Solo Practice

Be THAT Lawyer!

Posted on April 13, 2009
Not sure how many of you remember the T.V. Show, That Girl, featuring Marlo Thomas as a small town gal trying to make it big as an actress in New York.  Truth be told, I never much liked the few reruns that I saw (I'm too young to remember the originals), but the concept of being a stand out - of being that girl, or that something always appealed to me...

PinkSlips, Detours and OnRamps

Posted on April 08, 2009
On April 30, 2009, I'll be teaming up with Julie Tower-Pierce, a fellow D.C. area lawyer and author of Staying At Home, Staying in the Law  for a four hour workshop entitled PinkSlips, Detours & OnRamps where we'll be sharing advice and inspiration on ways to recharge and reinvent your legal career...

How Much A Solo and A Blogger Earn

Posted on April 07, 2009
Most of us are curious to learn how much solos earn, yet few solos are willing to publicly share. So here's a huge hat tip to Peter Olson of Solo in Chicago for posting his monthly financials for 2009.   Because Peter's so disciplined with expenses, he manages to keep virtually everything he kills...

ABA Tech Show - A Good Start, But Not Enough If We Don't Change the Rules

Posted on April 04, 2009
I have a blogging-based press pass for the ABA Legal Tech Show so I'm compelled to post a dispatch.  So far, I'm enjoying this conference even better than last year.  For starters, I'm not a speaker so I can enjoy, not to mention wear comfortable clothes...

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How Should We Lawyers Treat the "Ones Who Don't Know What to Ask?"

Posted on April 01, 2009
With next week's arrival of Passover, I'm reminded of my favorite readings from the Seder, The Parable of the Four Sons, each of whom asks a question that represents the many levels on which the story of Passover may be understood.  First there's the wise son (as the oldest of four sisters, that passage always fell to me!) who asks a scholarly question about the testimonials and statutes that govern the holiday...

Announcements: MyShingle Out and About!

Posted on March 29, 2009
I have a couple of quick announcements about some upcoming appearances.  On  Monday, March 30, I'll be speaking at American University Washington College of Law on Solo Practice: Why This Ugly Stepsister of the Legal Profession Just Might Be A Prince in Disguise...

Would You Hire An Unemployed Lawyer As A Volunteer?

Posted on March 29, 2009
From Newsday, I learned that the Nassau County Attorney's office hopes help out in this economic downturn by opening its doors to bring on several volunteer lawyers who haven't been able to find other employment.  Positions range from working with the county's Home Ownership Center to advise in mortgage default situations to defending the county in litigation and appellate matters...

Richard Susskind & The End of Lawyers and the Future of Women in The Law

Posted on March 26, 2009
What I learned from the blog postings on my book, Solo by Choice is that most reviewers apparently don't bother to actually read the entire book.  Now, this might have given me a bit of a complex except now I realize that I'm in good company.  Seems that many readers overlooked one of Richard Susskind's blockbuster predictions about the future of women lawyers that comes at the tail end (p...

If the White House Can Chat With Constituents, Why Can't You Do The Same With Your Clients?

Posted on March 26, 2009
Just as then-candidate Obama's campaign offered solo and small firm lawyer valuable marketing lessons on using social media to speak to and genuinely engage clients, likewise, his presidency continues to serve as a valuable source of ideas.  As you probably know, today, President Obama conducted an online town hall, eliciting questions from the public through an online chat-type forum...

Richard Susskind & The End of Lawyers: What It Means for Solos

Posted on March 25, 2009
By now, you've probably read some of the press or blog reviews about Richard Susskind's recent book, The End of Lawyers so you're familiar with its main premise that disruptive technologies which routinize or automate certain legal tasks will eventually displace many lawyers...

The Lock-Step Monster

Posted on March 20, 2009
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.  Robert Frost Why is it that biglaw is always engaged in a constant game of follow the leader?  A few years back, sites like Above the Law gleefully documented the steady upward march of first year salaries from $125,000 to $140,000 to $165,000, taunting those that didn't keep pace...

I Can Do An Appeal With My Eyes Closed, But I'd Rather Be Flying Blind

Posted on March 19, 2009
After twenty years of practice, I can do an appeal from start to finish with my eyes closed.  I'm intimately familiar with the Three-Bears like requirements for timely filing (too early can render the petition incurably premature; too late and the petition misses the unforgiving statutory deadlines and gets unceremoniously bounced) to the arguments - standing, waiver, jurisdiction and harmless error - that appeals courts embrace...

Why the Devil's in the Details When You Start A Law Firm and Why That Needs To Change

Posted on March 17, 2009
I'd love to be able to share the specifics about how to start and run a law firm for every jurisdiction in the country.  In part, that was the reason behind MyShingle's The Bars, Reviewed which summarizes the benefits for solos and small firms offered by the 50 bars and the ABA and provides quick links to ethics and IOLTA rules for those bars that maintain them online...

Why the Devil's in the Details About Ethics When You Start A Law Firm and Why That Needs To Change

Posted on March 17, 2009
I'd love to be able to share the specifics about how to start and run a law firm for every jurisdiction in the country.  In part, that was the reason behind MyShingle's The Bars, Reviewed which summarizes the benefits for solos and small firms offered by the 50 bars and the ABA and provides quick links to ethics and IOLTA rules for those bars that maintain them online...

