Four Benefits of Legal Recruiters

January 23rd, 2010 admin No comments

Almost everyone needs a job, and people in need of a job spend a lot of time simply looking for either the right the job or, if they are having difficulty just getting hired, any job they can get.  Unfortunately, however, many people do not know that there are many ways that they can get help in finding not just any job but the job that suits their needs and desires.  One method that can help immensely is the legal recruiter, who offer many benefits.

One of the benefits of using legal recruiters is that they access to hundreds of law firms and dozens of jobs.  It is the job of legal recruiters to stay on top of the latest information about law firms and to compile extensive information on the many law firms in a certain region, state, or city.  For one single individual to search for every single law firm or every single legal job in a given locality would be extremely time-consuming.  By getting the help of a legal recruiter, however, people searching for a legal job can save a lot of time by going to someone who has consolidated all of the information in one place.

Another benefit of legal recruiters is that they can help people find the job that is best for them.  Recruiters research many companies, and they learn a lot about them, including what advancement opportunities are available and what the corporate culture is like.  Moreover, recruiters maintain contact with companies, and as a result they develop a first hand understanding of what companies are like.  Consequently, legal recruiters can help guide job seekers to positions and companies who characteristics would match the goals of the job hunters.

A third benefit of good legal recruiters is that they have credibility.  Law firms appreciate when recruiting companies send them intelligent, capable employees.  Good legal recruiters, who send many good applicants, can develop a good reputation in the eyes of law firms.  As a result, because legal recruiters can also help people find jobs that suit them, legal recruiters can act as a foot in the door for candidates.  With their strong reputations, legal recruiters can help people secure jobs because of the credibility they enjoy in the eyes of hiring firms.

Furthermore, recruiters also have knowledge about writing cover letters and resumes.  Resumes and cover letters are extremely important in the job hunting process, for they are often the first exposure companies get to potential applicants.  By helping job hunters write good cover letters and resumes, legal recruiters can give them an advantage.

Clearly, legal recruiters have many advantages.  People looking for jobs would benefit from looking into their services.

Joseph Devine

The Texas legal and executive recruiters of the Sapire Search Group have extensive experience helping people find the jobs that are best for them. To see if they can help you too, call them at 866-413-2868 or visit their website at http://www.sapiresearch.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Devine






When Legal Recruiting Firms Become the Corporate World’s Saving Grace

January 21st, 2010 admin No comments

To this day, it is still a common practice for corporations to hire private law firms to iron out the kinks and wrinkles within its innards and sometimes those that concern parties outside of its corporate fences. Alas, the recent economic crunch proved to be a difficult adversary keeping up with the expenses to maintain or for some, hire those formidable legal stalwarts. The apparent solution was to hire lawyers who would become under the company payroll at compensation terms more attainable for it without short-changing him.

While the problem has been identified and the solution made clear, the next matter in hand would be to find the right people to fill the position. As the fate of many of these companies hang in a balance in a series of trial-and-error recruitment process, legal recruiting firms start waving their flags. Their emergence in the market could have been divine providence or a worry-free search for the right ones who will come to be hailed as legal messiahs.

These legal recruiting firms set up websites with user-friendly navigation tools that enable both employers and applicants to explore options that meet their respective criteria. They invited companies to subscribe to their sites and post job listings for job-hopeful lawyers to check out. These companies were given the freedom to specify the qualities they look for in those who will fill the vacant legal counsel positions for job-hopeful lawyers to look into.

The Human Resource Department officers could now breathe sighs of relief as their solution to expedite the recruitment process finds its way to them. The screening now becomes easier and faster for both lawyer applicants and the employers as job matching is aided by the blessings of genius behind the business concept of legal recruiting firms. With the internet to boot, the system promoted paperless dealings with resumes that can be sent electronically.

As the subscriber population grows, it comes as a given that the success rate follows suit. Not only do legal recruiting firms do employers great favor to their books and personnel need, they also redeem dashed hopes of the jobless lawyers from finding the career-lift of their dreams. Further, these firms consequently contribute to the overall recovery of an economy that had at one time been reduced to its knees.

