Category: Blog

Attracting new attorneys remains a difficult task for all law firms. In recent years, the number of available quality legal talent has become more and more limited. In consequence, law firms are experiencing more and more difficulties in reaching the right candidates for their open positions.

In the past, most law firms didn’t need to worry about attracting new legal talent. The best profiles would always find their way to them without needing any prior incentive. Those days are long gone now. Even for the biggest offices, it remains a challenge to fill in all open vacancies.

In this blog, we hand out some tips on attracting top legal talent for your business!

1. Create a brand

One thing you should absolutely do as a law firm is to try and create a strong online presence. The first thing that a lawyer who is looking for a new opportunity will do, is start looking for open vacancies on the internet. Posting your job description on your own website, but also on other pages, like LinkedIn, LexGo, etc. is a good start.

Of course, this strategy won’t suffice for a long time. To make sure your vacancies reach the right people, you have to make sure these people know who you are first. In other words: you need to create a brand. But how do you build such a strong reputation?

First of all, you should create a fashionable website and post blogs on different topics on a regular basis. It can also be useful to share videos in which your associates explain what you do and what it is like to work for your law firm. Posting and sharing your own content (and others’) on social media platforms like LinkedIn will give your business an enormous boost.

Secondly, make sure your law office is mentioned on other websites as well. You can ensure this by starting collaborations with other law firms or companies and agree to mutually support each other’s content. Being mentioned on websites like LexGo or even in the news might also help you increase your status.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a brand with a trustworthy reputation. Once people start to see your name and logo appear more and more often, they’ll be more likely to believe the status of your law firm as a good place to work. In consequence, potential candidates will be more inclined to apply for your open vacancies.

Need help in creating an online presence? Contact us for more info!

2. Think about your company culture

Another important factor to take into account is your company culture. Paying your associates a reasonable salary is one thing, but this will be far from sufficient to attract new attorneys-at-law.

According to recent data, between 15% and 30% of all employees suffer or have suffered from burn-out symptoms. This once again shows why mental health has become such an important subject in recent years. Therefore, respecting the work-life balance of your associates, being flexible in your home office policy and maybe even appointing a mental health officer might all be elements which can make your office more attractive for potential talent.

Additionally, it’s important to make your colleagues feel valued. Especially for young associates or new starters, in-depth guidance and mentorship are key values when searching for a first or new opportunity. Constructive feedback, practical tips and a chance to grow, personally as well as professionally, are all factors that can make your law firm stand out from the crowd.

To sum up, every law firm should try to create an environment in which all associates sense that their work is appreciated. This will automatically make your office more attractive to potential candidates.

3. Innovation is the key to a successful business

Last but not least, implementing technological innovations in all parts of your office can help you in convincing talent to join your firm.

Traditionally, the legal profession has always been a slow-moving and old-fashioned machine. Many of the things that lawyers are still doing manually can be automated, resulting in faster, more streamlined processes, more efficient and precise work and time savings. Some examples:

• automation of contract drafting
• document review
• recruitment of legal talent

Many law firms have created their own tools to tackle these problems.

At Limine, we’ve found our own way as well. Thanks to our combination of technology and human guidance, we’ve discovered the perfect way to assist law firms in attracting their ideal candidate. Interested in a possible collaboration? Contact us and find out what we can do for your business!

Companies that are looking for new legal talent have a multitude of options at their disposal. However, finding the perfect candidate for a specific job can be quite the challenge and time-consuming. On the legal recruitment market, the ongoing war on talent makes it even more difficult to hire a qualified lawyer or legal counsel.

In this article, we will elaborate on the different options enterprises have to fill in their permanent positions.

1. Use your own network

A first way to attract new legal talent is by using the means that are directly at your disposal. You can try publishing a job description on your website, posting a vacancy on your companies’ LinkedIn page or publishing an article on a website like Lexgo. Of course, if your company has its own HR department, Recruitment cell or a Talent Acquisition Specialist, they can take care of the job postings for you.

However, this is a passive way of attracting new potential. After all, you’re waiting for candidates to react to a post or a vacancy on their own initiative, without actively seeking for the right person yourself.

Instead, you could try to contact people in your own network or in the networks of people you may know. Again, you could ask your HR department to assist you. This more active method of searching for legal potential, however, is time-consuming and in no way guarantees a successful outcome. You’ll need a lot of luck to coincidentally stumble on a legal advisor or attorney who is available for the job and also has the competences and personality you’re looking for.

