Home Office Lawyer

Home Office Warrior

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Lawyers and twitter

Law Firm Web Strategy had a very interesting post today called, Lawyer Marketing with Twitter? You really need to read this one.

I have been using twitter now for almost a month and I have to say, my blog traffic has increased and in turn, so has business. Don't overlook the benefits of using a "micro-blogging" tool like twitter.

Working from Home Benefits the Client

Build a Solo Practice, LLC has a great post this morning called, When going home to go to work benefits the client.

One more reason to move your law office home. It works, really. While I agree with Susan, it is not for everyone. Don't discount it until you have given it some series research and thought.

By the way, while you are over at Build a Solo Practice, LLC, make sure you sign up for updates to the upcoming Solo Practice University.

Home Office Virtual Assistant

As a side note to my most recent post on Outsourcing in the Law Office, over at Home Office Warrior we have a blog in our network called Home Office Virtual Assistant. Tina Hilton at Clerical Advantage is doing an outstanding job providing all kinds of information concerning using a virtual assistant.

Outsourcing in the Law Office

Jay Fleischman had a very good post the other day called, What is Legal Process Outsourcing?

From my conversations with Jay, I know first hand he outsources work for his own law practice. And "legal process outsourcing" is something that is a natural fit for the home office lawyer. For that matter, for anyone that works from home.

Jay suggest not just outsourcing data input or document production. But those processes that actually require someone with specific skills.

The task suggested are:

Legal Research

Document Drafting

Legal Billing

Paralegal Services

Administrative and secretarial activities

Of course this list is not just limited to those above. Anything you use staff for, could be outsourced. But, keep in mind, the word outsourcing doesn't mean you are sending work overseas. You can outsource to those dong this type of work right in your own backyard.

Consider for yourself if you could use outsourcing to take some of the burden off you and your firm.

A Great Estate Planning Lawyer Resource for the Taking

Quite frankly, I think she is a little crazy but that's good for you and me. Let me explain...

Over the past couple of weeks, Alexis Martin Neely, an estate planning attorney from Redondo Beach, CA has been giving away tools that have helped her build a million dollar a year practice in just three short years.

For example, she has already posted the following materials on her blog that any lawyer can download right now for free:

==> Her amazing fee schedule that lets the client choose their own plan, so they are actually closing the sale themselves!She paid $10,000 to have this created and then lost thousands of dollars through the process of testing and tweaking it. It is now as perfect as it will ever be and is exactly what she's currently using in her own practice.

==> Her Law Firm Budgeting Financial Model with easy to manipulate variables that will let you know exactly how much you should be spending in more than 30 different categories and easily forecast your monthly and annual profits

==> Her Custom Client Work Tracking Tool that holds your team accountable to the entire client process so you never drop another ball or miss another deadline.

Alexis, tells me this is just the beginning and between now and May 7th, she'll be giving away a total of $22,539.00 worth of her moneymaking, practice building tools and systems including:

==> Her Complete Client Engagement script laid out in a one-on-one confidential coaching session you'd otherwise never have the chance to hear.

==> Copies of actual marketing materials she uses to keep her appointment book filled with initial consultations.

==> a diagram of the exacts steps and procedures she takes to service a client from the minute they are engaged, to putting them on a lifetime membership program. Basically, she is giving you her entire client service system.

Then, on May 7, she's going to conduct a live, no cost, "Law Business Revolution" simulcast event.

During this event, you'll learn about her signature, neighborhood exclusive,"Personal Family Lawyer" program and have the opportunity to apply for membership.

But, regardless of whether you're interested in joining her "Personal Family Lawyer" program,(the truth is your area might already be taken by another attorney), the free gifts she's giving away will help you increase your profits, help more clients and be the lawyer you've aways wanted to be.

Getting all the "goodies" is super easy. Just go to Law Business Secrets. There's nothing for you to buy. The tools and systems really are yours for the taking.

Alexis told me that all of the free stuff is only available until May 7th. To get instant access to all of the valuable materials she's already given away and to make sure you don't miss the practice building gifts that are coming, go to her site right now.

