This post is part of the MyShingle Solos summer series which will run between June 17 and July 3, 2014. 

 This post is written by MyShingle Guest Blogger Dr. Sandra Thompson

Short of putting your firm name on the side of a high-rise building for everyone on the freeway to see, what can small firms and solos do to market their practice, develop buzz and get new clients? It may seem like a good idea to get golf balls with your firm name on them, and it is if your clients are professional golfers. Otherwise, your marketing attempt is likely going to end up in the water or never found again. Keep in mind that the clients that we have are often our best sources of new work and referrals. Don’t let this good thing get away from you, and don’t think that it is something you can’t start today.

Mind Your Manners

Your mother really was right when she said that you should always send a thank you note. As busy professionals, we tend to rely on E-mail, template letters, and assistants to reach out to clients, send invoices or send updates on client matters. There are some things you can do to make an impression on your current clients, especially the small and mid-size companies or individuals.

Add a simple sentence to your billing letter: “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to handle your legal work. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact me.” Which leads me to another point – send a letter with your bills. I make it a point to talk to contacts and clients about what they like and don’t like about attorneys. It makes me the life of any party, but I digress. People want more of a personal connection with their attorneys and not just a bill at the end of each month stuck in an envelope with a plastic window, similar to the one you get from the gas company. A letter with the bills gives you a chance to thank them for putting their legal matters in your hands, send them a status update and remind them that if they like your work to refer you to a friend or a colleague. If you recently wrote an article, launched a blog or have some good news to share, consider including that with your bills as well. You are spending the time and money to send those invoices out to your client, include something they may enjoy reading as well. 

This post is part of the MyShingle Solos summer series which will run between June 17 and July 3, 2014. 

This post is written by MyShingle Guest Blogger Wes Bailey

The solo legal profession is unlike anything you will encounter in today’s society. No one comes to an attorney’s office without having a problem they want to fix. Which makes it unlike any other profession in the world. When I first ventured out on my own I had a desk, a filing cabinet and the use of a cell phone that doubled as my business phone. I was the butcher, the baker and the candle stick maker. I rented a 300 square foot office located in a real estate office. Nothing fancy and certainly no room for a secretary. Everything ran on a shoe string budget.

Once I had saved enough money, I bought an office which was a refurbished home due for foreclosure. Six months after that I hired a part-time secretary. Then the saga began. Little did I know there was more to hiring a secretary or administrative assistant. Who did I hire? In reality, it was a great person but not a great fit for my office.

Since then, I have made do with someone that is a quick study and a great one on one communicator. However, what makes support staff great in the legal world is not what people think.

As solo practitioners, finding the right fit for your office is essential to making your office pop in relation to other firms. The most important component, in my opinion, are phone skills. Why? People do not have them! Dealing with existing clients, prospective clients or problem clients is crucial to a solo attorney. Did they take down the right name and number? Did they get the correct message? Do they know the person they are talking to? You may laugh but the courtesy you extend to your clients day in and day out spreads quickly and you will be surprised how many clients you can retain by simply calling them back. Your support staff is crucial in making that happen. 

This post is part of the MyShingle Solos summer series which will run between June 17 and July 3, 2014. 

This post is written by MyShingle Guest Blogger Christine A. Wilton

Some of the most successful business leaders of our time all have a mastermind group. Benjamin Franklin, Ivan Misner, Brian Tracy, Walt Disney, and Bill Gates have all participated mastermind groups. I believe that a mastermind group is like having a board of advisors for your business. It is, “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony,” as quoted from Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. I participate in two such groups; one with a group of civilians and another with other lawyers. If done right, a mastermind group can propel your solo practice quickly.

A mastermind group goes deeper than any networking because you’re building strong, deep relationships with like-minded business owners and/or attorneys that don’t compete with your business. You’re all ‘in this together’ to grow your own business’ and whom you can do the same. I also call this a ‘Mutual Admiration Society.’

Two Heads (or 12) are Better than One

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” Jim Rohn. Some of the most difficult decisions in life and business require thought and discussion.  Having a group of professionals that are ‘in your corner’ to bounce ideas off of, or ask the opinion of can provide the necessary feedback you need to make the most well informed decisions for your business. One of the major benefits of a mastermind group is to share ideas and obtain feedback for the difficult problems that face business owners today. The group’s primary objective is to learn and grow from each participant.  Thus, they grow when you do.

 This post is part of the MyShingle Solos summer series which will run between June 17 and July 3, 2014. 

This post is written by
MyShingle Guest Blogger Dwayne Allen Thomas

True story: I’ve gotten a fair number of dates at professional networking meetings. I’ve told this story a few times, so I know what you’re thinking: “But, wait, aren’t you supposed to be networking at a networking meeting?” The answer, of course, is “yes,” but at the time I didn’t understand what I was supposed to be doing or how it was supposed to help me. There’s always at least one other malcontent in the room, and shared confusion concerning your purpose for being somewhere is an easy topic to bond over. Ironically, that same sense of purpose that many of us lack is an essential part of effective networking.

To “network” is “to cultivate people who can be helpful to one professionally, especially in finding employment or moving to a higher position.” Personally, I prefer a slightly altered definition, especially for solo attorneys: “make friends.” While we can’t be friends with everyone , I like the “make friends” approach because I think it’s easier – especially since people can spot both fake smiles and fake laughter. This was the approach I unknowingly used to get dates at networking meetings, and eventually this was the same approach that helped me to build relationships with people who have been more helpful to the beginning of my career than I could possibly have imagined. Here’s a quick rundown of what I did:

Last week, one of NewLaw’s own, Clearspire expired.

