MyShingle : Solo and Small Law Firm Management and Marketing

I've written previously about the importance of  saying nay to the naysayers - you know, those folks, some jealous, some just well-intentioned - who tell you that you won't succeed in starting a law firm.  Pesky as these external naysayers may be, the truth is, they're only part of what's holding you back.  In many cases, the biggest naysayer is you!

For example, how many times have you rejected a marketing technique out of hand, such as cold-calling (too cheesy) or blogging (too time consuming)  without trying it or coming up with a way to make it work for you?  If you practice at a large firm, do you simply assume that you can't handle the same lucrative, biglaw practice area on your own because no one else is doing it?   And believe me, I'm as guilty of naysaying myself as anyone.  Indeed, just now, I am training myself not to reflexively reject ideas out of hand merely because they're off the beaten track or out of the box or contrary to conventional wisdom.

What's really inspired me to stop naysaying myself, however, is this recent story about Randy Pausch, the former Carnegie Mellon professor dying of pancreatic cancer whose on Last Lecture about living your childhood dream has captivated and inspired millions.  Jeff Zaslow, the Wall Street Journal reporter who helped break the story, asked Pausch to memorialize his lecture and other life lessons in a book.  But Pausch initially declined, explaining that he wanted to spend his remaining time with his family.  So Zaslow and Pausch came up with a plan.  Each day, Pausch rode his bike an hour a day as a way to maintain his health.  It was time spent away from family anyway, and necessary to Pausch's well-being.  Pausch would wear a cell phone headset during his rides, and during that time, he'd talk about his life, his family and his lecture to Zaslow, feeding him information for the book - which was just released.

If a dying professor intent on spending every waking minute with his family during his last months on earth can find a way to write a book, well then, there's hope for all of us.  So long as we focus on figuring out how to do what seems impossible or infeasible, rather than complaining about why we can't.

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Chuck Newton has a thought provoking Guest Post  over at Grant Griffiths' Home Office Warrior that discusses the propriety of a blogger taking credit as one of the originators of  the so-called "work at home" revolution.  As Newton points out, the work-at-home revolution dates back to Revolutionary Times themselves, when esteemed folks like Thomas Jefferson worked out of the mansion.  In addition, Newton expresses some disappointment that in the blogger at issue, Wendy Piersall, may have sold out her original mom based audience by broadening her focus to all work-from-homers with her expanded blog, Sparkplugging.com.

I agree with Chuck's objection to staking claim to a movement.  The notion of a leader and a one-size fits all portal site is so yesterday in an age where blogging allows for a multitude of different spins. In fact, the desire to crown someone head of a movement was the source of my objection to being labelled the voice of solos; because there are indeed, many voices.  As for expanding a blog beyond a niche audience, I can understand the appeal of wanting to broaden a message.  However, I think that there are probably ways to achieve that goal without completely abandoning early readers.

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I'm still blushing after all of the compliments and good wishes from my fellow bloggers who linked to this article about my practice and my book, Solo by Choice.  And I won't deny that I enjoyed the attention (as well as the resulting book sales).  But I need to clarify --  I don't want to be the voice of solo practice because there's no such thing as a single voice of solo practice.   Instead, there are many voices - a veritable chorus  who write about or advise solo and small law firms.  Some champion the can-do entrepreneurial attitude of solos and celebrate our independent spirit, some  work to inspire others to make the leap, some had the vision to recognize that we solos are part of Alvin Toeffler's Third Wave, some dream of building their firm, some  help empower Second City start-up lawyers, some are known for their tech savvy, some want to change the way law is practiced and some have discovered that their entrepreneurial talents extended beyond starting a law firm.  Even Dennis Kennedy recognized all of us as a collective category unto ourselves.  And beyond those of us who render advise to other solo and small firm lawyers, lets not forget the hundreds of solos who blog about criminal law, family law, personal injury and a huge array of other topics and in doing so, help educate and current potential clients.

So where do I fit into all of this?  For me, my end goal is and always has been about serving clients and improving the legal profession.  True, I write (both here and in my book) about marketing a law firm and  making money, about how solo practice can help biglaw attorneys can find career satisfaction and how starting a firm can help with worklife balance.  But the reason that I want to help lawyers find worklife balance or career satisfaction or success is so that we can retain talent in the profession.  And in turn, those talented lawyers will use their skills and passion to serve clients zealously and offer an alternative to biglaw practice.  As a result, we can improve the quality of the profession and expand meaningful access to our justice system.  That' s also the reason that I spotlight the positive accomplishments of solo lawyers.  Of course, I hope to give solos deserved recognition and inspire others to consider this path.  But more importantly, by focusing on the good that solos and small firm do (rather than the ethical foibles that the mainstream press is all to eager to highlight), I want to improve the stature of solos so that judges won't disregard our clients' positions simply because hey're not represented by a hotshot, blue chip firm. 

In the five and a half years that I've blogged at MyShingle, I've seen some attitudes about solo practice change, but very, very slowly - and sometimes, not even noticeably.   One voice won't change much at all, but with a village of voices, we stand a chance.

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In theory, I like the idea of live blogging - at least when someone else is doing it.  When I read through a live-blogged, play-by-play entry, it's almost as good as being at the conference myself.  Plus, even if I actually attended the event, it's interesting to read about it from someone else's perspective.

But in practice, when it comes to live blogging - well, it's a bit of a pain.  You need to tote a laptop around all day, plus  endure the nagging sense of obligation of having to write a post. 

