Four and a half years ago – when Axiom Legal was just gaining traction and Virtual Law Partners and Rimon Legal and Fisher Broyles were the only dispersed legal business models on the block, a group of eight solo colleagues and I who practiced in four different cities came together to form a collaborative of
Sometimes, First Is Worst
Recently, one of my colleagues shared with me the success of a monthly subscription service that he’d recently launched for his clients, who are businesses in a relatively specialized industry. He was surprised by the positive results because another one of our colleagues had tried a similar program a decade earlier with no takers.
There
How Not To Foreclose the Future of Law
Behold, the law firms of the future:
Lean operations powered by technology, with heavy reliance on outsourced labor and non-lawyer professionals. Reliance on economies of scale, corporate business practices and technology to maximize efficiencies. Laser-focused dedication to client demands for results and bye, bye billable hour. And even a little bit of outside investment, for
FREE: First MyShingle Commingle: DC Solo, Small & Alternative Law Firms & Legal Tech November 18, 2013 – Reid Trautz to Speak on Rules and Tools for Remote Lawyer Offices and Collaboration
I am excited to announce the creation of the MyShingleCommingle – a meet-up group bringing together solo, small and alternative law practices (i.e., the new business models) with the legal technology companies that are developing the tools and platforms empowering law practices. In many ways, we are natural allies: we are essentially startups doing business
Two Great Reasons for A Work Life Balance Firm
The concept of work-life balance or a life without seams doesn’t get much love in the legal profession. Lawyers who strive to balance family and work are often derided as dabblers, losers or faux-lawyers. And while there are many days that I too question whether it’s possible to do everything well, all at once,
High Anxiety: The Reason Why Lawyers Are So Vulnerable To High-Pressure, Low-Return Marketing Scams
Seems that no matter what lawyers do these days – whether it’s accepting a phone call from an unknown number, or scanning press releases on a news aggregator or visiting a bar association website, or signing up for what appeared to be a free service — they quickly find themselves bombarded with high-pressure sales offers
Legal Ethics and Outsourcing: Just Because It’s Outsourced, Doesn’t Mean You Can Bill for It
At some time or another, law firms of all sizes have outsourced legal support services such as legal research and writing, e-discovery or document review. There’s no question that law firms can bill clients for legal support services and even charge a markup, at least under ABA Ethics Opinion 08-451 and the majority of jurisdictions
The Pop-Up Law Firm
So what if lawyers could match an occasional need for office space with existing and under-utilized capacity?
For example, maybe a group of solos want to set up a monthly legal clinic for start-ups but can’t figure out where to host it? Or maybe you want to host a group of solos for a hands-on
Keep Calm and Carry On With This Fun Freebie
Every so often, I come across cool, completely FREE tools to share with readers — like PicMonkey for logo design, Wordle to create word clouds from text or PiktoChart. What’s so great about these tools besides the price is that they’re not just a fun distraction, but they can be used to actually create
Open Letter to Law Schools: What Law Students Need to Learn to Be Hired By Tomorrow’s Largest Legal Employer – Solos & Smalls
Dear Law Schools,
I’m guessing most of you don’t read my blog (not sufficiently academic or arcane) so permit me to introduce myself. I am a real, live practicing lawyer with a firm in Washington D.C. Though perhaps atypical for a solo or small, I focus on several growing fields (emerging renewable energy technologies and