2. Seek the help of a traditional recruiter

A second way of attracting legal talent is by seeking the help of a traditional recruitment agency.

Recruitment agencies usually have a broader network and database and use various methods to find the right people for a job. Some recruiters are focused on the legal market, which can be useful when you’re trying to fill in a specific legal position.

Nevertheless, traditional recruitment companies also have multiple disadvantages. Deep knowledge of the legal market and understanding of the legal profession as an attorney, in-house counsel or legal interim manager are essential if you want to attract the best candidates.  Not all traditional recruiters tick these boxes.

Another point to consider is that the approach of a traditional recruitment agency may damage your company image if not done correctly.  

The process of traditional recruitment agencies also tends to be very time-consuming, because they don’t use the necessary digital approach and means, making you lose valuable time and money in your search for the best matching legal candidate.

Last but not least, the commissions of traditional recruitment agencies have a way of making you fall off your chair when you hear them!  

3. Use Limine

A third, more effective, way to fill in open vacancies is by using Limine. You may contact us by mail or phone to discuss your vacancy or you can create a permanent vacancy on the Limine platform. 

In addition to the platform, Limine uses multiple other smart strategies to swiftly find the perfect candidate for your permanent vacancies. Next to our two weekly newsletter and personalized searches, Limine is the only one on the market that creates targeted LinkedIn Advertising Campaigns customized to your specific vacancy.  

By combining technology & data with personal guidance and deep knowledge of the legal profession, Limine is by far the easiest, fastest and most efficient way to attract new legal forces.

Interested in learning more about how Limine can assist you with filling in your legal vacancies? Check out the info page here or contact Tina!

Everyone knows the saying “you can never get a second chance to make a good first impression”. For legal interim managers, this expression is more true than for any other job. It’s very important to leave a good impression with your co-workers during your first days, since they will largely decide how smoothly the cooperation will run during the following months.

But how can you make sure you come across well during the first few days at a new company? And why would you even care?

In the following paragraphs, we explain why and how you can have a positive impact on your first impression as a legal interim consultant.

Why do you need a good impression?

A good first impression is not only important because you want people to like you or because you want to spend a pleasant few months or longer at your new company.

A more crucial reason is that the image you create of yourself during your first days will largely impact what comes after it. Your first impression directly influences your reputation, trustworthiness and standing. If you want co-workers or managers to recommend you to possible future clients, you better make the first days count!

Next to that, your first impression also largely influences your future cooperation with your co-workers, which is another reason to try and create a positive image.

How do you make a good impression?

The next question, then, is how you can make a good first impression. With the following useful tips, you’ll already go a long way.

1) Make a switch in your mindset

This is immediately the most important step. Many legal interim consultants or managers who have only worked as a lawyer or an attorney before, often experience difficulties adapting to a more business-oriented context. They write long opinions, give unnecessary details and struggle with adjusting their language to their target audience.

Therefore, it’s crucial to remember the following rule: as a legal interim consultant, you’re part of a business, so act like it! Don’t spend time analyzing all the legislative details, but write practical advice: how should the marketing department phrase a sentence to exclude all legal risks? What does a warehouse worker have to do when he gets injured on company property? How can management legally deduct taxes from the yearly budget?

In addition, don’t use overly complicated language and don’t elaborate on statutory details or discussions that might exist in doctrine or case law. Instead, keep your target audience in mind and write opinions that everyone can understand, from administrative personnel to HR, from the IT department to the janitor. The goal is to give everyone the opportunity to smoothly operate within the business

Last but not least, you’ll often be asked to make a clear risk analysis: what are the chances of a certain legal risk occurring when this or that action is undertaken? Again, try to be clear and simple: often, only necessary information is needed to make others comprehend and allow them to decide on their next steps.

2) Ask questions

A simple, but therefore not less important one. Asking questions is the key to a smooth operation within the business. It gives you the chance to set your priorities, learn the do’s and don’ts within a company and work on what is really important. Don’t be afraid to come across as a nag: as a legal interim manager, it’s better to do things right from the first time than to be corrected afterwards.

On top of that, asking questions is a way to show your client you have the best intentions to make the business move forward. It proves you have a proactive attitude, you’re not scared to make important decisions and you actually want to do a good job at your new company. 

Coincidentally, this is exactly the profile enterprises nowadays are looking for: someone who is ready to jump in from the first day, without being afraid to ask for clarifications if needed. An independent mindset is a big advantage, but it is useless when it only leads to you making huge mistakes. Asking questions can go hand in hand with a proactive and independent mindset.

