Employers

Since March, Seyfarth Shaw labor and employment partner Brett Bartlett has been quarantined in his Atlanta home with his wife, children and pets. 

“Stay home and stay healthy” and “we’re all in this together” have become common mantras during this trying time. The COVID-19 crisis has shown us that we are sharing common experiences, but individual circumstances within that broader common experience vary greatly. 

During a recent meeting between large law firm leaders, a question was posed: “What percentage of your lateral partner hires are successful or achieve their performance commitments within two years of being hired?” The consensus? Less than 20%.

Didn’t get the bonus you were hoping for? Reached a dead end. Unhappy with your overall compensation, workload, colleagues? Time to take a deep breath and thoughtfully consider your career options.

Emails are becoming a thing of the past as more clients ditch email for chat and text tools. Lawyers and their firms are being forced to navigate risks of using short responses instead of paragraphs. This leaves firms wondering, can we keep up with the times?

Companies are starting to use AI as a way to speed up the interview process and to weed through a long list of candidates. In August, the state of Illinois pushed forward and passed the first U.S. law that regulates the use of AI to analyze video interviews with job applicants.
This type of AI is used to help analyze qualities like body language or facial expression and this programming could set the tone for similar laws to be created.
While some find this to be a great new way to conduct a rigorous process, others fear this could have broader legal implications outside of what’s likely to be a patchwork of similar state laws. Some businesses and their legal representatives are hesitant to embrace this technology.
Are you interested in learning more about AI job interviews and why companies might be resistant toward using this type of technology? Learn more in this law.com article!

Law offices across the nation are struggling to appeal to associates and get them to make lateral moves to their firms. There is one city though who is trying a different approach: Atlanta. This city’s large firms are using bonuses and a viable partnership path to lure in-demand associates.
Last year’s national wave of associate pay raises further enlarged the compensation gap in law firms in Atlanta, which took a toll on boutiques and regional firms to obtain and retain associates because they are unable to compete salary wise.
However, some AM Law 100 and 200 firms that pay below the top associate pay scale in Atlanta are wooing top midlevel and senior associated by offering these higher bonuses and chances to actually make partner, and they are successful.
Do you think this strategy is something your firm would be interested in to attract new associates? Learn more in this law.com article.
Author:
Victoria Ostrander
Assistant Editor
The American Lawyer | National Law Journal | Corporate Counsel
Email: [email protected]
ALM Media Properties LLC

The legal industry was busy this August. They have added more jobs than other professional service sectors or the broader economy. However, growth was still flat.
Employment in the legal sector grew right around a third of a percent this August, according to the latest U.S. government jobs report, while adding additional jobs after three-months of little to no growth. Just this August, the legal industry, which is composed of attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries and others, employed 1,148,100 people.
This employment figure has varied by just a few thousand over the past few years, and has failed to catch up to pre-Great Recession numbers.
Are you interested in learning more about how this industry is outpacing U.S. Employment Growth? Learn more here.
Author:
Victoria Ostrander
Assistant Editor
The American Lawyer | National Law Journal | Corporate Counsel
Email: [email protected]
ALM Media Properties LLC

Have you ever wanted legal advice at the touch of a button? Or maybe you are a firm looking to create that kind of accessibility? Well here’s your chance! More and more law firms are starting to turn to video as a way to help get their message out and drive search engine optimization. However, in a day and age where everyone can be a video star, it may be more difficult than ever to stand out.
Using video as a digital marketing strategy can help foster new clientele by getting in touch with lawyers outside the office.
According to Cynthia Voth, president of the Legal Marketing Association and director of client engagement and innovation at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, nearly three quarters of AM Law 100 firms had YouTube channels during the last year.
Voth isn’t exactly sure there’s a way for firms to truly rise against such a crowded backdrop, but there are considerations that can at least be made ahead of time.
Want to learn more about law firm video digital marketing? Read more in this law.com article.
Author:
Victoria Ostrander
Assistant Editor
The American Lawyer | National Law Journal | Corporate Counsel
Email: [email protected]
ALM Media Properties LLC

Need a break from this summer heat wave? Let’s talk about some ways to see if a nonlocal lawyer is capable of cold feet. This Big Law firm gets a number of search assignments that involve relocation to smaller markets with one major Fortune 500 employer. This firm has gotten very good at figuring out which lawyers are willing to make the major life change and those who falter at the last second.