Hiring for your Law Firm: Lessons Learned from the Trenches

Whether you are hiring administrative staff or adding an attorney, the process can be time consuming, and a wrong decision can be costly. This month, two experts in law firm management and hiring share practical advice on how to make sure the employees you hire are the employees you need and want. This is not about labor and employment laws. It’s actionable tips on how to locate and hire employees efficiently and accurately. Our speakers are BP members Roberta Kass and Marcia Wasserman.

Meet The Speakers:

Roberta Kass is a legal recruiter with SeltzerFontaine, one of California’s oldest and most prominent legal search firms. She has over 30 years of experience placing attorneys with law firms of all sizes and in-house corporate legal departments across industries.  She received her BA in Psychology from UCLA and is a graduate of the JD/MBA program at UCLA.  She practiced corporate law and also handled special projects for the president/chairman of the board of a publicly held company.

Roberta frequently speaks, writes and consults nationally on topics relating to job search, career development, and trends in the legal profession.

Roberta serves on the Alumni Board of the UCLA Anderson School of Management and is active with the UCLA School of Law, where she is a former chair of the Dean’s Annual Fund and currently sits on the board of the Law School’s inter-generational women’s initiative.  She is also Vice-chair of the Board of Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library.

 Marcia Watson Wasserman is Founder and President of Comprehensive Management Solutions, Inc., which provides “C.O.O. to Go” TM law practice management consulting services to boutique and midsize law firms. She serves as a coach, mentor, and accountability partner to Managing Partners, Attorneys and Legal Administrators. Marcia also leads multiple law firm Managing Partners’ and Legal Administrators’ Roundtables throughout California, focused on thought leadership and sharing best practices.

Marcia is co-author of “Law Office Policies, Procedures, and Operations Manual, 7^th edition” (ABA 2022) and “Lawyers as Managers: How to Be a Champion for Your Firm and Employees” (ABA 2017). She is columns editor of the ABA’s Law Practice Division’s Law Practice magazine and a member of its Magazine, Publications, and Lawyer Leadership and Management Boards. Marcia is a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management. Prior to consulting, she served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Executive Director for more than 15 years at several law firms—both national and local—including an Am Law 200 firm. 

 Time will be set aside for attendee introductions, so using the video feature throughout the meeting is encouraged. Please watch the training and read the documents on the BP ZOOM Resource Center, so you are prepared for the meeting.

Cost: Free