Posted by Allison Shields: “It always surprises me when I ask lawyers where their business comes from or what percentage of potential clients become actual clients and they don't know. Many lawyers say that their business comes from 'referrals,' but they have no idea where their referrals are coming from. They never analyze which referral sources are effective or why.
Even if you don't have a sophisticated case management system, you can keep track of client inquiries, appointments and conversions. Create a simple excel spreadsheet that includes:
• The name of the client;
• The date of the first contact with the client;
• The method of first contact (phone, email, etc.);
• How the client came to you (be specific - if a client saw a presentation or seminar you gave, which one was it? If they found you on the internet, did they find your website, your blog, or through an attorney directory? Who referred them to you)?
• If the client comes for an initial consultation, note the date of the consultation.
• If the potential client becomes a client, keep track of the date that they did so, the fee they're being charged, and the specific problem they needed you to address.
Review the spreadsheet at least monthly to determine which referral sources are most effective and to help you follow up with potential clients. The spreadsheet can help you focus on your best referral sources, improve your referrals from other sources, and keep in touch with potential clients that haven't yet become paying clients. It can also help you understand your sales cycle better so that you can plan better and improve cash flow.”
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 28 February 2008
From the e-newsletter: “(FindLaw's LawyerMarketing.com) - Largely due to the Internet, a law firm now has many more opportunities to promote its services to prospective clients. A well-designed and well-written Web site, listings in legal directories and other forms of online advertising “
Read more...
Source: FindLaw’s Practice Paper. 28 February 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “In spite of technological advances like e-mail, remote computer access and low cost Web conferencing, it's back to the twentieth century for associates at large firms -- that is, if you accept Hunton & Williams partner Dionne Carney Rainey's conclusion that face time still matters for law firm associates. Based on an informal survey of her Texas colleagues, Rainey found that most agreed that "associates need to be physically in the office during regular business hours Monday through Friday." And Rainey herself adds that "there are many reasons [why face time] is necessary to one's legal career."
Rainey goes on to list some very twentieth century sounding reasons for why associates need to work onsite -- to meet other lawyers, obtain work and form relationships. She continues:
If an associate is not sitting in her office when a partner comes by to give an assignment, the partner will move on to the next associate. This will not only adversely affect the amount of work the associate receives, but when she becomes eligible to make partner, she will not have made the connections necessary to support her application. By working in the office, the associate has the opportunity to be seen and become respected by the partners — both as a person and as an employee. These personal relationships simply cannot be built remotely and are critical to one's career.
As for weekend time, Rainey says sometimes face time is necessary as well, to show partners that associates are hard workers, who are "accessible days, nights and weekends if necessary."
I had always believed that modern technology would eventually liberate us from the physical confines of the office and offer the flexibility to work where, if not when we choose. Many large corporations now have liberal telecommuting policies in place or rely on Web conferencing technology which allows employees to have face-to-face meetings over the Internet without the necessity of a shared physical location. My guess is that many of these modern companies, which often use large firms to handle legal matters, must be having a good laugh at lawyers' quaint practice of forcing associates to come in on the weekend to impress the boss. That is, until they see the bill for associates' weekend face time, at which point they may decide to retain a law firm that places more importance on how quickly work is completed, rather than where it is performed.
Or perhaps I'm just ahead of the curve. So readers -- help me out. Does Rainey's article on face time accurately depict the face of law firm life today? Or is her concept of the importance of face time woefully behind the times?”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 28 February 2008
Posted by Brian J. Ritchey: “This article was originally posted on August 14, 2006 and is titled Strategic Planning Will Not Predict the Future, But It Will Prepare the Law Firm for It:
If you don’t believe in strategic planning, you must read Rob Millard’s post Creating Prepared Minds. His post includes an excerpt from an article by McKinsey & Co.’s Eric Beinhocker titled Creating Strategy in an Unknowable Universe.
Breinhocker gets it right. If you think strategic planning is about predicting the future, you are dead wrong. If that is why you are not doing it, you need to revisit the issue. Assumptions (predictions) are inaccurate. If you get one right, it is just the luck of the draw. The first rule of the planning process is that you must plan to change the plan. As the future gets closer, you continually change your expectations and reactions to it until you arrive on target.
Planning gets the entire law firm team playing from the same play book. It prepares the team for the future and capitalizes on its opportunities. Rob’s post is a must-read that may inspire you to read Beinhocker’s entire article.
Chance does favor the prepared mind. Top performing firms do it. If you want a good reason to start, consider this reason: more than an eight fold difference in per-partner income. [The 2006 Law Firm Economic Survey] . . . discloses that the top performing 25 percent of firms earn more than eight times the per-partner income of the bottom 25 percent. That seems to be a good enough reason to start.
Three important rules for successful planning include:
* The planning plan must be to change the plan. Strategies are temporary targets based on inaccurate assumptions and estimated capabilities.
* The planning document should consist of words and phrases to facilitate frequent updating.
* The structure is a critical part of the process.
The structure for the strategic portion of the planning process that I have successfully used includes nine main areas to be addressed by the planning team in the order listed. The nine subject areas are:
1. Nature of the law firm (or activity, e.g., practice area or department)
2. Environment in which firm operates
3. Opportunities/Capabilities (SWOT)
4. Assumptions about the future
5. Objectives–Mission/Strategic Thrust
6. Policies/Procedures (changes or new ones needed)
7. Strategies–How we are gong to achieve objectives
8. Priorities and schedules for programs, new resources required, measurements
9. Organization and delegation
For more step-by-step suggestions, reread the earlier post The Structure to Structured Planning. I also suggest a reread of Consensus Building for a discussion of the role of the structured planning process in building a consensus, i.e., preparing the mind to deal with an uncertain future in pursuit of a common vision.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: More Partner Income, 29 February 2008
From the site: “The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York issued an opinion that opened with these words: "With disturbing frequency, this Court encounters evidence of ineffective representation by attorneys retained by immigrants seeking legal status in this country." Law.com bloggers and co-hosts, J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi, discuss this hot-button issue as they turn to the experts: Attorney Lisa D. Ramirez, immigration lawyer from the Law Office of Lisa D. Ramirez, Attorney Nora Privitera, Special Projects Attorney for The Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Attorney Eleanor Newhoff, part time attorney for Greater Boston Legal Services. They will question the quality of legal representation of immigrants, why so many are receiving sub par legal assistance and what lawyers are doing to provide their clients with the best possible representation.
