The Importance of Developing Your Law Firm’s Employees

law firm manager training employees

Don’t overlook the importance of developing the employees in your law firm.

I’ve definitely sucked at that in the past.

I foolishly thought I would just hire people and they would instantly come in knowing everything and get work done. Set it and forget it. If somebody couldn’t cut it, I’d just try to find somebody else who could.

Big mistake.

Employees need guidance. They need policies and procedures to follow. They need training.

The sports world is a great example of the importance of developing employees. For example, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Geno Smith are NFL quarterbacks who were previously considered 1st Round busts but have experienced a career renaissance on new teams.

So what happens in the sports world when you don’t hire and train your draft picks well? The team’s performance suffers. The players get let go. The team has to try to get its talent through the high-priced, free-agent market. That’s not a recipe for long-term success.

The same is true with law firms. If you don’t hire and train employees, they won’t be productive. The firm’s performance will suffer. You’ll have to let employees go. You’ll end up trying to hire very experienced employees from other law firms, which is very expensive. And when you do hire those expensive employees, they still won’t have been trained on your way of doing things.

Instead of following the model of a lot of other firms, build a law firm that focuses on developing your employeesattorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, and others. You’ll get better performance from your employees, your firm will do better, your employees will be more likely to stay, and you won’t find yourself in an endless cycle of trying to make expensive lateral hires from other law firms.

What do you think? Join the conversation with me on LinkedIn.

About the Author

Darl Champion is an award-winning personal injury lawyer serving the greater Metro Atlanta area. He is passionate about ensuring his clients are fully compensated when they are harmed by someone’s negligence. Learn more about Darl here.