Well, this is an interesting question. Legal blogger Carolyn Elefant pointed it out on Legal Blog Watch. : "Over at Counsel to Counsel, Stephen Sackler wonders whether a law firm will hire the photogenic female law student who posed for this photo that's now permanently cached on the Internet. "...Personally, I've always thought that a job applicant's good looks and sex appeal,...
Okay, that's the good news. The bad? In this article, paralegals are equated with administrative assistants: "Eighty-five percent of U.S. executives believe their administrative assistants are important to their success, a nationwide staffing-service survey says. "Of 150 senior executives at the nation's 1,000 largest companies surveyed, 48 percent said their administrative assistant's...
Corporate lawyer hiring directly affects corporate paralegal hiring. Tighten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy ride! "It has been a bull market for corporate lawyers, with multimillion- and billion-dollar M&A deals galore. But the recent stock market plunge sent a little chill down the backs of some, a reminder that the high times won't last forever. A day after trouble in the...
Important advice for people who work with computers & read lots of documents: "Your eyes are the products of millions of years of evolution. Unfortunately, this means that they’re optimized for spotting prey across the savanna, not for peering at letters built up of little dots on tiny screens. In recent years, optometrists have come to recognize a complex of eye and vision problems...
Well, this is interesting. Think it will hurt paralegal advancement into these positions? "Ron Friedmann posts on a new trend at large firms: use of nonpracticing lawyers as managers. He writes that firms now hire nonpracticing lawyers for jobs such as marketing, e-discovery, knowledge management, professional development and practice support. There are some pitfalls, of course, as Friedmann...
The piece discussed in this blog post was written by one of Estrin's Paralegal SuperConference speakers: "This article, Leaving Your Legal Career Far Behind, Debra Bruno (Legal Times 2/23/07), tackles the question of "why do women keep leaving law firms?" The most oft cited reason, of course, is the lack of compatibility between law firm life and parenthood. But as...
Found good news for some careers in KC; unfortunately, not for paralegals: "Monster said the demand for IT professionals and other computer and technology workers exceeds the supply of qualified candidates in the Kansas City metro. The area also is begging for architects and engineers, according to the index. "Demand was down for paralegals and other legal support staff, and demand was...
Yep, I thought this would be another year for corporate: "'Oportunities abound in a variety of practice areas and industries,' said Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal. 'Corporate governance requirements, new business initiatives and rising caseloads have increased the demand for skilled, experienced attorneys, paralegals and support staff. "'Legal professionals...
This career article comes from CIO magazine, but I think the advice applies to all knowledge/information workers: "Twelve-hour workdays packed with mile-long to-do lists and meetings on top of meetings. Cell phones and BlackBerrys that are always on, and laptops you take home to squeeze in one more hour of work. With companies firmly focused on growth after several long years of...
Has our firm or company experienced this staffing problem? Are you doing more secretarial work as a result? "They might not have the fancy degrees, academic honors or journal publications that usually impress law firms, but there's nobody more sought after right now than legal secretaries. "'There really is a true supply problem,' said Steve Ferber, director of human resources at...