In any event, I have a free moment, so I'm using the opportunity to blog.  This morning I co-presented with David Masters (the Adobe guru) who just released a new book that includes information on Adobe 8.0) on tech for the start up law firm.  More of a turn out than I expected and a fairly hot audience with a decent number of questions.  Tomorrow, though, I'm speaking about a topic that I'm passionate about - using technology to retain clients.  What excites me about that topic is that it involves a disruptive use of technology.  Ordinarily, we view technology as impersonal - so using it to build personal relationships that help bond us with, and bring us closer to clients - is a disruptive, almost counter-intuitive use.  And that's exciting to me.  In fact, it's through technology that I've built relationships with some of the people listed here whom I've had a chance to spend time with at the conference.

By the way, if any of you at Tech Show and are interested in paging through a copy of my new book, Solo by Choice, I'm carrying a copy around.  I don't have any available for sale, but paging through the book may help you decide whether you want to buy it.  And, I'll be hosting one of the dine-around dinners tonight with Jim Calloway  The topic is blogging, but even so, I don't plan on live blogging the meal. 

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After learning that he's one of the 83 percent majority of lawyers in New York who practice as solos, Eric Turkewitz asks just what does that mean anyway?  Specifically, Eric wonders whether the term "solo" as used in these kinds of surveys means just one lawyer, one lawyer with support staff or one lawyer with a few associates but 100 percent of the equity.  And he also asks a bunch of solo bloggers what definition should apply.

The first part of Eric's question is answered most easily.  At least for New York, the statistics come from the state's Commission to Examine Solo and Small Firm Practice.  The study found that
14.7 percent of lawyers practiced in firms of 2-9 an 1.8 percent practiced in firms of more than 10.  From these numbers and categories, I infer that the category of solos refers to law firms comprised of one lawyer.

To be honest, I don't really see much difference between a law practice of one attorney and one with as many as 3-5.  That's because these days, with the power of the Internet and listserves and virtual assistants and virtual associates and networking groups and bar associations galore, no solo is truly an island.  Nearly every lawyer I know, has at least one close colleague who can act as a back up in a case or can take a quick look at a brief or who can serve as a sounding board for ethics questions.  Likewise, most lawyers I know have on at least one occasion outsourced administrative tasks or used a contract attorney or hired a law student to work at the firm a few hours a week. 

Continue Reading...

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Terrifying. Scary. Frightening. Those words describe horror movies, but you've probably heard them quite frequently from others in reference to what it feels like to start a law firm. And in part, that's true. Because  starting a firm is scary --  particularly when you don't have a single client, you don't know whether you'll make any money, can't figure out what practice areas you want to handle or you have no idea how to draft a complaint or how to get a motion on the court calendar.

And yet, at the same time, there's nothing quite like those first few months of getting a law firm off the ground: the heady feeling of building something that doesn't exist, the thrill you experience the first time you introduce yourself to "your client" and the wild optimism you feel once you take charge of your destiny. I've had my own practice fourteen years now so the memory of starting out has dimmed.  But  a recent meeting with two new shinglers took me back to the excitement of my firm's early months. Back then, I couldn't afford legal research services so I shepardized cases manually, I couldn't get legislation on line so I spent hot afternoons in the bowels of House Office Building Annex 2 to procure copies for clients or I drove around the seedy parts of DC with my criminal clients in their jeeps with shaded windows.  Today, I just don't do that kind of stuff anymore - I can pay for a legal search tool and criminal practice is no longer compatible with my business model or my family situation. I still enjoy my practice and welcome challenges, but sometimes, nothing parallels the excitement of those early days.

Continue Reading...

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What advice do I have for a new lawyer?  That's the money question from my friend and colleague, Susan Cartier Liebel who's preparing this week's Blawg Review #142 on that very topic. 

To start, I asked myself what kind of advice I would have found useful two decades ago when I was a new lawyer.   Unfortunately, back then, I disregarded the little advice that I did receive, because I thought I knew better.  For example, one older and somewhat doddering professor at my law school regularly told students that if we wanted a job at a particular firm, we ought do what he did "back in the day" (which for him was the 1930s) - put on a nice suit, march up to the firm's office with resume in hand, ask to see the managing partner and introduce ourselves.  My buddies and I had a laugh over our professor's well intended words of wisdom, mercilessly mocking him as completely out of touch.  But would it have hurt us to try what he suggested?  None of us ever did.  And now...all these years later, I now see the nuggets of value buried in my professor's seemingly outdated advice: the importance of putting yourself out there, taking initiative and most of all, making a personal connection.  So my first piece of advice to new lawyers is that you should keep an open mind.  Most advice is well intentioned.  It may not be right for you, but don't reject it out of hand. 

Other advice, I've addressed in past posts at MyShingle.  It includes:

1. Remember that sometimes the smallest things we do have the greatest impact;
   
   
2. Sometimes you may have to do something desperate to succeed;
   
   
3. While keeping in mind that law and running a law firm is a business, don't lose sight of the higher purpose we can serve as lawyers and;
   
   
4. Like Randy Pausch of the Last Lecture , embrace karma !
   
   

Two final pieces of advice.  First, don't waste effort seeking certainty or waiting for "the right time" - whether it's the right time to change a job, start a law firm or get married or start a family.  Not only does surety always elude you, but in focusing on it with spotlight intensity, you miss the best part of the journey:  living the questions, as Rainer Marie Rilke writes in his Letters to A Young Poet (this is my very favorite passage):

You are so young, so much before all beginning, and I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now...because you would not be able to live them.  And the point is, to live everything.  Live the questions now.  Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

Second, always remember that you are a part of a profession that pays homage to  precedent.  That doesn't mean we're bound by old ways, but rather, that we have the ability to create new approaches with lasting effects.  New ways of doing business, of achieving justice, or serving clients.   As a lawyer, you have an opportunity to leave your own personal mark on the law that will remain long after you're gone.  Don't waste it. 