3) Create a network

Lastly, creating a network from the first day on will also help you in making a good impression. In doing so, try to look further than your own colleagues at the legal department: go have lunch with the people in marketing, have a chat with the guys in IT. The more these people trust you personally, the more they will trust your legal advisory skills.

This, in turn, will lead to more people asking you questions, enabling them to endorse your qualities or recommend you to potential clients. It will also help you to understand the business better and write on point advice, customized to the specific needs of every different individual.

Are you ready to build a network, find new assignments and make an awesome first impression? Register on our platform now and find new clients today! Boosting your career as a legal interim consultant has never been this easy… 

Working as a legal advisor is an interesting career choice. That’s why more and more people start giving legal advice on an independent basis. However, it’s not that easy to start your own business as a solo legal counsel. 

In this blog, we give you some tips on how to start your career as a freelance legal consultant!

1. The foundation: a basic knowledge of the most common legal practice areas and a specialization to stand out

Let’s start off with the basics. First of all, it’s important to already have some professional experience before you start your own business as a freelance legal counsel. Apart from your expertise, clients will expect you to have a basic understanding of the principles of contract law, commercial law and corporate law. A basic knowledge of intellectual property law, privacy and GDPR or employment law is certainly a plus.

For that reason, it’s a good idea to begin your career at an established law firm or as an in-house lawyer to deepen the knowledge you already acquired in law school. After you’ve gained enough experience, you can consider starting your own business.

Furthermore, it is also useful to specialize in one or more other legal matters to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Examples are intellectual property law, ICT law, tax law, finance & banking, compliance and privacy law. If you try to focus your attention on some of these fields, you might even become an expert in those matters. This, in turn, will lead to more clients, higher fees and in general a trustworthy reputation as a legal expert.

2. Practical: CBE-number and company registration

Before starting your own legal consultancy firm, you will have to decide whether you want to continue as a private individual or as a company. 

Starting off as a one-man-business without creating a separate company can be interesting for those who immediately want to start their activities, without having to fulfill numerous legal conditions. However, this also entails the risk of liability. After all, the debts you incur during your work as a legal consultant will be entirely recoverable on all your private assets. If you’re married, even your partner’s assets or the communal property might be used to pay debts you accumulated during your professional activities.

For those reasons, some people prefer to create their own one-man-company (EBVBA). By creating a separate legal entity with its own assets, the liability for debts incurred due to professional activities will be limited to the capital of the company. The private assets of the legal consultant will be safeguarded in case the company goes bankrupt. 

The biggest disadvantage of the second approach is that you will have to fulfill more legal and administrative conditions before you can launch your business and after you’ve started your activities. These include, but are not limited to:

• registering as a company and depositing your articles of association
• keeping financial records
• pay company tax 
• …

Last but not least, whether you’re giving advice as a private person or as a company, every business in Belgium has to register with the Crossroads bank for Enterprises (CBE). You’ll have to ask for an identification number and a VAT-number before you can start your activities as an independent legal advisor.

3. Finding clients and building a network

Unless you already have a database filled with clients and are extremely well connected, this may prove to be your biggest challenge.

As a freelance legal consultant, you will not be dependent on an employer to give you new assignments. From now on, everything depends on you: finding clients, expanding your network, building a reliable reputation… But how can you do all this in an efficient way when you’re starting from scratch?

The first thing you’ll need to do is build a strong online presence. Nowadays, the easiest way to find new clients is by creating a network: be active on LinkedIn, create your own website and attend real-life or online networking events. The more clients you approach, the more recommendations you can gather and the more people will trust your legal advisory skills.

However, it’s not that easy to start out of nowhere. For that reason, platforms like Limine help you find new clients within a few clicks. Ready for a new challenge? Create your account here and find new assignments in no time!

Hiring a legal interim manager is not an easy decision. As a business, you have to decide whether it’s worth spending time, effort and money on finding a legal consultant, considering the advantages this person can bring to the table.

To help you make a well-informed decision, in this blog, we explain when and why hiring a legal freelancer is worth the shot.

War on talent and permanent vacancies

Some enterprises prefer to hire lawyers on a permanent basis rather than for temporary assignments. It is possible that your company is trying to fill its permanent vacancies at this very moment. However, it’s not always that easy to find the right person for your permanent positions.