Law Business Secrets

The Home Office from Hell Cure - The Book

I recently received my copy of Jeffrey A. Landers new book, The Home Office From Hell Cure: Transform Your Underperforming, Time-Sucking Homebased Business Into a Runaway Success Jeff uses humor and down to earth discussion to deal with issues we all face working from a home office. The material in this book will make a big difference to those who read it in starting and growing their homebased business. You can purchase your copy by visiting the links provided.

A mobile lawyer is a paperless lawyer - Connected Lawyer

This is a great post from PDF for Lawyers. I usually don't copy and paste a post. But, with all the talk about being mobile and paperless, this one needs to be read. If you aren't subscribed to PDF for Lawyers, subscribe.

Whenever I talk to lawyers about switching to a digital workflow system I always get the same question: what's the best way to switch? The answer: all at once. Next question. What's the second best way?

Ah, excellent question. And the answer is: just work on becoming a mobile lawyer. The more mobile you are the less dependent on paper you'll become (after all you aren't going to be very mobile if you have to drag tons of paper around with you). I was pretty mobile before Katrina pushed me into that extreme form of mobility known as nomadism. But Katrina was good because it forced me to think more deeply about how to diminish my reliance on paper, and anything else that would keep me tethered to a specific location.

One thing that is hard to escape from is your physical mailing address. You pretty much have to have one, and that means your mail will go to that location. And then you have to figure out how to retrieve it from a distant place. Wouldn't it be nice if you could have your mail sent to a place that scanned it and sent it to you by email? Well, turns out there is such a place. It's called Earth Class Mail.

You have to choose to have mail delivered to one of 18 regional P.O. centers. For about $10 per month they'll scan up to 35 envelopes and email you the image. You then decide if you want them to shred the envelope and its contents, or open it and scan the paper. You get up to 50 pages scanned for the $10 monthly fee and then pay .25 per page after that. There is a corporate package, and soon they will be adding the ability to electronically cash checks.

Obviously, this is not worthwhile for the average person. But if you are on a long trip, or if you don't plan to spend time in any one place for very long this is the way to get your paper mail.

Source for Post PDF for Lawyers.

MILO Chat Weekly-002

'I don't care to listen to you today...'

Join Victor Medina, Grant Griffiths, Finis Price and Ben Stevens in a roundtable discussion about using Macs in the law office.

Comments? Send them to milochat@macsinthelawoffice.com

Subscribe to this podcast using iTunes!

Embedded player here:

Download the podcast directly by clicking (or right-clicking) here

Source for Post Small Business and Solo Law Practice Blog.

Problogger -- The Book

I read Problogger daily. And I read Chris Garrett also on a daily basis.

Well, now you can read something I am so excited about and actually already preordered. Problogger Book is coming and you can pre-order for a May delivery.

Everyone who blogs or is thinking of blogging should jump on this one. It will be the best $16.49 you will spend this year. You can pre-order the book by using my link to the left.

Upcoming NACBA Elections - Ask the Candidates!!

Jay Fleischman over at Bankruptcy Practice Pro ask that I post the below post on Home Office Lawyer.

For all you bankruptcy attorneys out there, please go to this LINK. Important about the upcoming NACBA elections.

Be The Lawyer You've Always Wanted to Be

I'm writing to introduce you to someone who has the potential to change your life and your business.

You may already know Alexis Martin Neely, but if you don't this is the time to meet her because she's so fed up hearing about failed estate plans,lawyers working themselves to death just to barely get by, never being able to jump off the marketing merry go round and constanly reinventing the wheel that I think it's driven her insane.

In her quest to "revolutionize" the broken business model she's giving away systems, tools, strategies, special reports and mp3s that would cost you thousands of dollars to purchase.

Why is Alexis doing this? Because she has a two-fold mission:

1. To help you be the lawyer you've always wanted to be by buildinga law business (not a practice) that makes a real difference

AND

2. To change the way Americans think about lawyers.

I too was skeptical when I hear about Alexis, but after thoroughly researching her and her message, I concluded that she is the "real deal."

