There are no easy answers to finding time when we feel overwhelmed with things to do. However, I do want to offer a few strategies for how to maximize your value to your Firm and get the most important projects accomplished, no matter how much is going on.

1.  Accept the fact that in a reactive, client service focused law firm environment, on your BEST days you will only have about 3 hours of proactive time to initiate and focus on projects.  The fact is that most of your day will be spent reacting, putting out fires and responding to new requests. So when you plan your to-do list, make sure to be realistic about the amount of time where you can control what you are working on vs. the majority of the day where you can not.
3. Conduct a “time usage audit” on yourself to identify the highest value projects and the results you produce in your role. To do this, you will need to keep track of how you spend your time for a week (or recreate it based on the emails you sent and received, meetings you attended and calls you made and received). Identify the most productive results you achieved and the time you invested to get these results. For example, if the memo you wrote for a committee resulted in them approving a program you know will benefit your attorneys, this 5-hour investment of your time would now be classified as a high value project. The goal of this audit is to identify what your high value projects look like, so you can MAKE time for them.
4. Create “focus time” to get these high value projects, with the highest return on time invested, done! As a service provider in a law firm, you will rarely have more than a few minutes of “proactive time” to work on high value projects. I encourage you to block out 30 minute chunks on your schedule, the way you would for a meeting, so you can focus on those important high value projects.  Three to four 30-minute chunks of time, invested over the course of a week, will result in getting the most important things done, not just the urgent ones. When we make time to initiate rather than just react, we feel more in control of our work and are able to produce the highest value results for our firms.

To read more on this, take a look at a Time Management article I recently wrote.

To commemorate our 17th anniversary, we are launching our newest website. In a world of smart phones and iPads, this version was designed to be mobile-device friendly.

Our goal was to make the information on our site easily accessible from anywhere you are. We welcome your feedback and any suggestions you may have for making this site even more user-friendly and informative. This is actually the 5th version of our website! It is symbolic of how we all have to reinvent ourselves to stay relevant and continue to be of value.

Today marks another anniversary for me as well: my family and I arrived in Manhattan on March 28, 1969. We were amongst the last Jews thrown out of Poland and came here under Political refuge status. Until I was 15, and became an American citizen, I was not a citizen of any country. In 2009, the Polish government passed new legislation allowing the 20,000 Jews who left Poland in the late ‘60s to apply to have their citizenship reinstated. I had no interest in doing so until very recently. After much introspection, I have decided to apply to have my Polish citizenship reinstated. This was a very difficult decision and one I view as an act of forgiveness, since those who govern Poland today had nothing to do with how we were treated. I also acknowledge that we live in a global economy and although I choose never to live anywhere other than the U.S., one or more of my three children may want to live or work in the E.U. and I should not deny them their birthright.

So on the next anniversary of your current job or graduation from school, I encourage you to ask yourself whether the job you committed to is still challenging and if the goals you set are still important to you – or if you need to change anything.

Having interviewed over 10,000 candidates and conducted interview training for 57 law firms, I know that asking behaviorally based interview questions provides much better “evidence” of future performance than asking what I call “opinion” questions such as:  “Are you a hard worker?” I also know that how a candidate behaves during the hiring process gives us good indicators of how they will behave when hired. For example, are their thank you notes error-free? Do they respond promptly to scheduling emails? Do they do their homework before interviews?

But there are some traits critical for top performance that I can’t fully uncover from an interview: How quickly do they process information? Can they execute and get things done efficiently?

The reason it is so hard to uncover these critical performance areas is because most candidates don’t have clear self-awareness as to how they actually perform.

So what is the answer? I say the candidate should perform as part of the interview process, not just talk about how they perform. For example, we have a “new grad” written assessment where we ask new grads a few questions on how they would handle situations, such as planning an event. We also have them draft an email to a Partner and edit a document. In addition to seeing how they perform in terms of detail orientation, writing skills and business judgment, we also get a view into how quickly (or not) they process all this information and execute.  The average candidate takes 30-40 minutes to complete this assessment.  One candidate last week took 90 minutes to complete it and, based on his responses, did not read two questions correctly. Although he did exceptionally well in school and on his interview, based on this performance element, we will not be introducing him to our clients.

My sense is that now that we know who our President will be and that the “fiscal cliff” has been addressed, the uncertainty that was hanging over the economy has lifted and law firms and companies are finally moving forward.  Although we are very excited to work on so many new positions, finding the right talent is a challenge!

I have given a great deal of thought as to what it takes to be successful in  law firm marketing/BD, recruitment, PD, practice management or other administrative roles. Here is what I believe the best candidates bring to the role: Grit!

“Grit” was coined by Univ. of Penn. professor Angela Duckworth and is defined in her research as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.”   Having interviewed more than 10,000 professional over the past 23 years, I firmly believe this is the trait that best predicts successful performance.

How do we know if the candidate you are about to hire has the grit required to overcome obstacles and to achieve long-term work goals, as well as the resilience to deal with challenges? Well, Duckworth developed a “grit test” that has been tested on professionals, students and West Pointers and is a fabulous predictor of performance success.  Here are some questions you may want to ask candidates as you make critical hiring decisions:

- Can you tell me a little about how you overcame setbacks to achieve an important goal?

- Describe a long-term project where you faced many obstacles but were able to achieve the desired results.

- Tell me about a difficult person you had to work with on an important assignment at work or school. How did you manage the situation?

So the next time you are thinking about adding someone to your team, make sure they have the grit required to succeed!