Right Click and Download Play Windows Media”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Talk Network, 28 February 2008
Posted by Tom Kane: “As a follow up to my last post “PowerPoint: The Good, The Bad and The Awful,” I wanted to report on feedback from Peter Darling. It’s obvious he knows a lot more about these presentations since he teaches workshops on the subject. Thus, I wanted to share his post “How to Create a Powerpoint Presentation That Absolutely Kicks Ass,” and specifically his 7 principles that will ensure that you do so:
1. The listeners will remember no more than six things, so think “very carefully about what those six things are going to be;”
2. Your time is limited before your audience “mentally check(s) out.” According to Peter, you have “twenty minutes of free attention,” and you ‘d better capture them or you'll lose them for good;
3. Interact with your audience by getting them involved;
4. Remember Murphy’s Law, especially when it comes to PowerPoint presentations. Make sure you know how to get in touch with the IT guy, who can bail you out when something goes wrong, because it will at some point. (Also, get there at least an hour early to check out the audio/visual equipment, room setup, etc.);
5. Overcome stage fright by realizing that you know a lot more than your audience, or why else would they be there;
6. Make sure your listeners know how your talk will fit together. Peter’s reminds us of the adage I heard many years ago when it comes to public speaking: “tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you’ve told them;” and
7. What you have to say is why the audience is there, not to view your slides. They are merely “an accent, a decoration.” So, put the focus on your talk, not the PowerPoint slides.
Excellent food for thought in making your next presentation as memorable as a kick in the….”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Legal Marketing Blog.com, 28 February 2008
This post was written by Sudeep D’Souza: “I have been blogging for close to 3 years just for the fun of it without realizing the amount of money you can make. One day while browsing the internet, I stumbled upon problogger.net and suddenly realized the opportunity out there. So I started to blog a bit more seriously and here are 9 tips that I should have implemented to have a successful blog.
1. Have a Consistent URL…
2. Choice of subject to blog about…
3. High Quality Content can get hard to produce consistently…
4. Marketing your blog is hard work…
5. Technical know how is required…
6. Research, Read, Reflect…
7. Expect to ride an emotional roller coaster…
8. Be prepared to sacrifice something in life…
9. Writing a good post takes time and patience…
Sudeep D’Souza in his blog sudeepdsouza.blogspot.com narrates his experiences in the software world and everyday life in Hyderabad, India.”
Full text is available at the source site listed below.
Source: ProBlogger, 28 February 2008
From the e-newsletter: “(FindLaw for the Public) FindLaw for the Public's Tax Center has been completely updated to provide you with information and resources for filing your 2008 (tax year 2007) income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and with your state tax agency.”
Read more...
Related Resources
• New Federal Income Tax Laws and Tips for 2008
Source: FindLaw’s Public Advisor. 28 February 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
In the news: “Videos became central to litigants' trial presentations on whether defendant protesters conspired to inflict emotional distress and intrude on the privacy of a parent attending the funeral of his soldier-son. In the end, the videos made the jury a witness to what took place.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 28 February 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici: “United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Good Practices for the Protection of Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings Involving Organized Crime, January 2008.
• "The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols call upon State Parties to introduce appropriate measures to prevent witness intimidation, coercion, corruption or bodily injury, and to strengthen international cooperation in this regard. Often though, even where such measures have been legislated, implementation remains less than satisfactory and further progress is needed particularly with regard to cross-border cooperation especially regarding the change of identity and relocation of at-risk witnesses. Experience has shown that in witness protection there are no easy solutions. However this publication, developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime following a series of regional meetings with expert representatives from law enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial authorities, has been designed to assist and support Member States in the establishment and operation of effective witness protection programs. It provides a useful account of available measures and offers practical options suitable for adaptation and incorporation in the legal system, operational procedures and particular social, political and economic circumstances of Member States."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 28 February 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: “Ohio has a new “shaken baby syndrome” law that becomes effective Friday, February 29th --- the first in the country that will attempt to notate and track deaths and injuries associated with that behavior. (Article)
“Shaken baby syndrome” is a concept that evolved out of the work & observations of Drs. John Caffey and Norman Guthkelch in the early 1970s which described death or injury incurred by young children from being violently shook. A number of states have passed legislation viewing “shaken baby syndrome” as a form of child abuse, including Indiana, which passed its statutes in 1998. The majority center around educational programs
Ohio’s initial attempt at “shaken baby syndrome” legislation was back in 2003 with a bill that died in the Senate in May of that year. There were major changes in Ohio child care, welfare and adoption laws in 2006, notably the establishment of a “uniform statewide automated child welfare information system as a collection point of information regarding investigations of known, threatened, or suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.” The bill here concerned was introduced in April and passed by November 2007. Its perhaps most notable section is that calling for public children services agencies making a report of investigations in the automated child welfare information system to add notations “in each case of child abuse that indicates whether the abuse arose from an act that caused the child to suffer from, or resulted in the child suffering from, shaken baby syndrome,” and an annual report compiled thereafter.
There is some dispute over the legal implications of “shaken baby” characteristics which has resulted in not all of the states taking as proactive an approach as others. Kentucky is a good example of this other position. In April 2006 there was a “Daubert hearing” in Greenup County Circuit Court to determine the admissibility of proposed medical and scientific evidence, with the Commonwealth’s case based upon the testimony of shaken baby syndrome experts. The testimony was barred, with that court concluding that “SBS has not gained wide or general acceptance in the scientific community for the purposes of allowing an expert to testify that a baby has been subjected to abuse …the medical signs & symptoms, clinical medical and scientific research communities are in disagreement… Therefore the Court finds that because the Daubert test has not been met, neither party can call a witness to give an expert opinion….” That decision is currently being appealed but has progressed no further. ( Also See Here for more information)
Similar legislation to that on the state level was introduced in the House of Representatives in 2006 and again in April of last year.
