Home Office Lawyer

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.

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.

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.

Solos in front of the conversation. Mainstream behind again!!!

Law.com has an article today called “When to Go VoIP? That Is The Question” As always, it seems some of the “mainstream” legal publications are behind the eight ball on advances in law firm technology.

Some of us have been discussing VoIP for law firms now for some time. Some of those bloggers include:

Bankruptcy Practice Pro

FutureLawyer

Kansas Business Lawyer

Third Wave - Chuck Newton

Greatest American lawyer

I know I have missed some. My point is this. Solos are in a position to try new technology before “big law” is. How much easier it is for the “partnership committee” of a solo firm to make a change and adopt new things. How much easier is it for the solo “technology committee” to adapt to new technology. We are the committee. I remember recently I received an email from Richard Georges of the FutureLawyer describing how he was having a partnership committee meeting on his way to his office. The meeting involved himself. No senior partners to contend with and no other committee to deal with. Topic brought up, discussion ensued, and decision made. How great is that.

For all of you law students who read this blog, and I thank you, don't overlook a solo practice. One of the best things about it, is you will be the firm and you can do things the way you want. You can pick the type of law you want to practice. You can pick the technology you want to use. Which will be Mac of course!!! And you are the one who makes the decisions that affect you and the future of your firm. You and no one else. There is a sense of freedom in that. And I know, there is a sense of fear too. The great thing about it for you law students is that you are not going at it alone. There is a ton of information and help out there and I have only mentioned a small part of it. If you don't read Build a Solo Practice, LLC and My Shingle, shame on you. They should both be required reading at law school.

Blawg Review #117 is up and running

Jamie Spencer over at Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer has Blawg Review #117 this week. Jamie did his review on the Bill of Rights/Criminal Law Edition and did a great job.

Jamie is another fine example of what a solo can do using a blog to market their firm. Not only is his blog great, I know for a fact he is getting business from it.

Home Office Solo Accused of Being a Bully

I received the following email from a “home office solo” today. I find it very interesting that the bully insurance company can't take what they dish out.

I am a sole practitioner who handles civil litigation. I work out of my house (and get lots of great information from Grant about home office lawyering). Recently, I had a discussion with house counsel for an insurance company. Apparently, they are not happy with me. The story goes that my litigation techniques, which include pushing cases quickly towards settlement or trial, have upset the people in his office – and the claims department for the insurance company.

It is interesting that the insurance company likes to bully the person who was involved in the car crash and not at fault. However, when a sole practitioner pushes back, they flip out. They don’t want to handle files with me, refer cases out, and apparently are trying to figure out how to fix the “disruption” that I have caused in their office.

Moral of the story: it doesn’t matter where you work. You can still effectively advocate for your client.

Just another example of how a home office solo can represent their client as well as “big law”.

Elevator Rides at Law Firms Call for Delicacy, Tact

The Sololawyer has a reaction to a post at Law.com called Elevator Rides at Law Firms Call for Delicacy, Tact.

Okay, riding the elevator in a fancy office building in order to get to a fancy office in a fancy big law firm may sound like fun, and the social gaffe possibilities are endless; but, may I make a modest proposal? Get a solo law practice, and ride a car to your small office, which is a converted house on a busy street 10 minutes from your home; or, even better, put your office in a room in your house, and avoid the commute. Then, you won't have to worry about running over little old ladies on your way to an appointment; that is, unless she lives with you.

Once again, Rick Georges points out the benefits those of us that are Connected, riding the Third Wave, Carpet Commuting attorneys know and love. Surely, Chuck Newton will chime in on this one.

Source for Post: Sololawyer.

Value Billing, what is it, and how is it done? Part III

This is the final post in a three part series on value billing that Grant has graciously invited me to write for Home Office Lawyer. Part I covered the definition of value billing and setting expectations with clients. Part II discussed setting the fee and using options and change orders. In this final post of the series, I’ll talk about guarantees and reiterate the elements involved in using a value billing system.

