Training Junior Lawyers & Paralegals at a Family Law Firm

Law firms have long been infamous for throwing new employees into the deep end, but many are trying a new approach. Thoughtful training leads to more competent, satisfied junior associates and paralegals, which can pay off for years.

Go beyond creating a new employee handbook and hosting a welcome meeting. Leaning into a more comprehensive plan for supporting your new professionals will help them feel appreciated and doesn't have to cost a lot.

Begin with an observation period

Let your young lawyers and paralegals start with at least several days of observation before you ask them to dive into work. At some family law firms, the observation period for junior associates can last several weeks.

Eventually, you can incorporate simple tasks, like summarizing discovery documents or drafting basic motions.

During the observation period, let your new firm members sit in on client meetings, mediation, court proceedings and the like.

Make it clear that during this period, their responsibilities are to pay close attention, take notes and ask questions. Have them report back on what seemed to work well and what did not.

Set them up with helpful software

Technology can take much of the burden of training off your current staff members.

Get your new folks signed up for the top family law software tools, then allow them time to familiarize themselves.

For example, associate attorneys and paralegals can both benefit from Custody X Change. It helps them create parenting plans with visual schedules, calculate parenting time and more.

To get comfortable with Custody X Change, they can peruse help articles and videos or just play around. Add them to your professional group so they can collaborate with colleagues and get half off their subscription.

E-learning platforms are also great for getting junior associates, paralegals and legal assistants up and running because they focus specifically on training. You could use one focused on CLE (like Lawline), one with broader trainings (like Hot Shot) or a combination.

Assign them a mentor

Mentorship not only benefits the newbie but can help your whole firm improve at working together.

Give each new employee a go-to person for questions and guidance. Make sure to tell the mentor what you expect from them. Possible expectations include:

• Set a regular time for checking in and questions (at least once a day at first)
• Make yourself available for after-hours questions
• Take the junior out to lunch occasionally
• Let them sit in on calls and meetings
• Go over any edits to their work
• Coauthor an article or blog post

In addition, you could have junior staff shadow a different attorney each day so they get a feel for how multiple people operate.

Train them in soft skills

Firms often focus their training on hard skills like email systems and billing, then neglect soft skills like nurturing client relationships, building rapport with evaluators, GALs and judges, and staying organized as a family law professional.

Make it clear that compassion is paramount in family law as clients are going through some of the most stressful experiences of their lives. You can set this expectation by discussing it in staff meetings, making it part of your firm's branding, displaying reminders around the office, and most importantly, making sure the partners set an example.

Soft skills are another area where mentors are important. They can debrief with their junior lawyers and paralegals after client meetings and spot where the mentees may be headed for trouble before a problem actually arises.

Above all, treat your junior lawyers and paralegals respectfully

Norms around office conduct are changing, and younger law professionals overall expect more work-life balance, emotional support and flexibility than their seniors. Gone are the days when castigating new lawyers or burying them in assignments was par for the course.

Combine high, clear expectations with patience and appreciation for different approaches. Young family law professionals talk to each other (perhaps even publicly on the internet), so both retention and your firm's reputation are at stake. Putting a little effort into quality training is a huge step in the right direction.