New to Lawyerist? Start here for our best law practice advice!

On Lawyerist and its companion forum, the Lawyerist LAB, you will find information and advice for innovative lawyers who are starting or building a law practice. We experiment with technology, billing, marketing, practice models, and more—so you don’t have to.

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Legal Technology

Luddites are a losing proposition for firms and clients. If you want to know about the cutting edge—or keep company with lawyers who are on it—we’ve got posts for you.

• Compare the popular NeatDesk and ScanSnap document scanners
• Remove meta data from your documents
• Use free, open source software for your law firm

Practice Management

Lawyerist takes an expansive view of practice management, which means our posts are useful for all lawyers, whether SmallLaw, BigLaw, PublicLaw, or OtherLaw. Check out these posts for information on being productive, client service, using forms effectively, and much more.

• Stay productive with a work planning template
• Use alternative fees to increase profits and client satisfaction
• Create a paperless law office and organize your paperless client files

Starting a Law Firm

Most lawyers have their own firms, and the number of lawyers with solo practices or small firms is growing. We’ll talk you through starting a firm, from your starting budget to operations manuals to office space. Even if you aren’t going out on your own, though, you will do better if you act like you are, so read on!

• Solo Practice Finances: A User Manual
• Learn how much it costs to start a law firm
• What it takes to succeed at starting a law practice
• Buying a law practice is an option, too, with its own risks and benefits

Law School

Look to either side. One of you won’t be here, come graduation. Another one won’t get a job. Success in law school matters more than ever before, but don’t panic. We’ve got posts about law school success, exams, job searching, and more. We’ll even help you get ready to start your own law firm.

• Achieve law school success
• How to pass the bar exam
• On the other hand, maybe you just shouldn’t go to law school

Lawyering Skills

From litigation tactics to contract drafting to avoiding screwups (or dealing with them)—and beyond!—we have oodles of information on lawyering.

• Learn more about objecting during a deposition
• Emphasize the details when it comes to legal work
• Hone your negotiation skills by having a little empathy for the other side

Legal Careers

Getting a job ain’t easy these days. Our posts can help you think about your career path, find jobs, apply for jobs, and get jobs. See also starting a law firm, below.

• Work your network of friends to find a job
• Follow up after an interview—effectively—to give yourself a better chance of landing a job
• Use friends to open doors to the job you want

Legal Ethics

Toeing the line isn’t easy when the line isn’t always clear. Our ethics contributors have covered everything from texting clients to cloud computing, and pretty much everything in between.

• Learn the rules and protect confidential client information
• Should you really be texting clients?
• Cloud computing: not really an ethics issue

Legal Marketing

For most modern lawyers, marketing is no longer optional. Learn to get the most out of your marketing time and money—online and offline—from practicing lawyers as well as expert consultants.

• Check out some of the best law firm websites—and more great law firm websites
• Improve your elevator speech
• Building an action-oriented website is the key to converting potential clients

(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38565413@N03/5086611825/)