I've had the luxury of being a member of interview panels for many entry level positions and I absolutely love it. If you set the right tone, ask the right questions, and make sure everyone is comfortable, you end up partaking in a great discourse as opposed to just slamming someone with questions. Because these entry level candidates just want a chance to prove themselves, you end up speaking with a number of creative and clever people. Inevitably the same question pops up in some form or another; "What are you looking for in a hire?"
As I've reflected on this to provide the best answer possible, I've whittled my answer down to: "I'm looking for someone humble, hungry, and smart." Humble being someone who is willing to put the team ahead of themselves, allowing their ego to take the back seat. Hungry being the character trait of someone who isn't happy simply existing and doing their job. Someone who always wants to strive for more and better themselves internally. Smart being the cliché "outside-of-the-box" thinker.
Those child-like qualities of discovery and creativity have mainly been influenced in me by Pablo Picasso. "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."
Now, If you've read this far you may be asking yourself who I am and what this has to do with practicing law or running your firm. I promise you, I'm not important to this story, but Jacqueline Horani is. Jacqueline is a client of Confido Legal, and upon first meeting her I was dazzled by how well she fit the description of who I strive to work with. If you haven't had a chance to listen to her share her perspective on the Financially Legal podcast, please do so. What struck me the most interesting was her refusal to be tied down by conventional means and costs. Just because there's something already available for you, doesn't mean you have to use it.
Jacqueline uses a free website (Canva) to create her own invoices and in doing so, she has total control of what her clients see and how she is represented. No generic invoices for her firm. She doesn't find a pre-made solution and try to fit in it, she creates her own solution to make sure it works for her and her clients. Because of the way her invoices are set up, she has a template and can replicate it easily for her next client, then she adds Confido Legal payment links for the client to access when they need. She's also able to implement the ability for clients to store their payment methods so she can run payments without clients having to provide their information over and over again. Ergo, leveraging Confido Legal features that work for her in a way she sees fit.
The image above is an example of what Jacqueline sends out to her clients. Anything she wants to add or take out can be done so at will. No need to reach out to developers, programmers, or wait for a 3rd party to handle this for her. She is in control.
Creative solutions allow your firm to try something that might seem unconventional, but may work for you. Don't feel stuck with the current solutions just because they're there. I encourage you to find that child-like wonder if you feel like you've lost it and take a look to see what you could shake up to help your law firm do something a little different. Just because we're growing older, doesn't mean we have to grow up!