By Chere B. Estrin What if the hiring question for 2026 isn’t simply, “How many associates do we take?” It’s also, “Who trains the ones we do?” The 2026 Citi Hildebrandt Client Advisory provides a useful starting point. Its July 2025 survey projected an average first-year associate class of 109 for 2025, compared with 120 in 2024. That was broadly consistent with earlier classes: 109...
The Fractional C-Suite Is Changing How Law Firms Get Leadership For years, law firms had two basic choices when they needed serious executive leadership: hire someone full-time or muddle through without them. Need a CFO? Hire one. Need a COO? Start a search. Need someone to take charge of cybersecurity, AI, marketing, or strategy? Create another C-suite position, negotiate the salary and bonus,...
There are few workplace traditions quite as bizarre as the annual performance review. Once a year, you are invited into a conference room—or, these days, onto a Zoom call—to learn how you’ve apparently been doing for the previous 12 months. Twelve months. That’s 365 days of work, deadlines, emergencies, impossible clients, last-minute filings, partner requests, new software, staffing...
Really? Why does everyone say that? Let's translate it."I survived another week.""Only two more days until I have to go back.""For the next 48 hours, nobody can email me asking if I have time for 'just a quick question.'" Think about it. If Friday is the happiest day of your week...what does that say about Monday through Thursday? Some legal professionals worked 90 hours this week. Some...
by Chere B. Estrin Originally Published by the ABA - Jul 05, 2026 6 min read Summary Paralegals don’t leave jobs; they leave poor management, limited growth, and underutilized skills. Motivation isn’t perks or pay; it’s engagement, feedback, purpose, and meaningful responsibility. Firms that systemize management retain talent, increase utilization, and drive...
How Mid-Career Legal Professionals Create Their Own Path to Growth, Leadership, and Longevity By Chere B. Estrin At some point in every legal professional’s career, a funny thing happens. You stop worrying about whether you can do the job. You know you can. You've survived impossible deadlines, trial war rooms, impossible attorneys, impossible clients, impossible software conversions, and at...
by Tina Johnson The moments in life that take you high and low, and within all the in-betweens, have punched me hard right between my blue, saddened eyes, in connection with my paralegal career covering two decades and my personal life up through age 56. ...
There’s a new role in town. It’s called Legal Operations. What is this new law firm position that supposedly is paying big bucks, is a management spot, and positions you to move up a ladder where only attorneys are supposed to go? Let’s start with what brought this role about. Law firms don’t have a revenue problem. They have a utilization problem. As a result, the Legal Operations role...
Maximize Your Legal Career: Unlocking Opportunities with Specialized Recruitment SupportMost legal professionals spend months searching for the right role without clear direction. That struggle wastes valuable time and stalls career advancement. Estrin Legal Staffing cuts through the noise with specialized legal recruitment tailored to your skills and goals—connecting you with top law firms and...
Ethical recruitment is more than a buzzword—it’s the shield that protects your legal career from costly missteps.
When legal staffing falls short on integrity, your professional reputation and opportunities can suffer. At Estrin Legal Staffing, our commitment to ethical recruitment means you gain a partner who prioritizes your career advancement with transparency and respect. Keep reading to...
