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PROFILE
Profile: Brad Baber, legal assistant manager, Troutman Sanders, Atlanta [by Regan Morris] As legal assistant manager of the 600-plus-attorney law firm Troutman Sanders, Brad Baber has his hands full with more than 100 paralegals. LawCrossing speaks with Baber about his job and what he looks for in paralegals while recruiting.
Baber started his career at a talent agency in
“An ideal candidate on paper would be
nually. That was a great tool for professional
South Carolina, helping actors find work. He
somebody who has a Bachelor’s degree and
development for me, and it is for everybody
loved the entertainment industry, but South
has been to a paralegal school, preferably
really.”
Carolina was a small market, and he didn’t
one that has been approved by the American
want to move to Los Angeles. He needed a
Bar Association,” he said. “We’re generally
He moved to Atlanta in 1996 because the
new career.
looking in this firm for people who are career
Atlanta office was booming and he was flying
paralegals. And when I say that, I mean
back and forth all the time.
Now Baber helps paralegals find work. Baber became a paralegal as a way to learn
versus someone who is going to work in a law firm for a year or two with a definite plan of
“It made sense to have a paralegal manager
going on to law school to be a lawyer.”
physically located in the Atlanta office,” he said.
about law firms. He intended to go to law school and become an entertainment lawyer,
The reason for wanting career paralegals is
but he discovered he liked the paralegal pro-
because the firm invests so much in training
fession and quickly rose through the ranks
its paralegals and they don’t want them to
ish and has lived in Paris, said working with
of his first law firm—Nelson, Mullins, Riley &
leave after just a year or two. Written and
paralegals and attorneys is stimulating, and
Scarborough—where he started as a courier
verbal communication skills are also very
hiring and training people is a rewarding way
and clerk.
important, and Baber sometimes asks for
to earn your living.
Baber, who speaks French and some Span-
writing samples when hiring paralegals. He chose Nelson Mullins because it was the
Managing the talent agency, while quite
biggest firm in town, with about 75 attorneys
“The largest part of what they do is function
different from a law firm, gave Baber some
at the time. Baber, who is “40-ish,” said when
as a problem solver,” he said of paralegals.
helpful management skills.
he looked the firm up in the Yellow Pages to
“Especially a new paralegal without the train-
call about jobs, all 75 attorneys’ names were
ing and the experience. They are figuring out
“I think that people need to understand if
listed.
how to do things for the first time much of
they’re interested that the paralegal profes-
the time. So somebody who is an intelligent
sion and the management profession are
problem solver.”
two different things,” he said. “And a good
“Nelson Mullins had a very well structured paralegal program,” Baber said. “Columbia,
paralegal does not necessarily a good man-
South Carolina, is a small town, but I have
Baber said people interested in a career in
ager make. But if a paralegal is interested in
to say, knowing what I know now today, this
paralegal management should keep their
moving in that direction, I think that they need
program was really very unique and revo-
eyes open for managerial opportunities at
to certainly do very good quality legal work.”
lutionary at that time in its commitment to
law firms and keep abreast of trends and
paralegals.”
seminars in management through the Inter-
Legal assistant managers, he said, should
national Paralegal Management Association,
think of themselves as businesspeople and
formerly known as LAMA.
the attorneys as the clients. Managers take
Baber joined Troutman & Sanders in Atlanta
away lawyer’s administrative headaches and
in 2001, and much of his job focuses on
allow them to get on with the practice of law.
recruiting and training paralegals, a passion
“There are a lot of good management semi-
of his since he first became a manager early
nars out there,” he said. “These are geared
in his career. Baber’s department is now in
specifically to paralegal managers primarily
The number of paralegals under Baber at
human resources, and he does a lot of hiring.
in a law firm setting. So I went to those an-
Troutman Sanders increased to about 120
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PROFILE
recently. The Atlanta-based firm acquired the New York office of Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin, LLP. “I’m responsible for anybody in the firm who is a time keeper, who is primarily responsible for charging their services on a chargeper-hour basis to our clients, who is not an attorney,” he said. “For me, that is mostly paralegals, but it also includes specialists and project assistants.” Specialists would be patent agents, employee benefits specialists, or physicians, for example. “I’m still involved in screening all of the candidates, but I have somebody who is placing the ads, responding to the resumes, doing the background checks and reference checks that we do,” he said. “I tell entry-level paralegals that it is perfectly okay to graduate from college with a B or a C, and they’ll give you a diploma. But when you’re working in a law firm for a variety of different reasons, the only standard that’s acceptable is A-plus-level work. And that’s what we look for here.”
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