Imagine having $100,000 to start a law firm. That’s the consolation prize for the 190 associates laid off today by Latham and Watkins: six months of severance pay, capped at $100,000, reports AmLaw Daily. I realize that when you’re saddled with student loans and the accoutrements of a biglaw lifestyle, $100,000 doesn’t seem
February 2009
It’s Not Your Imagination…More Lawyers Are Starting Their Own Practice
Over the past few months, it seems to me that the number of lawyers starting their own practice is on the rise. My perception is based largely on anecdotal evidence, from increased traffic to this site (both direct hits and from search terms like “starting a law practice,”) a bump in sales of Solo by…
How to Use the Bars Reviewed: A Practical Guide
Last week, I unveiled the Bars Reviewed 2009, which surveys the services that bar associations are providing to solo and small firm practitioners. I’ve received really valuable feedback in the comment section and I’ve been working to continuously incorporate the comments into the chart.
But the survey isn’t just a vanity tool to generate…
Criticize My Site, If You Will… But Don’t EVER Accuse Me of Lacking Transparency
In response to my post on The DC Bar and Avvo, I received a comment from DC Attorney that angered me enough to write this post. Specifically, DC Attorney attacked my integrity, and the integrity of this site with the following remark:
Regardless, since it’s obvious Carolyn and Josh King have a financial stake…
Oh, Biglaw: Why Pay $60k for Lawyers to Do Non-Profit Work When You Could Pay Them To Build A Lucrative Practice?
Update – please see the comments, as they are very informative. I think perhaps my position may be too extreme – funding a couple of non-profit positions or funding indigent criminal defense prgrams may not, on further reflection, be a bad idea (although in many instances, solo and small firm lawyers handle these kinds of…
The Bars, Reviewed: What Has Your Bar Association Done for You Lately?
Summary
Update (7 pm, 2/19/09) More comments below, with links to additional NC Bar resources and Canada resources too. In response to Eric’s question, the review took place strictly based on websites alone – I personally visited about 30 of them, and delegated the remaining review, then did additional link checks. Talking to bar personnel…
The Year Since Solo by Choice: How to Be The Lawyer You Always Wanted To Be
[Note- the tape cuts out at 50 seconds – music continues because I could not split the track]
It’s been a little over a year since the release of my book, www.aSolo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be. My book, which was the first book on law practice…
Why, In An Economic Downturn, Is the DC Bar Trying to Kill One Tool That Can Help Lawyers Find Clients and Jobs?
The legal profession is on the skids like never before — though you’d scarcely realize it from visiting a bar association website. As law firms shed attorneys at an unprecedented rate — 4376 layoffs since January 1, 2008, 2614 in calendar year 2009, and 700 on a single Black Thursday, one would think that…
Solomarketing List, Blawging for Lawyers and the Question of Blogging for Love v. Money
I don’t generally post endorsements or recommendations about products or services at my site. But every so often, as now, I’ll make an exception where I believe that the service is worth passing on to others.
First up is my friend and colleague Jon Stein’s lawyer marketing email list. Jon put the list together a…
The Economy Scares Me Too, But I Know Something You Don’t
If you are a lawyer at a large firm, I know that you are terrified right now. The carnage at AmLaw 200 is growing: 858 layoffs last week alone, according to Lawshucks.com, for a total of 1528 for the month and 3290 since January 2008. And even if you’re just a law student,…