New York Legal Staffing and Recruiting

Why Hire a Legal Staffing and Recruiting Company for Temporary Lawyers?

New York, New York, is a bustling hub for powerhouse international corporations and is home to many such companies. Of course, these businesses have armies of in-house attorneys equipped to handle everything from labor compliance issues to complex mergers.

But what most people don't know about New York is that small businesses are actually its bread and butter — small businesses make up 99 percent of all New York businesses according to the Small Business Administration. Additionally, Biz2Credit named New York City the number one city for small business in America in 2017, beating out Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas. New York also dwarves California in terms of venture capital money, with billions of venture capital flowing in every quarter.

So what does that mean for business's legal needs? Typically, the smaller and newer a business is — which describes a lot of New York City companies — the less time and money it has to devote to permanent staff attorneys. A company needs to complete critical legal tasks to survive and grow, but taking on in-house counsel often isn't an option in the early stages of a business.

Hiring a legal staffing and recruiting company for temporary legal help is an affordable, sensible alternative. The staffing company does all the leg work for you and presents you with a list of candidates specifically qualified for the task your business needs.

What Can a Temporary Lawyer Do for an In-House Legal Department or Law Firm?

New York City sustains one of the most diverse, robust economies in the world. In an environment like that, what a temp attorney can do for your business is just as varied. For example, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, biosciences are one of the key sectors driving the city's economy. In that sector, securing a patent for a piece of medical technology or a drug formula might be a priority to a new company.

Rather than assuming the risk and permanent cost of a staff attorney who may or may not have the proper patent experience, you can outsource your need to a legal staffing and recruiting company. You can find a patent attorney with experience in biosciences and keep them on for only as long as you need. Other things a temp lawyer can do include:

• Handle surges in workload
• Look over and write contracts
• License intellectual property
• Ensure labor and employment compliance
• Minimize overhead by enabling you to cut full-time employees
• Oversee corporate restructuring and governance
• Prosecute IP and defend against infringement suits
• Cut employment liability and payroll expenses
• Allow you to improve your scalability without more staff

How to Interview and Hire a Temporary Lawyer?

One of the many benefits of hiring a legal staffing and recruiting company to find a top temporary attorney is that they do all the searching and combing through resumes for you. You tell them the type of legal work you want, and they'll find you the best matches with relevant training and experience. The only part you have to worry about is the interview. The main purpose of the interview is to decide if the temp lawyer is a good fit both for the task at hand and for your company culture. 

Questions to ask might include:

• Why are you pursuing temporary work?
• What experience do you have in [insert field] of law?
• Are you a member in good standing with the New York State Bar Association?
• Have you done any work for any of our competitors?
• Are you willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement and/or a non-compete agreement?
• What hourly rate do you expect?