Why the Devil's in the Details of Ethics Rules When You Start A Law Firm and Why That Needs To Change

Posted on March 17, 2009
I'd love to be able to share the specifics about how to start and run a law firm for every jurisdiction in the country.  In part, that was the reason behind MyShingle's The Bars, Reviewed which summarizes the benefits for solos and small firms offered by the 50 bars and the ABA and provides quick links to ethics and IOLTA rules for those bars that maintain them online...

How Your World Opens Wide When You Start Your Own Law Firm

Posted on March 15, 2009
Back when I worked for others, my social interactions were remarkably stratified.  As an associate or a newbie government lawyer, I spent lunches and breaks palling around with other junior lawyers who occupied the same lower tiers of the employment hierarchy as I did...

Two Solos Up For Consideration As Mississippi USAG

Posted on March 12, 2009
Who says being solo means being small time?  In Mississippi, two female solos, Constance Slaughter Harvey and Christi McCoy are two of the top contenders for the open seat for United States Attorney General for the northern and southern districts of Mississippi, reports the Northeast Mississippi Journal...

Real Life Marketing: Collaborating to Market Your Law Practice

Posted on March 12, 2009
So what does Mr. Clean have to do with law firm marketing?  Not much, if you're talking about Mr. Clean all by his lonesome -  though I suppose there's some buried lesson there about branding or image.  But what caught my eye about  this cleaning product, however, is that it's a real life example of collaborative marketing - the pairing of Mr...

Why You Should Take Advantage of Interviews Even if You're Thinking About Starting a Firm

Posted on March 08, 2009
I know it sounds crazy, but one of the best things that you can do if you're thinking about starting a law practice is...interview for jobs.  I know that to many of you, a job interview sounds like an utter waste of time or an unnecessary diversion when you're focused on starting a firm, but as discussed below, there are a number of benefits that an interview can produce...

Resources for How to Start a Law Firm and Where to Find Solo by Choice

Posted on March 05, 2009

Comparing the Cost of SaaS LPM Tools to Conventional: The Metrics That Matter

Posted on March 04, 2009

The $100,000 Law Firm

Posted on February 27, 2009

It's Not Your Imagination...More Lawyers Are Starting Their Own Practice

Posted on February 26, 2009
Over the past few months, it seems as if the number of lawyers starting their own practice is on the rise.  My perception is based largely on anecdotal evidence, however -- from increased traffic to this site - both direct and specifically from search terms like "starting a law practice," a bump in sales of Solo by Choice, announcements of new practices on Twitter and Solosez and (most annoyingly), the near daily launch of all kinds of marketing products and consulting services purporting to help lawyers who want to start a practice...

How to Use the Bars Reviewed: A Practical Guide

Posted on February 23, 2009
Last week, I unveiled the Bars Reviewed 2009, which surveys the services that bar associations are providing to solo and small firm practitioners.  I've received really valuable feedback in the comment section and I've been working to continuously incorporate the comments into the chart...

Criticize My Site, If You Will... But Don't EVER Accuse Me of Lacking Transparency

Posted on February 22, 2009
In response to my post on The DC Bar and Avvo, I received a comment from DC Attorney that angered me enough to write this post.  Specifically, DC Attorney attacked my integrity, and the integrity of this site with the following remark:    Regardless, since it's obvious Carolyn and Josh King have a financial stake in Avvo's promotion, it's not really worth the time to bother with either...

Oh, Biglaw: Why Pay $60k for Lawyers to Do Non-Profit Work When You Could Pay Them To Build A Lucrative Practice?

Posted on February 20, 2009
Believe me, this is a post that I hate to write as I'm loathe to criticize a big law firm like Simpson, Thacher that is desperately trying to do the right thing to mitigate the hardship of associate layoffs by paying associates $60,000 to work at a nonprofit for a year...

The Year Since Solo by Choice: How to Be The Lawyer You Always Wanted To Be

Posted on February 19, 2009
[Note- the tape cuts out at 50 seconds - music continues because I could not split the track] It's been a little over a year since the release of my book, www.aSolo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be.  My book, which was the first book on law practice in five years made is both a why to, on why lawyers should consider starting a solo practice, as well as a how to, as in how to leverage 21st century trends like alternative billing, outsourcing, technology and social media to build a successful practice...

The Bars, Reviewed: What Has Your Bar Association Done for You Lately?

Posted on February 19, 2009
Summary Update (4:00 pm, 2/19/09) Apparently,  the survey has overlooked some of the bar's important features.  In the comments, you will see that the MN bar also offers a site at practicelaw.org - though that is different from the MN Bar site listed in other places...

Why, In An Economic Downturn, Is the DC Bar Trying to Kill One Tool That Can Help Lawyers Find Clients and Jobs?

Posted on February 17, 2009
The legal profession is on the skids like never before -- though you'd scarcely realize it from visiting a bar association website.  As law firms shed attorneys at an unprecedented rate -- 4376 layoffs since January 1, 2008, 2614 in calendar year 2009, and 700 on a single Black Thursday, one would think that the bar association websites would be on high alert, offering discounted CLEs and networking events and otherwise mobilizing to help unemployed lawyers find work...

Solomarketing List, Blawging for Lawyers and the Question of Blogging for Love v. Money

Posted on February 16, 2009
I don't generally post endorsements or recommendations about products or services at my site.   But every so often, as now, I'll make an exception where I believe that the service is worth passing on to others. First up is my friend and colleague Jon Stein's lawyer marketing email list...

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