how can a lawyer help an hr department

A lawyer planning to enter the HR field should revise her resume. Showcasing her skills with employment regulations, labor law, interaction with HR clients and experience representing the interests of companies and employers demonstrates that a lawyer can add value to an organization in an HR role.

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What is the role of an HR lawyer?

Knowing how to understand and evaluate what your legal department does is important in making the right decisions for the company. Just like a cardiologist views everything as a heart problem, a lawyer sees everything as a legal problem. So you may want their opinion, but you may not always want to follow their advice. Essentially the role of a company attorney is to minimize risk, …

Is Human Resources an easy field for a lawyer to enter?

Apr 16, 2021 · Discover how a law degree benefits HR professionals and learn how to take the next steps. 1. Fully Grasp Employment Laws. Although HR managers are well-versed in employment law, a JD degree expands your knowledge and builds your critical thinking skills. Legal courses teach you how to analyze the impacts of HR-related laws, and act on changes ...

What specialties should a lawyer specialize in for HR?

Oct 03, 2017 · The reality is that HR performs a vital role in helping the employer ensure compliance with workplace regulations applicable to the business. If you are a business owner or manager, it is important to understand that a well-run HR department can help avoid risk and possibly even prevent legal action from being taken against the business.

How do I become an HR lawyer?

Apr 02, 2015 · Legal and HR should work together to ensure that the company is in compliance with all of the different laws in the U.S (or elsewhere) and fully understands any limitations on the use of background checks. “Cutting Edge.” Finally, Legal should meet with HR several times a year to simply discuss any cutting edge issues in employment law.

Does HR deal with legal issues?

What is the purpose of laws in HR?

What should you do if the HR department is the problem?

What would you do to improve the condition of the HR department?

Is HR a legal requirement?

What are HR requirements?

Can you trust your HR department?

Can HR lie to you?

How do I talk to HR about unfair treatment?

What HR can do for employees?

What are the 7 functions of HR?

What can HR add to the bottom line?

What is HR department?

The HR department plays a significant role in corporate culture. Plus, in-house legal teams affect nearly every aspect of a company. With a law degree, you’re expected to provide information relating to legal outcomes and guide decision making by connecting the law to corporate values.

What is a JD degree in HR?

Although HR managers are well-versed in employment law, a JD degree expands your knowledge and builds your critical thinking skills. Legal courses teach you how to analyze the impacts of HR-related laws, and act on changes to rules and regulations as they come along.

What is a law degree?

A law degree provides the fundamentals of legal knowledge that you can use to make decisions and guide decision-making at your company. You can apply your understanding of legally defensible policies and procedures to employee hiring and recruitment, benefits and compensation, and organizational training and development.

What is online JD?

Whether you want to start a new career or set your eyes on a big promotion, an online JD program can help. Students maintain their existing schedule while gaining speaking, writing, and critical thinking skills required to navigate complex legal problems between employees and employers.

What is the fast pivot to remote and hybrid workforces?

The fast pivot to remote and hybrid workforces means there’s a lot to learn about hiring, retaining, and managing a diverse, off-premise staff. Your company may be considering the use of independent contractors or hiring international talent.

Education

Most law school curricula include courses in employment and labor law, which is fundamental to understanding the basic premise of human resources and regulations that impact both employers and employees.

Clients

Lawyers who work for firms that represent employers have a built-in network for an introduction to the HR field. Law firms that defend management in employment litigation typically have extensive contact with HR managers, directors and vice presidents who can alert lawyers to openings in the HR field or within their companies.

Networking

Joining HR professional associations helps lawyers build valuable networks in the field, many of which can lead to job prospects. Attending both social events and professional conferences and seminars provides an opportunity to learn more about the HR field while cultivating relationships with HR practitioners.

Resume

A lawyer planning to enter the HR field should revise her resume. Showcasing her skills with employment regulations, labor law, interaction with HR clients and experience representing the interests of companies and employers demonstrates that a lawyer can add value to an organization in an HR role.

Specialty

Lawyers with expertise in specialty areas such as negotiating contracts, practicing before federal agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or managing workers' compensation matters should highlight those areas as specialties and transferable skills that are useful in an HR position.

What is HR responsible for?