Or did it?

Clearpsire says otherwise portraying the closure of Clearspire Law as one giant pivot from #AltLaw Firm model to a legal technology company. Clearspire explains that it plans to take the proprietary practice platform, Coral, developed by the non-lawyer owned business side of its operation and scale it so that it’s available for law firms all around the globe.

Some bloggers aren’t buying the spin, instead viewing Clearspire on a model that simply put too much focus on and money into technology rather than developing business or serving clients. Scott Greenfield, observes that”Clearspire’s demise [proves that] not every shiny new thing is a “game changer” and Brian Inkster, who opines that Clearspire’s costly $5 million investment did it in. In other words, though billed as a new model, Clearspire collapsed under the weight of too much overhead – the same factor responsible for the death of dozens of fledgling solo and small firm practices.

But Ivan Rasic of  Law Without Walls  posits this intriguing theory : that Clearspire didn’t expire, but conspired – that is, conspired to be a technology company all along. Rasic asks:
Now, what if Clearspire never intended to operate as a law firm / NewLaw service provider? They do mention on their website that they have used the law firm part as their “laboratory” aiming to prove the “concept that demonstrated just how innovative today’s lawyers can be.”
Though the commenters to Rasic’s post suggest that his idea is far-fetched, in my view, it makes sense. For starters, creating a non-law firm affiliate to develop and provide services to a law firm is hardly a novel – and in fact, it’s recognized as the quickest way around the prohibition on outside investment in law firms. That’s something that the foreclosure mill law firms recognized; they set up all kinds of outside technology and business services companies before Clearspire was even a blip on the legal profession’s collective radar 

Over at Lawyerist, Sam Glover sparked some discussion with the question, How would you advise a new lawyer to prepare for the future of law?  Sam’s question generated several thoughtful responses that I commend you to read, but I think there’s an equally significant question that’s been overlooked. Specifically, how should old (or to be more politic, seasoned) lawyers prepare for the future of law?

When I graduated law school 26 years ago, the eight-year partnership track at big law was still a viable path for lawyers willing to do nothing more than slave away for the early part of their career.  But in exchange, they’d be rewarded with the brass ring of partnership and all the benefits that it conferred: Enormous corner office. Expense account lunches with clients and colleagues. Early departures on Friday for the golf course or the beach, leaving associates to deal with the fall-out.

While many of my contemporaries eventually attained partnership – albeit on a ten or twelve year track rather than eight – for many, it wasn’t the nirvana anticipated. Today’s law firm partners work just as hard, and in a desperate effort to retain their share of profits often horde work once readily delegated to associates. Moreover, with the practice of law increasingly competitive due to globalization and the rise of technology, many lawyers of my generation are now learning the hard way that hard work isn’t enough to to hang on to a partnership unless you have a book of business, to the tune of $1 million or more, to back it up. So at the end of the day, many find themselves unceremoniously dumped and out on the street – or tragically, worse.

A recent article in The Atlantic asks: Is There Such a Thing as an Affordable Lawyer?. A provocative title, but how accurate is it?  And how useful are most of the suggested solutions —- which involve automating services or forcing solos and smalls to offer reduced rates and eliminating the “guild mentality” which of course, is responsible for all of the system’s ills — in addressing the scenario that opens the article:
Consider the case of Ned Henry, the plaintiff in a landlord-tenant dispute that’s commonplace in most ways—and curious in one.

In late 2012, Ned and his partner—recent tenants in an apartment in California’s East Bay—began to feel sick. Ned developed migraines and psoriasis, while his partner suffered headaches and nausea. As the winter progressed—more time inside, windows closed—the symptoms got worse. Eventually, they hit upon an explanation: toxic mold poisoning. They moved out and filed a lawsuit, both to avoid a penalty for breaking their lease, and to recover the costs that the mold and the move had imposed.

Ned and his partner didn’t have a lot of money—and the move had depleted their assets—but they weren’t exactly poor, either, so they looked into hiring a lawyer. They couldn’t, however, find anyone within their budget who would take their case. “It was definitely more than we could afford,” he told me over the phone last week. “Big range, depending on who we called, but at least $3,000-$5,000 on the low end, to start out.”
Because Henry and his partner couldn’t find an attorney in their budget, they proceeded pro se in small claims court. After more than a year, their case went before a judge and they won, though their landlord has since appealed.  In addition, during the course of the case, Henry discovered that his landlord had previously failed to disclose mold problems to a dozen or more tenants – most of whom gave up their fight to hold the landlord accountable. Henry attributes much of his success in small claims court to informal assistance that he received from his lawyer contacts, which he believes gave him a significant advantage.

Predictably, the article goes on to describe the high cost of lawyers – ranging from a low of $125 to $250 an hour and criticize the “guild mentality” that imposes a monopoly on legal services that keeps rates high.  But other professionals such as dentists or doctors charge comparable or higher fees — yet no one complains about the guild mentality and forced scarcity that keeps those prices high. That’s partly because of the availability of medical insurance which covers these costs. And even under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance isn’t cheap; many individuals probably pay around $3000 dollars a year which – surprise – is the same amount that Henry and his partner claimed they couldn’t afford to pay a lawyer. 

I’ll be away from MyShingle from mid-June through July 4 weekend. But I can’t let the blog lie fallow for that long a period. So I’m looking for between one and three writers to help fill the gap while I’m gone.

I’m interested in writings on all topics related to solo and small firm practice:…