Law firms require a team of well-trained law professionals, who are fast learners and prepared to jump right into case work. Leaders and human resources departments invest time and effort into properly vetting and interviewing potential candidates for their teams. Despite their best vetting efforts and the interviewee’s convincing responses, at hire, that promising attorney might not turn out to be the impressive, experienced attorney the team thought they were.
Last year, supposed ex-marine and University of Michigan School of Law alumni Christopher “Rich” Miller-Williams applied to a law firm in California claiming an impressive legal background. He was hired with a salary of $250,000. Shortly after receiving his offer, Miller-Williams was arrested by federal agents, who revealed his real name as Richard Louis Crosby III. Crosby pleaded guilty to three counts of Social Security fraud, using his father’s and girlfriend’s information as well as that of deceased people. For about two years, Crosby committed crimes to practice law in D.C. and three states. He was indeed a law-graduate and at one point in good standing with the Ohio State Bar Association, however he was disbarred after being indicted and charged for stealing client funds. Crosby’s guilty plea includes an agreement to pay over $170,000 in restitution and a prison sentence recommendation of 37 months.
Before landing the job in California, Crosby was turned down by multiple law firms who wisely recognized Crosby’s use of false identities and discrepancies in his credentials prior to hiring him. If federal agents had not found Crosby first, the law firm team that did hire him could have opened themselves up to serious lawsuits and reputational damage. To prevent such situations, law firm leaders should ensure they have a process for vetting potential attorneys.
Best practices for the hiring vetting process for attorneys should include:
- Verifying credentials: Every aspect of a potential new hire’s credentials should be verified including their educational background, bar status and state specific licenses. While there are some technology tools on the market that can assist with this process, a person should be taking the time to complete verifications to be certain things match up. Any discrepancies identified should be communicated to leadership and considered in the hiring process.
- Checking references: Attorneys should be required to provide references at an early stage in the hiring process and law firms should connect with all of them to understand their relationship with a potential new attorney to your team and how they performed in prior roles. While checking references may seem like a formality, reference checkers may be surprised by what information they learn from references who paint a more well-rounded picture of their prospective attorney’s professional past.
- Conducting skills assessments: Tests thatasses a lawyer’s skills can help law firms ensure the candidate can demonstrate the skillset they present throughout the hiring process. Such tests might include assessments around situational judgement, cognition and logical reasoning.
In the event that a new hire is found to have a questionable background but makes their way onto a law firm’s payroll, firms should be equipped with Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance to help with potential legal fees and other law suit associated costs. It is important to note that insurance will not cover crime-related issues. An insurance professional who specializes in the legal space can be a great resource to ensure your law firm is sufficiently covered, as well as in assisting in your firm’s hiring process to make certain all potential risks are considered.
In law firms’ endeavors to develop their legal dream teams, leaders have to be certain they are bringing on the best legal professionals the industry has to offer. Take some time to consider your law firm’s risk exposures related to the hiring process and how you can best address them. To learn more about First Indemnity’s Lawyers Professional Liability offerings, please visit https://firstindemnity.net/insurance-programs/lawyers/.