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As another year draws to a close, do you find yourself thinking about hanging out your own shingle? Perhaps the thought occurred to you the other night while you were polishing up a brief, wishing that you -- not the partner who isn't at all familiar with the case -- were going to argue it.

Or maybe after a year of working the temp circuit, using your Ivy League law degree to perform paralegal work, it occurred to you that you couldn't be any worse off if you started your own practice.

So what's holding you back?

I wrote these words three years ago in this article, Make 2005 the Year You Start Your Own Law Firm. But my advice still rings true today. Take a look and see if I've convinced you to make this year the one that you start your firm.

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It's the perennial question for lawyers starting a law firm - what do you call yourself? As I wrote here over two years ago, Enrico Schaefer maintains that the term "solo" is inaccurate. And more recently, the topic has been discussed on Solosez. As for me, I've always regarded the term "solo" as a catch phrase for lawyers who start a firm - be it one lawyer or multiples. And my upcoming book, Solo by Choice uses the term "solo" in the title because it's the most universally recognized phrase for lawyers who choose to step out on their own to work for themselves, rather than others.

Still, though I don't have a problem using the term solo descriptively, I'd never use it to describe myself. When I meet other attorneys, I explain that I'm an independent practitioner or (more preferable) that I have my own law firm. But even if you have a close attachment to the term solo, please - don't ever sign off on a pleading the way the way that this Phelps Family lawyer did: Margie Phelps, A Sole Practitioner. In fact, the entire pleading makes me cringe - and is an example of why, despite all of our best efforts, we self-starting lawyers still face image problems.

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I'm not sure whether any of you remember the TV show LA Law . Sometime in the second or third season, the firm's young associate, Abby, was told that she wasn't partnership material so she left to start her own criminal defense practice. A year or so later, Abby had established her reputation as a trial lawyer, and the firm that had once spurned her lured her back (though I don't remember if she became a partner or merely collected a higher salary). Though I watched those episodes before I ever started my own practice, the concept of leaving a firm to build your skills and credentials and then return later, on your own terms struck me as eminently smart.

Back here, I posted on how Supreme Court solo specialist Tom Goldstein brought his practice to biglaw firm Akin Gump - after he'd been on his own for five years and argued more than a dozen cases at the Court. And today, I saw this Press Release about Ely Goldin, a former solo specializing in issues related to the business needs of the Russian immigrant community, who was named partner at Fox Rothschild.

When you start a firm, you may dream of staying small...or building your own empire. But solo practice isn't just an end in itself, it can also be viewed as a phase of your career during which you build skills and increase your value. Making partner after toiling as an associate at a large firm is always a risk. Is it really any more risky to try to make partner after building your own practice?

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For me, fall brings a fresh start - both the beginning of the school year and Rosh Hashanna, the Jewish New Year. Back when I was a student, no matter how bad the previous year had been, I'd always welcome the new school year with hope and optimism.

Of course, those of us in the working world don't have the perennial option of a fresh start. We need to affirmatively create one for ourselves as the need arises. Perhaps our fresh start might be as simple as closing out a file of a problem client and promising ourselves that you'll never take a case where you have a gut feeling that there's something not quite right about the client. The fresh start might involve shuttering a practice area that you never enjoyed or learning a new one. And sometimes you may not even make that fresh start at all, but you'll start to sense the need that it's time for change. Currently, I'm in that last category, knowing it's time for a change, but still contemplating my path.

As for my daughters, with their first day (depicted in photos), change still comes easily. My younger daughter who didn't like school much last year has declared that she "really loves third grade." My older daughter's binder is still tidy three weeks into the year; those of you who struggle with a disorganized child (or are disorganized themselves) recognize this as a major accomplishment. And actually, this school year brings a change for me as well: my daughters now ride the bus which means they're out the door by 7:20, which gives me an extra 30-60 minutes every morning. Now, that's a change for the better (and if you are wondering how an extra hour could make a difference...well, then, you're probably not busy enough!)

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I was looking through some of these relatively new books on getting ahead in business and entrepreneurship that Marci Alboher reviewed in her Careers Column for the NY Times. (If you recall, I reviewed Marci's book, One Person, Multiple Careers back here in February). What struck me about these three books - Anti 9 to 5 Guide: Practical Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube; The Parentpreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches About Building A Successful Business ; and Grindhopping: Building A Rewarding Career Without Paying Your Dues - is that not only do they each have their own website (probably di rigeur for most new titles but they are all authored by women who are pushing the concept of entrepreneurship and jumping off the traditional career ladder as a way for women to get ahead. Contrast that "go get 'em," risk-taking mentality with the initiatives within the legal profession for advancement by women at a law firm - like begging for flex time or waiting for "the firm" to come up with ways to help women network.

All of this made me wonder whether women seeking equality at law firms are behind the times instead of on the cutting edge. Because if these books are any reflection of what's happening in the business context, it seems that in order for women to succeed, they need to break the rules, not follow them and make their own rules instead of forcing others to change theirs.

For a previous, related post on a similar topic, see And where were the women solos?

