Solo Practice

The Importance of Human Back-Up

For nearly the past two weeks, I've been dealing with a family situation which has taken me out of town, spending both days and nights at the hospital.  Like many of my colleagues who responded to the MyShingle contest question, I too employ technology that allows me to take my office with me on the road.  Unfortunately, great as technology is, it can't always do all the work for us, particularly when that work involves complicated legal questions that don't lend themselves well to forms or templates.  So now, more than ever, I'm coming to realize the importance of back-up -- not back up for files (though of course, that's critical), but human back up.

So where can solos find colleagues who can back them up?   Here's some advice based on how I've found my back up:

1.  Reach out to colleagues:  Many of the lawyers whom I use as back up are those whom I've met through get togethers or lunches that I've taken the initiative to put together.  For example, I've gotten to know several lawyers from Solosez  - and have made a point of following up with a phone call or another get together where I've felt that we might be able to work together.  But I haven't relied on Solosez alone.  I've found reliable back-up for my energy regulatory practice after hosting a get together and a social networking course for other solo and small firm energy lawyers.  Since then, I've teamed up with some of these lawyers to respond to RFPs and I just retained another to back me up on a matter that I couldn't otherwise complete with my current personal situation.

2.  Scope out the talents of younger or newer solos lawyers:  Sometimes, you need back-up but you're on a limited budget.  In these cases, it's economical to bring in younger or newer solos who either handle contract work as a business or are willing to accept per diem projects for extra revenue.  In a crunch, however, you don't want to pass off work to someone whom you haven't tested.  After making this mistake of using an untested newbie with disastrous results, I now try to pass off small assignments to newer solos when neither the work nor my time frame are critical.   With "test drives," I get to familiarize myself with new solos' capabilities and decide if I'd like to work with them again. (Of course, I pay -- reasonably well, I think -- for the work).  Down the road, when I have immediate work demands, I can outsource to the solos whom I've deemed qualified, fully confident of their ability to handle the work.

3.  Offer your help:  When you have a chance, reach out and offer to help other solos. I've offered to shepherd filings for colleagues or cover hearings when they're in a pinch and most are happy to return the favor. 

4.  Realize that back up will cost you...and get over it.  While I'm less stressed knowing that I've left work in capable hands, I'm not happy about paying others to cover matters where I'd earn more doing the work entirely myself.  But I know that if I'd taken that approach, the quality of my work would suffer and my clients would pay the price.  By using my back-up, I'm still able to produce the kind of first rate product that I expect of myself (even if my clients don't) and tend to my personal issues without having to dump my problems on my clients.  So the cost of back-up is worth it.   

So fellow solos - who's got your back, and how did you find them?  Please share your ideas in the comments section.

Full post as published by My Shingle.com on January 24, 2009 (boomark / email).