found in the background check, you must provide the applicant with written notification. This is called an adverse action notice and it must be accompanied by a copy of the report.

Most attorneys specialize within one or two areas of law. If employment law and compliance is not your particular area, be sure to contact Employer Solutions Plus, your Professional Employer Organization, or a compliance specialist that can assist you with background checks, and the hiring process.

For additional resources specific to law firms, visit our HR Solutions for Law Firms section.

How To Recruit & Retain Top Performing Attorneys

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Practice owners know the value associated with recruiting and retaining really great attorneys. As these attorneys grow and succeed, so does your firm. But how do we do it – What reels in the great attorney, and what keeps them around?

Employer Solutions Plus offers the following tips for recruiting and retaining top performing attorneys:

Tips for Recruiting:

  • Utilize LinkedIn: LinkedIn is among the most useful social media tools for recruiting online. You have direct access to people’s resumes, recommendations and track records. LinkedIn also promotes convenient and affordable recruiting.
  • Ask for recommendations, not referrals: Referrals are often candidates passed along through word of mouth or mutual contacts. Recommendations are personal relationships that people trust and respect and are willing to put their own reputation on the line for!
  • Have a UEP (Unique Employment Position): What differentiates your firm from others in the area? Have a list and be sure to let top candidates know.
  • Hire for the Future: Everyone’s goal is growth and success, isn’t it? That is why you should hire for today, but also for tomorrow. You want a candidate that can grow with your firm, not just someone who meets today’s needs because it makes the most economic sense. Top performing talent will benefit the firm as a whole over time and is worth the investment.

Tips for Retaining:

  • Benefit Rich Plans: It’s not always about money; sometimes it’s about the benefits you provide for both your attorneys and their families.
  • Include Your Attorneys In Decisions: Is the firm headed in a new direction? Are you considering expanding into a new branch of law? Involve your top performing attorneys. This demonstrates your need and respect of their opinion. Sometimes it’s that simple!
  • Be Flexible: Attorneys work a lot of hours and this can take its toll on everyone’s personal life and family life. Be flexible with your workplace hours. If there isn’t a large and pending trial this week, let your attorneys work one day from home, or attend a school function for their child. Kind and considerate gestures go a long way!
  • Compensation: Providing a competitive compensation package is an important part of retention. People want to be recognized financially for all of their hard work. They may be perfectly happy at your firm, but if Law Firm B down the street is offering to pay them more for exact same position, you may be at risk of losing talent!

We recognize that the abovementioned steps are a lot to take on for the busy practice owner, or even office manager, which is why Employer Solutions Plus specializes in HR solutions for law firms.

Contact us today for more information on recruiting and retaining top performing attorneys!

Employer Solutions Plus Client Highlight: Tampa Law Firm

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Situation:

A renowned Tampa Law Firm with 30 employees was looking for ways to operate more cost-effectively and efficiently. The Law Firm was using a traditional payroll company for payroll services and outside vendors for health benefits, 401k plans, and workers compensation insurance.

The firm was lacking in the expertise and management of policies, procedures and compliance. In addition, state unemployment had significantly increased that year and the firm had some employee issues that resulted in a sizable outflow of cash.

The firm engaged Employer Solutions Plus to analyze its current situation and offer a number of cost effective alternatives.

Solution:

Employer Solutions Plus provides PEO Strategies, Payroll Only Solutions, Health Insurance Options, Employee Benefits and Ancillary Benefit Programs. We represent multiple providers in each product category which allows us the flexibility to customize a cost effective solution to meet the individual needs of our clients.

At first, the Tampa Law Firm was unsure about a PEO’s ability to actually save their Company money. After multiple meetings and negotiations, Employer Solutions Plus was able to save the client a significant amount of money from moving just the firm’s payroll over to a PEO platform. In addition to saving money, the firm gained a completely customized on-line payroll system with the ability to easily access payroll reports, employee data, employee forms and more.

Additional vendor management provided by Employer Solutions Plus resulted in the following:

  • The ability to control costs with a single source solution to discount state unemployment and workers compensation
  • A continuation of working with the firm`s outside vendor for health insurance. But, Employer Solutions Plus brought in a health insurance broker that came up with creative ways to offer more plans, make it more cost effective for the employees, and offer ancillary benefits to help put money back in the employees’ pockets.
  • One on one health insurance enrollment so that employees understood what plans were best for them.
  • EPLI insurance at no additional cost to help against future employee issues
  • Updated policies and procedures as well as customized handbooks
  • Guidance with employee terminations and new hire procedures

One immeasurable solution is the peace of mind delivered to the owner/partner of the firm, who now knows that with one call or email the firm’s payroll, taxes, benefits, workers comp, compliance and more can be taken care of.

For More Information:

Is your vendor set-up in need of a professional analysis? If you’re looking for ways to save money and operate more effectively and efficiently, contact Employer Solutions Plus.

Adding Attorneys to Your Practice in Various States

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Does your law firm operate in multiple states? If so, you’re well aware of the strict guidelines that come alongside practicing law in each particular court system. Each US state has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission, which can lead to different admission standards among states. For the owner of a law firm trying to grow his/her business and add employees in multiple states, this process can quickly become a headache.

You may be thinking “I should simply hire an attorney that is already admitted to the bar in whatever state I’m looking to do business in.”  That will certainly save you some time from having to ensure an existing employee can pass the bar in the new state, and then relocate to serve the clients of that state.

But, bar admissions aside, adding an employee in a new state comes with its own laundry list of HR and compliance-related tasks. Each state has its own reporting requirements surrounding new hires.

Did you know that PEOs can eliminate half of the burden?  Through the co-employment relationship, the owner of a law firm focuses on growing his/her business, and the PEO manages all compliance and HR administration.

