LCA president Tass Liveris said that the tool is designed to help smaller firms “understand the steps involved in recruiting and more importantly, where to seek assistance and information if needed”.

“We know employing new staff can be particularly difficult for small businesses because they may not have a dedicated human resources expert. The prospect of hiring and onboarding a new staff member can seem overwhelming.

“The objective of this checklist is to demystify the process and encourage firms to expand their practices. It covers the range of matters firms should consider when hiring a new solicitor, including clarifying the role to be filled, pay rates, employment arrangements, induction, workplace health and safety, and ongoing professional development,” he said.

“While the checklist is designed to support all small firms and sole practitioners, we believe it will be particularly welcomed by rural, regional and remote (RRR) practices.”

In 2021, the Law Council and its RRR committee conducted a gap analysis of available tools and resources to identify key priority areas for the development of guidance materials, and the checklist was developed in response to its findings.

“With the guidance of our RRR committee, the Law Council identified a significant gap that is impacting RRR firms and limiting their capacity to get out and look for more staff.

“Increasing RRR recruitment and retention is a very serious issue as our rural, regional and remote communities are currently underserviced and this can critically limit their access to justice. About 29 per cent of the population live outside major cities. Yet data suggests just 10.5 per cent of solicitors are practising in a country or rural area,” Mr Liveris added.

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“I commend our RRR committee for their hard work in continuing to proactively find solutions to address the unmet legal need in our RRR communities.”

President of the Law Society of NSW Joanne van der Plaat is a co-chair of the RRR committee — and said she was “delighted” to see the checklist come to fruition.

“It offers small law firms across Australia practical guidance on the steps they need to take to employ new talent to expand their practices. This is a particular problem for RRR practices given more than a third of NSW’s population lives outside Greater Sydney,” she said.

“Barely more than one in 10 of the state’s lawyers work in the bush. There are approximately 3,300 solicitors in sole practice across NSW with fewer than a quarter of those established in RRR areas. Lack of ready access to legal advice in these communities can lead to adverse consequences. Sound advice from a lawyer can mean the difference between a person losing their liberty, missing out on their entitlements under a will, or a business deal falling through.”