In the time of COVID-19 and beyond, finding the right people is crucial. Lawyers starting up their own firms will need to ensure best practice in building up a great team successfully.

Joanne Alilovic, director and founder of 3D HR Legal, said that one of the biggest challenges for many law firm owners is their own mindset around having a team.

“It may be fear of not having enough work and therefore cash flow to pay them, it might be fear of having to manage their performance, or something else,” Ms Alilovic told Lawyers Weekly.

“This mindset might prevent them from hiring in the first place, or it might make them reticent to commit to permanent staff and instead use a mixture of casual and contract staff. Whilst that might be OK in the short-term], it may stop the firm from reaching its full potential.”

For lawyers who may want to start their own firm some day, they must agree to see it as both a business and a profession.

Perth Wills Centre senior associate and business coach Lucy Dickens said that lawyers need to adjust how they manage a team and learn about what and how to delegate. 

“This isn’t a skill that comes naturally to everyone, but is an essential starting point,” she said.

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“Think about what tasks you want your new team member to be responsible for. It’s easy to jump to job titles – we need a lawyer, we need admin – but before you worry about job titles, make a list of all the tasks that person will be responsible for. Then think outside the box and don’t be constrained by traditional job roles – who can provide the skills you need?”

Not only do lawyers need to adapt in mindset but there is also a risk lawyers will tend to hire “replicas of themselves” rather than thinking about hiring for their weaknesses, the things they aren’t good at or don’t want to be doing.

“Also, many lawyers tend to think that because they are lawyers they can look up the law and understand it for any practice area – including employment law,” Ms Alilovic said.

“It’s wise to follow best practice guidance from the Fair Work Ombudsman, get a good understanding of the award system, and have an employment contract professionally written rather than using the contract that they were given by their last employer.”

For lawyers who are thinking about making the jump, they will need to look at the practices successful firms usually implement, an effective practice firm supported by strong business operations.

Ms Alilovic said that the first hire every sole practitioner should make is a great bookkeeper. 

“Most lawyers aren’t great at the finance side of business, and with added complications like trust accounts it can be very stressful and [time-consuming] to manage,” she said.

“The second hire is a general admin assistant. Both of these hires serve the purpose of freeing up a practitioner’s time so that they can focus on the [high-level] work that truly requires their expertise.”

After this, the next hiring decision may depend on the firm’s decision about how it wants to grow. 

“For example, you could take on more lawyers and support staff to optimise their time, or you might decide to invest in staff who can create technology solutions to further optimise your own time," Ms Alilovic said.

“It’s also wise at this time to consider bringing in marketing assistance [in-house] rather than relying on contractors”.

Ms Dickens added that hiring for cultural fit and potential is crucial.

“Day-to-day skills can be taught and hiring one new person into a small team can have a big impact on the team dynamic. Choose wisely and trust your gut,” she said.