Legal Staffing 101: Types, Skills, How to Test
If you’re an HR manager or recruiter, you know the pressure of finding top talent in a field where precision and expertise are essential. The legal landscape is more complex than ever, with companies needing professionals who understand the law and can navigate its constant changes.
Your role is critical in building teams that can tackle these challenges. You’re not just filling a seat; you’re searching for someone who can bring value, start strong, and keep your company on the right side of the law.
Whether it’s a paralegal with corporate law expertise, a legal analyst who can carefully examine data, or a document reviewer who misses nothing, the demand for skilled legal professionals is high.
But, finding qualified candidates is tough, especially with a significant shortage in the market. Recent data shows that the legal industry is facing labor shortages, with nearly half of job vacancies remaining unfilled due to the specialized knowledge required.
This scarcity means you need a strategic and creative approach to legal staffing, focusing on attention to detail, critical thinking, and specialized knowledge to find the right fit for your team.
This guide will help you learn about the different types of roles, the must-have skills for success, and the best methods for legal skills assessment during the hiring process.
Jump to a Section:
- What is Legal Staffing?
- 6 Types of Legal Roles
- 5 Essential Skills for Legal Professionals
- How to Test Legal Skills in the Hiring Process
- Best Practices in Legal Staffing
What is Legal Staffing?
Legal staffing refers to recruiting, hiring, and managing legal support professionals such as paralegals, administrative assistants, and other legal support staff for law firms or corporate legal departments. The goal is to make sure organizations have the proper support to handle challenging tasks, maintain compliance, and effectively manage risks.
Purposes of legal staffing
Hiring the right legal professionals helps companies identify and mitigate potential legal risks before they become big problems.
For example, an experienced compliance officer can prevent costly fines. A well-staffed legal team also makes operations, such as contract review and litigation support, more efficient, which is especially important in industries like finance and healthcare.
With the right legal staff, companies can handle more tasks in-house, reducing the need for expensive outside counsel and saving money.
6 Types of Legal Roles
Legal roles include a variety of positions that support the functioning of law firms, corporate legal departments, and other organizations requiring their expertise. Some of these jobs are:
1. Legal assistants
Legal assistants support legal teams by handling tasks like scheduling, managing correspondence, and preparing legal documents. They keep case files organized, assist with trial prep, and manage documents.
To do well in this role, legal assistants must be highly organized, understand legal terms, and be capable of multitasking in a fast-paced environment. For instance, they might prepare a court filing while keeping an attorney’s calendar, which requires precise attention to detail and time management skills.
2. Administrative assistants
An administrative assistant in a legal office manages general office tasks to maintain smooth operations. Unlike legal assistants, who focus on case-related work like legal research and document preparation, administrative assistants handle daily functions.
Their duties include answering phones, managing office supplies, coordinating meetings, and addressing client inquiries. They also help maintain records and facilitate communication within the legal team.
To succeed, administrative assistants need strong organizational skills, proficiency in software like Microsoft Office, and the ability to multitask effectively. While legal assistants focus on case management, administrative assistants serve as the backbone for keeping the office running smoothly.
3. Paralegals
Paralegals play a vital role in helping lawyers with tasks like legal research, drafting documents, and communicating with clients. They prepare important papers like pleadings and contracts and assist with trial preparation.
To succeed, paralegals need to understand legal procedures well, have excellent research skills, and clearly communicate. The demand for paralegals is rising, with job growth expected to increase by 4% from 2022 to 2032, reflecting how much legal practices depend on their support.
4. Legal analysts
Legal analysts specialize in interpreting and applying legal information to assist decision-making. They analyze legal data, review contracts, and assess the impact of new laws and regulations on a company’s operations.
Legal analysts need strong analytical skills, legal knowledge, and attention to detail to identify risks and provide useful advice. For instance, they might evaluate how a new tax law affects a corporation’s financial strategy, requiring both legal expertise and critical thinking.