Analysis of Ohio Bill
Ohio Revised Code”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 27 February 2008
Brian Posts: “I was recently reading an article in the January/February 2008 ABA GP Solo Magazine (Volume 25, Number 1) by Timothy J. Gephart entitled “Malpractice: What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate.” The article does a great job of outlining the fact that an ever-increasing number of claims against attorneys are based off of violations of ABA Model Rule 1.4, or the communication rule. Simply put, the rule requires that a lawyer keep the client informed, consult with the client about ways to accomplish the goals, keep the client reasonable informed about status, reply to requests for information, and consult with the client regarding ethical limitations of the attorney. It sounds simple. However, more than ever, clients are grieving and/or suing their attorneys for violating this particular rule. The fact of the matter is that there is an easy and readily available solution to avoid this type of problem.
An extranet can help you satisfy all of the rule requirements. It allows you to keep a running track record of all communications with the client. It tracks deliverables, encourages collaboration and discussion of issues important in the case as well as limitations for the lawyer, and is the means through which status updates and actual documents can be provided. Should the attorney-client relationship ever break down, what better way to show that the lawyer met all of his ethical obligations then by referring to the extranet where the client and lawyer actively engaged in dialog, discussed the points of attack, outlined risks and rewards, and ultimately decided upon a course of action. If the extranet can serve as a built-in protection against even one malpractice claim, it is worth its weight in gold. Lawyers who fear having an extranet and an open relationship with their clients will lead to malpractice claims rather than prevent them could not be more wrong. Moreover, would you want a lawyer with such a concern representing you?”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Greatest American Lawyer, 12 Febryary 2008
Posted by Sabrina I. Pacifici:
• “Eight Legal Technology Trends for 2008 – Good Times, Bad Times or Hard Times in Legal Tech? by Dennis Kennedy
• E-Discovery Update: Resolving Client-Vendor Disputes, by
Conrad Jacoby
• Happ-eee with my Eee PC, by Bette Dengel
• Knowledge Discovery Resources 2008, by Marcus P. Zillman
• The Government Domain: What's New in DotGov and Beyond, by
Peggy Garvin
• FOIA Facts: The Congressional Role in FOIA Operations, by
Scott A. Hodes
• Mexico and its Legal System, by Prof. Jorge A. Vargas
• CongressLine: The Budget, by Paul Jenks
• The Caribbean Court of Justice: A Research Guide, by Yasmin Morais
• Burney's Legal Tech Reviews, by Brett Burney
• More Recommendations from MacWorld 2008, by Nicholas Moline
• Commentary: The Theory of the Unitary Executive and the FY2009 Budget, by Beth Wellington
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news by Sabrina I. Pacifici. 28 February 2008. Copyright ©2002-2007 BeSpacific LLC. All Rights Reserved. Subscribe <http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html>.
Posted by Michelle golden: “David Meerman Scott has again produced excellent and timely material on marketing in the digital age.
Again, he offers a free e-book. This one is The New Rules of Viral Marketing: How word-of-mouse spreads your ideas for free. His first was on New Rules of Marketing and PR.
Both are excellent. And his subequent 'real' book on the New Rules of Marketing and PR is THE absolute must-read book on e-marketing.
He only distributed his latest e-book via his blog and three weeks later, he writes:
It's been twenty days since I released my new ebook The New Rules of Viral Marketing: How word-of-mouse spreads your ideas for free.
I'm amazed at the stats. In just 20 days:
• 42,810 downloads (based on my Web analytics)
• Close to 100 blog posts about the ebook (depends on which blog search engine is used)
• Well over 1,000 hits on the exact phrase "new rules of viral marketing" (on the day I put out the ebook there were zero hits on the phrase.)
How did I achieve these results?
I didn't do a thing. I didn't beg the media to write about it. I didn't pay for expensive advertising to promote it. I didn't interrupt people by sending it out via email.
All I did was post it on my blog. That's it. You did the rest. Thank you for downloading the ebook and for talking about it.
(Well, I guess I can safely say that my viral marketing ebook has gone viral.)”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Golden Practices, 11 February 2008
Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: “Information overload is crushing white-collar professionals of all ilks, but hitting lawyers particularly hard, according to a LexisNexis survey of workplace productivity published yesterday. Among professionals generally, seven in 10 feel inundated with information and two in five believe they are headed for an information "breaking point," the survey says. But among lawyers, 80 percent report being overloaded with information and 70 percent say they spend too much time sifting through irrelevant information. Common symptoms of information overload for lawyers include spending too much time conducting research, having trouble recreating research time for billing purposes, and wasting time searching for old e-mails and documents.
But while information overload is crushing us, nearly 70 percent of lawyers say that finding specific pieces of legal research or information is easier today than just two years ago, with 20 percent saying it is much easier today. Virtually all agree that having leading-edge legal technology is crucial to cutting through the clutter. For the lawyers surveyed, the most important technology tools are those that return comprehensive results, focus on the lawyer's practice area, provide analysis and expertise in addition to data, and are regularly updated. Less than half thought it was important to have a tool that offers access to online communities where they can discuss issues of law with their peers.
So where do blogs fit into this problem of information overload? For fanatics such as myself, they clearly exacerbate it. I regularly track hundreds of blogs and spend way too much time sifting for gold among the grit. But if, as the survey says, lawyers want technology tools that are focused, timely and both factual and analytical, then blogs clearly fit the bill, at least those that are devoted to specific practice areas. Yes, blogs can add to information overload, but they can also alleviate it by helping lawyers monitor and sift what is important in their fields. Like technology of all sorts, blogs can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you use them.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 27 February 2008
Before You Enter a Check Cashing Store
From the e-newsletter: “Brief advice suggesting that consumers not "rely on check cashing stores to cash their payroll, government, or personal checks. These corner stores charge customers very high fees." Instead, consumers "can avoid paying high fees by opening or using a basic checking or savings account at a bank, savings and loan, or credit union." Also provides tips on what to ask about fees and obtaining a receipt when using a check cashing store. From AARP.