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As you've probably heard on the news by now, turns out that obesity isn't exclusively hereditary; it's also socially contagious (US News, 7/25/07). A recent study to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if you're close friends with people who are obese, you're more likely to gain weight yourself either because you adopt the same unhealthful lifestyle, you don't feel as much pressure to stay thin in front of an obese friend or you alter your perception of acceptable appearance when you see that your friends have gained weight.

All very interesting, but what does a study about obesity have to do with solos? Plenty. The study reinforces a basic concept: that our behavior, action and self-worth are affected significantly by those around us - even to the point where we compromise our health and well being. And we solos and aspiring solos, independent and bold as we may like to believer, are not impervious to this phenomenon. Thus, much as we believe in our ability to start and run a successful practice, if we surround ourselves with naysayers, we may begin to have doubts. And if we've already got a pretty decent practice up and running, we're more likely to look down on our accomplishments when colleagues belittle solos.

So just as you may want to seek out fit people if you're trying to lose weight, you need to seek out supportive, go-getting, self-starters if you're thinking about starting a practice or if you already run one. Doesn't matter if they share your practice area or if they're 20 years older or younger than you, but just that they share your drive and optimism. And fortunately, with blogs and listserves, this kind of supportive crowd is only an internet connection away.

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My site has been dead for so long, that I couldn't wait to get some new content going. So here it is, in beta...SOLO-formania. What is SOLOFORMANIA? It's a cornucopia of forms for the busy solo - ranging from FREE sample practice guides, fee agreements and retainer letters, to court forms for all 50 states (some free, some fee) to general form files on the Internet. I'll put a link up at the sidebar for now, until I finish revamping the site. (Though the Online Guide should be upgraded soon).

You're free to link to SOLOFORMANIA at your site, so long as you attribute MyShingle.

Update: Caveat on using forms. Forms are a terrific starting place but for your practice, but they are just that - a good start. If you view forms from other jurisdictions (which is useful), be sure to check whether they comport with the ethics rules where you practice. And adapt forms for a particular task. For example, when I draft retainer letters, I always include a fairly detailed scope of work so that clients understand which tasks are covered and which are not.

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Imagine a lawyer rating system that assigns lawyers different categories of grading and purports to provide an objective way to assess a lawyer and through "third party validation of ethics and legal ability provides that extra level of confidence that the right lawyer or firm has been selected." A ratings system that takes years of experience into account in issuing ratings and removes positive ratings where a lawyer has a negative disciplinary record. A ratings system that even generates enough profit to fund a fellowship. And a ratings system that includes some errors and omissions.

If you thought that the lawyer rating system that I just described would be the subject of class action lawsuits, you'd be wrong. But that rating system sure sounds like this one, which is the subject of a class action lawsuits. And indeed, many of the claims alleged in the class suit (which you can access here) would seem to apply to both ratings systems: such as complaints of arbitrariness of ratings or that the rating service makes deceptive and false representations that clients can rely on the ratings in choosing a lawyer.

So, one of these ratings systems is sued, while the other is not. And if you're wondering about the reasons for the differential treatment, I can think of at least one: consider the ratings of the class action's lead plaintiff by this ratings service and this one.

Note: for the record, I have criticized both ratings services for various reasons here and here and here. In my view, ratings systems aren't worth much because choosing a lawyer isn't like picking a restaurant or buying a house. So if we lawyers allow ratings system, we should explain that they're one of many, many factors in picking a lawyer. But more importantly, if we allow ratings systems, we must tolerate all systems; we shouldn't be able to pick and choose by filing class actions between those ratings systems that we want (because they grade us better) and those we don't.

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Yesterday, I spent a beautiful Saturday outdoors, helping to build a house with Habitat for Humanity as part of an Energy Bar Association pro bono service project. I have to admit that I didn't seek this project out: my decision to participate was a spur of the moment response to an email that came through my inbox, and was motivated not by true benevolence, but rather, by a realization that I haven't attended many energy networking events in a while and this presented a convenient opportunity. While I can't say that I made many business connections yesterday (it's hard to talk shop when you're trying not to hammer your finger, plus, energy lawyers only comprised about a third of the partipants), nonetheless, I came back with something better - a little bit of color on my pallid lawyer's complexion, a few good lessons learned, and a lot of satisfaction, as I'll describe.

In the past, I've done my share of pro bono for indigent clients, primarily throught the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, representing them in public benefits cases, eviction hearings (I kept two families in their homes), discrimination actions. I even helped crack a scam by a vocational school that would sign up homeless people for the program and student loans. The school would take the money and either fail to follow through on the training promised, and wouldn't let people rescind after one or two classes, leaving the homeless people with insurmountable credit problems and the school owner with a fancy lamborghini (it's funny the things you remember...). At the same time, I'd always ruled out other service projects, like serving food in soup kitchens or cleaning up a dirty river constituted true pro bono because they didn't make use of my legal skills. After my experience yesterday, I still believe that my time spent on pro bono is most valuable when I provide legal services, because that's where my competency lies - but just because I'm best at providing legally related pro bono, doesn't mean that I need to limit my service to law projects only.

Continue Reading...

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Readers, I just looked at the date of my last post, and I can't believe that I've gone a week without posting. This is a busy time with work still coming in. And I'm polishing up the final draft of my book which should be out by the end of the year. The book has taken me nearly three years to complete (yes, that's a little embarrassing, but I have an annoying habit of actually finishing much of what I start...eventually). And even though my words are frozen on the page, the legal profession hasn't. So now, as I go back over the older material, I'm feeling a little like Heisenberg as I scramble to describe certain topics, only to feel the ground shift as I'm writing.