Every new year’s weekend, since 1989, I set goals for the upcoming year. This exercise has helped me to focus and determine where I want to invest my time and energy. I encourage you to identify and write down your goals for 2013, because knowing what you want to focus on helps you to take advantage of the limited time we all have. I hope you find this goal setting packet of value.

As I look to the future, there are many wonderful things to look forward to in 2013!  January is already booked with training programs in Chicago and Dallas and we are starting the year with many great jobs to fill. I will turn 50 this year and my daughter celebrates her Bat Mitzvah this winter. I know that 2013 will also bring challenges; with opportunities there are always challenges! The one great benefit that comes from getting older is wisdom. For me, this means perspective and the knowledge that I will survive no matter what the obstacles (hurricanes, diabetes, firms closing).

I wish you a wonderful 2013; a year where you accomplish your goals and feel really good about how you invest your time. If there is any way we can help you to achieve your goals, please let us know!

NYCRA:

Over 140 NY law firm recruitment professionals participated in our survey.

• 32% of respondents said their departments have increased in size over the last 2 years, while 19% have decreased
• 16% of respondents have a graduate degree and 12% have JDs
• 22% of survey participants joined legal recruiting in the last 3 years
• Directors of Recruitment worked 65 hours on average this past fall recruiting season

BD/Marketing:

45 Coordinators, Senior Coordinators, Specialist/Analysts and Senior Specialists participated in the survey.

• 84% plan on being in legal marketing 2 years from now
• 40% of respondents have been promoted with a title change in the past 2 years
• 64% feel their department is not adequately staffed
• 80% would leave their current firm for career growth

Do any of these findings surprise you?  The good news, from my perspective, is that there is still plenty of great talent coming into law firm recruiting and over 80% of the law firm marketers surveyed plan to be in the field 2 years from now!

Miraculously, our newly purchased beach house was unharmed by Sandy. I can not express in words the gratitude I feel for not being damaged by this hurricane, as so many neighbors have been.

I have spent a good amount of time this last week reflecting on what it felt like to have no power and imagining what it would feel like to lose everything I treasured. Being cold in a dark home made me feel extremely vulnerable and imagining the loss others experienced really scared me. I had to acknowledge to myself how quickly everything could change and that sitting in a lit up, warm home was not a given.

I am very grateful to have power back and much of the normalcy of life back; such as the commuter train I take on the Hudson River running again and the kids back in school.

Hurricane Sandy was a great reminder for me – take nothing for granted and be very, very grateful!

Overall, the size of incoming fall associates and summer program classes have stabilized since 2009. However, the average class size of 2013 summer programs is expected to be slightly smaller than 2012 for all firm sizes. Additionally, there are some differences by location. Chicago firms are expecting a slight rise in their average class size. Washington, D.C. firms, however, are anticipating a summer class size approximately 33% smaller. Here are some other highlights we found particularly interesting:

• 55% of New York firms reported that their attorneys were “busier” in the last 6 months that earlier in the year.
• 31% of respondents hired temporary employees for the recruiting season, the majority of whom were in offices of 200+ attorneys.
• 98% of respondents anticipate getting a bonus, a raise, or both.

The other theme that comes across loud and clear is that Recruiting Professionals across the country are all expected to do more with less!  

Here are a few ideas for increasing your knowledge and skills this fall:

1. Register for a certificate program like those at NYU’s Professional Studies program or through the Society for Human Resource Management.
2. Commit to attending 3 monthly educational programs sponsored by your Professional Association or related ones. For example if you are a member of LMA, check what’s on the calendar. In addition, you might want to ask your firm administrator what’s on the schedule this Fall for ALA. It’s good to expand your learning to other areas of law firm management.
3. Learn something completely new or expand your expertise further.  Columbia Journalism School offers courses in Social Media and eCornell offers classes in everything from Plant-Based Nutrition to Leadership & Strategic Management.
4. Have fun and study something you are passionate about! I am looking into courses at the New York Botanical Gardens on raising orchids. A client of mine just took a pizza making class, while another is studying ballroom dancing!

You may be thinking that this all sounds great, but where will I find the time to take classes? Here’s the thing, when we are learning and growing we get energized. You will be more focused during the work day because you’ll know you need to leave in time to get to class – which tends to make us more productive throughout the day.  So, what are you signing up for this Fall?

1) Resumes are always challenging. Let the resume be an outline of your professional experience, educational background, and volunteer/university involvement. Be sure you are capable of speaking in detail about any experience listed on your resume. Use active verbs and cite results that you were able to achieve during the process. Keep in mind that your resume should only be one page long!

2) Preparation is crucial when it comes to interviewing. Prior to an interview make sure you have read the job description and know the key aspects to the position. Make sure you understand as much as possible about the Firm, its clients, and goals. Visiting the Firm’s website is a must. All of this preparation will help you ask and answer questions most effectively.

3) Once you land the interview be sure to arrive at least fifteen minutes prior to the meeting. Wear something professional that makes you feel confident. If in doubt, wear something conservative which means a dark colored suit or jacket. First impressions are critical; let your image mirror the professionalism of the Firm. Bring a pad and pen to take notes. Also, be sure to bring a few copies of your resume!

4) The past four years you have developed and learned all different types of skills. Strong writing and communication skills are two of the most important attributes that employers are seeking in new grads. Being able to clearly articulate and explain what you did and why is essential. We have seen many recent grads having trouble with some of the basic writing rules so brushing up your writing and editing skills will be useful when you land a job. Also, you never know if a Firm will give you a writing assignment the day of the interview!