URL: http://www.aarp.org/money/credit_debt/a2002-10-04-CreditDebtFringeBank...
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25549”
Community Financial Services Association (CFSA)
This mission of this industry association of payday lenders is "to promote legislation and regulation that provides payday advance customers with substantive consumer protections while preserving their access to short-term credit options." Its website provides background about how payday loans work, advice about when payday advances are not appropriate, and a map showing allowed maximum fees for payday loans in the U.S. Also includes material for consumers, media, and policymakers.
URL: http://www.cfsa.net/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25548
Source: LII Librarians' Index to the Internet. NEW THIS WEEK for 28 February 2008. Copyright 2006 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, LII. Subscribe <http://lii.org/search/file/mailinglist>.
Posted by John Jantsch: “I am attending the Marketing Sherpa Email Summit in Miami today and will be making frequent mobile posts from the sessions.
Stephan Tornquist from Marketing Sherpa opened the conference with some research findings.
1. Email marketing’s picture in general is fading because getting through to swamped email boxes has gotten much harder, open rates at 25%
2. Users of full service email marketing services are generally more successful - list segmentation is the key
3. Shorten subject lines - 2 and 3 words increase open rates - see Seth Godin’s blog post titles
4. Vary your templates - move ads and content blocks around to help with ad fatigue.
5. You can double your media buy or start testing - effective landing pages are the key to driving conversion. Conversion rate is the key metric
6. Content is more important than frequency
Any open rate tips you’ve found that are working for you right now?”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Duct Tape Marketing, 25 February 2008
Posted by Brian J. Ritchey: “Last week I wrote a post on planning for business continuity during unexpected interruptions in operations. Ari Kaplan of Ari Kaplin Advisors wrote an article on Law.com that also addresses disaster recovery. He tells of a miserable experience trying to recover data from a cracked hard drive when his child pulled his laptop to the ground when tugging on the power cord (an experience I have narrowly escaped many times with my children).
He shares some tips he received from Jeffrey Brandt on protecting yourself from what he terms "data armageddon":
Centralize Contacts - Keep all critical contacts on your person (ie, on a mobile device).
Remote Data Housing - Host your data remotely. “I personally don't think this is required so long as you have good, reliable backups that are kept offsite. However, for business continuity, having your data accessible from anywhere has its merits.”
Duplicate Or Near Duplicate Systems - create redundancy in your servers. Replicate them so that if one goes down, another comes online.
Secure Your Backups - keep backups offsite at a secure location. Preferably in a fire-proof vault.
Map and identify your information - this is good advice to corporate clients as well - "in every subsequent litigation [it will have to explain] what happened and why it could not produce data for that specific date range".
Test Regularly - this is one that will bite if not followed. Test your backups regularly to make sure your backup software is working properly.
There are several technologies that take advantage of "universal access" capabilities. For example, LexisNexis has a product called NetDocuments® that hosts and manages email and documents offsite that allows access even from a mobile device.
Kaplan has an answer to those who balk at spending such time and money to protect their data: "Although planning and preparing is not cheap, contact someone who has lived through disaster recovery and he or she will convince you that it is priceless."
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: More Partner Income, 27 February 2008
Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: “Amendments to Rules 19 and 19.1 of the Ohio Rules of Superintendence become effective this Saturday, March 1st.
Rule 19 now requires that “magistrates be engaged in the practice of law and in good standing with the Supreme Court for at least four years at the time of their appointment. Rule 19.1 makes it mandatory for all municipal court having more than two judges “to appoint one or more magistrates to hear specific proceedings.”
Press Release
Rule Amendments”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 26 February 2008
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “A posting by Mark Shaver at Depth Reporting alerted us to a questionable source for criminal records. The site serves to illustrate the importance of reading FAQs and other documentation about sources, scope of coverage and other quality issues before you use the resources available.
Note the language in the FAQ. Not only does the site make the dubious claim that it obtains information from credit reporting agencies, it advises visitors: "Don't ask how we get most of our information, but we do it, and we get our top shelf info from sources who wish to remain anonymous, and we pay a lot of money to insure that we keep getting it." Serious researchers beware.
SOURCE: FelonSpy.com: "You need to know who your neighbors are."
Depth Reporting, 20 February 2008”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 25 February 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=feb08/25feb08.xml
Posted by Tom Kane: “Last fall I made a presentation on lawyer marketing at a plaintiff’s bar association conference. I worked very hard at minimizing the number of PowerPoint slides I used and the number of words on each slide, because I really do believe that less is more. I shouldn’t have bothered, since my audience was obviously use to slides ad nauseam which contained WHOLE sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. Hopefully, my presentation offered some relief at least.
Being a big fan of Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog, it was good to see his post “Power Point Tips and Resources.”
I particularly liked the link to the YouTube video by comedian Don McMillan on “Life After Death by PowerPoint” which brought back memories of last fall, and really lightened up my day. It runs just under four minutes, and definitely worth viewing. It’s a hoot – and educational at the same time.
Jim’s post contains links to some of the gurus when it comes to PowerPoint presentations. Check them out the next time you are putting a presentation together.
• Dave Swanner’s free CD ROM of 100 PowerPoint Presentations for Plaintiff Attorneys;
• Meryl’s Notes Blog's “70+ PowerPoint and Presentation Resources and Great Examples;”
• Garr Reynold’s Presentation Zen blog and specifically this post; and
• Cliff Atkinson’s books Beyond Bullet Points books and Beyond Bullets blog (which is transitioning to a subscription based blog at BBP Online).
I’ll be checking out these tools for my next presentation. Thanks Jim, as always.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Marketing Blog.com, 26 February 2008
From the blog:
“The decision to blog collaboratively can have significant legal consequences for the co-bloggers. In part 1 of a two-part series, Eric Goldman examines how current legal doctrines relevant to co-blogging can lead to unexpected (and possibly unwanted) results.