At the height of economic crisis, more corporations of varied sizes realize the need for in-house attorneys to help clean up the mess ups typically brought by economic catastrophes. While the shoes are ready for the filling, companies face the problem finding the best feet that fit. The forerunners of legal recruiting firms can only come at a better time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benedict_Perez






Recruiters Move Toward Project Management

January 20th, 2010 admin No comments

Services include trial presentation, document review and e-discovery

By ANNE JENNINGS

Another year has passed, and it was a difficult one for legal employment in general. Yet despite—or perhaps in light of—the challenges posed by our economy, the world of legal recruiting is replete with innovative solutions meant to leverage the latest developments in technology and business.

Below is a quick review of just a few of the trends expected to shape legal recruitment throughout 2010.

Project Management

There is a growing need for project management services across corporate legal departments and law firms nationwide. When handling large discovery requests, attorneys often turn to their paralegal managers for supervision of document review—especially at firms without permanent project management teams in place, or those that typically don’t undertake large discovery litigation.

Many firms now are recognizing that an effective paralegal manager has developed the same talents over time as a successful project manager, from highly-refined organization and communication skills to expertise in delegation and evaluation—all with a keen ability to meet deadlines and achieve results.

For those firms without a paralegal manager or similar employee to take on large document review projects, specialized recruiting agencies offer experienced legal project managers to accommodate.

Just as a paralegal manager might easily serve as project manager on large discovery and document review projects, a dedicated project manager with solid legal acumen can step in to undertake those same last-minute, short-term assignments. While a contracted project manager typically bills at a lower rate, this approach also keeps paralegal managers focused on core tasks that no one else could readily step in to complete.

Another trend in project-based legal recruitment involves trial consulting and presentation services. Law firms and corporate legal departments have benefited for years from the strategic advantage of contracted document review project teams. Now savvy recruitment firms can place experienced trial consultants that provide comprehensive support for litigation, as well.

Services range from pre-trial preparation, trial presentation and courtroom set-up, to creation of demonstrative graphics and war room configuration. Trial consultants utilize trial presentation software and other leading technologies to present the most persuasive, visually telling case possible before a judge and jury.

E-Discovery

In 2007 the federal rules governing electronic discovery were changed, driven by continued growth in litigation and the explosion of electronic data over recent years. Since then, several trends have enabled highly effective recruiting solutions that surround e-discovery.

First, the advancement of technology now allows for paperless, Web-based review systems to be operated from remote, modular facilities. A process-driven model for electronic discovery has been widely adopted, featuring the metrics and collaborative elements required to ensure a truly defensible process.

The Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) provides a common, flexible framework for the development, evaluation and use of electronic discovery products and services. Within this structure, recruitment agencies can now offer viable solutions for managing large electronic discovery projects, typically within the review and analysis stages of the model.

Recruiting firms have long been able to source and retain top talent for electronic document review under any time frame. Now some can provide facilities as well, featuring modular project space as needed anywhere in the United States. They can offer technology, including managed review software applications. And many offer fully outsourced project management solutions that ensure collaborative review under supervision of their client or outside counsel.

During the analysis stage, technology can provide summary reports for evaluation at pre-established benchmarks, including real-time status of review results for immediate analysis by outside counsel. Some agencies also offer consultants the experience needed to assist in culling and editing privilege logs.

Onshoring Services

Another trend worth noting in legal recruiting is the advent of onshoring for legal document review and discovery. More businesses across the United States today are either reinstating formerly off-shored jobs back on American soil or electing to keep new projects in-country, and the recruiting world has taken notice.

Recruiting agencies now feature highly qualified American legal talent with pricing that’s competitive in the worldwide market, often located in a centralized review center for greater cost-effectiveness. As a matter of course, these facilities are specially maintained to exceed the most rigid standards of security and requirements for confidentiality.

Teams can also be assembled locally, anywhere across the U.S., and deployed in rapid response review centers wherever needed.

