Normally this column is about starting a law practice and what my partner and I have been doing to get ours off the ground. I rarely write about the actual practice of law. But in the course of getting advice on starting a firm, I’ve spoken to attorneys whose advice focused more on the practice of law than the business of law firms.
Scott Greenfield, an avvid Lawyerist commenter and criminal defense attorney, has had a lot to say about my column. Although often critical, his comments are intended as constructive criticism, which I welcome. So I contacted Scott and we had a nice phone conversation about practicing law.
Similarly, Noah Geary is an attorney I have worked with as a law clerk. He is another younger attorney. He has his own firm and a good reputation in the legal community. When I told him about the new firm, Noah insisted on taking my partner and I to lunch, where we listened for ninety minutes while he told us about his journey so far and his views on legal practice.
Although the two come from different backgrounds and practice in different states, much of the advice was the same. Some of the advice I appreciated instantly, although I’m sure some of what they said will not become obvious for many years.
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Guest post by Bryan Lober.
Investing in practice management software is an investment in the future of your firm. While it is true that a certain percentage of startup firms will fail, you must plan on being at least reasonably successful lest you create a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.
As has been mentioned in countless ‘how to start’ books, you should, ideally, have a good amount of money saved up and set aside in order to allow for your new firm to go from initially being a cost burden to becoming profitable. In the current climate, this may realistically take no less than several months to occur. If you’ve saved up enough money to hunker down and get by, you may wish to consider purchasing practice management software outright instead of paying monthly for a program you will continue to use for years to come.
I have been told time and time again, by successful attorneys, that the easiest way to better ensure profitability is to reduce your expenses.
While MyCase, Rocket Matter, and Clio all offer enticing features, they share an additional common feature: monthly fees. Abacus sells AbacusLaw on a 36 month installment plan and outright.
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According to the ABA’s law school placement survey, “Nearly two-thirds of new grads who go into the private sector are going to small law firms rather than BigLaw, an analysis of ABA data shows.”
I’m not surprised, really. Big firms aren’t hiring, so new lawyers are left with few options. Not that going solo out of desperation is a particularly good idea. (Via Greedy Associates)
After doing an introductory post on Clio, RocketMatter, and MyCase as practice management software, I changed my mind and decided to review the Total Attorneys software as well. Originally I hadn’t intended to review Total Attorneys. In my last post, I explained “Honestly the dollar price point is what turned me off. It seems gimmicky to me.” But out of an abundance of caution to make sure we were making the most informed decision for the firm, I decided to try it out and see if it could compete with Clio, Rocket Matter, and MyCase.
You can discuss The Shingle Life in the comments, in the LAB, or on Twitter using the hashtag #shinglelife.
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Almost a dozen attorneys have been willing to talk with me and my partner about our law firm so far. Some attorneys have offered better advice than others, but it has all been valuable in some way. These are the three things that we have heard repeatedly from attorneys. But constant advice doesn’t mean good advice.
You can discuss The Shingle Life in the comments, in the LAB, or on Twitter using the hashtag #shinglelife.
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My partner and I knew from the beginning that we wanted the firm to have an identity. We didn’t want to use a gavel or something equally cliche to represent ourselves. But we also didn’t want to spend a lot of money paying a designer. Bartering for our logo made perfect sense. A newly full time freelance designer needed some legal work done, we needed a logo created, and neither of us had a ton of money to spend. The questions she asked me to get a “feel” for the firm were pretty painless. But how did it turn out?
You can discuss The Shingle Life in the comments, in the LAB, or on Twitter using the hashtag #shinglelife.
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