HR is usually responsible for handling complaints about employee relations (e.g. , sexual or racial harassment) and ADA accommodation requests (e. g., a special keyboard or computer screen for a partially disabled employee).

What is HR department?

In many companies, the Human Resources (HR) department may not garner much respect. Perceptions about HR may include feelings that HR is useless or is staffed with rule-obsessed nitpickers. The reality is that HR performs a vital role in helping the employer ensure compliance with workplace regulations applicable to the business.

Why is HR important?

The reality is that HR performs a vital role in helping the employer ensure compliance with workplace regulations applicable to the business. If you are a business owner or manager, it is important to understand that a well-run HR department can help avoid risk and possibly even prevent legal action from being taken against the business.

What is the Equal Pay Act?

Compliance with Laws Governing Wages and Benefits – Another important law for HR professionals is The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which outlaws pay discrepancies for male and female employees who perform “substantially equal work.”.

What is FMLA in medical terms?

If an employee has to take an extended leave from the company to cope with serious medical issues or care of a seriously ill family member, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) outlines the rights and responsibilities of both the employer and the employee.

What is the purpose of a new hire orientation?

New hire orientation can be a great place to reach employees and discuss important policies and issues. Work with HR to get Legal a “seat at the orientation table” or, if the chairs are full, let you help prepare materials for such sessions. Doing so will pay-off down the road through a more savvy workforce.

What is an employee training program?

Employee Training Program. Most companies have some form of online, live, or combination thereof program to train employees on a wide variety of issues, including things like sexual harassment , compliance, business ethics, and data security.

Can a law office function without staff?

A law office cannot function without staff. Some lawyers are able to open their practice with only themselves acting in every role, but it isn't something that they will necessarily be able to continue throughout their entire career. As they grow, they will need to bring more people into the practice in order for them to continue functioning without issue. Going through the hiring process, especially if a person has not been on the employer side of things, can be a bit intimidating.

What is law office management?

For most law firms, law office management is how they track personnel issues and find solutions for those issues on behalf of the human resources department. The biggest personnel issue that law office managers usually discover is ...

What is law office?

A law office is a business and there is going to be a lot involved for it to work. There will be a focus on the current case (s) that the lawyers of the firm are handling, which can result in other things being forgotten or left on the wayside.

What is training in law?

Training is designed to acclimate new employees to the daily operations of a business. Employees in a law office that are not practicing law may need instruction for things that are used as a part of those daily operations. Software programs, for example, may require training to ensure that the new employee is going to not only be able to use it, ...

Is a law office a business?

Employee Policies and the Employee Handbook. A law office is still a business and parts of it will need to be treated as such. Establishing policies and creating an employee handbook that contains those policies and other information is a fairly common business practice that law offices adapt.

What is the recruitment phase?

Also referred to as the recruitment phase, it's the point where employers must begin their search. 1 The process can take time, especially if there are issues such as a poor economy, lack of qualified candidates, or if the employer is looking in all the wrong places.

What happens when an employee is fired?

When an employee is fired, there are more factors involved that can make the process a bit tricky.

Do HR have paperwork?

While HR will always have paperwork for you to fill out, don't forget that they are there to help the company succeed. That means that HR knows that the individual employees also need to succeed. Have a chat and see if they can help you help your career soar.

Can HR managers be therapists?

HR managers are not therapists, priests, or lawyers, so don't expect free therapy or confidential advice from them. (Although, do ask to keep things confidential if it's important to you. Your HR manager should say, “I can't keep this confidential” if they can't. If you complain that your boss is sexually harassing you, ...

Is HR focused on helping the business succeed?

You may have heard that HR is focused on helping the business succeed, and not on career help for individual employees. This is true. But, the business won't succeed if there aren't good employees, and good employees want to move forward in their careers. Your HR manager can often help you map out the path to your ultimate goal.

What does HR manager do?

Your HR manager can often help you map out the path to your ultimate goal. If you want to be the CFO, he or she can help you identify areas where you are weak and areas where you are strong, and help direct you down career paths.

What happens if you miss work because of migraines?

If you start missing work because of migraines but don't say anything, you could get fired for violating attendance policies, but if you come to HR , you can fill out the paperwork and seek legal protection. Your problem might fall under the Americans With Disabilities Act or the Family Medical Leave Act.