The advantages of onshore alternatives include quick access to a strong pool of talented U.S.-licensed attorneys at low cost, with the flexibility to deploy a team anywhere quickly on a short- or long-term basis. And with more than 70 percent of litigation costs today incurred in the review stage, every little bit helps.

One case study demonstrates many of these trends in action:

Facing strict legal deadlines for a critical Chapter 11 initiative with very quick turnaround, a leader in the global automotive industry needed to implement a highly confidential short-term legal contact center operation. A specialized legal recruitment firm coordinated their staffing activities to implement and manage a turnkey project solution.

After quickly establishing a secure infrastructure and recruiting more than 120 attorneys and paralegals, an integrated technology platform was deployed for centralized, consistent communications and operational efficiency. The technology provided real-time reporting visibility, plus effective monitoring and 100 percent capture of contact activity.

A process was developed to coordinate highly sensitive inbound and outbound calls, between contracted attorneys and paralegals teamed with the client’s regional managers, and top management at thousands of the client’s field sales locations.

These imperative legal deadlines were met well ahead of the client’s anticipated schedule. As measured in terms defined and mandated by the client and its consulting parties, a project success rate of 99 percent was achieved in just two weeks.

This case is certainly unique in scope. But it illustrates the general direction we see legal recruiting to be headed: More oriented toward project management. More technology-driven, where it’s legally tenable. And generally more flexible, to best accommodate an ever-changing business landscape. No matter the size or scale of your legal operation, look for these trends to impact your recruiting activities, sooner than later. •

Attorney Anne Jennings is managing director for Kelly Law Registry covering the New England territory. She can be reached at jennian@kellylawregistry.com.

Article Source: http://www.ctlawtribune.com/getarticle.aspx?ID=35945






Paralegal Career for Dummies

January 20th, 2010 admin No comments

Apply important legal concepts and skills you need to succeed

Get educated, land a job, and start making money now!

Want a new career as a paralegal but don’t know where to start? Relax! Paralegal Career For Dummies is the practical, hands-on guide to all the basics  from getting certified to landing a job and getting ahead. Inside, you’ll find all the tools you need to succeed, including a CD packed with sample memos, forms, letters, and more!

Discover how to:

  • — Secure your ideal paralegal position
  • — Pick the right area of the law for you
  • — Prepare documents for litigation
  • — Conduct legal research
  • — Manage a typical law office

Sample resumes, letters, forms, legal documents, and links to online legal resources.

Please see the CD-ROM appendix for details and complete system requirements.






Help I Need Somebody – Legal Recruitment

January 19th, 2010 admin No comments

“Help, I need somebody” said the Beatles in their world-famous song but if your problems are practical rather than emotional, you’ll be amazed at how many ways a qualified lawyer can help sort out all kinds of difficulties.

The UK’s professional supervisory body for solicitors, The Law Society, is using Help, I Need Somebody as its slogan to encourage people to contact a qualified solicitor.

If you have the right legal information usually it can help you save cash, effort and emotional trauma – and often all three.

Because of the widespread use of the internet, many people in need of legal services have forgotten about the traditional way to find answers by consulting a high street solicitor and, instead, are seeking advice from unqualified, unregulated so-called legal advisors who could well cause far more trouble than they’re worth.

Will writing and employment services are among the sectors where unregulated individuals have the opportunity to cause the most problems for consumers.

Among the services offered by qualified solicitors are all the legal work and advice involved in buying a home, making a will, setting up in business, renting a home, renting out your property, getting a divorce, making a personal injury claim, probate, claiming asylum, financial matters for elderly people, setting up home with your partner, money laundering procedures and civil partnerships.

For anyone with the intention of making a career in the law, there are a number of paths which can be followed but the most usual is for an academic degree course at a further education institution to be followed by practical training under the guidance of an experienced solicitor.

Once this training contract is complete, a newly-qualified lawyer will not have finished learning but will continue to take short specialist courses to maintain knowledge and keep up with the latest changes in the law throughout their working life.