Once this project is off my plate, there'll be some changes at MyShingle as well. We'll be upgrading, big time, getting the Guide up to date and bringing my old archives from December 2002 to November 2004 back online. I'm even hoping to to hire one or two people for the project, so if you're a student with some time on your hands, a passion for blogs and interested in a little extra cash, feel free to drop me an email here - carolyn.elefant@gmail.com

I am hoping to resume regular posting in the next few days, but until then, you can visit the archives if you're interested in earlier posts, or read me over at my other beat at Legal Blogwatch. And read the other solo blogs that I mentioned back here, as well as those that have come out since - Susan Cartier Liebel's How to Build A Practice; Sheryl Sisk Schelin's Inspired Solo, Solo in Chicago, Chuck Newton, Rick Georges' Solo Lawyer and Dreams of a Solo. That should keep you busy until my return!

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This is a two part post, for my fellow shinglers, and also for law students. To my colleagues, first: Imagine that you had twenty hours of reliable law student assistance for the summer...how would you use it? Would you have the students help stock your blog with materials, like at SCOTUS Blog? Ask them to ghost write that law review article you've put off? Would you set them to work on billable matters, like Enrico Schaefer, with his wildly successful virtual law clerk program? Would you use them to help handle the pro bono matters you've been wanting to handle, but never had the time for? Or would you delegate marketing, having them identify opportunities to publicize your blog or speak at a conference?

And now, if you're a law student, what would attract you to working for a solo? Would you want to get hands on experience, like interviewing clients, responding to interrogatories and court-watching? Would you prefer enhancing your research and writing skills, by helping to co-author a scholarly article? What if a position included weekly trainings to help you succeed at a law firm or meetings with other attorneys who would talk about their career choices? Would you mind handling clerical tasks? What kind of work experience would make you most marketable? Would you prefer a position where you can work with other clerks, or would you be alright working directly with an attorney? And what's the lowest hourly rate that you'd settle for?

Lawyers and students, please send me your comments below.

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I've been tagged by Susan Cartier Liebel to participate in Alex Shalman's Gotta Get Goals challenge that's wending its way around the blogosphere.  Like Chuck Newton, I tend to be more of a dreamer than a planner.  That's not to say that my ideas never come to fruition, or that I meander aimlessly, but I've never really charted a strategy or course of action to bring me from an idea to reality, and actually followed it through from start to finish.  So at the very least, this exercise has lead me to wonder whether one of my goals ought to be setting more goals.

As for my other ideas or goals, I've listed the ones that I'm willing to share right now (some are proprietary, others too embarrassing, for prime time):

1.  Argue a case before the Supreme Court.  I see that I share this goal with Inspired Solo.  For a long time, I thought that a Supreme Court case might come my way through serendipitous accident, but now with so many lawyers eager for a ticket to the high court, I think that I may have to engage in some active planning to figure out how to get there as well.

2.  Work on a death penalty appeal and/or reverse a wrongful conviction.

3.  Live abroad for a year with my family.

4.  Come up with at least one killer app that will change the way law is practiced and make millions!

5.  Go to medical school, or more realistically nursing school.  I've never believed that I was cut out for one career, and I think in many ways, law and medicine are analogous in that both professions find ways to solve people's problems.  This is a longer term goal, at least five more years out, and by that time, I'm not sure whether I'll have the energy for a residency, which is why nursing is the more attainable goal.

6.  Pay for my daughters' college education without taking out loans (but of course, requiring my daughters them work (or start their own business) during school and the summer to pay for their own books and personal expenses)

Anyway, that's what I'm willing to share for now.  I'm tagging Jennifer Rose and David Leffler, Nicole Black, Bob Kraft and Allison Shields.   

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I've just posted this new project at my Offshore Renewable Energy Law Blog, and it couldn't have happened without Nicole Black's terrific inspiration (which I have shamelessly copied, albeit with what I hope is sufficient attribution) and Grant Griffiths' unbridled enthusiasm for the Mac (and you can see my new little accomplice in the left hand of the video). I'm hoping to follow this up with some MyShingle moments as well.

I urge all of you to set up a video and get one up on the screen. Reach out and make a personal introduction to colleagues and clients. Politicians are recognizing the power of video - you should too!

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Just when I thought that I'd probably found the right formula to work-life balance, I discovered that I'm really nothing more than a neglectful mom.  I spent much of yesterday pushing to prepare a motion already a few days overdue to the client because of more pressing deadlines earlier in the week.  Since my daughters have an afterschool activity on Friday, I could work a little bit past my usual 4:15 stopping point before picking them up.  Even so, I still couldn't finish, so I stopped work and went tearing through rush hour traffic up to the school, about twenty minutes behind schedule.  When I arrived, the school's security guard greeted me at the door and asked "Is there something wrong?  I see these poor girls left here all the time."  As I opened my mouth to respond, all kinds of thoughts raced through my mind.  I thought of my messy house, the nights that I worked on my computer with my daughters working along side me, the school events that I couldn't chaperone because I only have 6-7 real work hours to finish everything.  And my heart sank, because I felt that despite my best efforts to run a law firm and be home for my daughters after school, that I was failing, badly.