To fulfill her mission and help you as much as possible, Alexis launched the "Law Business Revolution" yesterday, Thursday April 3, 2008.

Over the next few weeks she is going to give you a slew of valuable gifts. These are NOT designed to sell you
anything. She is giving you these gifts to help you. Period.

Then, on May 7, 2008, Alexis is going to be conducting a live, no cost, "Law Business Revolution" simulcast event. (More details coming in the next few weeks.)

Now, Alexis is an Estate Planning Attorney, and her Personal Family Lawyer program is for EP lawyers OR for non-estate planning attorneys who want to add very lucrative estate planning to their roster of client services

BUT, and read this carefully...

Regardless of whether you want to join her Personal Family Lawyer movement, she really does want to help you. THAT is the reason she's giving you all the materials and all of the are applicable to ANY law practice, estate planning or not.

To register to get all the gifts, go to:

Law Business Secrets

Linking Techniques for Bloggers

I know there are some of you just starting blogging and others who have been at it for a while. However, no matter who you are, Rent My Brain has a good post called Linking Techniques for Bloggers.

Go to the link and check it out. There is a nice video demonstration there to help.

April Fools Day should go by the wayside [Rant]

I am serious. I am really getting sick and tired of the April Fools post clogging up my RSS reader. We are busy enough as it is. And I darn sure don't want to waste my time reading a post and get half way through it to realize it is some BS April Fools joke. Sorry I had to rant a bit. But, they are beyond funny. For the most part, they are really just stupid. With the exception of maybe ONE.

Footnotes in a Legal Blog -- NO!!

NJ Family Legal Blog is a great family law blog which provides some good insight and information as it relates to family law in New Jersey.

However this morning in my RSS reader was a POST from them with actual footnotes in the post.

This was a first for me. I have not seen this before even in a legal blog. My first reaction was to unsubscribe and remove them from my RSS reader. And then I stopped myself. Then, I just wanted to know why do some lawyers feel the need to include footnotes in a blog post. Even if you target audience is fellow attorneys, why put footnotes in a post. I decided that perhaps the individual who wrote this post did not understand that no one wants to read a post with footnotes in it. Get a clue, this is a blog post, not a law review article. No one is going to be impressed you know how to footnote. And quite frankly, you most likely will turn your audience off.

"If something is so important that you think it needs a footnote, put it in the body of the text." Don't use footnotes.

Lawyers Can't Work from Home

I bet that got your attention. Especially since it was posted on the Home Office Lawyer. Well, Jay Fleischman certainly got my attention when he posted this, Why Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers Can't Work from Home.

This is a great post by Jay which really nails it why some attorneys will not practice from home. "Fear of the unknown, fear of changing the way you think about your world. Fear of how people - your clients, your colleagues, your judges - perceive you."

However, Jay takes it a step further and gives the one reason no one wants to hear. "Because you have no confidence."

Go over to Jay's POST and get the "rest of the story."

More on Rocket Matter

I and others have been writing about Rocket Matter lately. Rocket Matter is a newly released web-based case management and time & billing program. Aaron Pelley gave a very in-depth review of the program on his blog Criminal Defense Law With an Apple.

Solo Practice University™

Susan Cartier Liebel who publishes one of the best blogs on the web about solo practice, Build a Solo Practice, LLC has introduced what appears to be a new source for "building a solo practice."

While there are no details of the new Solo Practice University on the site. There is a RSS feed subscription you can sign up for. Just drop your email in the box provided and you will be among the first to find out about the new curriculum.

Knowing the quality of the information Susan provides on her blog, I did not hesitate to sign up for the Solo Practice University. And neither should you.

I would encourage all of the readers of the Home Office Lawyer to go to this LINK and sign up.