Although most solicitors have studied law at university, it is not essential because a one-year post-graduate law conversion course can be taken to bring the potential lawyer up to speed if they have completed a degree in a different subject.

After a one-year legal practice course (LPC) at an academic institution, a two-year training contract with a firm of solicitors is the next step before final qualification.

Fully-qualified solicitors in England and Wales all have to be registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Once a solicitor is qualified, he or she can then look for a legal job in whatever field and area of the country appeals to them.

Help

Solicitors can choose from a wide variety of disciplines in which to work, as well as the most usual choice of private practice.

Local and central government are major employers of legal practitioners, as are many large companies and non-commercial  organizations which need to ensure all their activities stay within the law.

The Law Society has a lot of helpful advice for would-be and newly-qualified lawyers and there are a number of avenues to search for positions, including specialist legal recruitment agencies.

Solicitors’ private practices can vary in size from a one-man band dealing with whoever comes through the door to large national firms with hundreds of employees, specialising in various branches of the law. Developing experience as well as knowledge is an important part of a solicitor’s career development and many of the best ones will have had a variety of legal jobs until they decide to specialise.

There are qualified solicitors all over the UK in towns large and small, waiting to help you with your problems.

Alicia Denny
Legal Recruitment

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alicia_Denny






What Does a Paralegal Do?

January 7th, 2010 admin No comments

By Melissa Steele

Paralegals are assistants specially trained to handle the day-to-day needs of the lawyers they work for. Whether you are the sole assistant to a top lawyer or part of a team of paralegals in a legal department, your job will include the following tasks:

Draft and file documents, Interview clients, Research cases and precedents, Non-legal research

As a paralegals, you will be able to find work anywhere including private law forms, the district attorney’s office, government agencies, major corporations, banks, hospitals, or insurance companies.

What training do I need to become a paralegal?

Community colleges, online institutions, and vocational schools all offer certificates, associate’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees. No matter which program you choose, you will be trained specifically for the position of paralegal.

Your training as a paralegal will give you the tools to make a lawyers job go more smoothly without the ultimate responsibility of the cases. The list of tasks delegated to paralegals grows daily but their scope of practice is very specifically defined especially regarding presenting cases in court, offering legal advice, and setting legal fees.

What will I earn as a paralegal?

Education and experience greatly impact your earning potential as a paralegal. Where you live and who employs you also affects your rate of income.

Large firms and companies in large cities generally pay more than their smaller, more rural counterparts. Many paralegals, however, are often given bonuses in addition to a salary that could land anywhere between $28,000 and $50,000+. Legal secretaries make a bit more with salaries that range from $32,000 to $53,000+. Senior paralegals command salaries of $35,000 to $60,000+.

Do I need to be licensed or certified to be a paralegal?

No. There are some national exams for paralegals but none are required. It is recommended that you enroll in an American Bar Association approved program.

What is the future of the field?

The position of paralegal is expected to grow faster than most professions in the next decade, by more than 30 percent

About The Author

Melissa Steele is a featured writer for http://www.EducationGuys.com. She has been writing about technical vocational schools since 2004. To learn about legal degrees and law schools online, please visit us today.






Paralegal Job Interview Tips

December 11th, 2009 admin No comments
Paralegal is a term used in many countries to describe non-lawyers who assist lawyers in their legal work. Paralegals are not lawyers. They are not authorized by the government to offer legal services nor are they officers of the court, or even usually subject to government or court-sanctioned rules of conduct.There is hardly any difference in job interview tips for paralegals than those, which are available in general. However, there is a stark difference between the dealings of Paralegals and Lawyers. The former cannot charge fees, offer legal advice, pursue legal careers, or law jobs, whereas the latter can do what the former cannot. As A. Harrison Barnes puts it plainly, Paralegals are mere assistants who are to carry out tasks arising out of a lawyer’s analysis, strategy, and consideration.