5. Document reviewers
Document reviewers are responsible for managing and reviewing large volumes of legal documents, often in the context of litigation or regulatory compliance. Their tasks include identifying relevant information, guaranteeing confidentiality, and verifying the accuracy of documents.
Precision and a strong grasp of legal issues are essential because even minor errors can lead to serious legal problems. Document reviewers must also uphold strict confidentiality, especially when dealing with sensitive information during lawsuit discovery.
6. Compliance officers
Compliance officers make sure that organizations adhere to all relevant laws and regulations. They develop and implement policies to prevent legal issues, conduct audits, and provide training to employees on compliance matters.
Compliance officers need a solid understanding of regulations and excellent communication skills because they work with various departments to confirm the company follows legal standards.
This role is especially important in industries like pharmaceutical and telecommunications, where regulations are strict. For example, a compliance officer can make sure that a company’s practices align with new data protection laws to avoid legal penalties.
5 Essential Skills for Legal Professionals
Having the right skills is crucial for legal administrative support professionals to work efficiently and reduce errors that could lead to serious legal problems. Some of them include:
1. Attention to detail
Legal documents like contracts, wills, and court filings must be error-free. Even a small mistake, like a missed comma or incorrect date, can change the meaning and cause legal issues or unenforceable agreements.
Accuracy and trust are the cornerstones of the legal profession. Consistent attention to detail enhances a legal practitioner’s reliability and competence. To test this skill, consider using an attention-to-detail test that checks a candidate’s ability to spot mistakes in text and data and assess their reading comprehension.
2. Microsoft Office skills
Legal professionals need proficiency in Microsoft Word and Outlook to draft documents, manage communications, and organize schedules. Expertise in Word allows for efficient document preparation, while Outlook helps handle the high volume of emails and calendar events typical in legal work.
Practical legal skills assessment tests can evaluate these abilities by checking how well candidates format documents, create templates, and manage email workflows.
3. Legal terminology knowledge
A strong understanding of legal terminology is fundamental for all legal roles, from paralegals to administrative assistants. Legal support professionals must accurately interpret and use specialized language in documents, communications, and other legal contexts.
To see if your candidates have this knowledge during the hiring process, consider using tests focusing on recognizing and correctly applying legal terms. This method confirms that candidates are familiar with the terminology and can appropriately apply it in various contexts.
4. Critical thinking
Critical thinking is vital for legal professionals to analyze issues, develop strategies, and make sound decisions under pressure. They often encounter difficult cases that require evaluating information from different perspectives and anticipating challenges.
You can assess a candidate’s critical thinking skills using case studies or hypothetical scenarios where they explain their thought processes, identify potential risks, and propose strategic solutions. Another option to measure these skills is implementing cognitive skills tests.
5. Communication skills
Legal support professionals must explain complex concepts to clients, effectively communicate with colleagues, and uphold accuracy in legal documentation. Strong verbal and written communication skills are vital because they often draft documents, coordinate with team members, and assist in managing correspondence.
To assess these skills during hiring, use practical tasks like drafting sample communications or reviewing documents for clarity. Other option would be grammar or spelling tests. These tasks allow candidates to show their ability to clearly and accurately convey information.
How to Test Legal Skills in the Hiring Process
Now that you know the skills you can test for, the question is how. Here are some of the methods to give a legal skills test.
1. Conduct relevant assessments
A legal office skills test evaluates key areas such as attention to detail, typing, spelling, and grammar. This test provides objective insights into candidates’ capabilities, which can lead to better hiring success.
Companies that use these assessments report that they are 24% more likely to hire candidates who exceed expectations, making these tests a crucial step in the recruitment process.
2. Evaluate technical proficiency
As technology changes the legal field, it’s increasingly important to assess candidates’ technical skills with tools unique to the industry. Legal professionals must be adept not only at using Microsoft Office but also at using specialized tools like e-discovery platforms and case management software.
