Comments on: Life as a One-Man-Band – The Solo Practitioner

By: Suzanne Meehle

Suzanne Meehle — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:55:20 +0000

You have a good eye, Steven! I read The E Myth Attorney after taking Bill Jawitz’s SPU course on time management, and the systemization of my business fell out of my reading that book. I do not agree with the law firm model that Gerber espouses (hire associates to do the work for you, etc.), but the systemization process makes a lot of sense. Plus, my practice is getting closer to running like clockwork.

By: Steven Basche

Steven Basche — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 03:41:34 +0000

Suzanne, this is a very helpful post. One of my favorite books is the E Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber. The premise of the book is that most small businesses fail within 5 years, while most franchises last and last. Why? Because they have systems. Most lawyers don’t look at their practices as a small business, but that is a mistake. What you have suggested here, devising and perfecting and then memorializing systems, even in a solo law office, is right in line with Gerber’s advice. You have inspired me to spend some time this week to document some of the practices that I have put in place. Thanks.

By: Suzanne Meehle

Suzanne Meehle — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 01:30:13 +0000

Take a look at my reply to Ryan, Cassandra. I posted a list of systems that may help you get started.

By: Cassandra Jones

Cassandra Jones — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:31:17 +0000

Wow! Thanks for this timely article. After being a staff attorney with our local district court for almost 6 years, I’m going solo in two months. I didn’t even know where to start on business systems; it was so overwhelming. This is a great starting point for me. Thank you.

By: Suzanne Meehle

Suzanne Meehle — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:00:26 +0000

Think of it as writing an employee handbook, Ryan. Here is a very complete list of what to put in (and leave out of) an employee handbook: http://www.seltzerlawfirm.com/employeehandbook.html.

Operationally, I suggest that you make a list of the tasks that need to get done in your office everyday. My list lookis something like this:
º Client Intake
· Initial Conference
· Engagement Letter
· Follow-up
º Opening/Closing Files
º Client Production
· Administrative Law
· Trademark Law
· Copyright Law
· Corporate Documents
· Contract Drafting
º Communications with Clients/Others
· Returning Calls
· Reading/Responding to Email
· Written Correspondence
º Marketing
· Thank You Notes
· Facebook/Twitter Updates
· Blog Content
· SPU Articles
· Networking
º Law Firm Management
· Accounting
· Billing
· Collections
· Answering the Phone/Screening Calls
· Cleaning the Office
· Filing
· Data Entry

Once you have your list, ask yourself how you do each of those tasks – breaking each down to its sub-tasks – and then ask yourself whether you are happy with the way that thing is done. If the answer is no, then how would you like to see it done better?

When you have virtual workers, it is absolutely imperative that they know exactly how you want things done for your firm. Otherwise, you are stuck with their systems, whatever they are. FYI: I spent my morning with my newly-minted virtual assistant, in my office, showing him how I want things done (a luxury of finding a virtual worker who lives in my area). In that regard, it isn’t any different than hiring an in-house employee. If he were remote, I would need to rely solely on my written processes, though, without in-person training. But a good virtual worker will respect your need to have things done your way. Don’t hesitate to ask for changes in their procedures.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:00:45 +0000

Excellent article! I use a virtual assistant for secretarial things, I just recently hired a virtual accounting person to handle Clio invoicing, etc. for me, and I just hired a virtual receptionist service.

The “systems” you talk about still elude me, though. I need help. Can you suggest any books or websites that give practical guides on setting up good systems for this type of law practice? Thank you.

Ryan Corrigan