Bloggers often work collaboratively with other bloggers, a phenomenon I call “co-blogging.” The decision to co-blog may seem casual, but it can have significant and unexpected legal consequences for the co-bloggers. This series looks at some of these consequences under partnership law, employment law, and copyright law, explaining how each of these legal doctrines can lead to counterintuitive results. Part 2 of this series discusses some recommendations to mitigate the harshness of these results.
[Their] Source: InformIT”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: ResourceShelf, 27 February 2008
In the news: “Parties to litigation must prepare to discuss electronically stored information at the Federal Rule 26(f) "meet and greet" conference by understanding clients' computer systems, says Weil Gotshal partner David Lender. Having met that challenge, he explains, parties can limit breadth and associated costs of e-discovery.”
Read full text
Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 27 February 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Tom Mighell: “I'm on a roll this week discussing Google Docs and some of the tools that make using it easier than ever. Today, let's talk about the gDocs Bar, a Firefox extension that adds an easy-to-use sidebar displaying all of your Google Docs. Once it's installed, you can view your documents in several different ways -- by document type, according to which folder they are in, or you can search for a document using keywords. If you spend a lot of time using Google Docs, this can be a really useful tool.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 27 February 2008
Posted by Dennis Kennedy: “Judith Lamont's KM World article "KM for Legal Apps: Time is Money" gives a good picture of some of the practical uses law firms are making with knowledge management applications. Conflict-checking, integrating paper and electronic document management and enhanced full-text search are some of the uses highlighted in the article.
The article also highlights a number of KM and other tech tools being used, including Microsoft SharePoint, something on which I'm quoted in the article. As Judith points out, "Kennedy also expects the various products used in law firms to work better together, more as an integrated whole than a series of functionally unrelated products."
An interesting theme that the article covers is the move by law firms to find integrated search tools inside the firm and how KM products (sometimes already owned by firms) offers the potential to fill that need.
The money quote:
It’s one thing to fail to locate a document on the Internet using Google, but when in-house resources cannot be accessed effectively, time is wasted and complaints are loud.
There are some very good ideas in this article. Highly recommended.”
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: DennisKennedy.com, 25 February 2008
Posted by Allison Shields: “My previous post on the issue of timesheets (Do You Need Timesheest to Determine Profitability?) talked about whether timesheets are truly needed to determine whether your practice is profitable. Last week I also posted once again on value pricing issues in The Debate Over Value Pricing Rages On, That post concerned one objection to value pricing. Another objection, raised in an article on value pricing from the UK site, AccountingWeb, entitled, Value pricing: a debate without end, involves timesheets again.
Timesheets - or lack of them - is one of the most controversial aspects of value pricing. There are two reasons that most professionals currently keep timesheets: pricing and management. This post will specifically address the claim that timesheets are an effective and useful management tool, and that therefore they should be kept even if they're not being used as the basis for the lawyer's fees.
The AccountingWeb article asserts, "timesheets are a useful management tool, and on occasion they collate handy information to present to the client too." Timesheets are time consuming. If you're looking for a way to collate information to present to the client, there are other, more efficient and effective ways to collate information for a client than writing down everything you do in 10th of an hour increments.
But what about using timesheets to manage employees? How can law firms compensate associates without timesheets? How will they know if the associate is productive? How will they know if a particular associate is valuable to the firm?
Having been a partner on a management team at a law firm, I can tell you that timesheets and 'billable hours' are a poor way to determine whether a particular employee is valuable to the firm - or even to determine whether they're actually doing their work. First of all, employees create their own timesheets, so you're taking them on faith.
Second of all, if you've ever filled out a timesheet, you know that they're rarely a reflection of how hard you actually worked, of your productivity or of your effectiveness in solving the client's problems. How many times have you spent hours in the office and found only a measly few hours on your timesheet at the end of the day? Associates face the same issues.
Sometimes the timesheet isn't accurate because, in the heat of working with clients and doing the actual work you're getting paid for, you don't have time to stop and write down what you did. Those little missed .1s add up. And then you spend additional time agonizing over what you forgot to write down or where that time went. Who cares? If you're not billing your clients based on time spent, you don't have to waste time worrying about it.
One of the reasons to ditch hourly billing in the first place is that the amount of time you spend on a matter or on a particular task bears little to no relationship to the benefit your service provided to your client. All hours are not created equal.
There's a great comment left by Eric Fetterolf to the above AccountingWeb article. Fetterolf challenges the value of the timesheet as a management tool and asks these questions about timesheets:
• Does it tell you, for this custom project, that your charge spent too much or to little time?
• Does it tell you that the customer is satisfied, delighted, or horrified with the result?
• Does the time sheet alone tell you how to innovate the process, or even whether innovation occurred that could provide future profits to both your firm and your customer firm?
As you become more efficient, more proficient, and are able to use technology more to your advantage, the time it takes to complete discrete tasks will be reduced. That should allow for more time to innovate, to come up with new arguments or new solutions for clients. But how do you bill the time for 'thinking?'
As Fetterolf says:
Our minds do not switch off once we leave our desks.
I have come up with great solutions in the shower, at the dinner table, and all other sort of places far removed from the office. In truth, the 15 minutes of active, conscious thinking, say at the dinner table, was not the only time I spent on the problem. My mind, subconsciously, was churning on the issue the entire time. Can I bill for that time spent? Can I even articulate it to the customer without being thrown out?
If your associate comes up with a great solution to a client's problem at the dinner table and saves the account, or creates a loyal client for life as a result, do you really care what their timesheet says? Won't you be able to determine whether they're a valuable employee?
Managers that compensate or value employees strictly (or even largely) based on the hours that are written on a timesheet miss many of the most important ways of evaluating employees: their ability to work as a team, their ability to keep clients happy, their ability to bring in business, their ability to creatively solve a problem, or make a cogent and succinct argument, or write an intelligent analysis to the client, or take a good deposition, their leadership qualities, etc.
