My Shingle : MyShingle : Solo and Small Law Firm Management and Marketing

In an age where we envy quick success - the dotcom that grows from garage to gargantuan in eighteen months, the blogger who gets a book deal after three months - artist in turn lead to break-out success.  Five years later at 94, Herrera is savoring the financial remuneration and notoriety from a lifetime of painting.

As the New York Times explains, money and the fame, though appreciated, never drove Herrera's career.  Instead, Herrera painted, quite simply, because her passion left her no choice.  As Herrera explained:

I do it [painting] because I have to do it; it’s a compulsion that also gives me pleasure...I never in my life had any idea of money and I thought fame was a very vulgar thing. So I just worked and waited. And at the end of my life, I’m getting a lot of recognition, to my amazement and my pleasure, actually.

Quick success is great, no doubt about it.  But even better is having the kind of passion for our work that compels us to persevere, to just show up.  As one of Herrera's colleagues said to her, the bus always comes for those who wait.  In the meantime, enjoy the scenery.

I'll be off on vacation until next week, when I'll return with some posts on ethics issues and of course, my trends predictions for 2010.  I'll see you then.

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One of my favorite "ideas" people (for want of better classification) is Seth Godin.  Godin has an eye for trends.  No other blogger spots them as far in advance or articulates them quite as well.  This week, Godin is offering a freebie:  an ebook entitled What Matters Now.  The book is comprised of contributions from "seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year."

I enjoyed the book though the quality is uneven.  Some of the contributions - all of which are a page or less - are a bit flimsy.  Others (Hugh McLeod's or Elizabeth Gilbert's come to mind) resonate.  

Also, this is one of the most attractive e-books I've ever seen.  Even if you get nothing from the content, consider the style as a model for an e-book that you might write.

The book is free and you don't even have to register with an annoying autoresponder to retrieve it.  Just download it directly at Godin's site.  Maybe you'll find inspiration for the coming year.

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So how does a real estate associate who barely found a job at a small local firm become one of the nation's pre-eminent First Amendment lawyers with his own practice, representing clients like Above the Law or the guy who went head to head with talk radio superstar Glenn Beck in a battle over a domain name?  By "keeping his eye on the prize," as Legal Satyricon Marc Randazza explains in his interview with Bitter Lawyer which I learned of via Scott Greenfield's bag of holiday goodies.

In case you thought that a glamorous First Amendment practice is limited to academics or lawyers with a certain pedigree, think again.  What's most inspiring about Marc Randazza is that he didn't let his circumstances divert his passion from the First Amendment but instead, used his passion to change his circumstances.  Consider, for example, his experience at a real estate firm:

The people were great, and they taught me a lot about practicing law ethically.  I loved working there.  But the work did not inspire me.  At end of day, I would find myself working on law review projects and things for free because I was interested in them.

[To make the transition from real estate to First Amendment], I never took my eyes off the prize.  When a copyright issue came up, I grabbed the case.  When a defamation issue came up (which they often did with homeowners boards), I jumped on those. I made sure to find a way to dovetail what I had to do with what I wanted to do.

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What would you do if you were exonerated after spending twelve years in prison for a crime you didn't commit?  Would you spend the rest of your days justifiably bitter, complaining about the injustice of a legal system that could convict an innocent man?  Or would you feel gratitude towards those lawyers who helped to vindicate you and decide to become one yourself.

Wisconsin attorney Christopher Ochoa chose the second option, as described here in this inspiring story.  Though Ochoa initially considered working as a prosecutor (to prevent baseless cases like his from ever going to trial), following graduation, he struck out on his own as a solo.  Before long, Ochoa found that his practice had blossomed into a "full blown criminal law practice."

Starting a law firm gave Christopher Ochoa a second chance to reclaim his life.  If solo practice can help  a guy who spent twelve years in prison build a productive and satisfying life out of total ruin, then maybe, it could do the same for you.

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One thing that you probably don't know about me is that when it comes to driving, I'm hopelessly and completely directionally impaired.  On foot or bike, I can navigate easily virtually anywhere under the sun, but somehow, finding my way to a new location while driving at high speeds and trying to avoid an accident utterly confounds me.  These days, Mapquest and GPS make navigating a little bit easier, but even so, they're not fool proof as I learned last week.  While driving from the TF Green Airport to Roger Williams Law School in Bristol Road Island, I encountered road construction that distracted me from my designated exit.  Since I was in a hurry, I had no choice but to continue on and put my faith entirely in the GPS. 

But as I berated myself from my carelessness, I  noticed that the road where I'd landed wasn't all that bad.  In fact, with its panoramic views of bright blue water and blazing autumn  leaves and classic New England architecture, this winding road turned out far more relaxing and scenic than the one I'd left.  Ultimately, the road flowed almost seamlessly to the law school campus, and I arrived just a few minutes later than I'd originally anticipated.

Since my return, I realized how much our careers in the law resemble my trip.  Like me with my maps and GPS, we can plot and plan and chart a course to success.  For some, that plan entails moving seamlessly from top tier law school to biglaw, while for others, it may involve opening a practice the day the bar results arrive in the mail.  Yet bumps in the road - a layoff, inability to find clients in a coveted practice area, or doubts about our talent - throw us of course and leave us searching for a new plan.  Instead of panicking and desperately trying to stick to the script, why not take a few steps down a new road?  Perhaps that means taking a CLE on a practice area that  you never before considered or accepting a referral in a matter that sounds intriguing but that you've never handled before.  Perhaps it even means exploring opportunities like starting a firm (if you've just been downsized) or taking a look at joining up with other lawyers at a firm, if you've been exclusively solo.  Because at the end of the day you'll find that no matter what path you take, you'll discover you've arrived, and that you've enjoyed the journey more than you ever imagined.

For more on this theme, you can read one of my favorite pieces, The Accidental Practice, about how "The most wild and amazing successes of a solo's career often come by sheer accident."

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I haven't been checking in to Matt Homann's Non-Billable Hour site recently, which is a shame, because I nearly missed this amazing presentation on Building An Innovative Law Firm. Matt makes the presentation available using Slideshare, a very cool tool that I recommended back here back in February that allows you to embed a Power Point presentation at your website or blog.

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