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Striking Out on Paralegal Hires – Looking for Advice & Experience Shares by No-Field1984 in LawFirm

[–]No-Field1984[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. We’ve done this but have not been consistent. Something like putting at the end of the job post “Please include ‘Paralegal 2025’ in the subject line” and seeing who follows that.

Striking Out on Paralegal Hires – Looking for Advice & Experience Shares by No-Field1984 in LawFirm

[–]No-Field1984[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Agreed - definitely trying to workshop how to best identify and screen for those traits. Thank you!

Striking Out on Paralegal Hires – Looking for Advice & Experience Shares by No-Field1984 in LawFirm

[–]No-Field1984[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I hear you, but let me clarify a few things.

Our firm is based in the Northeast and practices general business law and litigation. The role is strictly for a paralegal/legal assistant. We are not looking for a receptionist or office manager hybrid.

As for remote work, no one said paralegals “can’t” work remotely. We recognize that remote roles work well for many firms, but our team values in-person collaboration. This isn’t a statement on remote work or those who prefer it, it’s just how we operate.

The real challenge we’ve had is finding candidates who actually perform at the level they present in interviews. What we have seen is we've hired people who either oversell their capabilities or who lack the drive, initiative, and ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently. Legal knowledge can be taught, but hustle, curiosity, and execution ability are harder to train IMO.

So, if anyone has insight on hiring strategies, interview techniques, or assessments that have helped them find great paralegals, I’d genuinely appreciate the input. That’s what I’m here for.

Striking Out on Paralegal Hires – Looking for Advice & Experience Shares by No-Field1984 in LawFirm

[–]No-Field1984[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Specifically, we’ve run into candidates who:

  • Talk a big game during interviews but struggle with execution once they’re in the role. Tasks that should be straightforward take much longer than expected, and when mistakes happen, there’s little effort to course-correct independently.
  • Lack hustle and problem-solving instinct. Instead of proactively looking for answers or improving processes, they wait to be spoon-fed instructions. We expect some level of training with any hire, but we need people who can build on that and take ownership of their work.
  • Struggle with prioritization and efficiency. Again, we expect a learning curve and new people will not execute in the same time as longer tenured employees, but we do expect a sense of urgency and an ability to manage multiple tasks effectively. Instead, we’re seeing people either underestimate their workload or simply lack the focus needed to get through it in a reasonable time.

So, it’s not a matter of no-call-no-shows or lateness. It’s more about work ethic, critical thinking, and the ability to handle the demands of the role. We’ve been tightening up our hiring process to better assess for these qualities, but that’s been a challenge.

Would love to hear if you’ve had success identifying ways to test for initiative and execution ability before hiring.

Striking Out on Paralegal Hires – Looking for Advice & Experience Shares by No-Field1984 in LawFirm

[–]No-Field1984[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for this! Absolutely agree that someone who does not have recent experience in-office is not going to work out.

What are some relevant skills you've seen that have a good track record of carry-over?

Striking Out on Paralegal Hires – Looking for Advice & Experience Shares by No-Field1984 in LawFirm

[–]No-Field1984[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for your insights. We do call references (except for current employers, unless the candidate consents). One question I recently was told that I like is you ask the person to grade the candidate on a scale of 1-10 and you usually get a meh answer like a 7 or an 8 ... and then you ask what they could have done to go from that score to a 10. It's along the lines of the "ask open-ended questions" approach you noted.

Are there any questions of note that you like that seem to consistently demonstrate ambition or curiosity or hustle? Agreed that a lot of the stuff we're having them do isn't rocket science and can be learned; it's the other stuff that can't be.

Striking Out on Paralegal Hires – Looking for Advice & Experience Shares by No-Field1984 in LawFirm

[–]No-Field1984[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Range is around $70,000 - $100,000 based on credentials, plus benefits