Macs in the Law Office (MILO) Podcast #1

Ben Stevens, Finis Price, Victor Medina and myself recorded our first Macs in the Law Office (MILO) Podcast a few days ago. And let me tell you, it was a blast. The format is informal, thank god. And we discuss all kinds of stuff concerning Macs in the law office. We plan to make this a regular feature.

You can listen to the post cast by visiting Victor's blog Victor Medina's Small Business and Solo Law Practice Blog.

And, be watching for Macs in the Law Office coming soon.

Leveraging Your Time - Part 2

The Virtual Lawyer put up a followup to How can lawyers leverage their time this week, called Leveraging Your Time - Part 2. In his post, Roger, the "V-lawyer" mentioned one tool I do use and that is a virtual assistant. Take a look at Roger's post HERE. It is a good one and I hope just the 2nd in a long series of leveraging your time.

Introducing a New Web Based Case Management for Solo and Small Law Firms

Like many of you, I have been frustrated with the lack of law office specific case management software for the solo and small law firm. Oh, sure there is software out there. And some of it is great. And you have to mortgage the house and first born to afford it. Now there is an alternative. And let me tell you this. I have tried this new legal software and it is quite wonderful.

Most solos and small firms have embraced the use of web based technology the last few years. By taking advantage of this trend, Rocket Matter has developed a web-based practice management software. It is accessible from anywhere with Internet access. You can use it on a Mac, PC, iPhone, or even a Linux machine. You can log on and bill time from the office, home, or on the road.

The crew at Rocket Matter designed it to be as simple to use as possible. Your calendar, contact manager, matter manager, and time and billing software is rolled into one integrated, enjoyable product. You can generate invoices for all your billable matters with a single click of the mouse.

Their "Bill as you Work"™ technology captures your billable time as you go about your day. There is no need to total up hours at the end of the billing cycle or to figure out where your time went.

Getting started is easy. You don’t have to buy servers. You don’t have to pay someone to install Rocket Matter. You don’t even have to buy licenses. You only pay for the number of users you want, and that’s it. Best of all, you can save the likely $8000 you’d have to pay for a traditional practice management setup.

With Rocket Matter, you can sleep well, knowing you have daily backups and security managed for you automatically. And since Rocket Matter's servers are in a redundant, premier data center, you have an instant disaster-recovery plan.

I encourage all of you to explore this great new product further. Sign up for an exclusive invitation and view a preview of the product at RocketMatter. Subscribe to their Product Updates to follow Rocket Matter developments.

Solo or not to Solo, that is the question

Only you can say if solo practice is right for you. That is a recent post on Build a Solo Practice, LLC.

Susan makes one statement in her post that really struck a nerve. "There are plenty within the legal profession (and without) ready to dash your dreams as they impose their own fears and agendas upon you." Oh how true. But, I truly think there is more and some of it worse.

First, while some do have fears. I think there are just as many who are really jealous. Yes, I said it. They are jealous that those of us who go solo, actually had the gonads to do so. They are jealous they are still working for a firm or a partner in a firm and because of that, have to answer to someone or something.

Next, there are those who simple can't put their big firm echo aside and actually think someone working in a solo firm, god forbid in a home office solo firm is actually practicing law. And we do. I would venture to guess those of us in solo or small firms, do more practicing of law than some in the big law firms. We are actually representing Joe Public. And, believe it or not big law, we represent businesses, corporations and government entities. And we do it well.

And, there are those who actually feel you should not practice as a solo. Early in my legal career, I was attending a CLE in Wichita, Kansas. While attending the CLE, the director of our state ethics bar actually said in public, "no one should practice as a solo." I only wish I would have had available to me than the same technology I have available today. I would have recorded those comments and made them a permanent mp3 on this blog. But, it is comments like that which shows just exactly what causes some to never chance their dream of being a solo attorney. Don't listen to them.

Instead, read blogs like Build a Solo Practice, LLC. And subscribe to her E-zine for continued information about solo practice.

