Many law firms have all but ignored the information security concerns that are present when an employee is laid off. In successful law firms, employees view themselves as part of a team that contributes to that success. Therefore, it is not surprising that some employees, both lawyers and staff members, upon being laid off may adopt a mindset that their contributions to the firm have been betrayed and "I'm going to make them pay."
It used to be that keys to the office, ID cards and office supplies were the biggest risks firms faced from laid off employees. But today, with the added capabilities of technology, security risks have expanded dramatically. The following are four actual situations that occurred recently in law firms we work with.
A generous COO allowed a terminated marketing staff member to retain his firm Blackberry because "it was used and wasn't worth anything." Along with the Blackberry came access to the firm's email groups including all firm personnel and engagement teams that included several clients’ in-house legal staffs -- and the ability to send emails from the firm’s domain name, which he did.
A secretary, who typed the minutes of her firm's Compensation Committee on her home computer while on maternity leave, was laid off upon completion of her leave. She mailed a copy of the minutes discussing a lawyer to be reduced to non-equity status to a reporter for the National Law Journal (which declined to use the information and returned it to the firm).
A laid off paralegal started working as a freelancer for small law firms using her prior firm's passwords for a variety of fee-for-research services websites.
Two weeks after being laid off, a non-disgruntled IT staff member came back into the firm's offices and demonstrated to the Managing Partner that she had retained her root access to the firm's networks and could enter almost all of the firm's systems through a variety of global accounts (she was rehired to work on IT security issues).
Part of the pre-layoff plan must be a program of informational security precautions designed and operated by and in cooperation with the IT Department.
Dress Codes Revisited
A number of firms have been faced with some ticklish dress code issues, especially on casual days this summer. The latest problems involve undergarments -- being visible or not being worn at all. At the same time, collarless shirts are very much in fashion at even the stodgiest golf clubs. Law firm administrators are finding themselves, more than ever before, as being the arbitrators of not only taste but fashion. The advice we hear most often is that dress codes must be flexible to handle changes in style. We hear a lot about dress code concerns from administrators around the country. If your firm has developed a policy that you find is working well for you, send us a copy and we'll make it available to firms in the process of designing one.
Outplacement
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, 78 percent of corporations provide outplacement services for laid off professional employees. Yet, outplacement has never really caught on for lawyers and senior staff members in law firms.
Recently we spoke with a number of firms who use or have used outplacement services. Most provided the service for laid off associates and several used it for terminated partners. While several firms had used outplacement for a senior administrative position, in all of those cases the service was provided at the request of the employee. The reports we heard were uniformly not positive. Participants complained that the outplacement providers had no understanding of law firms and legal lateral hiring markets, and contributed little to their job search. All the firms we talked to said that a majority of the participant lawyers had not completed the outplacement program. Most saw no difference in the job hunting success or the attitude toward the firm between laid off employees who participated in outplacement and those who did not. The advice from one administrator was, "The purpose of outplacement is to ease the guilt of the people who are doing the firing. Most of the associates don't place much value on outplacement, so don't spend a lot of money on it."
There’s a reason why Legal Resource Group is the largest recruiter of senior law firm administrative positions. We find the best people with incredible speed, at a reasonable price. Don’t waste time with recruiters who don’t know law firms.
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Many Jobless are Holding out for Big Salaries
A lot of law firms are out of practice in dealing with candidates for senior administrative jobs in the current economy. Those who have a position to fill report that they are surprised by the aggressiveness of candidates in dealing with compensation issues. Rather than rolling over and playing dead as their future employers expect in what is arguably one of the worst job markets since World War II, job seekers are seeking salaries in line with their most recent pay level -- sometimes more. This is not simply a law firm issue. A recent survey of unemployed professionals in Chicago showed that 24 percent would be unwilling to accept more than a five percent salary reduction in order to get a new job.
In some ways the candidates may have it right. Despite the tilted labor market, new senior staff members are accepting positions working along with other "C level" positions whose salaries reflect better economic times. Salaries never stay secret for long and large differentials are hard to correct when the economy improves. The result is a virtual guarantee of being unable to retain the new administrator.
Preparing for H1N1
The off again/on again pandemic warnings have resulted in most businesses, and particularly law firms, generally ignoring the threat. However, as flu season revs up, we are hearing an increasing number of firms talking about doing some emergency planning. The National Safety Council suggests that your planning begin by addressing policies on:
Employee compensation and sick-leave absences unique to a pandemic, including policies on when a previously ill person is no longer infectious and can return to work after illness (even during the most severe pandemics, most people completely recover and recovered workers will have immunity to the illness and can safely return to work).
Flexible worksites (telecommuting) and flexible work hours.
Employees who have been exposed to the flu, are suspected of being ill or become ill at the worksite.
Cough and sneeze hygiene.
Cleaning and disinfecting work surfaces and office hot spots during the workday.
Programs to encourage frequent hand-washing and peer group reinforcement.
