Personnel Issues: Managing a Law Firm's Greatest Assets
| Publication year | 1990 |
| Pages | 1829 |
1990, September, Pg. 1829. Personnel Issues: Managing a Law Firm's Greatest Assets
In the 1990s, law firms of all sizes will face new challenges which could spell the difference between success and failure. Law literature is replete with articles about increasingly competitive environments, sophisticated marketing strategies, automation, the advent of the chief executive officer or executive director, new levels of associates and partners and new compensation structures. To cope with such rapidly accelerating changes, a law firm should develop a plan for its future. It should become more competitive to gain a marketing advantage and should focus more on profitability.
Under the pressure to keep up with these developments, law firms should not lose sight of the fact that poor hiring practices and ineffective employee management can be serious handicaps to a firm's success. In a law firm, employee problems surface at all levels and at any time during employment. However, many employee relations problems, particularly termination issues, can be traced back to some earlier point in the employment relationship.
This article focuses on a "cradle to grave" approach to the employment relationship, highlighting the areas which most frequently cause problems for firms. These problem areas include (1) personnel policies; (2) the pre-employment stage---interviewing and hiring; (3) performance evaluation; (4) discipline; and (5) termination.
All employers are being inundated with increasingly complex legislation affecting the work place. At the same time, employees are becoming more litigious. Many employers, including law firms, are ill-equipped to respond to these legal demands and constraints, given their limited human resources expertise.
Some of the major issues facing employers concern employee recruitment and retention, wrongful discharge, personnel policies and procedures, costs of employee benefits, productivity, compensation, substance abuse, worker's compensation claims, discrimination in pay and benefits, AIDS and smoking in the work place. Often, the responsibility of handling such personnel matters is given to an administrator, secretary or whoever happens to be available, with the expectation that anyone can handle people problems or that the problems will resolve themselves if ignored. Consequently, law firms and other employers may comply only marginally with laws such as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985(fn1) and the Immigration Act of 1986.(fn2) They may even ignore the sweeping requirements of Title VII.
Failure to comply with such laws can create serious problems for law firms---problems which may not surface until it is too late to seek resolution. Law firms are just beginning to recognize how costly noncompliance can be in terms of time, money and unwanted publicity.
The burden of complying with employment legislation coupled with the difficulty of dealing with a knowledgeable, contemporary work force that demands fair, reasonable, consistent treatment make it essential for a firm to develop and communicate sound personnel policies. Some people believe that a policy manual constrains a firm. In fact, clearly written policies ensure consistent and equitable application of a firm's policies and practices.
Policies must reflect a firm's unique philosophy and culture, while incorporating current employment law. Today's work environment requires moving from vague policy statements to more
comprehensive statements that demonstrate a proactive stance. Some benefits of sound personnel policies include preventing ad hoc decisions, ensuring consistent...
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