Employers

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.

Traditional law firms vs. the millennial workplace. With millennials entering the law field, law firms are forced to decide if they want to revise their policies or risk losing the new generation of lawyers. Just by sheer numbers, millennial attorneys will have a significant effect on law practice deep into the 21st century.

Ah yes, the hot button topic of the law firm generation gap between millennials and baby boomers. Lawyers who are just starting out or are long-time veterans view things differently on how a law firm should be ran in today’s world. Young lawyers are challenging the status quo to improve on the dynamic and structure of big law firms. “The business model is broken,” says Kristen Corpin, a young Miami lawyer. She says in order to keep young talent, partners need to have more respect for their young associate, not the concept of “you make a paycheck, just be grateful.”

Who doesn’t love a virtual reality tour? Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has introduced a new guided virtual reality tour of its Dallas and New York offices online. Why you ask? This is a new way for the firm to have recruiters and law students look around their offices and see what it would be like to work for them.

It is undisputed- for attorneys- that rapid technological advances are heralded as both a blessing and a curse. In this column, we examine the evolving trends in work styles and explore how modern day practice has adapted. Technology and work are always a topic that (more…)