Law blog design matters

Kevin O'Keefe recently had a great post which provided the results of a recent question and answer done by David Peralty, Head of Marketing at Splashpress Media, when they asks readers at The Blog Herald if it's important to have a powerful, beautiful or striking blog design when presenting what he describes as the ‘whole package’ in blogging.

The responses from readers were striking. Professional blog design was viewed as a necessity, especially when blogging as a professional, like you as a lawyer.

• Since the reader needs to be convinced to subscribe your blog, design is a very important matter. Looking at it from the readers point of view, ‘If you had to choose between two mobile phones with exactly the same features with one being stylish and the other looking like the work of an amateur - which would you choose?’ Design is added value with the result being more than the sum of its parts - design supports content and the other way round.
• If it is meant for commercial purpose, graphics play a big role.
• Though I may read blog posts in a newsreader, I need to come to the blog to subscribe, where if it looks good, I subscribe.
• Design matters to me when I read blogs. I generally read posts in my feed reader, but for two exceptions, one being to click through and read the posts directly on sites with great designs.
• As a designer, there’s no way I’d tell you design doesn’t matter. Think of it this way: A car’s purpose is to take you somewhere. But would you buy a rusted old car instead of a shiny new Prius?
• Think of it from a reader’s perspective. If I click on your blog and am put off by the overall look and feel of your site, I won’t return or subscribe. Content rules, yes, especially for your RSS readers, but design is like the PR guy who’s trying to get you to visit.
• It’s like judging a book by its cover. It could be either crap or a wonderful story inside, but if the cover doesn’t catch my attention, I’m not going to pick it up in the first place. When I’m flipping through random sites or clicking through links of links of links…..I skim right by those that don’t look great. I have to actually force myself to skim through text on blogs, for example, that are hosted on Blogger and use one of the default templates…and still have the random default spots unfilled like ‘put links here’ and ‘This is your about me section,’ etc.
• I just spent about $5,000 to upgrade Smallbiztechnology.com’s interface and move to Movable type - one of the best investments I’ve done! Traffic is up and more!
• The user experience is primarily made up of four factors: branding, usability, functionality andcontent. Independently, none of these factors make for a positive user experience; however, together, these factors are the main ingredients for the blog’s success.

I have always been on the position that it is important for a business, any business to have a blog that is professionally designed. Your web presence is important to you and you should look your best when visitors come to your blog. First impressions are important. You don't want your readers questioning your professionalism due to an design that does not present well.

Source for Post Real Lawyers :: Have Blogs.

Home Office - The Right Location can make a difference

Separating the home office from the rest of the home, or the family activities can be a challenge at best. You have to create some sort of division between your home office and the rest of the home to maintain some form of productivity and to ensure your success as a home office professional. If you have the same option that I had, you should try to find a room that is as isolated from the rest of the house as possible. I use a room in my basement. Some others I know, use the attic, a spare bedroom, or a converted back room of the house. Still others use a room in the garage and even an outbuilding completely separate from the main house structure. The smaller the home, the more of a challenge it will be.

Personally I am not in favor of trying to use a room for your home office and also for other family functions. And I don't believe you can be productive if you use dividers in an attempt to separate yourself from the rest of the house. As they say in the movies, "get a room." And have a door you can shut.

In my home office and even though it is in the basement, I have a separate outside entrance to my office. Not that I make it a practice to meet my clients at my house. But it it nice to know if I do, they don't have to interrupt the rest of the house. Having a separate entrance may be important to you. This can also be a consideration as to where in the home you will put your home office.

Get organized!! If you use files, try to have the room for as many file cabinets as you might need. I scan as much of my files as I can. Two reasons. One, saves on the necessity for square footage. Second, if I leave the office I have my files with me and when I am in the office, I don't have to look for a file folder. It is all on my computer. How much space you have available in your home office may decide for you whether you will be a paperLESS office or not.

The main concern in deciding whether you are going to be a home office professional or not is will you have enough room. Enough room to be comfortable, to do the work you need to do and to store and organize the things you need.

Fear Holding You Back -- Get Over It!!