PEOs provide integrated services to effectively manage employer risks for law firms. PEOs help offset certain risks to their clients’ businesses by contractually assuming certain employer rights, responsibilities, and risk.

A PEO will provide guidance on employment regulations and reporting requirements in addition to answering any questions regarding hiring, firing, compliance and recruitment. They will also put together employee handbooks and employment procedure manuals for your new employees.

If your practice is interested in expanding and operating in multiple states, contact Employer Solutions Plus first. You may be able to eliminate an HR headache before it ever exists!  Employer Solutions Plus provides critical information to business owners regarding new hires and PEO support.

Employee Discipline at Your Law Practice

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It’s no secret that lawyers work long hours at the office. These long hours often induce stress in many lawyer’s lives. As an employer, it’s important to be aware of this. Workplace stress often leads to workplace conflict.

Although conflict in the workplace is not uncommon, dealing with conflict as an employer is never an easy task. Disciplining employees without extensive experience often opens the door to employment litigation.

In order to avoid such litigation, employers should have clear disciplinary standards, and evidence that the employee was given notice of these standards. Does your firm currently have a discipline policy that will not limit your right to enforce appropriate disciplinary measures?

Many PEOs also provide EPLI (Employer Practice Liability Insurance) which helps protect and defend your firm from employee lawsuits such as wrongful termination. For more information on PEO solutions, contact us today.

 

How Law Firms Stay in Compliance

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As law firms grow, so do the complexities of managing employees. Hiring more employees equates to more time spent making sure the practice is in compliance with the ever-changing list of employment laws. Managing compliance can interfere with the precious time needed to focus on your practice or an important case. You’re very busy practicing law and defending your clients, but who is taking care of you?

Law firms that want peace of mind surrounding compliance choose to engage in the co-employment relationship, which also happens to save them time and money! In the co-employment business model, the PEO’s job is to ensure compliance, but it’s also in their best interest to perform this service as best as possible.

Why? Well, under the co-employment relationship, employees are co-employed – which means that the PEO is sharing the risk of managing your employees. If your firm is slapped with an EPLI claim, this becomes the PEOs situation as well.

PEOs’ best practices include HR and compliance audits to prevent as many claims as possible. At the onset of a PEO relationship and periodically thereafter, the PEO will perform a complete audit of your firm’s policies and procedures as it pertains to hiring, firing, promotion, demotion, workplace safety, employee training, and more.

It is not uncommon for PEOs to also provide law firm partners or hiring managers with management training courses to review best practices, employee relations, employee communications and various employment-related laws that need to be abided by.

Best of all, PEOs provide ongoing HR support inside and outside of the office, especially concerning the management of faulty claims. If an employee of yours makes a claim, it is up to the PEO to fight that claim in court… PEOs manage and fight all types of claims such as unemployment claims or workers compensation claims.

For more information on PEOs or to determine if a PEO is the right solution for your firm, please contact us.

Benefits Programs for Law Firms

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Let’s face it. The legal industry is competitive, not only for obtaining new clients, but for obtaining top talent. A great benefits program at your firm can serve as a tiebreaker when a candidate is reviewing their employment options. Do you know what other law firms similar in size and within your geographic area are offering to their employees?

The first benefit that comes to mind is always health insurance, but the term “benefits” actually refers to any non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal salary (or hourly wage).

Benefits may include:

  • Group Insurance (Health, Dental, Life, etc.)
  • Disability Insurance
  • Tuition/Education Reimbursement
  • Sick Leave
  • Paid Time Off/Vacation
  • Retirement Benefits

You may want to offer your employees every benefit available, but to succeed in the highly competitive legal industry, costs need to be controlled. Employer Solutions Plus is skilled at analyzing and delineating various benefits packages that adhere to your firm’s budget, and most importantly, attract and retain top talent.

Many PEOs offer access to various medical benefits, and even lifestyle benefits such as recreation access, credit union membership, financial counseling and more. By working with numerous companies and then pooling the groups together, PEOs obtain discounted pricing from insurance carriers and other providers of employee benefits.

If a PEO is not the perfect fit for your law firm, Employer Solutions Plus offers standalone benefits management services to aide firms in shopping for the most competitive rates on group insurance plans and more.

Let your firm’s benefits package stimulate loyalty and employee satisfaction within your workforce. Contact us to get started today.

HR Concerns for Law Firms

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More than ever before, law firms are relying on Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) and HR outsourcing companies to cut costs and improve efficiencies. Human resources, benefits, and employee management are all areas of business that law firms have traditionally kept within their control, but with a growing list of responsibilities, especially surrounding compliance, managing HR has become a full time (and demanding) job.

Here are some top HR concerns for law firms:

  • Benefits: How do I put together a benefits package that is competitive and in line with what neighboring law firms of similar size are offering? How do I control the costs?
  • Recruitment and Retention: How do I attract and retain top-performing employees?
  • Insurance: Do I need an EPLI policy? How do we protect our firm in the event that a claim or lawsuit is brought against our business, partners, employees or managers?
  • Compliance: How do I stay current on government compliance requirements? Is our firm in compliance with federal employment laws? What about state employment laws?
  • Payroll: How do I find time for check printing, direct deposit, vacation and sick leave accruals, 401k plans, reporting, integration and more?!

How Employer Solutions Plus can help:

Employer Solutions Plus understands the most critical HR services law firms are in need of to operate more effectively and efficiently. We enable our clients to make informed decisions regarding PEO strategies, but also understand that for smaller law firms, or firms with in-house capabilities, a PEO is not always the best solution.

Sometimes only one or two components of HR need to be outsourced. Following a consultation and analysis of your firm, we may explore payroll-only solutions, health insurance options, or risk management solutions.

Contact us today for a consultation, and we’ll help your law firm streamline its human resources management!