The person appearing for an interview for a paralegal has to have a very clear understanding about the work that is going to be provided and the limitations of a paralegal job. The interpretation of the word “Paralegal” and of a paralegal job interview is the point is where the similarities end as mentioned by A. Harrison Barnes.

A candidate appearing for a paralegal career interview needs to have certain qualities. He needs to be methodical, analytical, interactive, and spontaneous to help him or her succeed in the interview.

Methodical: Since the job is that of an assistant, a candidate has to be methodical to be more effective to his or her lawyer with whom they are working. They should be aware about the legal procedures and the law in general.

Interactive: A candidate is frequently asked this question in interviews pertaining to legal careers and paralegal jobs says A. Harrison Barnes. Since on quite a number of occasions it has so happened that the core law team is busy with other cases and hence you have to interact with clients and provide solutions. Here is where your interaction experience counts as it gives a smooth passage to build a better relationship with the clients.

Analytical Skills: Working as a legal assistant or as a paralegal, one has to deal with a huge amount of data. A good analytical mind always helps not only in legal jobs but also helps in the research of the cases the lawyers are dealing in. Since you have to do most of the research work it makes sense to be a good analyzer. Any company will hire a candidate whom they feel is a good analyst.

Education: As per A. Harrison Barnes, a candidate’s preparedness towards legal assistant jobs will be revealed significantly once they are inquired about their training. If a freshman has applied for the position, he or she will provide the details of the trainings they have gone through. However yes, there have been candidates who have no formal training but have on the job exposure towards the work. Quite a number of these paralegals have completed their education while working their way up from the mailroom in a law firm. A. Harrison Barnes informs us that there are Paralegal and Legal Assistant courses of study available at community colleges and private universities as well.

Spontaneous: A candidate has to be spontaneous or must have a presence of mind to bail out of tricky situations, which might hamper the relations with the clients. Spontaneity is also required while conducting research or during interviews. If a candidate has a prior work experience in any particular field or domain, they are asked question relating to their experience, which has to be answered in the smartest way to enable the law firm to make a correct decision of whether to take the particular candidate for the legal assistant job. The personality aspect is also looked at for the profile of paralegal job since working for a law firm demands the candidate to have a good personality. As the legal secretary jobs become monotonous at times, a candidate should be inquired about his motivation towards the work, which would help in determining the right candidate for the legal assistant job.

The average salaries of paralegals and those having legal assistant jobs are US$47,600 in the private sector. However, the salary can range anything from $24,000 annually to over $100,000 annually along with benefits depending on the place you are asked to work. As A. Harrison Barnes mentions in LawCrossing.com, that these are just basic indications however one needs to be formally dressed and be punctual for any interview.

About The Author

A. Harrison Barnes is the founder and CEO of CareerMission, the parent company of more than 90 job-search websites, employment services, recruiting firms and student loan companies. CareerMission (originally Juriscape) employs several hundred employees in 14 offices throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. These companies were literally started from Harrison’s garage several years ago after Harrison quit his job.






LawCrossing Lists Legal Jobs for Everyone

December 10th, 2009 admin No comments

2009-12-04 12:13:28 -

This press release aims to inform that Lawcrossing.com is one of the leading job sites offering legal job options. It is one site where you get to know about the latest job openings in the legal market.

Lawcrossing.com is one of the leading job sites offering legal job options. It is one site where you get to know about the latest job openings in the legal market. There are a countless number of all types of legal jobs listed here. You can choose from the wide range of legal jobs.

A Division Legal Counsel is required to carry out general legal affairs. The professionals are required to work with a team of specialists including litigation, patent, management of lawyers, and trademark. If you are aspiring to become a Division Legal Counsel, you need to support the licensing, compliance systems support, general business counseling, customer contracting, regulatory support and advertising systems. You will be responsible for globally managing and coordinating the local council system. Lawcrossing.com can help you prepare for these jobs. Ideally a candidate must be experienced in the related field for about 10 to 15 years.

