Solo Practice

Greatest American Lawyer's Rejoinder to the Well Drafted Retainer

Posted on July 29, 2008
In a response to my earlier post, The Well Drafted Retainer, my blogging colleague Enricho Schaefer ponders whether the traditional retainer is outdated.  Schafer argues that the complexity of retainer agreements complicates relationships with clients rather than facilitating them...

NEW- Free e-book: Social Networking for Lawyers: The What, Why and How

Posted on July 27, 2008
This past Friday, I hosted a proof of concept course on Social Networking for Lawyers.  As part of the course materials, I prepared a 30 page ebook, entitled Social Networking for Lawyers: What, Why & How that gives an overview of social networking tools for lawyers (the "what"), describes how these tools can help build the 3 Rs of a successful practice - relationships, referrals and reputation (the "why") and offers best practices for using social networking tools as well as a preliminary analysis of some of the potential ethics issues (the "how...

Should the Law Marketing Message Fit the Medium?

Posted on July 24, 2008
Lawyers sell advice and legal services.  So should lawyer marketing focus on, or educate clients about what lawyers provide - or try to identify ways to get in front of prospective clients for any reason.  That's the question that law marketer Russ Lawson considers in this post which discusses a  99 cent/gallon gas promotion by a Kentucky law firm...

The Well Drafted Retainer Agreement - A Sample and A Challenge

Posted on July 13, 2008
As I've written in Solo by Choice and discussed at my blog, a well drafted, ethically compliant retainer agreement is a lawyer's most important tool in guarding against grievances, setting client expectations and generally, helping to create a profitable pratice...

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Free Foreclosure Training for Maryland Attorneys/Why Pro Bono Is A Win-Win

Posted on July 10, 2008
In both my book and on this blog, I've written that pro bono training programs offer one of the cheapest and most effective ways to get up to speed on matters that you might handle in your law firm - such as probate, divorce, public benefits, bankruptcy or wage and  hour law...

A Solo Blast from the Past: Professor Stephen Gillers and "I'd Rather Do It Myself"

Posted on July 06, 2008
No one will understand the loneliness and fears.  Or when it comes, the exhilaration.  One morning in the second month, you may leave for work morbid and depressed.  You realize that you're spending more time dreaming about clients than getting them...

My Article on Leaving A Law Firm Now Online At Complete Lawyer

Posted on July 06, 2008
When I sat down to write Solo By Choice, I was surprised to find little information on the issues related to leaving a law firm, from negotiating benefits to notifying clients with the exception of   Dennis Kennedy's excellent chapter in the ABA's book, Flying Solo...

From Reader Michael Smith: A Checklist for Opening A Law Office

Posted on July 06, 2008
Have you started the final countdown to opening your practice?  Whether you have six months or 6 week weeks until take-off, you'll find Michael Smith's concise article, A Checklist for Opening A Law Office from this month's issue of the Texas Bar Journal extremely useful...

Resources for Solos and Small Firms Practicing Criminal Law

Posted on July 03, 2008
Russ Bensing of the Briefcase provides this quick but thorough recap of the Supreme Court's thirteen criminal law related decisions of the past term, with links to each of the decision.  Bensing describes that his summary keeps with the original intention of his blog, which was to "create a resource for solo practitioners and small firm lawyers who don’t have the resources the big guys have for research...

The Successful Solo Mindset: Overcome Your Fears to Achieve Your Professional Goals

Posted on July 02, 2008
I'm happy to announce that on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 in conjunction with Lisa Solomon of Legal Research and Writing Pro, I'll be giving a teleseminar entitled, The Successful Solo Mindset:  Overcome Your Fears to Achieve Your Professional Goals.  Here's a course description: Many lawyers and professionals long to hang out a shingle, but fear holds them back...

LA Solo/Small Firm Conference - I'm Back!

Posted on July 02, 2008
I hope to post more on the terrific Los Angeles County Small and Solo Law Conference where I spoke last week, in particular to share some of what I learned (yes, I don't know it all yet!) from the impressive panel of speakers at the conference.  But for now, just a quick message to let you know that I'm back and catching up on postings...

Still An Uphill Battle In Getting Clients to Hire Solos, But There's A Fix

Posted on June 25, 2008
At first blush, this letter to the editor criticizing the Duxbury school board for considering the possibility of replacing its current law firm with a one-person "cut rate" shop seems discouraging for most solos who compete with the big boys...

Will I See you At the LA Solo/Small Firm Conference?

Posted on June 23, 2008
Postings will be light the rest of the week as I head out to the Los Angeles Bar Smalll and Solo Law Conference as well as the ALM West Coast Legal Tech Show.  As always, leaving town when your spouse works in another city and you need to find care for your kids is always a bit of juggle - tomorrow, I will dispatch my daughter's to my parent's place at the beach where they'll spend a few days with their two other girl cousins, and on Wed...

Continuing the Conversation on the YAWNing Solo

Posted on June 23, 2008
You know how it is with yawns, don't you?  When one person yawns at you, it's difficult to resist yawning back.  So now that my fellow solo-blogging colleague Susan Cartier Liebel has yawned, or more accurately, alerted us to the trend of "young and wealthy normals," I'm compelled to yawn back (by the way, for those of you who aren't really interested in my own personal musings, feel free to skip this post)...

