Before interviewing with a law firm or any of its attorneys or staff members, you will want to remember a few important facts. Lawyers are by definition negotiators. Negotiators listen to every detail you say and they weigh it in the balance of what it is they want from you. Therefore, it is in your interest to get and keep your tongue in check. Don't get too personal with them or you will lose the deal or go in at a very low wage. This is a cardinal rule in negotiations: He who speaks first loses. At a time when you are seeking to win, don't let your tongue set you up for a loss.
GETTING PAST THE GATE KEEPERS
Gate keepers wear all types of hats. Some are receptionists, some are secretaries, some are human resource personnel, and some are just friendly faced attorneys. One of the best and time-tested strategies for getting past the gate keepers is to hire in through a temp agency. The best paying and most reputable temp firm for paralegals is Robert Half & Associates . This company will send you out for two- to three-month assignments, which are ideal for winning the minds and hearts of a good firm. This also allows you to get a feel for the firm's corporate culture and personality, and gives you an opportunity to get in on the company grapevine [listen only] to find out what the staff really thinks of their bosses.
To effectively get past the gate keepers, you must have a high-powered connection. You can come in through a recruiter, a temp agency, or a personal friend who has friends in the firm. But most other attempts usually do not work. If you have no connections and you haven't made it to a recruiter's list yet, then your best bet is to go in through a legal temp company.
If you become a temp in the process of hiring in, remember: Do not temp for more than a year total. The general wisdom is that cherries get picked. Just to reduce your risks for sitting on the vine too long, you may want to pursue a part time position as a temp in a firm while you are getting your degree or other qualifications. Regardless of how you get past the gate keepers, remember cardinal rule number two in all firms: Never gossip; never tell your business, or anyone else's business, to another soul in the firm. If someone asks you straight up about a personal detail, politely and gently tell them, "I'm sorry, I am not permitted to discuss that with you."
This policy may seem "common sense" to you, or it may seem "uptight." But it will serve you well in the politics of a law office. Those who talk about their own or others' personal business are thought of as petty, small-minded, easily manipulated, and basically not worthy of respect. Such folks are also never trusted with any worthwhile information, but rather are used by management and partners to spread rumors they want to spread. You will already work for this firm, so why let yourself be their tool? Besides, who in the place will ever really trust you?
YES, YOU'RE HIRED
The green-light for joining the firm will likely come at least a couple of days ahead of your discussions of pay schedule with the managing partner or human resources staff member. If you come into a firm from a campus career center or a recruiter, then it is possible you will discuss salary before being told that you are hired. However, if you are already in the firm as a temporary staff member, then the firm will spend a fair amount of energy "courting" you to join them.
Just like a personal "courting," the firm does not disclose the "dowry" [i.e. salary] they are willing to pay before proposing that you become part of their team. As in your personal life, after the proposal, you then receive the ring. Don't be vulgar with a courting firm by asking to see the ring before the proposal. Imagine if a perfectly lovely woman requested to see her future husband's engagement ring prior to him asking for her to marry him. It is likewise vulgar to ask the salary before hearing a request to join the firm.
TIPS FOR NEGOTIATING AN ABOVE-AVERAGE SALARY
These are some general tips for negotiating a great salary at a good firm:
-
Regardless of how desperate you are for a good career move, let the firm's decision-makers approach you first.
-
Do not drop hints directed toward the firm's decision-makers. Desperate moves undermine your negotiating power.
-
Do not go with anyone from the firm after hours for a drink or dinner or anything else that could be construed as a date. While it is common for the upper level paralegals and attorneys to date within the firms, it is still frowned upon if you do so prior to being hired, or prior to a promotion. Violating this tip will create future problems for you in your work place.
-
Do not speak ill [not even a little bit] of anyone regardless of how chummy a staff member, paralegal, attorney, or manager makes you feel. In law firms, it is common to have your character tested in such a manner. A lawyer's success rests heavily upon being able to keep confidences, and he is bound by law to do so. Lawyers run fast from blabber-heads and gossips, and they fire them if they inadvertently hire one before discovering it. If you cannot keep confidences, you will not last long in most firms.
-
The tip above applies as well to friends, family, and acquaintances in your life outside of the firm. The common assessment in law firms is: If you will speak ill of those closest to you in your personal life, then likely you cannot be trusted to be loyal in the work place.Want to learn more? Take an online course in Paralegal Studies.
-
Do not offer up any information regarding your previous income, particularly if it was below market value. If you are asked point blank about it and you are trying to recover financially from a bad employer, find a way to creatively refer back to an employer and salary that more closely reflects where you want to go.
-
It is acceptable to say something like, "I would like to start at least at $55,000 since that was my ending salary in my previous position and I have since attained my paralegal certifications." This has a logical ring to it and it underscores why you are now worth more than you were in your last position rather than leaving you open to a negotiator who approaches the process with the "We can't pay that high to start" disposition.
-
One major way to negotiate an above-average salary is to seek a paralegal position that no one else in the firm wants. I did this once when I negotiated a probate paralegal position for an asbestos firm. None of the firm's top paralegals wanted to deal with death even though a good portion of their clients were dying. When you're willing to do what others don't want to do, the firm will not mind paying you what you ask them to pay you.
-
After you receive a financial offer from the manager, be sure to smile and then slowly and quietly excuse yourself with the explanation/question: "You don't mind if I sleep on this offer tonight after I discuss it with my family do you?" This helps your future employer to see you as a vital and important person in a family that is impacted by your income; and helps them to see you as a team player since you are consulting your home team before accepting their offer.
