Meet Solo Practice University™
A community dedicated to helping you build your very own solo law practice.
Gain full access to all practical courses in our library when you enroll. Most are pre-recorded and can be watched or listened to on your own schedule. New lessons are posted regularly.
Build your professional network and get connected with faculty members and like-minded solo lawyers and law students via groups, forum discussions, comments or private messages.
Create and publish blogs or websites with just a few clicks using built-in publishing software. Choose a theme, add your content and hook up a custom domain. Hosting and support are included.
Solo Practice University™ is the #1 educational and professional networking community for lawyers and law students, designed by lawyers for lawyers and dedicated to helping you build your very own solo practice.
The Solo Practice University™ CO-OP is a showcase of products and services for solo lawyers. Enrolled students receive substantial discounts on insurance, books, services and other products.
Enjoy the educational and professional benefits of participating in the community at Solo Practice University™ and earn unlimited CLE credits at the same time. Learn more about CLE →
From the Founder
The common preconception among law students and new lawyers is that starting a solo practice is unwise, if not downright impossible. Conventional wisdom says you should work for someone else for a few years to learn the ropes.
For myself, Susan Cartier Liebel, and for thousands of law students and new lawyers who want to call their own shots practicing law right now – shuffling paper under someone else for the next few years wasn't an acceptable option.
And so formed the idea behind Solo Practice University™, while I was teaching a class at Quinnipiac University School of Law called How to Hang a Shingle Right Out of Law School.
Solo Practice University™ was created to replace the apprentice experience – without sucking up years of your life. It's a single online destination where lawyers and law students learn the basics of running a solo practice, take classes and get expert feedback from professionals in specialized fields.
These Solo Practice University™ students take charge of their professional futures. No waiting necessary.
Solo Practice University combines all the benefits of an educational community, legal blog, a professional network, and a legal conference. You'll find teachers who are well-known and highly regarded in their fields teaching through video, podcast, live lectures, and other media to bring the experience of the classroom home to your computer.
We strive to make Solo Practice University™ even better and more informative than your law school experience through a few important distinctions.
- Availability – At law school, it's often hard to get your teachers (especially the most well-regarded) to take the time to discuss anything beyond the immediate coursework – and sometimes it's hard to even get that much.
At Solo Practice University™, our primary focus is on creating relationships between you, your teachers, and your fellow legal professionals. Every question is worth asking. Every individual here has the time.
- Breadth of knowledge – Law school focuses, and rightly so, on learning the law. Unfortunately, a sound legal knowledge isn't everything you need to start your own solo practice.
Solo Practice University™ takes over where law school leaves students. We offer courses in particulars of law on which you need clarification or expansion, and we also offer courses in marketing, technology, branding, copywriting, blogging, work/life balance issues and more.
At Solo Practice University™, you get all the expertise you need to get started.
- Affordability – Big or small, law schools have one thing in common: a huge price tag. Not so at Solo Practice University™.
We believe you should get the knowledge you need to start your own solo practice without paying for law school twice over. That's why we offer all our classes, courses, study groups, faculty hours, communities, and blogs for one low monthly fee – or an even lower quarterly or annual fee.
- Convenience – Remember clamoring to get that last spot with the only professor who taught a class on your special area of interest? That race never happens at Solo Practice University™.
Our live classes are recorded so you can view them at any time, and all of our previous video classes, podcasts and other media are available 24/7 whenever you're ready to learn, read, discuss, or ask questions. There's no such thing as a one-time class at Solo Practice University™.
At Solo Practice University™, we work hard to make sure you have only the best experts in the fields that interest you. We have classes on everything from entertainment law to marketing for lawyers to trial technology to operating your solo practice from home.
Even better, we'll keep adding the classes you want from the most well-respected professionals we can find.
Ultimately, Solo Practice University™ has just one goal: to help you open your own solo practice. We'll keep making this community stronger, better, and easier to use until we get you there.
User Buzz
"The faculty and students are connecting, learning, and acquiring the skills that will serve us our entire careers. For me, law school is where I learn how to THINK like a lawyer. Solo Practice University™ is where I will learn how to BE a lawyer."
"I'm so excited about Solo Practice University™ that I can't stop talking about it. It's much more than a resource for lawyers to learn how to practice law and build a law practice. From the first time lawyers log on, they will remember why they wanted to go to law school in the first place and remember--or even discover--what it's like to fall in love with the law."
"If the internet is the vessel connecting legal entrepreneurs, Solo Practice University™ is its heart. Students interact openly through free blogs and forums. The entire experience is one shared movement with one common goal: enriching the lives and careers of solo practitioners. As a law student, I could not think of a wiser investment in my education."
"If I had only joined Solo Practice University™ to gain confidence and inspiration, I wouldn't have been disappointed. But it's so much more than that. In the short time that I have been a member, I have networked, started a blog, and picked out no less than seven classes that I will be following. If you have ever thought about becoming a solo practitioner or a small firm attorney, you MUST check out Solo Practice University™."
"Although Solo Practice University™ just started, teaching the class has already allowed me to communicate with several brilliant lawyers, both within Texas and throughout the country. I also think being on the faculty will help me as a lawyer. Even though I've been practicing for almost fifteen years, I've already learned several things from the faculty. Plus Solo Practice University™ has allowed me to experiment with some new software and web-based technology that will help me provide better representation to my clients. I'm excited to see how this great community of professionals develops over the next several months."
"I have joined and created member groups discussing topics like Branding, Career Planning and Going Solo out of Law School. I am also taking five courses including Legal Blogging, Virtual Law Practice and Consumer Bankruptcy Law. The tools and resources that Solo Practice University™ will provide me are invaluable and can't be found all in one place anywhere else."
"I am loving Solo Practice University™ so far! I have had an opportunity to meet and network with some fellow students up in my area (one even goes to the same school!). The only problem I am having is that there are far too many interesting courses and, I fear, not enough time in the day to keep up with all of them! Solo Practice University™ came at the perfect time to alleviate my fear of being dropped, scared and alone, into the legal quagmire to fend for myself."
Testimonials
"If there is anything on which lawyers agree, it is that law schools fall short in one critical regard. They teach the process of law, but not the practice of law. This is a particular handicap for the solo lawyer, who has to be not only lawyer, but also chief cook and bottle washer, all without a colleague or mentor to turn to for advice.
Enter Solo Practice University. This website offers a collection of courses about practical topics related to substantive law, marketing, management, technology and work/life balance. It also helps fill the mentor gap by facilitating opportunities to network with other like-minded lawyers."
"Your best immediate investment might be Solo Practice University, an online legal learning and networking institution that fills in the many practical gaps in your law school education. At SPU, lawyer faculty teach real-world skills required in numerous areas of practice as well as marketing, management and technology know-how. I received a guided tour the other day and came away impressed. Even if you do not intend to go solo, you could learn a tremendous amount (inside and outside class) from some very knowledgeable people at your own pace for about 1/20th the cost of the average American law degree."