Guaranteeing your services
Many proponents of value billing recommend providing a client with a guarantee. If the client is going to agree to a fee (and often pay the fee) up front, the client is entitled to some guarantee.This is a radical concept for most lawyers, but it's worth considering.

Of course, lawyers cannot guarantee results or specific outcomes. But they can guarantee a level of performance.

Providing a guarantee often provides the client with a reason to contact the lawyer at the first sign of discomfort, rather than after the client is so dissatisfied that the relationship is beyond repair. And, as noted earlier in this series, even in hourly billing arrangements, lawyers effectively guarantee their clients’ satisfaction: if the client gripes about the bill, the lawyer reduces the fee to keep the client happy.

Good business practices
Many of the elements of a value billing arrangement are simply good business, regardless of how lawyers calculate their fees. Many lawyers are so eager to get started with a new client or matter that they don’t take the time to gauge the client’s understanding of the scope of the engagement, the manner in which the fee is calculated, the work involved, the time frame, the variables that could affect the outcome, the likelihood of reaching the client’s goals, and how the matter will affect the client’s business or personal life, among other factors.

Important factors to keep in mind with value billing:

• Set expectations with the client up front
• Define the scope of the engagement
• Discuss the client’s expected or anticipated outcome and the likelihood of achieving it
• Determine what features or services are important to the client
• Provide the client with options
• Put the agreement, including the scope of the work and the fee, in writing
• Define the variables which might change the fee
• Use change orders when unforeseen circumstances arise
• Provide the client with a guarantee of performance (not results!)

Bottom line: value billing should be a good deal for both lawyer and client.

If you’ve got more questions about value billing, attracting your ideal clients or running your practice more profitably, please visit my blog, the Legal Ease Blog, or my website, LawyerMeltdown.com.

Value Billing - What is it, and how is it done? Part II

Again, Allison C. Shields has agreed to be my guest poster for a series on Value Billing. I am honored that she has agreed to take part in a conversation on this hot topic. This is the second in the series.

This is the second in a series of posts about value billing. Part I covered the definition of value billing and setting expectations with clients. Today’s post will cover how to determine the fee, and how to use options and change orders. Part III will end the series with guarantees and an overview of the elements of value billing.

Determining the fee
Some lawyers are skeptical about value billing because they don’t understand how a lawyer can charge two different fees for two different clients for ‘the same’ services. But under an hourly billing system with two similar clients, are the bills always exactly the same? The hourly rate might be the same, but the total bill for the legal services isn’t the same. The difference in a value billing scenario is that the fee is agreed to by the client in advance, based upon the client’s values and priorities. The client determines the scope of the work and the reasonableness of the fee before the work commences. The variables in the services and the fee are determined by the client’s individual needs.

Value Billing - What is it, and how is it done?

Allison C. Shields has agreed to be my guest poster for a series on Value Billing. I am honored that she has agreed to take part in a conversation on this hot topic.

First, I’d like to start by thanking Grant for inviting me to do this guest post series about billing. I chose to talk about value billing because the concept of value billing has been getting an increasing amount of attention in the legal community recently. I’m honored to have been asked to do this series of posts to discuss some of the issues, and hopefully clarify some of the basics about value billing.

The series will be broken into three parts: in this post, I’ll cover what value billing is and how to set expectations with clients at the outset of the engagement. In Part II, I’ll talk about how you determine the fee using value billing, and how to use options and change orders. Part III will wrap up the series with guarantees and an overview of the elements of value billing

The term ‘value billing’ has been used in so many different contexts, by so many different people, and in so many different ways that it has left a lot of lawyers confused. I’ve heard some comments recently that make value billing out to be a method of extorting higher fees from clients for no reason, or a means of discriminating against wealthier clients by charging them higher fees merely because they’re wealthy.

True value billing is neither of the above, although value billing does involve pricing your services by focusing on the client’s needs, rather than on the lawyer’s costs or time. And value billing does often result in charging a premium for the lawyer’s services.