Many companies nowadays are struggling to find the right talent for their legal departments. The amount of available high quality profiles is limited, the competition is enormous. There’s an actual war for talent going on, and very much so on the legal recruitment market. This leaves businesses with a huge problem: the workload rises, but there’s not enough employees to catch up.

In those moments, it might be useful to consider hiring a legal interim manager. A legal interim consultant will help your legal department get rid of the extra workload, allowing some breathing room while trying to fill in the permanent vacancies.

The advantages of this working method are twofold. First of all, a legal freelancer is someone who is capable of adapting to new environments very quickly. They often have a broad basis in different fields of law, while also possessing the capacity of learning quickly and introducing themselves to new fields of law. They won’t need in-depth training to join your team and start doing basic or advanced legal work.

Next to that, the contractual flexibility of a legal interim manager is a huge plus. Because legal freelancers work on an independent basis, you can hire them for just as long as you like. Once your permanent positions are filled in and your team is capable of handling all the work by itself, you can either end the temporary assignment or hire the interim consultant for another, new upcoming project.

Illnesses, pregnancies and general absences

Another reason for why hiring a legal interim manager might be advantageous to your business, are absentees.

Flu season has not ended yet and it is very difficult to predict when and if people might be absent for certain periods of time. Next to that, longer illnesses, pregnancies and even burn-

outs might occur in your legal department. As a consequence, multiple people might not come into work for several months, leaving you with a reduced team for the same amount of work, or more.

Lastly, the amount of work your team will be confronted with can fluctuate. Again, it is impossible to predict when and if an extra workload will present itself on your desks.

During those periods, too, hiring a legal interim manager should be considered. Because of their flexible mindset and independent, proactive attitude, legal interim consultants are prepared to immediately deliver qualitative work. They understand what is expected of them quickly and know how to adapt to a new role with utter ease.

A legal freelancer will not need any micromanagement, but can work in an independent way, which is exactly what a company needs when it is confronted with sudden gaps or an extra workload.

Specific legal projects

Lastly, it is possible that your legal department might need help on certain specific projects. Examples might be:

· establishing a code of conduct

· updating the general terms & conditions of the company

· registering an invention to enjoy protection of intellectual property rights

· updating the employment policies of the company

· …

For these kinds of projects, it could be useful to hire an external lawyer, specialized in the fields at hand, to further develop certain aspects of your plan. You don’t even need to hire a legal consultant full-time: a flexible contract for a few days/week might already suffice to help your team get on the right track. Once your project is finished, you can end the temporary assignment or hire the consultant for another mission.

Interested in hiring a legal consultant under flexible conditions? Sign up with Limine and find the perfect legal talent for your company!

When it comes to taking important decisions, people tend to distrust AI systems or algorithms. We find it difficult to believe that a computer can be a better predictor than a human being. After all, why would a robot know better which Spotify playlist to play on your first date? Why would it be better at choosing the right school for your kids to go to? Or, lastly, how could an algorithm be a better forecaster when it comes to hiring the perfect legal freelancer for your business? 

Aren’t these all problems your gut feeling could solve more easily?

In this blog, we explain why people have a willingness to trust themselves more than AI mechanisms. We’ll also argue that rejecting AI decision-making tools at first glance might sometimes be a mistake.

People pursue perfect outcomes

Why do people tend to prefer their own gut feeling over an algorithmic forecast?

 First of all, there’s the phenomenon of variance. Generally speaking, people display wider differences in their decision-making outcomes than algorithms. This means that, overall, a human person will have higher odds than an algorithm of performing really well, but will also carry an elevated risk of delivering very poor results.

For instance, when matching a legal freelancer with the right company or assignment, a human might find the perfect match, but he could also choose someone who is completely wrong and ill-fitted for the job.

 Algorithms, on the other hand, often show less outliers. They will make better predictions on average, without the odds of either performing very poorly or reaching a nearly perfect result.

Research by Dietvorst, Simmons, Massey en Bharti suggests that people tend to rely on decision-makers of the first kind, with higher odds of delivering a perfect prediction, even when this implies the risk of being completely inaccurate. Generally, therefore, people reject automated forecasting, because they fear they might miss the ‘perfect shot’, even though these systems often perform better on average than humans.

People set higher standards when it comes to AI

Another reason for why people rely more on their own judgment, relates to the standards they set for both human and algorithmic decision-making.

As Dietvorst has set out in his research, people tend to hold AI systems to higher standards. For us, a human person is the ‘default setting’ when it comes to decision-making. When we have to solve a problem, we try to do it by ourselves before even considering if someone or something else might do a better job than us.

