Wayne County Prosecutor's Office ad campaign seeks solution to turnover of young attorneys

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is taking a unique approach to attracting new talent to its pool of attorneys.

The department's advertising campaign isn't just looking for any lawyers to join its ranks; it's looking for those who will stick around for the long haul. It's part of the department's pitch to attract experienced attorneys, following high turnover among those hired straight out of law school.

"We have been working really hard on recruitment and retention. It used to be people became prosecutors, they stayed for their whole career, and when I started, most of the people around had 15-20 years of experience, and now it's just the opposite," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Worthy says the ad is targeting attorneys with at least three to four years of experience who are already courtroom-ready.

"We have our younger lawyers who are trying our lower-level cases that we're training, and so we really want to find people who can walk into a courtroom and just have at it," Worthy said.

Worthy says in the few months they've been running the campaign, they've been able to hire a few attorneys who meet that criteria.

"We have been getting quite a few inquiries. This is something we've been working on for a while now, and I think it has been very successful. I'm very happy with this video," she said.

Worthy says they'll advocate for funding to continue using this unique approach to recruitment during their budget hearing this week, citing the strategy's success over the past several months.