Staffwell National: Hiring from another practice area?

A California firm wanted a trust and estate litigator with at least five years of experience.
They hired an attorney with four years in insurance defense.

The attorney is still there. The feedback we’ve received is that it’s a good fit.

When hiring from another practice area, ask:
“What can this person handle, and what would we need to teach them?”

For example, if that includes depositions, “I’ve handled 50” leaves a lot unanswered.

Ask them to walk you through a recent one:

• How many did you take versus defend?

• Who were the witnesses?

• Did you prepare the outline and conduct the questioning yourself?

• How did the testimony affect your next steps in the case?

Apply the same approach to motions. Which have they drafted and argued independently? How much supervision did they need?

Then compare their experience with the work you need done.

Learning a new area of law is one thing.
Learning to handle a caseload is another.

Your firm may have time to teach one, but not both.

Some roles need someone with direct practice-area experience.

Before making that a requirement, be clear about what the attorney must already know and what your firm can teach.

Thank you,
Staffwell LLC | Legal Recruitment
Staffwell.ca | (929) 560-0868