Is the Grass Really Greener at Another Law Firm?
According to Linda Katz, a legal recruiter with Pye Legal Group in Houston, law firms have resumed associate lateral hiring following the recession drought. “Lawyers with three to five years of experience are in the greatest demand, although not all practice areas have bounced back yet,” says Katz.
If you are dissatisfied with your current law firm, what kind of information should you gather about a prospective new employer besides the obvious issues of compensation and billable hour requirements? After brainstorming with Katz, I compiled some suggestions. […]
Think You’re Underpaid? Get Real Before You Leap
An in-house lawyer (let’s call her Sara) contacted me about helping her design a business plan for starting up her own law firm. I commended Sara’s wisdom in creating a business plan before leaving her corporate job. Surprisingly few lawyers actually do that. She explained that she needed the business plan in order to get a bank to lend her operating capital. While I silently questioned how realistic her expectations were, I asked how much she intended to borrow. She said, “I only need enough to cover my living expenses for a couple of months. Just until the money starts coming in.” […]
Leveraging Dictation Technology to Save Time and Overhead
Lawyers used to dictate drafts of correspondence and documents for their assistant to transcribe, in order to improve their efficiency over handwritten drafting. As word processing software became more user-friendly, however, lawyers began doing more and more of their own typing. Most found it easier to draft when they could immediately see and edit their work product. Today both solos and big firms save on overhead by using fewer, and sometimes less skilled, administrative assistants, which increases the need for lawyers to type more.
Some of those cost savings may be illusory, however. […]
Do Bar Associations Really Benefit Solos?
“The hierarchy of the State Bar is not at all concerned with solos.”
“The truth is that the [state bar] is just not relevant to the majority of …lawyers.”
“Solos have been left out.”
“The ABA doesn’t do anything for solo and small firm lawyers.”
“Solos have a tight operating budget and I haven’t seen the ABA as a huge value for the money.”
These quotes come from statements in online articles and discussion forums, as well as comments made to me. Attorneys complain about bar dues and their perception that bar associations pander to big law firms, providing very little value to solos. When I delve into the subject with them, however, they often come away surprised at the extent of resources available that they were unaware of.
Choosing Law Practice Management Software
In a previous post (Should A Solo Buy Law Practice Management Software?) I discussed some benefits and drawbacks of investing in law practice management software. I shared my opinion that all lawyers, including solos, can benefit from practice management software because, properly used, it will significantly improve your efficiency and organization. I also warned, however, that the learning curve will first slow you down. You will probably incur additional costs for training and for consulting to get the program configured to fit your needs and to coordinate with your other software and hardware.
Now that you are considering whether to take the leap, this post will address some of the questions you may have, and point out others that you should investigate in your decision process. […]
Should A Solo Buy Law Practice Management Software?
When a client calls unexpectedly about his matter, do you fumble to find the information you need, while the client wonders why you can’t answer the question? Do you have trouble sorting through all the appointments and deadlines on your calendar to identify the ones that relate to a particular case? Do you rely on your increasingly overloaded memory bank for conflict checks? Do you waste time locating old emails or pink message slips? Do you lose money because you can’t remember how much time you spent on a dozen different phone calls during the day? Do you ever wish you had access to something on your desk while out of the office? Have you lost hope of ever getting organized? […]