This message is directed towards hiring managers in litigation support at law firms, corporations or service providers. If you are reading this and you know of a hiring manager that falls into this category, please forward this notice.
I have been spending a good deal of time talking to people that are interested in a litigation support career. I have made it my mission to help people join the industry. There are so many potential candidates that are coming from paralegal positions, IT positions or attorney positions. There are some candidates that have landed in a position at a vendor, but would like an opportunity to work at a law firm.
In these discussions, I am hearing over and over again that these candidates have been given the impression that very few hiring managers are willing to hire entry-level candidates. This comment stings every time I hear it. First, having been a litigation support manager who hired entry-level candidates for law firms and service providers, I have a different perspective. Second, I have a number of friends who are litigation support managers who have shared with me their experiences in hiring entry-level candidates — some of the best people they hired came from giving someone an opportunity to join the litigation support team. Third, if you read through some the case studies on this site, there is plenty of proof that hiring managers are willing to hire entry-level. Last, considering everyone who is currently in litigation support had to start somewhere with no experience, there are plenty of people that were hired for entry-level positions in litigation support.
As a hiring manager myself, I would typically alternate between hiring someone with experience and hiring someone without experience. It would usually depend on my mood around that timeframe or my team's workload at the time. Would I have time to train someone from scratch? Do I have a senior person on the team who could help me train the newbie?
My goal with this message is to seek out other litigation support hiring managers who are willing to give an entry-level candidate the opportunity to join litigation support. If you are a hiring manager that falls into this category, please get in touch with me.
12 Comments
Amy, thanks for being a voice for those like me. I truly appreciate your efforts.
Paul
You bet, Paul.
Hi Amy,
I’m a newbie too trying to make my break in eDiscovery from a long career in IT support. Thanks for encouraging managers to hire us and for all the advice you give us in your articles.
Teresa
Nice to hear from you, Teresa. Keep in touch.
Thank you so much to those hiring managers that have already submitted the form. It’s wonderful to know you are like-minded.
It’s so funny you bring this up, I just told a newbie last night that pay cuts can work out okay in the end. I’ve done it twice in my career.
And experienced souls like myself can have a hard time finding work as well….Some of us are currently looking….
So true, Stephen.
Great post and refreshing to read from somebody with a different perspective and an open mind. As a 8 year attorney, I am currently looking to move into the litigation support arena but noticed that even my exposure to document review and large litigation cases does not count as ‘valid experience’ and so I am stuck since there seem to be close to none entry level positions. What the vendors fail to see is the potential benefit of hiring somebody with a fresh mind who is comes un-tainted. The only positions vendors seem to offer as entry level opportunities are sales focussed roles – suddenly my legal background should be benificial? Really? Or is it more that they are struggling to get get those positions filled due to the nature of them?
Thanks for chiming in, Trevor.
Good article Amy. I have to say I’m actually surprised at the hardship for entry level e-discovery professionals to find positions. As a hiring manager myself I hire for entry level positions from all walks of life. I have people with financial, IT, mathematics, criminal justice, you name it. And I have found the diversity to be extremely beneficial for us.
Wonderful to hear, Tom. It sounds like you are a perfect hiring manager to complete the form.