Introducing Lawagora - A Marketplace of Events for Lawyers

Posted on June 19, 2008
I've just completed a new project that I'm rolling out tonight...Lawagora.ning.com - a marketplace of events for and by lawyers.  In the past few months, I've realized how many quality events, on and offline are available for lawyers - yet we often never hear about them because the publicity is either ad hoc, or directed at a speaker's mailing list, which others may not know about...

Getting A Start as A Personal Injury Lawyer

Posted on June 18, 2008
Many readers of this blog and my book, Solo by Choice frequently ask for advice on how to get a personal injury practice up and running.   My fellow blogger and colleague here in the Maryland area, Ron Miller explains how lawyers can build a referral based personal injury practice in this comprehensive post at  Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog...

More Resources on Virtual Assistants

Posted on June 18, 2008
For solo and small firm lawyers interested in virtual assistants (see this earlier post), here are two additional resources: A  four part series about using virtual assistants is up at Home Office Warrior.  The series is written from the perspective of a VA...

A Blast from The Past: How Even A Decision That's Dead Wrong Can Be Right On

Posted on June 16, 2008
When it comes to starting a firm, fear poses one of the greatest obstacles.  Fear of failure, fear of lost opportunity, fear of embarrassment or cricitism for having made what appears to others as a foolish decision.  My able colleagues in the Solo Space, Susan Cartier Liebel and Sheryl Sisk Schelin have shared words of wisdom on combatting these fears here, here and here...

Loose Ends Round Up

Posted on June 14, 2008
Here's a quick round up of links that may hold some interest for readers: William Henderson of the Empirical Legal Studies Blog shares some trends that may impact solo and small firm practitioners (in particular, the declining number of trials) and tips his hat to solo and small firm lawyers for the good work they do...

REPOST - Announcing the First My Shingle on Steroids Workshop

Posted on June 10, 2008
Ever since my book, Solo by Choice hit the stands, I've been trying to figure out ways to help lawyers - either new solos, solos to be or lawyers who want to build business within their law firms - implement some of the many ideas that I've included in the book...

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True....

Posted on June 09, 2008
For Robyn Glassman-Katz, the gig with lemon law firm,  Kimmel and Silverman must have seemed like nirvana; an opportunity for a lawyer with limited consumer law experience to run a branch office of a nationally known law firm.  Likewise, Kimmel and Silverman must have believed that it hit the jackpot when it found Glassman-Katz, a local Maryland attorney who came highly recommended by colleagues, to man its Owings Mills office...

No More Pettifoggers - Real Life Marketing Lessons from Cornell Law School

Posted on June 07, 2008
I apologize for the down time over the past few days - my home office lost power for a couple of days and I needed to prioritize work related matters with the limited Internet access and power that that I was able to find offsite.  Right now, I'm up in Ithaca, New York at my 20th Law School Reunion...

A Blockbuster Program - Using Copyrighting Techniques to Persuade in Briefs

Posted on June 04, 2008
      I'm usually hesitant about posting announcements for paid courses (as opposed to freebies, which I'm always willing to publicize provided that they bring some value)...

Announcing the First My Shingle on Steroids Workshop

Posted on June 04, 2008
Ever since my book, Solo by Choice hit the stands, I've been trying to figure out ways to help lawyers - either new solos, solos to be or lawyers who want to build business within their law firms - implement some of the many ideas that I've included in the book...

A Blockbuster Program - Using Copywriting Techniques to Persuade in Briefs

Posted on June 04, 2008
      I'm usually hesitant about posting announcements for paid courses (as opposed to freebies, which I'm always willing to publicize provided that they bring some value)...

Calling All Cornell Law School Bloggers & Alums in Ithaca This Weekend

Posted on June 03, 2008
This weekend, I'll be travelling to Ithaca, New York with my two daughters from my 20th law school reunion at Cornell (my husband will puppysit our dog at home).   To be honest, I'm meeting this reunion year with mixed feelings:  excitement at sharing with my daughters the beauty of the campus and the gravitas of the law school, but also a little panicked over how quickly the two decades have passed...

Contest for Website Tune-Up and Book on SEO

Posted on June 02, 2008
Tom O'Leary of The Attorneys ATM is holding a contest offering a free website tune-up as a prize.  In addition, all entrants receive a free copy of his e-book, How To Dominate Google, Yahoo and MSN" To enter the contest, go to this link.  Below, is my interview with Tom, where he describes his background and discusses various issues related to website SEO...

Look Who's Discounting Their Fees

Posted on May 31, 2008
If you've ever discounted your fees, either voluntarily to lure a client to your firm or involuntarily because  your client ran out of cash, you're in strong company.  As I posted over at Legal Blogwatch, 76 percent of law firms discount their fees...

Rhode Island Family Lawyer Joyfully Goes 100 Percent Virtual

Posted on May 31, 2008
Back in 1999, seven months pregnant with my younger daughter, I surrendered the Washington D.C. office around the corner from the White House that I'd occupied for half a decade.  Though the rent was bargain basement cheap - around $500 including the phone line - I realized that I'd only used the space a dozen times, if that much since my older daughter's birth three years earlier and keeping the office didn't make sense...

Stumbling Into Solo Practice

Posted on May 27, 2008
Some law firms start with fancy business plans and grand visions.  Others happen seemingly by accident - and yet if we look back, we can trace the result to a series of choices earlier made.   In this nostalgic post, New York Personal Injury Attorney Eric Turkewitz shares how his firm was born out of a decision he made twenty years ago to quit his job at a high power law firm and travel around the world...

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