Chuck Newton has hit the nail on the head again with his post called, I Think It Is Fear. Chuck brings up one of the reasons for not putting your office in your home, FEAR. And he is also right when he says it is a mindset issue. While I usually don't agree with Chuck on political issues. We tend to almost agree on issues surrounding the home office.

Martindale-Hubbell's value to Solos?

Kevin O'Keefe at Lexblog had a post today called, Martindale-Hubbell's value to law firms in steep decline. Quite frankly I have never really thought M&H provided any value to the solo. Perhaps its only value would be to the good old boy network. Publishing a well designed and maintained blog will do a Solo more good and give you a higher return on your investment than wasting money on a listing in M&H. If you have a different take on the value provided to the Solo, please enlighten me.

Be a Contest Winner -- Sign up NOW!!!

Susan Cartier Liebel has come up with a great idea. And quite frankly, in my opinion there is no better resource for those considering a solo practice than Susan and her great blog, Build a Solo Practice LLC.

On her blog, she is offering a contest and way to win a free-in-depth 2 hour consultation to help you get started. Visit her blog post, You can win the "So, You Want to Fly Solo" Contest - Its Easy!

Not only does Susan have a wonderful coaching and consultant practice. She teaches an acclaimed and popular law school class in starting and building a profitable solo practice out of law school at' Quinnipiac University School of Law.

You can read the instructions by CLICKING RIGHT HERE.' DO NOT PUT IT OFF.' DO IT NOW.

iPhones Becoming More Popular With Businesses

Two articles were published last week that discuss how the iPhone is gaining marketshare with businesses.' These articles acknowledge that the iPhone is a viable (some would say superior) option to the Blackberry, Palm, etc., which have been popular for many years.' If you have not already gotten an iPhone for yourself, you may want to check out these articles:

• 'Think Business Doesn't Care About the iPhone? Think Again.' by Seth Weintraub, published at Computerworld
• 'Apple iPhone Winning Corporate Fans Despite Flaws' by Jim Finkle and Scott Hillis, published at Yahoo!Finance

Source for Post The Mac Lawyer.

Home Office Lawyer and the ABA 100 Best Websites

Home Office Lawyer has made the ABA Journal's 100 best websites for lawyers. The ABA Journal is inviting its readers to vote for their favorite legal blogs in a dozen categories. I am asking my readers to use the link in the sidebar or in this post and vote. And thanks to the ABA for the honor of being included.

Blogging gets you exposure

Victor Medina, a fellow blogger and publisher of Victor Medina's Small Business and Solo Law Practice was recently feature in a good article in the Princeton Business Journal called Blogging for Fun and Profit. From the article:

When Victor Medina first began building his solo law practice, he decided to start a blog to serve as a diary of the ups and downs of his progress, something he could go back to and reflect on should he choose to. ”As I started to put that out there, I started to notice that other people were interested in it and found value,” said Mr. Medina, a partner in the Pennington law firm Medina, Martinez & Castroll, LLC. Readers of his blog — the term is short for Web log — were interested not only in his legal musings but also in hearing from someone else who was attempting to start and run a small business, Mr. Medina said. So he kept at it, regularly updating his “Small Business & Solo Law Practice” blog. Today, Mr. Medina regularly keeps up his first blog, and three others, each dealing with a specialty of his law firm: family law, education law and estate law.

The articles also features others. Take a look. And consider what a blog can do for your public relations.

Build A Solo Practice, LLC

One of my favorite blogs, Build A Solo Practice, LLC just turned one year old. To celebrate the big event, Susan did a complete redesign or facelift of her blog. I have to say, it looks just wonderful. Easy to read. Easy to find what you are looking for and the layout is just great. What is really exciting, Susan has included in her new design a sign up for the Solo Practice University E-zine. I signed up for the E-Zine and if the rest of the offerings are as good as the first, this is going to be an excellent source of information too. If you don't have Build a Solo Practice, LLC in your RSS reader, you need to have your head examined. This is truly one of the best blogs out there which provides timely and helpful information on "how to create and grow your legal practice."