Management by timesheet just doesn't make sense when you're dealing with professional services, like lawyers.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 25 February 2008
Posted by Matt Steinke: “There have been number of new, free online legal databases that have come out recently. The CM Law Library blog has a good rundown of this recent information "explosion."
The active link is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Moritz Legal Information Blog, 25 February 2008
Posted by Tom Collins: “I’m in the process of preparing my handout materials for a presentation I will be making at the 2008 ALA Annual educational Conference in Seattle. The session title is The Business of Law—Best Financial Practices for Partners and is scheduled for Wednesday May 7 at 10:45 am. One of things I will leave with attendees is my recommended list of blogs for anyone involved in the management of a law firm. There are others in addition to those I have listed below, but the sites I have listed are those that I follow most closely. It is worth making a comment or two about a few of the blogs I have listed:
Adam Smith, Esq. stands apart from all the rest. It is unique in that it is written from the eye of an economist. It provides a more studied view of the business of law that contributes an otherwise missing sophistication in the teachings of firm leadership and management.
Cotterman on Compensation is unique in that it fights the ongoing battle to convince partners that “leaving money in the law firm” is essential to its good health and for the protection of the partner’s future income. He does so with the eye of an expert on the subject of law firm capital structures.
What can you say about Dennis Kennedy.blog other that it is a must read. Dennis is always on the cutting edge of law firm technology essential for the competent and competitive practice of law. Dennis is about the techno lawyer.
Larry Bodine's Law Marketing Blog is top on the list for a practical guide to marketing and business development in the law firm.
Rees Morrison's Law Department Management lets you listen and look over the shoulder of corporate clients as they contemplate and deal with the issue of reducing the size of your bill and the uncertainty of outside legal cost.
Passion, People and Principles is the site of the law firm management guru who gave us the Law Firm Business Model. David Maister's blog is a clear expression of his belief that the metrics, the numbers in that model, do not drive performance. It is the behavior of the people in the law firm that drive the numbers. The numbers only measure behavior. The best law firms have passionate people who believe in and practice sound principles.
The globetrotting host of the blog What About Clients? sets an uncompromising standard of excellence with an understanding that excellence can only be earned through the eyes of your clients. It’s not your standards that count; it is your client’s.
All of the other sites listed below have their own particular strengths that make them worthy of being on your regular read list. Those above are in a class all their own.
Adam Smith, Esq. http://www.bmacewen.com/blog
Adventure of Strategy http://www.robmillard.com/
Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices http://www.gerryriskin.com/
Creating Blue Oceans http://blueoceanstrategy.typepad.com/creatingblueoceans/
Cotterman on Compensation http://blog.altmanweil.com/
DennisKennedy.blog http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/
Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips Blog http://jimcalloway.typepad.com/lawpracticetips/
Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs
Law Department Management http://lawdepartmentmanagement.typepad.com/
Law Practice Management http://www.pa-lawpracticemanagement.com/
Legal Ease Blog http://legalease.blogs.com/
Legal Marketing Blog http://www.legalmarketingblog.com/
MorePartnerIncome http://www.morepartnerincome.net/
the legal thing… by Mike Dillon http://blogs.sun.com/dillon/
The Marcus Perspective http://themarcusperspective.typepad.com/
Thoughtful Legal Management http://www.thoughtfullaw.com/
Passion, People and Principles http://davidmaister.com/blog
Strategic Legal Technology http://www.prismlegal.com/wordpress/
Stark County Law Library Blog http://temp.starklawlibrary.org/blog/
What About Clients? http://www.whataboutclients.com/
Source: More Partner Income.com, 26 February 2008
Posted by Robert Ambrogi: “I first wrote in August about the planned launch of JD Supra and then told you in November that it had scheduled its launch for December. Now word comes from founder Aviva Cuyler that tomorrow, Feb. 26, will be the official launch, and this time it looks as if all systems are go.
In my November preview, I wrote:
"Based on the preview, the site is part legal networking, part lawyer directory, part document repository and part legal research service. The basic idea is that lawyers use the site as a place to post court filings, favorable decisions, jury verdicts and articles they have written. They can also set up free profiles of themselves and their firms. Their profiles will link to the documents they have contributed and their documents will link back to their profiles.
"The plan is that this database of contributions will become a resource for other lawyers, consumers and the news media. Lawyers will use it for research, consumers will use it to find lawyers who have worked on cases similar to theirs, and reporters will use it to get information about new court filings and opinions and to find sources. It will be free for lawyers to create listings and post documents. For a fee, lawyers will be able to 'enhance' their profiles with additional features, such as hyperlinks to blogs and Web sites."
Based on a quick look this evening, it looks as if that description still holds. Since I wrote it, the site has built out its collection of documents and its roster of contributors. The latter now includes the law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo; the Cato Institute; and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I will write more about the site when I have more time to dig in.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Robert Ambrogi’s Law Sites, 25 February 2008
Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi: “Can you name the country's 10 most influential paralegals? Which famous TV stars began their careers as paralegals? What offbeat tricks do paralegals use to accelerate their careers? The answers to all of these questions will be revealed in June, with the premiere of a magazine designed specifically for paralegals. Called Know, the magazine is the brainchild of Chere B. Estrin, author of the Law.com-affiliated blog The Estrin Report and CEO of Estrin LegalEd, and Jeannie Johnston, a paralegal and founder of ParalegalGateway.com. Estrin writes on her blog that the magazine will include feature stories such as those mentioned above, together with regular columns on technology, e-discovery, careers and more.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 25 February 2008
Posted by Daniel Scocco: “Can poor writing skills overshadow good content?
Considering that I am not a native English speaker, I wish that the answer to this question was “no.” Unfortunately the opposite seems to be true; poor writing skills do can affect your otherwise witty and useful content.
Grammatical mistakes, misspelled words, incorrect punctuation and poorly structured sentences can make your content confusing, if not utterly unreadable. If you then consider the fact that we have hundreds of blogs on every niche these days, you can see that the writing quality could be the difference between a loyal and a lost reader.