Before I could open my mouth however, my ten year old daughter responded for me.  "My mom's not always late," she said.  "She was supposed to be late on Tuesday because she had work but she came on time.  She was only really late once before, a few weeks ago."  The parent part of me wanted to reprimand my daughter for speaking rudely to an adult (which I did, albeit gently), but inside, I felt so proud that my daughter had stood up for me.  And at that point I realized that maybe this work-life balance thing was working after all.

So this post is for all of you who are struggling to keep it together, for wondering whether what you're doing even matters or whether you're giving both work and your kids short shrift, for feeling embarrassed about a messy house or ten minute dinners.  Keep it up, it makes a difference. 

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Finally, Enrico Schaefer has revealed himself as the Greatest American Lawyer.  I've known Enrico for a while now, ever since he sent me an email in the early days of My Shingle before he launched his successful law firm and blog.  And in April 2005, I met Enrico at the first LexThink conference and had a chance to speak with him for a while at the conference dinner.  Enrico is a terrific person and a real visionary. 

What both amazes and gratifies me, however, is the discretion of lawyer bloggers.  So many people knew Enrico's identity, but no one shared it, even inadvertently.  We all talk about how the Internet and blogging make connections, but it goes beyond that:  these tools build trust, lasting bonds and personal community.  I'm just glad that with his unveiling, Enrico Schaefer can now participate fully in this online community as well.

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Quite often, when I compliment when of my daughters on something she's done well, the other will chime in "But mommy, aren't I good at that too?"  My response, of course, is that praising one of my girls doesn't diminish how I feel about the other. 

More frequently these days, I find myself in this situation with my blog.  Often, my advocacy of solo practice is often regarded as a put down of large firms, a perception that is corroborated by my criticism of many large firm practices (such as bloated billing rates, elistist views and fast and loose conflict of interest standards to keep clients post-merger).  But in truth, I don't hold a grudge against large firms; I believe that they're a great career choice if that's where you can find your passion.  Unfortunately, many don't, but some do.

A few months ago, I read Mark Herrmann's The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law.  Herrmann is a partner and litigator at a large firm.  The book offers a biglaw partner's perspective on issues relevant to success at large firms and the legal profession in general, such as what associates should do to avoid failure, how lawyers should serve clients and some tips on marketing.  (also, the chapter, The Curmudgeon Argues is the best 10 pages I've ever read on preparing for an oral argument).  But what stands out about the book, in addition to the blunt tone (which is part of the curmudgeonly persona), is Herrmann's passion for what he does.  Consider this passage when Herrmann writes about why he loves his work:

I'll quote a movie.  Joe Gideon, the tightrope walker in "All That Jazz" was asked why he risked his life every day for his career.  He answered "To be on the wire is life.  The rest is waiting."

That's the life of a litigator too.  When I'm engrossed in the law, I'm alive.  I'm engaged; I'm attentive, I'm focused.  I can tell you now, decades later and with almost pathological recall, lines of questions that worked and others that didn't at my earliest trials.  I can tell you the one time an appellate judge asked me a question I hadn't anticipated.  I can tell you when, after wrestling with an insoluble issue for months, I finally saw the light.  Maybe those great events don't happen often enough, but when they do happen, they're unspeakably good.  To be on the wire is life; the rest is waiting.

My desire for all of us, myself included, is that we feel the same as Herrmann about what we do.  If like, Herrmann, you've found passion in biglaw, then stand proud.  But if you're still searching for meaning, for a "life on the wire," starting a law firm may be one place to look.  It's not the only place, or the best place - but it may be the place for you.

Editor's Note:  The LPM Committee of the DC Bar is sponsoring a session, Putting Practice Back into the Passion of Law, February 22, 2007, 12-1:30.  Visit DC Bar website at www.dcbar.org for more details (see events to register).

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The first document that I ever filed as an independent practitioner was a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1).  By a bizarre stroke of beginner's luck, I had been retained to serve as local counsel for a major casino which had been sued in federal district court in the District of Columbia.  The issues involved were fairly basic ones relating to long arm jurisdiction, and my twenty five page motion practically wrote itself.  The casino's inhouse counsel approved my draft, and gave me the go ahead to file it.  And so, I signed my name with a flourish - and then sat back to admire my signature, standing alone and proud on the page. 

Even now, fourteen years later, I've not yet tired of seeing my signature on a document, identifying me as the author and guaranteeing the quality of my work.   It's just another one of those small thrills of solo practice that matter so much.

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As you can see, I've been busy with lots of posts.  It's just added up over time.  I know that I should space them out and post them every so often, but once it's written, I want to get it live.  But you don't have to read all my posts at once; come back a few times and read at your leisure.

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Over at my beat at Legal Blog Watch, I posted my opinion  on Assistant Deputy Secretary Cully Stimson's suggestion that corporate clients reconsider their relationship with large firms who represent Guantanamo detainees.  I'm posting some other thoughts here at MyShingle, more from a solo's perspective.

Stimson's comments have drawn criticism from dozens of bloggers, as well as the ABA and 100 law deans.  Indeed, the Pentagon has since disavowed Stimson's comments.  Yet while it's gratifying to see lawyers galvanized over some issue, I still do not regard this matter as clear cut at all.  In fact, there's a strange irony to it. 

I believe that initially, the law firms that signed up to represent detainees cared deeply about their rights.  But soon after, dozens of other firms (listen to Stimson's speech - they're all listed) jumped on board.   And I believe that many of the firms did so for PR and so that they would not be at a competitive recruiting disadvantage.  The firms' decision to represent the detainees was economic, not political, which is why threats of economic repercussions carry the impact that they do.  Usually, when lawyers sign up to represent a client, threats from the government or anyone else about being ostracized or repercussions do not move us.  That is part of our job. And anytime we take on controversial clients, that's part of the risk.

