Smith spent 14 years at a Mesquite firm and left last August to work for a firm in Dallas. In January, she went to work for a couple opening a small law office in Waxahachie, a short distance from her Red Oak home. I just couldn't take the pay cut. So, she started interviewing. Traditionally, firms only wanted people with experience in the legal industry, but all that's changing now, says Mary Alice Naiser, a placement coordinator in the Austin office of Houston-based Prescott Legal Search.
Examples are people working in insurance, banking or real estate. . . .
They're finally looking outside the box at solutions they haven't previously considered. We've been able to transition some people from secretarial statuses and nontraditional areas. Akin Gump is considering is the development of a staff professional program, Menges says. We're looking at hiring college graduates who want to do something gainful for a year or two before going to law or business school. And, more firms are starting in-house training programs for secretaries and paralegals.