Academics and legal futurists may be enamored by the Legal Zoom business model, the market sure isn’t. As Legal Zoom readies to launch an IPO at $10 to $12 share, sources like Reuters and The Street are questioning whether a $483 million valuation is a tad “feisty” for a company that generated $156 million
Office Space Options
Along with several other solo colleagues, I’m quoted in this exhaustive Maryland Daily Record piece on office rental options here in the D.C. area. One aspect of the article that surprised me is the wide disparity in rental prices across the region. One of the attorneys profiled pays $1900 for space in Beltsville, Maryland that
Why Saying “You Didn’t Build That” Stings Start Up and Solo Lawyers
I’m willing to give President Obama the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t intend to trivialize the accomplishments of small business with his controversial you didn’t build that speech. Still, for solo and start up lawyers, the President’s words sting.
While there are plenty of solo lawyers who embraced the concept of hanging
The Business and Ethics of Lawyers Selling Law-Related Services
Updated March 29, 2022
What are Law-Related Services?
Almost ten years ago, I penned a short post on lawyer sales of law-related or ancillary legal services which are defined in ABA Model Rule 5.7 as:
services that might reasonably be performed in conjunction with and in substance are related to the provision of legal services,
Future Friday: Don’t Let Bar Requirements Stand in the Way of Progress
If you’ve read me long enough, you know that I’m a stickler for compliance with ethics rules. Do I like all of the rules we have to follow? Not at all. But rules are rules and if you don’t like them, then you don’t break them, but change them.
Of course, sometimes, you don’t even
Has The Real Estate Market Kept Pace With Solo And Small Law Firms’ Demands?
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on the changing look of law firm offices. To make more efficient use of space in a down economy, firms are reducing office size, assigning the same sized offices irrespective of seniority and moving lawyers to interior spaces once reserved for administrative staff. Firms are also
Future [of Law] Fridays: Neota Logic is Neat – But Why Not Make It Accessible to Solos?
Update Note 7/19/2012: I had a chance to chat with Michael Mills of Neota two days ago. Neota is doing some really exciting work, and is definitely responsive and curious about opportunities in the solo/small firm market. Stay tuned…
Editor’s note: This is the first of a regular feature, Future of Law Fridays where we’ll
The Bar Associations Have Their Head In The Clouds When It Comes To The Ethics Of Cloud Computing
In a recent post at Catalyst Secure , my friend Bob Ambrogi not only summarizes Massachusetts’ recent ethics ruling on lawyer use of cloud platforms, but provides a valuable public service with a round up of ethics decisions from 11 other jurisdictions. Like most states, Massachusetts permits lawyers to use cloud based products so long
Thank You Thursday: “She motivated me to start law school at the age of 42”
So, last week, I wrote about the importance of saying thank you , and noted that I’d be starting a Thank You Thursday column, open to readers who want to thank someone who’s made a difference in their life. The first installment comes from business and estate planning lawyer, Paula Schaefer:
In 1997, I
Ohio Lawyer Kathleen Havener Launches Woman2Woman Referral Network
Up until this month, if you were looking to hire or refer a woman lawyer, finding one wouldn’t have been as easy as you might think. At one time, the ABA’s Litigation Section Woman’s Advocate Committee maintained a referral network but no longer does. And as I posted here, NAMWOLF, an association for women