With huge competition for top candidates, the legal sector can be a tough environment for recruiters – particularly when hiring for high-demand specialisms such as property, immigration and insolvency law.
An agile and efficient process is essential for HR teams to be able to move fast and secure top talent, and an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can be a key differentiator in achieving this.
This dedicated hiring software is transforming recruitment for legal firms. It reduces cost-per-hire, speeds up time to hire and provides a fully compliant, secure and engaging candidate experience. This blog explores some of the practical functionalities of an ATS and how it can directly address the unique hiring needs of legal firms.
In this blog we’ll cover:
- How an ATS system manages hiring pipelines for legal roles
- Ensuring secure data handling in compliance with industry regulations
- Using ATS pre-screening tools to assess legal expertise before interviews
- How can law firms use an ATS system to improve collaboration between hiring partners?
How an ATS system manages hiring pipelines for legal roles
Applicant tracking software automates the repetitive, manual tasks that consume so much of an HR teams’ time, from candidate communications to refence checks and beyond. It refines and streamlines the entire hiring process from requisition to onboarding.
Easily integrated with existing HR technologies (e.g., HRIS, payroll systems etc.) this specialist software is a great way to gain the competitive edge for busy HR teams, letting recruiters focus on more strategic tasks.
A central dashboard gives visibility of all live roles, allowing HR teams to track each role vacancy, assign tasks, shortlist, manage interviews and so much more. Distinct Candidate and Hiring Manager portals ensure effortless collaboration and provide a simple and efficient applicant experience.
This scalable software is suitable for all sizes of legal practice, from boutique to large international organisations. A good quality ATS system will flex and scale with the organisation, whether that’s seasonal adjustments for graduate trainee intakes, evolving hiring needs and growth.
Can an ATS applicant tracking system assist in hiring for specialised legal roles?
Specialist hiring platforms will flex to fit an organisation’s wide and varied hiring needs. Smart, customisable features let teams adapt workflows to suit roles, adding in extra screening/interview rounds for senior positions or offering a fast apply option for entry level roles. In addition, the ability to move applicants through the system in bulk supports high-volume recruitment projects – such as graduate trainee programmes – without overwhelming your hiring team.
How does an ATS improve the candidate experience and ensure personal details are kept secure?
An ATS automates candidate communication, ensuring a personalised, engaging and responsive applicant experience. Each candidate has their own login (or can login via their socials) via a dedicated candidate portal. This allows them to complete applications over multiple sessions and receive updates and alerts as they progress through the process.
A positive and engaging candidate experience not only builds relationships with potential employees but also contributes to a firm’s employer brand – a valuable addition in a market where there’s stiff competition for top talent.
Because all candidate information is stored centrally within the ATS system, from CVs and applications to supplementary documentation and interview notes and scores, hiring teams can gain a clear overview of each candidate – allowing them to choose the most suitable person for the role confidently and efficiently.
Hiring software also collates recruitment data, reporting on a wide variety of outputs from source of hire effectiveness to candidate demographics. It can even highlight potential skills gaps before they occur. This valuable data allows HR teams to refine and optimise their recruitment process, further improving the candidate experience.
Applications and personal data are stored securely within the applicant tracking system to maintain confidentiality. Role-based access controls mean that only authorised users, such as HR personnel or Hiring Managers for a specific vacancy – can view or act on candidate information.
Ensuring secure data handling in compliance with industry regulations
Secure data handling in line with industry regulations is essential for any software that manages personal information. A well-designed ATS supports compliance with GDPR and other relevant data protection laws, wherever your organisation operates. It facilitates the lawful processing of data by capturing candidate consent and automatically removes or anonymises records when consent expires or retention periods end. This allows HR teams to recruit confidently, knowing the platform they are using actively supports regulatory compliance.
What other security features does an applicant tracking system offer to ensure confidentiality?
Trust is imperative when it comes to hiring. Your candidates need to know their personal data is secure. By choosing a high-quality hiring system that incorporates multiple layers of security you can hire in confidence, knowing your ATS will maintain confidentiality and data integrity throughout the recruitment process.
Security features to look out for include:
Role-based access controls – where each user has a unique login, and all activity is logged. This creates a comprehensive audit trail of all actions taken within the system.
Data Encryption – data should always be encrypted whilst in transit and at rest, to prevent unauthorised access.
Secure document handling – for sensitive materials such as proof of qualifications, right-to-work checks, and reference information.
Additional features might also include IP restrictions, session timeout controls, two-factor authentication and audit-logging. All of which contribute to safeguarding candidate confidentiality and supporting compliance with data protection regulations such as UK GDPR.
Using ATS pre-screening tools to assess legal expertise before interviews
Applicant tracking software is known for its screening capabilities, it can help shortlist candidates in accordance with qualifications, experience and skills. Advanced AI features on modern ATS systems can also provide percentage fit to role scores and smart candidate summaries to help expedite the process.
But did you know that you can also integrate custom pre-screening tools into your hiring workflow using this hiring software? Smart screening tools can help you evaluate legal knowledge, writing skills, critical thinking and even case analysis capability.
Leveraging this type of automated pre-screening and shortlisting enables the ATS to filter out candidates who don’t meet your basic criteria, so HR teams only spend time on the most relevant applications.
Additionally, using automation and AI-powered features provides objective, consistent scoring, which reduces unconscious bias.
How can law firms use an ATS system to improve collaboration between hiring partners?
Hiring is not the sole purview of HR teams. Interview panels may well contain a Senior Partner, members of the specific practice area for the role vacancy as well as HR representatives. Communication and collaboration between these individuals are crucial for high-quality, rapid hiring.
Online ATS software allows all members of the hiring team to review applicants, shortlist and schedule interviews. Good systems will also offer a specific Hiring Manager portal, which is a far more efficient way of engaging teams outside of HR in the process. Hiring partners only see the roles which involve them, cutting out the ‘noise’ of the wider recruitment going on across the firm.
These personalised portals notify panellists when pre-screened applications are ready to review, nudge with task reminders and provide interview scheduling tools for simple diary management.
Hiring teams can review interview notes and scores, provide direct feedback to candidates, and even make job offers via their personalised portal. With some ATS platforms offering mobile apps to encourage faster feedback loops, hiring has never been more collaborative or efficient.
Conclusion
Applicant tracking systems offer a powerful suite of tools that directly address the unique demands of legal talent acquisition. By automating manual processes, enhancing candidate experience, ensuring robust security and compliance and fostering seamless collaboration, they empower law firms to secure the high-calibre professionals they need to thrive.
Embracing technology is no longer ‘just an option’ but a strategic imperative for firms of all sizes looking to build agile, efficient and successful teams in a competitive landscape.
If you’d like to find out more about how our smart, flexible ATS could transform hiring for your Legal Firm, then Reach out and book a demo today.
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