Now one could say: “well, but I know a blogger that has thousands of readers and makes thousands of dollars monthly, yet he does not have superb writing skills and his content is often crippled with grammatical mistakes.”
Similar cases do exist, but they are the exceptions that prove the rule. Additionally, if you pay attention to these bloggers, you will notice that their blogs do not represent their main business, and that they are seen as experts on their niches. The authority factor over-weights poor writing skills.
Suppose you have an online marketing guru that is able to generate thousands of dollars in revenues from his activities. People would be interested in his ideas and tips, regardless of how they are presented.
If you are a superstar on your niche, therefore, perhaps you could get away with frequent grammatical mistakes and poor writing skills (and even in that situation improving the writing quality would only benefit you). If you are in the middle of the pack like most of us, however, you probably should pay attention to your words and sentences more closely.
Don’t get me wrong here; I am not arguing that one should be able to write Shakespearean novels to be a successful blogger. But at the very minimum you want to respect the basic grammatical rules and avoid misspelled words.
How does one improve his writing skills, though? Below you will find 3 points that can help you with this task.
1. Avoid the common mistakes…
2. Proofread…
3. Expand your vocabulary and master the grammar basics…
Related links:
• Wordsmith: A word a day newsletter
• BBC Learning English
• English grammar
This post was written by Daniel Scocco from the wonderful Daily Blog Tips (a blog on my daily read list that should be on yours too).”
The full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: ProBlogger, 26 February 2008
Posted by Genie Tyburski: “A New York Times blogger opines "about whether Google's records of the Internet Protocol address should be considered personal information under privacy law." Comments from Google engineer, Matt Cutts, and its privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, are linked.
As many litigators probably already understand: "'In order for someone to tie the IP [address] to an account holder, there have to be at least two subpoenas issued: one to Google and a separate one to the ISP.'"
RELATED: Google Says I.P. Addresses Aren't Personal
New York Times Blog, 22 February 2008
("Google has responded to European regulators who have suggested that Internet Protocol addresses of users be considered personally identifiable information.")
RELATED: EU Regulator Calls IP Address "Personal"
TVC Alert Research News, 25 January 2008”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: TVC Alert Research News, 25 February 2008, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, http://www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/transfer.asp?xmlFile=feb08/25feb08.xml
Posted by Allison Shields: “Even if you don't have a professional brochure or if you don't have control of most of your firm's marketing materials, you do have some control over your biography. Your bio can be used on a website, a blog, profiles on social networking sites, in seminar or presentation materials, etc., etc. You want your bio to be a tool that will help you connect with clients, potential clients, strategic alliances and referral sources.
Here are five ways to improve your biography:
1. Make sure it's updated. When is the last time you reviewed your bio? Does it include your most recent accomplishments? Does it reflect your most recent experience?...
2. Include a photograph. It doesn't matter what you look like. But a photograph will help others to feel as if they 'know' you…
3. Make it personal. Put something of yourself into your bio. Ditch the old 'resume format' for your biography. It's dry and boring and makes clients' eyes glaze over…
4. Consider your clients. Although your bio is about you, it has to be about your clients as well. Your education and work history may be important, but with few exceptions, clients don't care how many bar associations you belong to, where you went to school or where you worked…
5. Speak your clients' language. This is a corollary to #4. Your bio, like any other marketing materials, should be written in language your clients understand…”
The full text of this important post is available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Ease Blog, 22 February 2008
Posted by Carolyn Elefant: “Can a woman attorney successfully litigate and raise a family? That's the question veteran law blogger Nicole Black tackles in her month-old blog, Women Lawyers -- Back on Track.
Black discusses an American Lawyer article discussing many of the challenges that litigation poses for women: clients with 24/7 demands, regular travel and unpredictable work schedules, to name just a few. And while the life of a litigator presents problems for fathers struggling with balance, women are still disproportionately impacted because they frequently bear the burden of family responsibility.
The article implicitly raises the question of whether work-life balance solutions are feasible when the nature of litigation is so incompatible with raising a family. Dan Hull of What About Clients says no. For Hull, you either "serve clients with passion and energy...or get out of the game." Yet, if that's the case, what does that mean for women litigators who love the courtroom and their families? Here's what Black says in her post:
I love trying cases--always have, always will. And yet. And yet. I have a family--a husband and young children whom I actually enjoy spending time with on a daily basis. Little children who are growing up so fast--so quickly. And, I love watching them grow. I love watching their minds develop--their little personalities emerge. I love them more than life itself, and unfortunately, I can't say the same about litigation. I enjoy it and it's in my blood, but I can live without it--for now. So, research and writing it is (edited to add that my practice has now expanded). And, it's [a] good thing. I've always enjoyed and excelled at that aspect of practice--almost as much as I enjoy litigating. But, the call of the courtroom is ever present. I'll hold it at bay for now. But, in the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger: I'll be back.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Legal Blog Watch, 22 February 2008
Posted by Chuck Kallendorf: “The Ohio Supreme Court also held Wednesday that “the plain language of Criminal Rule 57(B) states that a trial judge may look to the state’s Rules of Civil Procedure for guidance when no rule of criminal procedure is applicable to a motion made by a party in a criminal case.” ( Decision)( Court’s summary)
The case centers around a conviction of aggravated murder in 1993, and sentenced of life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years. The conviction was affirmed that next year, with the Supreme Court denying it.
Two post-conviction petitions were then filed, but denied by the trial court, and, eventually, by the appeals court. The Supreme Court also refused to hear these.
