Tell Me, Again. What is SPU?
We’ve been posting information about Solo Practice University™ for several months and now we’re getting ready to launch.
But there are still questions out there, even from some of our longtime subscribers, about what we’re doing.
Here’s an unedited email message we received last week.
I have been getting emails from you guys for the last few months.
And…. I still do not understand your concept. What exactly are you doing and how can it make me a better, happier, less busy, more effective sole practitioner? I see all these blurb emails and don’t know what you are up to. There’s some disconnect (at least for me) with your marketing.
Regards
These are important questions and we’ve received other inquiries just like this one, so we’d like to address the questions directly right now.
WHAT is Solo Practice University™?
A web-based educational and networking community for lawyers and law students.
WHY join?
- Learn about the practical aspects of running a law practice, in addition to substantive areas of law, from quality instructors.
- Interact with your instructors by asking questions and adding comments directly below the course material, having discussions in the forums, or engaging in private conversations.
- Connect with lawyers and law students in a private, secure environment with the social networking functions, including groups, blogs, and mini-communities, that are built directly into the University.
HOW does it work?
Solo Practice University™ is a private, membership-based website. University students can log in to the website and access the course materials whenever they choose. Instructors will upload videos, podcasts, presentations, live lectures and more to their classrooms. Most importantly, students and instructors can interact in a variety of personal and meaningful ways.
WHERE is it?
It’s right here at http://solopracticeuniversity.com/! We’re actually testing the private part of the site right now. And we’ll be giving this public part of the website a bit of a makeover when we launch. UPDATE: We launched on March 20, 2009. Enroll now!
HOW MUCH will it cost?
We’ll be publishing the exact tuition costs very soon. We can tell you that tuition will consist of a low monthly fee that will be affordable to just about everyone. UPDATE: The tuition costs are listed on our signup page.
WHY are we charging tuition?
We want to maintain a level of quality within the university and encourage interaction between instructors and students. The low monthly tuition will help to ensure that each member is committed to the community and willing to invest their time and effort in learning and helping others. We also want to provide excellent customer service and charging tuition will make this more manageable for us.
We also don’t want to be held hostage to advertisers in order to keep our doors open. Nor do we want to endorse services and products we do not believe truly benefit solo practitioners. Tuition from students allows us to keep it honest and real. Therefore, when you see services and products in our Co-Op you know we believe in them. (More on that in the future.)
We also are very committed to providing financial scholarships to new solos who could use a hand getting started.
WHEN do you launch?
Soon! We’re talking weeks not months. We’ll be posting more details about launch date and tuition very soon.
WHO is behind all of this?
Susan Cartier Liebel of Build A Solo Practice, LLC and David Carson. Follow both of them on Twitter (@SCartierLiebel and @davidtcarson) or meet them in person next week in New York at LegalTech 2009.
About the Author
Solo Practice University® is now partnering with progressive law schools that realize a significant percentage of their students will practice as independent professionals and have made the commitment to help them achieve their goals.
Learn more about Bridges →
Any chance there’s early enrollment at a slightly lower price?
I had been at two large national law firms in their New York and Connecticut offices. Twelve years ago I created a small boutique firm in Connecticut. I believe my learning curve can be of help to others, particularly in this environment.
Okay,
I have been a long-time member of Solosez, I read MyShingle, GP Solo, Jim Calloway and Reidmyblog. I was in the second ABA Solo class to get admitted to SCOTUS with Jay Fleishman and Ross Kodner et al. (The class picture is still on my wall.)
So, I know, (at least virtually) a lot of these people. Also, I have read Foonberg’s “How to Build and Start a Law Practice” 2X. I have even had a large picture of me published in ABA Journal’s “Solo Network” (March 2003).
So at the expense of sounding crude. What the hell is this? In other words, what would I be getting out of SPU that I have not already gleaned from the other resources I use?
With kindest regards and the greatest respect, I am still,
Neil Rubin Cleveland Ohio area solo.
@Neil Rubin, Thanks for dropping by, Neil.
This is an educational and networking community for lawyers and law students. It’s aimed at solo lawyers mostly. In addition to ongoing and interactive courses, it’s a full-blown social network.
Have you read the about page? You might also want to check out the sign up page for additional information.
Feel free to use this contact form if you have any specific questions.