Advance Human Resource Management Software for Law Firm
Innovation in aspects such
as the organizational structure itself, job stability, knowledge management and
training, recruitment and selection, job evaluation, organic growth and career
development policy, communication, leadership, the involvement of professionals
in the corporate culture, the decentralization of decision-making and autonomy.
And it is in this aspect that there is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs in the
sector!
These paradigm shifts, very present in most
sectors, remain a pending issue in the legal sector. However, many firms
have already identified them and are working hard to break with traditional
structures and give workers what they are looking for.
The traditional model of medium and large
offices in Spain and the surrounding area is based on a pyramidal structure
based on the Carvath
System and its up
or out. The system is as follows. The best profiles of
the most prestigious universities in the country are selected and
incorporated. A minimum of three levels are established before becoming a
partner of the firm: junior, associate and manager. These stages are
defined and structured differently according to each firm. The objective
of the professional? Reaching the top of the pyramid: becoming a partner.
The recent graduate is trained differently in
each of the phases, giving him greater responsibility as he grows up the
internal scale. As a junior, he has little autonomy and is not used to
dealing directly with the client. After a few years, usually three, the
professional is promoted to an associate position, where he has more
responsibility, greater treatment with the client and certain functions of
training and supervision of his hierarchical inferiors. Then to a
managerial position to, in very few cases, reach the great dream: to be a
partner in the firm.
But for this gear to work, an up or out system
is structured. What does it consist of? In that if the professional
does not have the knowledge, skills, attitude, capacity for sacrifice, to
attract clients to the office, or any other required criteria, and they simply
must abandon ship.
And another component is added: rotation. Especially
in junior positions, there is high staff turnover. Many of those who enter
leave the firm, due, in most cases, to the exorbitant number of working hours
it requires, the lack of reconciliation between personal and professional life,
high levels of stress, excessively mechanical work and little responsibility
given to them.
In these lower stages, the recent graduate or
graduate only seeks to obtain training and improve their curriculum so that, in
one or two years, they change their job. The exits can be to go to another
firm, to the legal department of a company, to undertake your own project or,
sometimes, simply to leave the profession.
The Carvath System was introduced by
Paul Cravath, an American jurist, in the year 1899, that is, more than a
century ago, and has remained practically unchanged until today. Part of
the concept of " law
factory " (legal factory), which consists of applying the
bases of chain production, which at that time flourished in the automotive
sector, to the legal sector. Greater specialization, coordination, optimization
of production and efficiency. Also strenuous work hours, limited liability
to one part of the production chain, aggressive growth incentives and high
turnover.
At the beginning of the last century, the
foundations that Henry Ford forged to create his cars were applied to the Human Resource Management Solutions of firms in the
legal sector. Business schools began to study this system, and law firms
to think like a business. Hourly billing and area division by industry
sectors multiply productivity and profitability.
The Carvath System has accompanied the
expansion and growth of medium and large companies in the legal sector,
nationally and internationally. It is a model that has brought enormous
successes and high returns to firms around the world, and has demonstrated its
strength and ability to motivate workers. But, with the new trends of the
21st century, will it continue to be the model for managing human resources in
the companies of the future? We do not know. Although it is clear
that companies have a fundamental challenge to attract and retain the best
talent, offer them training, organic growth and also responsibility,
creativity, a good work environment, teleworking and reconciliation of personal
and professional life.
But without prejudging the benefits or
weaknesses of any model, we must remember that we are not talking about
machines or robots, but about people. And that a person, with their
feelings, emotions, talents, weaknesses, illusions and frustrations, is the
greatest asset of a company. Innovation in the management of human
resources is the great challenge of the legal sector and also the great
opportunity for entrepreneurs in the sector!
Many national and international law firms
have identified the current challenge in retaining their employees, and are
gradually introducing modifications to improve their working
conditions. It is a generalized challenge for millennial, who no longer
just want a good salary: they also seek reconciliation of personal and
professional life, flexibility, autonomy, motivation and efficiency. And,
if they cannot find it in a company, they will have no qualms about going to
another that offers them better conditions.
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