The defendant then filed a motion for a new trial in 2002, which was granted but resulted in his again being found guilty of aggravated murder, and sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility in 15 years. The 11th. District Court of Appeals upheld this conviction. as well ( See here)
Then, on March 16, 2005, a motion for relief from judgment under Civil Rule 60(B), was filed pro se, alleging prosecutorial misconduct in both of his trials and his having been subjected to double jeopardy; requesting a reversal of conviction and dismissal of the indictment with prejudice
The trial court there interpreted the motion as a petition for post-conviction relief and dismissed it as not having been filed in a timing manner. Now on appeal, the 11th. District affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the motion, but certified the case to the Supreme Court as being in conflict with a 2004 ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeals here in Hamilton County which had held that a criminal defendant was eligible to seek relief from a trial court judgment under Civ.R. 60(B) and that the trial court had, in fact, exceeded its authority by re-casting and dealing with the motion as a petition for post-conviction relief. This was the Court’s resolution of that conflict.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Cincinnati Law Library Blog, 22 February 2008
Posted by Evan Schaeffer: “In her new book, Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be, Carolyn Elefant of the MyShingle weblog writes that technological advances have made it easier and cheaper to open a law office than ever before. At the same time, the old biases against solos are falling away. Says Elefant, "In an entrepreneurial age, starting your own law firm is now appreciated for what it is--an act of entrepreneurialism with an enormous potential for success."
How does one go from law school or a big-firm job to a career as a solo? Elefant's book provides a blueprint. You'll find out how to reach a decision about whether a solo career is right for you, how to plan for the change, and how to grow and market your new practice. One of the book's principle strengths is that it draws on personal anecdotes and insights from scores of real-life solos. There are checklists throughout the book and a number of helpful appendixes with tips for buying equipment, setting up a "paperless office," performing on-line research inexpensively, and creating a sample forms library.
Elefant's book is recommended not only for lawyers thinking about a solo career, but also for those who've already taken the leap, who can read it both for inspiration and new ideas. For other thoughts about the book, see the weblog posts at The Inspired Solo, Build a Solo Practice, LLC, and Simple Justice.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog, 22 February 2008
In the news: “Starting next fall, law students will need to think fast when choosing which offer to accept for a summer associate job, due to a change in timing guidelines established by NALP that require second-year law students to accept a firm's offer of summer employment within 45 days. If students do not respond, the offer lapses. "We heard that firms with smaller associate programs were having a particularly difficult time predicting their yield on offers to law students," says Gihan Fernando, president of NALP.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 February 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Transforming Legal Discovery: Next-Generation Technologies for Streamlining EDD & Review
From the e-newsletter: “February 26, 2008 / Webinar. As litigation datasets continue to expand and courts demand faster response, attorneys and corporations need to apply new tools to streamline and manage the e-discovery process. New technologies for collection and searching have emerged to consolidate separate EDD processes and streamline time-intensive and costly review.”
Read more...
Electronically Stored Information Risk Management Webinar: Part II – Tools for Legal Counsel
Also from the e-newsletter: “March 12, 2008 / Webinar. This second installment will take a closer look at the implications of the FRCP amendments from a litigator's viewpoint. The expert panel will discuss how the revised Rules have affected the strategies of outside counsel when responding to e-discovery requests and address ways in which these challenges can be mitigated before litigation begins.”
Read more... Same page
Source: FindLaw’s Modern Practice. 22 February 2008. Copyright © 2008 FindLaw, a Thomson Business. Subscribe <http://newsletters.findlaw.com/>.
In the news: “One method of electronic document redaction is so clumsy, it's alarming that anyone uses it, says computer forensics expert Craig Ball: Converting documents to TIFF images, blacking out content, then attempting to recreate searchability by optical character recognition. It simply doesn't work.”
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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 25 February 2008. Copyright 2008. ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.
Posted by Tom Mighell: “For you Power Google Docs users out there, here's a nifty tool: the Documents List Uploader is a utility that lets you upload multiple documents from your computer up to Google Docs. If you want to go straight to the download, click here. Once you've installed it, all you have to do is drag and drop Word, Excel, or Powerpoint documents to the Uploader, and they'll automatically be added to your Google Docs account.”
The active links are available at the source site listed below.
Source: Inter Alia, 25 February 2008
Posted by Dennis Kennedy: “With the economy looking a little shaky (or more than a little shaky) and some rumblings already about law firms considering laying off lawyers, the solo option will become a consideration for many lawyers in 2008.
The short answer to your question is to find a great mentor. However, that's really the answer to any question about the practice of law and it's easier said than done.
In my own case, the advice I got that really stuck with me was to be sure to be able to identify exactly where your first client from a client would come from. That simple exercise helps you move from fantasy to reality.
In my recent Blawggie awards, I singled out the solo practice blogs as being a great resource for solos and aspiring solos. You'll want to do some reading there.
This question also gives me the chance to single out and praise Carolyn Elefant's new book, Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be. I had the privilege of reading a pre-publication version of the book and wrote the following short blurb about it:
Carolyn Elefant's new book continues the tradition of her MyShingle.com website, which I once called "the perfect example of a great web resource." It's chock-full of exactly the practical advice I was looking for when I left a big firm to go solo. Highly recommended.
It's the most current of the books about solo practice. It's also worth tracking down a copy of the latest edition of Flying Solo (you'll find a few chapters in there that I wrote) and, of course, Jay Foonberg's classic, How to Start and Build a Law Firm.
However, after having left a large firm to go out on my own almost five years ago and spent a good deal of time thinking about the solo practice and how best to prepare for it and improve how you do it, I've recently found a resource that I plan to recommend so much that people will get tired of hearing it from me.
The best advice I can give right now is to watch regularly and study BBC's Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.
My cable company shows it on Thursday nights on BBC America, but you can also buy a DVD. I've recently started watching it and it's a revelation to me. There's so much that I can see in the show that I wish I would have known earlier.
In the show, restaurateur, chef and absolute master of dropping the F-bomb, Gordon Ramsay, visits and tries to turn around a struggling restaurant and its struggling chef and owner. What is key for a solo practice is how he helps you walk the line between business and profession, accounting and art.
If I were thinking of starting a solo practice now, I'd watch episode after episode of this until I started to see the repeating patterns, the common issues and the common solutions. It really does start to become clear what will work and what won't (at least in concept - implementation and execution are vital factors as well). It strikes me that in the successful situations there is a fascinating balance between being