Lawcrossing.com can provide you with valid information, if you aspire to become a paralegal. The paralegals these days are widely hired by the legal professionals to assist them in the court trials and proceedings. As a paralegal, they are responsible for reviewing, researching and interpreting the legal system. A paralegal must be accredited by the ABA institution, in order to secure admission in an elite law firm. You can log on to lawcrossing.com, to receive the latest updates about paralegal job openings.

Those who are looking to find legal secretary jobs can also find them at Lawcrossing.com. The legal secretary is required to perform a wide of functions. There responsibility includes preparation and doling out of legal credentials, like that of motions and appeals, complete forms like that of accident reports for the clients. It is very important that they are well versed with the legal procedures for they are required to perform several clerical jobs in the law firms.

You can also find legal clerk job openings at Lawcrossing.com. A Legal File Clerk is required to create and maintain legal case files by filing daily correspondence, attorney notes, legal research, and index pleadings. They organize office paperwork and other important aspects thus allowing lawyers to focus on their clients and legal practices.

More law jobs you can find on this leading legal job search website include Compliance Law Jobs, Contract Attorney Jobs, Corporate Attorney Jobs, Employment Law Jobs, General Counsel Jobs, Intellectual Property Law Jobs, Labor Law Jobs, Legal Analyst Jobs, Legal Assistant Jobs, Legal Consultant Jobs , Legal File Clerk Jobs, Legal Secretary Jobs, Litigation Attorney Jobs, Litigation Paralegal Jobs, Patent Attorney Jobs, Patent Law Jobs, Real Estate Attorney Jobs, Regulatory Law jobs, Tax Law jobs and more. In case you want to gain further knowledge about different kinds of law jobs available, you need to log on to www.lawcrossing.com.

Source: PR Inside.Com






BCL Legal Defies Downturn with Rise in Annual Candidate Placements Including a 40% Surge in Partner Level Positions

December 9th, 2009 admin 1 comment

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WEBWIRE – Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Contact Information
James Batt
Director
BCL Legal
0845 241 0932
jamesbatt@bcllegal.com

Manchester headquartered BCL Legal – one of the leading legal recruitment consultancies outside London – is bucking the current downturn in both the legal and recruitment sectors by placing a total of 435 lawyers for the year from November 2008 – an increase of 13 on the period 2007/2008. The figure is thanks, in a large part, to the 40% rise in the number of partner level placements that the company has completed within the North West private practice sector.

This impressive growth, in such tough trading conditions, is especially encouraging following the recent news that profits have sunk on average 33% at the region’s law firms (source: Pricewaterhouse Coopers). BCL Legal, which also has offices in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Reading, primarily attributes much of this year’s success to rising confidence in the Insurance, Commercial Litigation, Employment and Personal Injury sectors.

Other key factors include increased numbers of high calibre legal professionals at all levels who have been actively seeking new positions – thanks to redundancies and ongoing job insecurity. As well as clients using the current situation to reassess their recruitment requirements by strategically employing the best possible staff to help drive them forward once the recession comes to an end.

James Batt, Director of BCL Legal, said; ‘Although the figures appear modest on first glance, they are great news as this year has been particularly tough for both the recruitment and legal professions. The results are also encouraging as it shows business confidence is picking up, slowly. There is no doubting that the market is still difficult but most private practice law firms and organisations are now firmly focused on making 2010 a success.
James concluded; ‘Although this year’s performance gives us a solid platform for growth as the economy continues comes out of recession, we are not resting on our laurels as we realise that new challenges will continue to test both us and our clients for the foreseeable future.’

Current BCL Legal clients include; BAE Systems, Ofwat, Pannone, DWF and Hill Dickinson.

For more information about permanent and temporary jobs in law and the legal sector, including solicitor and paralegal jobs, please contact BCL Legal Recruitment – http://www.bcllegal.com

WebWireID109292






Hudson Legal CV Interview Guide

December 9th, 2009 admin No comments

Here’s a great article and guide on CV writing and how to survive an interview, found on Scribd

Hudson Legal CV Interview Guide