But even then, people still tend to keep a conservative mindset. After all, they’ll only consider a change from the default setting if an algorithm can reach a specific performance target that is mostly higher than the one they marked for human decision-making. No-one will ask themselves whether the algorithm might deliver better results on average, while this would be the correct question to reflect on.

 For instance, when searching for the right legal consultant for an open position, people will tend to rely on their own judgment, even though an automated matchmaker delivers better results on average.

Conclusion: don’t reject an algorithm at first glance

People are inclined to reject automated decision-making by algorithms, because these systems are often unable to reach the elevated standards set out by us. However, by looking more closely, you might see that these algorithmic forecasters are more precise than their human equivalent.

 Because both forms of decision-making seem to have their own advantages, Limine combines the technology of automated matchmaking with the personal assistance of a human guide. We try to bring the best of both worlds together on our platform and help legal consultants and companies to find their perfect match every single day.

Ready for a new assignment as a legal advisor? Or looking for a legal expert to strengthen your team? Join our community now!

When interviewing a freelance legal consultant, it is essential to ask questions that will help you understand their qualifications, experience, and approach to legal consulting. This blog will discuss just how important the interview is when hiring a freelance legal consultant.

Why a well-thought-out interview is vital for your project

Thoroughly Interviewing a freelance legal consultant is essential for smooth project progress. A comprehensive interview allows you to evaluate the freelancer’s skills, experience, and fit for your project. The interview process also allows you to clarify your project requirements and expectations and to establish a working relationship with the freelancer.

You can also use the interview to discuss your project and ensure that the legal consultant understands your specific requirements and expectations. This can help prevent misunderstandings or miscommunications later on, which can lead to delays or other issues.

Overall, interviewing a freelancer is an essential step in hiring the perfect legal consultant for a project, and it can help ensure that the project progresses smoothly and successfully.

The dangers of not conducting a well-thought-out interview with a freelance legal consultant

Unfortunately, many business owners want to start immediately and do not invest time and effort in interviewing freelance legal consultants. Often, this can have detrimental effects on the progress and quality of the project.

Here are several dangers of not conducting a well-thought-out interview with a freelance legal consultant:

• Lack of expertise: If you do not ask the right questions, you may not clearly understand the consultant’s knowledge and whether they are qualified to handle your legal needs.
• Miscommunication: If you do not communicate your expectations and needs during the interview, it can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunications later. Those can cause delays or other issues.
• Unclear scope of work: If you do not define the scope of work clearly during the interview, it can lead to confusion or disputes.
• Lack of trust: If you do not establish a good working relationship with the freelancer during the interview, it can lead to a lack of confidence. A lack of trust often causes delays and second-guessing. However, do not confuse this with blind trust. While you should trust the expertise and work of the legal consultant, you should also be able to verify.

Overall, conducting a well-thought-out interview with a freelance legal consultant is essential to ensure that you clearly understand the freelancer’s qualifications and capabilities. This can help ensure that the project progresses smoothly and successfully.

9 example questions for interviewing freelance legal consultants

Some questions you may want to consider asking your potential freelance legal consultant include the following:

1. What areas of law do you specialize in or have the most experience with?
2. Can you provide examples of the types of legal consulting projects you have previously worked on?
3. Which factors do you take into account when writing a piece of advice?
4. How do you ensure that employees, even those without a legal background, are kept up to date about their rights and duties?
5. How do you keep up with changes in the law and legal best practices?
6. How do you ensure that you are providing accurate and reliable legal advice?
7. Can you provide references or testimonials from previous clients?
8. How do you typically communicate with clients, and what is your availability for consultations and updates?
9. What is your process for billing and payment for legal consulting services?

It is also essential to clearly understand your own needs and goals for the legal consulting project and to communicate those to the consultant so that they can provide appropriate guidance and recommendations.

Final words on interviewing freelance legal consultants

In conclusion, conducting a well-thought-out interview with a freelance legal consultant is essential to ensure a smooth and successful project. During the interview, you should ask the freelancer questions about their expertise, experience, availability, and approach to project management and communication.

You should also clearly communicate your expectations and needs and define the scope of work. Establishing a good working relationship with the freelancer during the interview can also help to build trust and facilitate effective collaboration.

If you want to save time interviewing candidates for your project, use Limine! We use a smart and innovative algorithm to automatically match you with your project’s three most relevant freelance legal consultants. Make your free Limine account here.