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No...I'm not done with MyShingle, though my infrequent postings over the past few months may have given you that impression.  Rather, I am done with the initial draft of a book project on a topic related to starting a law firm that I have been working on for the past two and a half years.  By my Word Perfect word count, my draft comes in at 363 pages (double spaced, Arial 10 pt. font) and 142,395 words.  Whew!  I know that I'll still have some more editing, as well as a couple of inserts to add here and there, but I am considering my draft officially complete, with just 9 hours to spare before my end-of-2006 deadline.

I'm wishing all of you a Happy New Year!  I know that it will be a good one for me.  I'll resume more regular posting in 2007.

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When I reflect on my thirteen years as a solo, what comes to mind first aren't my major victories, but instead, my small moments.  I actually have at least three small moments that have influenced the course of my practice, but today, I'll discuss just one:  the day I changed a judge's mind.

Back in the early days of my law firm, I handled court appointed criminal work, about ten to fifteen cases a year, primarily to get hands on experience in court.  After a year, when I had some experience under my belt (but still remained awfully naive) I was assigned to represent a sixty something, petty offender who'd just been released from jail (for some drug or petty theft) and had been arrested in a drug buy, found with a syringe in his sock.  In an effort to secure his release on bail (he'd only been out of jail for a few months and did not want to go back), I concocted some story about how he had the syringe as part of a needle exchange program, and also argued that with his many ties to the area, he wasn't likely to flee.  I secured my client's release pending trial.

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At the Legal Profession Blog, Jeff Lipshaw wonders whether it's natural to spend one's time "the same firm, doing the same kind of work, progressing in the level of oversight and client contact...."  As a solo, I don't often feel that way, since I always have the opportunity to reinvent myself and my practice.  Yet sometimes, inertia keeps me in the same place.

So I got to wondering what my solo colleagues do to keep it fresh.  What do you do to ensure that you're always feeling challenged, that you're open to new possibilities? For a long time, blogging helped me keep my practice fresh, but after four years, blogging feels a little routine as well. 

So readers, any ideas?  Please post them below.

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I guess when you've been blogging as long as I have (four years  next month), it's inevitable that someone will criticize aspects of your blog (such as its name, MyShingle) as so last millenium.  Which is fine, because while I sometimes blog about solo trends and the coolness factor of solo practice, truth is, trends and coolness aren't my focus, never have been.  In a couple of days, I celebrate my 13th year as a solo, back in the era when solos were regarded as the untouchables of the legal profession and before dotcom entrepreneurs made working from home cool.  For me, solo practice was never a trend, but reality and a lifesaver; the only way that I could find to practice law and accomodate raising my daughters. 

I love running MyShingle, but I'll always be a practicing lawyer, first and foremost.  And that's why I favor the solo and practice blogs that aren't form over substance or full of jargon but those that teach me, by example, how to practice law and deliver legal services to my clients better, faster and less expensively.  Those that help me stay in business just another day so that I can provide an alternative to overpriced, low quality law firms and in so doing, expand access to law.  Maybe that makes me awfully stodgy in a third wave world, but that's My Shingle and I plan on sticking to it.

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Like rock and roll, legal work is full of power and passion.  It is about people and their stories, even when we represent businesses, as Justice Louis Brandeis powerfully reminded us.  We help peple find justice, dignity, truth, riches or maybe just a little relief.

Do you agree that your work is full of power and passion?

The above quoteand the accompanying question is one of the thought provoking topics from the teaching DVD, Lawyers Rock, based on the scholarship of Rusell Pearce and discussed further in this post at Legal Ethics Forum.  And it seemed fitting to post on September 11, a day that reminded us of terrible perils of, but also the transformative possibility of power and passion. 

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A year ago, Hurricane Katrina reminded all of us solos of the somber side of solo practice; how everything we've worked to build can be wiped out in an instant.  Sad to say, a year later, some solos are still struggling to get back on their feet, as reported in  Uneasy Times for Lawyers in the Big Easy, National Law Journal (8/30/06). (h/t to Ernie the Attorney).

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Today was my daughters' first day of school, full of anticipation and excitement.  As for me, I'll be resuming my longer work days now that they don't return home until after 4.

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This isn't a post that directly relates to solo practice, though the lessons that it offers will apply.  Instead, it's about the serendipitous way that your passions can lead you to a job that truly fits - which is something that many of us have in fact found in solo practice.

Consider this New York Times profile of Thomas Rogers, a former biglaw attorney who is the president of Tivo.   The profile describes that when he was a kid, he was such a huge TV fan that his parents bought him a subscription to TV Guide.  In addition to the TV listings, the section about the FCC caught his interest as well.  Rogers went on to law school, but turned down an FCC position for biglaw practice.  But TV stayed on his mind and helped him catch his first big break:

In early 1981, I read that Timothy Wirth of Colorado had been named head of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Consumer Protection and Finance. I wrote him, and his staff invited me for an interview. I told a top aide the story about reading TV Guide and she said, "At least that's different." I became one of four lawyers on the staff.

From the Hill, Rogers went in house to a cable division of NBC and then on to Tivo, where he became President and CEO.

Sometimes, you need to leave the law to follow your passion.  But perhaps, like Rogers, you can also find a way to marry what you love with your legal practice.