-
If asked an uncomfortable question, in the negotiations, that simply will not help you to answer, or one that you don't want to answer, invite the negotiator to forget his question and your delivery of the answer to him. Tell him simply, "I will have to look into that and get back to you on it," or a simple, "I don't recall," with no further explanation.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS YOU MAY WANT TO JOIN:
National Association of Legal Assistants
National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc.
Unspoken Expectations and How to Get Promoted at Your Firm
EXPECTATIONS
Everyone has expectations; spoken and unspoken. Law firms are no different, since they are made up of people. The better paying the firm, the greater the expectations they have of you. Many good lawyers will echo this fact with the sentiment, "To whom much is given, much is required." Keep this philosophy in the front of your mind as you to approach your new position and it will help you to stay in the right frame of mind for success.
In the same vein, it is a grave error on your part to begin, at any point during your employment with a firm, to increase your unspoken requirements from your managing attorney, managers, or other bosses. In a law environment, it is much better to over-perform with an excellent attitude, never implying anything about or toward your bosses. Anything less will catch up with you and it will not yield what you hope. In fact, the better and more open you can keep your daily expectations, the better you will fit in with your attorneys. Most attorneys are fair-minded people and their conscience will eventually chew on them until they reward you well for consistent, excellent service to them. Never fear that you will not be rewarded for all of your extra effort. Just put in the extra effort. Whether it is for three months or five years, the rewards do catch up with you. But attorneys also need to see the consistent hard work and dedication before pouring on the bonus five-star dinners, sports events box seats and tickets, exclusive hotels, etc. This is one profession where you should never fear long seasons of sowing. There is justice in the reward systems of lawyers, even when it's not at your current firm; even when it comes at the next firm.
Many, many paralegals and legal assistants shoot themselves in the foot in the area of unspoken expectation because they fall into a "group think" along with other paralegals. Your best approach to expectations is to always remember it is your attorney that you work for and he is the only one in the office with whom you should be concerned to please. All of your paralegal colleagues are just that, colleagues. You must get along with them. But you should put their expectations of you in second or third position behind your attorney and the firm's managing attorney. It is a trap and grave career error to give more weight to the expectations [thoughts or strategies] of your lunch buddy than you do your attorney or manager.
GETTING PROMOTED IN YOUR FIRM
Some of the best promotions come from a balance of interpersonal relations and commitment to personal excellence in your final work product. Being a robot or stone in the personality department never gets you promoted, even when working for a little Hitler. But socializing in the office environment should also be kept to a minimum.
Here are some other related tips for promotion in a law firm:
1. If you are a smoker, then consider your smoke time your socializing time; and don't take more smoke breaks than what adds up to everyone else's normal break times. A slow smoker takes about 7 minutes to finish a cigarette. This calculates to 4 cigarette breaks in a normal work day where other workers get 2 fifteen minute breaks.
2. Don't take cigarette breaks AND regular breaks. Your firm does not owe you pay for the time it takes you to indulge in your habits.
3. Avoid gossip all together. This means don't do it and don't listen to it. Those who listen to gossip are just as untrustworthy as those who actually do the gossiping. Neither position will win you favor or promotion.
4. Avoid the fake compliments. Good lawyers and good managers can smell a brown-nosed compliment from across the firm. While they may tolerate it, it will not gain points with them unless the person is a total narcissist. If you want to compliment someone, make it a sincere one.
5. Since most law firms do not have a time clock in the traditional sense, they pay attention to the smaller things you do in terms of your personal time management. Be aware of this fact. When you think you are sliding in a little late, there is a good chance they have already been to your office twice for some work-related item and have made a mental or management note of your absence.
6. Today, some firms use the computer log ins for time clock records. Be aware of this and take care of your immediate log in upon your arrival. For this and for inevitable social reasons, you will want to arrive to work 15 minutes early and you will want to leave work 15 minutes after your day officially ends. This is called "face time" in some circles. It tells the firm that you are dedicated and not a "clock watcher". It also communicates to them that you are determined to give them every minute of work in the day for which they are paying you. It tells them that you are keenly aware of their bottom line, and you are giving them their money's worth.
7. Avoid an office affair whenever possible. A couple of generations ago it was a cardinal rule for a good career. Today, office affairs and marriages are a commonly accepted norm. However, in a firm you want to be especially careful about such activities because the games and politics of it can get quite ugly. There is almost always at least one lawyer in every firm that is the office player. He sets out to get all of the paralegals or secretaries in bed; usually one at a time. He may be married or not. The further up the pecking order of lawyers he is, the more dangerous he is to your career and to your position at the firm. If he is married, then you could find yourself exposed and on trial at someone's divorce hearing because lawyers' wives are keenly aware of the paralegals and will always set out to destroy one if she sleeps with her husband.
8. Never argue with your attorney, or with any attorney in the firm.
9. If you disagree with your attorney or any attorney in the firm, keep it to yourself. Do not share your disagreeable opinion with anyone at your firm – ever! Voicing your disagreeing opinions about any attorney will keep you off of the promotion ladder.
10. Try to anticipate your attorney's needs as much as is reasonably possible. Don't kill yourself on this one, but do make an effort that is visible to your attorney.
11. Always acknowledge other attorneys in your firm, at least visually, if not verbally, when walking down the hall or visiting the break room. Keep it simple and polite and short. Unless the attorney engages you, do not seek anything from him.
12. Always be polite and courteous to your attorney's secretary and to every secretary in the firm. Even if you find yourself in a political situation where you know they are talking to one another to burn you, be polite and courteous to the secretaries anyway.
13. The Baker's Dozen on promotion tips is this: Manners, manners, manners and a little kindness each day will go a long way in getting yourself promoted in a firm.