To evaluate these skills, use a Microsoft Office test, such as the ones EmployTest offers, along with assignments that mimic real work situations. For example, have candidates manage a case file or draft a legal document. Provide scenarios where they must use specific software, allowing you to observe their performance in a controlled environment.
3. Verify legal research skills
Legal research requires both a strong understanding of legal concepts and terminology and the ability to navigate online databases. Assigning tasks that involve locating and interpreting case law, statutes, and regulations helps evaluate candidates’ ability to sift through large volumes of information to find precise citations.
These skills are important for supporting legal teams by providing accurate information and guaranteeing that your team can effectively manage legal matters, such as those involving copyright or fair use laws related to intellectual property.
4. Use structured interviews
Structured interviews provide a consistent framework for evaluating candidates’ problem-solving abilities, legal reasoning, and cultural fit. Using standardized questions and scenarios, employers can compare candidates and predict their job performance.
This method helps identify those with critical thinking and judgment required for success in the legal firm. But, it’s important to pair structured interviews with skills assessment tests. These tests offer objective evaluations based on actual performance, delivering more informed hiring decisions beyond just interview responses.
5. Assess soft skills
Soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, adaptability, and emotional intelligence, are just as critical as technical abilities in the legal profession. Assessing these skills during hiring helps find candidates who fit in with the company culture and can work well with others.
Ask about past experiences that show their soft skills and present hypothetical scenarios to assess their decision-making and problem-solving abilities, such as, “Can you provide an example of a time you worked as part of a team to achieve a goal?”
Employers who focus on assessing soft skills often experience higher employee satisfaction and retention, making this evaluation a vital part of the hiring process.
Best Practices in Legal Staffing
Here are different ways to make hiring for legal staffing easier for your company:
Clearly define job requirements
Outline specific qualifications, experience, and skills required for the role to be sure that applicants understand the expectations and fit the position’s needs. For instance, if hiring a legal assistant, specify the need for expertise in legal research, document preparation, and prior experience in supporting attorneys or legal teams.
Conduct thorough background checks
Comprehensive background checks are crucial for verifying potential hires’ credentials, work experience, and references. This step helps confirm that applicants have the qualifications they claim and are trustworthy. Checking references can uncover valuable insights into a candidate’s past performance and reliability.
Leverage technology and data
Employing specialized legal skills tests for administrative professionals can enhance the hiring process. Online platforms allow candidates to remotely complete tests, speeding up scheduling and assessment.
With technology’s ability to instantly collect data and score candidates, hiring teams can evaluate performance and make informed decisions more quickly. Tests that assess attention to detail, legal terminology knowledge, and technical proficiency certify that candidates have the practical skills needed for the role.
Foster an inclusive hiring process
Establish a structured interviewing process with clear criteria for evaluating candidates’ legal reasoning, expertise, and soft skills. For maximum fairness, ask all candidates for the same position the same questions.
You can also form diverse interview panels that include people from various backgrounds in the legal field. This approach reduces bias and provides different perspectives on a candidate’s fit for the team.
Provide straightforward onboarding and training
To quickly help new employees become productive, provide comprehensive training on company policies, legal procedures, and job-specific tasks. Include essential topics like legal ethics, professional conduct, and confidentiality to establish compliance with industry standards.
Introduce them to the judicial system, filing requirements, and preparation for hearings and trials relevant to their roles. A structured onboarding process can help new paralegals, legal assistants, or legal clerks efficiently understand their roles and responsibilities within the firm.
Build a Winning Legal Team
A strategic approach to legal staffing is crucial for assembling a high-performing legal team. By clearly defining job requirements, conducting thorough background checks, and using skills assessment tests, you can make informed hiring decisions that strengthen your organization.
Build a strong legal team that meets your company’s needs. With EmployTest’s skills assessment tests, you can find candidates with the right skills for the job, including a solid understanding of the law, critical thinking, and attention to detail.
Transform your recruitment process today—request a demo of our easy-to-use testing platform!