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From Susan Cartier-Liebel's piece, For the Brave, There's Life Beyond Biglaw (law.com, August 10, 2006) comes this money quote:

If opening your own practice were portrayed as a MasterCard commercial, it would go something like this: Virtual Office: $150; Cell Phone: $49.99 a month; WiFi laptop: $799; taking your 5-year-old son to his first Mets opening day at Shea Stadium (without derailing the partnership track): Priceless.

What aspect of solo practice is priceless to you?  Send me your comments below.

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Let me start this book review with a confession:  when I first heard that Jeremy Blachman nabbed a contract to bring his Anonymous Lawyer (AL) blog to the printed page, I didn't have high hopes.  While I read the AL Blog before Jeremy outed himself, I can't say that I was a huge fan; as an egomaniacal blogger myself, I had mixed feelings about my blogging colleagues who didn't have the nerve to back up their thoughts with their identity (though I was wrong that anonymous bloggers don't get book deals!).  And I wasn't all that impressed with the idea of an expose on biglaw.   Seemed to me that it had been done before, in books like Cameron's Stracher's mediocre Double Billing and a bunch of different short stories I'd seen in bar magazines over the years, where the protaganists realize they're wasting their life at biglaw and and decide to leave the law entirely or to seek employment in some public service oriented position like government or a legal aid group (never solo practice, but that's just my own personal gripe).

So I was hugely surprised that Blachman's novel, Anonymous Lawyer, was a far better book than I ever expected, one that in my view will endure as a classic in the law profession genre of novels, along with books like The Paper Chase (with its iconic Professor Kingsfield) and to a lesser extent, Scott Turow's One-L.  As my many blogging colleagues have pointed out, Blachman offers a scathing and hilarious inside view of partnership and taps into today's blogging zeitgeist  by using the blog and emails as narrative devices, all of which make for an enjoyable read in a format now familiar to many of us.  But what gives the novel its staying power is its commentary on the modern day law firm.  Just as existentialists like Albert Camus used their writings to probe the absurdity of the human condition during the 1930s and 1940s, Blachman's Anonymous Lawyer conveys the utter absurdity of biglaw practice.

There's not much to the plot; the book revolves around life at an anonymous biglaw firm during its summer associate program and AL's campaign to ascend to the Top Dog position at his firm.  AL's blog entries paint a picture of the absurdity of biglaw life  - the fifty dollar expense accounts for 22 year olds in law school, the lavish parties and picnics that no one really wants to attend, the stingy time off policies for holidays, the ruse of the "part time family balance programs."  AL's matter of fact and unreflective tone evokes the flat voice of Mersault, who narrates Camus' The Stranger.  But AL's not without opinions; in particular, he disdains his sad, overweight daughter (and fat people, generally) and his wife, who fritters his money on interior decoration and breast enhancement.  (as an aside, someone ought to write a book about the plight of the law firm partner's wife, addressing why so many competent women, many of them formerly attorneys themselves willingly sacrifice their careers to hitch themselves to their husband's rising star as partner at a law firm and content themselves with being "a partner's wife.")

For me, where Anonymous Lawyer shines isn't in the day to day description of the rat race of law firm life or the nasty cracks that AL makes about his partners and the ingratiating summer associates.  The book moved me most at those rare times when AL lets down his guard with himself-- in the pleasurable moments he shares catching snakes with his son, or during his realization at his high school class reunion that no one's ever heard of his firm or impressed by where he works.  For it's there we see that AL hasn't completely lost his soul, just repressed it almost irretrievably in the trappings of a fancy lifestyle and a pile of timesheets - and therein lies the tragedy.

As Camus writes in the Myth of Sisyphus:

The workman of today works everyday in his life at the same tasks, and his fate is no less absurd.  But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious.

Substitute "biglaw attorney" for workman and you encapsulate the dynamic of the modern day law firm and the anonymous lawyers who inhabit that world. 

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If like me, you sometimes feel a little down that you haven't yet hit your breakout career stride or left your mark on the law, then check out this article, What Kind of Genius Are You?, David Galenson, Wired (7/06) (hat tip to Arnie Herz at Legal Sanity).  As Herz summarizes, Galenson describes two types of geniuses:

The first type he calls conceptual innovators. These people "make bold, dramatic leaps in their disciplines. They do their breakthrough work when they are young." On the other end of the creative genius continuum are experimental innovators who, "like Auguste Rodin, Mark Twain, and Alfred Hitchcock proceed by a lifetime of trial and error and thus do their important work much later in their careers."

I know that solo practice has lots of late bloomers, lawyers who never found a niche at biglaw or other permanent employment or lawyers for whom biglaw simply wasn't big enough to accomodate big ideas on how law ought to be practiced.  And after spending years wasting away, they now blossom at solo practice.  For you lawyers who think it's too late to make something of your career, remember the geniuses who took a long time to figure out their way - and remember that solo practice is always an option where you can bloom, no matter how late in the season.

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HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY from MYSHINGLE! 

Ah, Indepedence Day, a solo's favorite holiday.  After all, think of the parallels.  Just as England and King George taxed the colonists without allowing them a say in government and stifled individual speech and religion, so too, law firms dominate young lawyers, sapping their creativity and amassig huge profits on their labor until, like the colonists, they just can't take it anymore.

Here's what Thomas Jefferson had to say about the Declaration of Independence:

It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

That's what we solos should do: commemorate and celebrate the day we started our firm.  How many of you take the time to celebrate your firm's anniversary, to think back on what you've accomplished over