Last month's column on flat fee billing sparked a passionate debate. It also raised a lot of questions and had readers asking me for more details on exactly how I set my fees. So I am diving back int to he fray to go into more detail. First and foremost, let me say that, while [...]

Continue

In case you haven't noticed, I have beef with the whole billable hours thing. I have heard all the arguments in favor of billing by the hour, and I have heard all the arguments against it, and at the end of the day it comes down to this: whose side are we on anyway? Under [...]

Continue

As I got ready for work this morning, I found myself enumerating the things I absolutely MUST get done before Friday: Revise contracts for Clients A and B; Client C's corporate documents are way past due; Client D's  trial brief has been overlooked for far too long; Get the process server to serve the summons [...]

Continue

A while back, I wrote about how to handle downtime in your firm. Well, today, I'm going to write about the flip side of downtime: what to do when you are so busy you can't even take a bathroom break, much less lunch; so busy you can't hang up from one call before the phone [...]

Continue

We all remember the lecture from the Professional Responsibility class we were required to take in law school: ALWAYS use a written fee agreement! In addition to the obvious – a well-drafted fee agreement helps you avoid a bar complaint later on – putting your terms and conditions in writing is just common sense. Yes, [...]

Continue

I am blessed to have a couple of law firms as clients. These are, by and large, lawyers that do not specialize in business law (as I do) or maybe really didn't know much about running a business when they hung a shingle. I say I am "blessed" because lawyers make really wonderful clients. They [...]

Continue

I've talked a lot on this blog about the differences between BigLaw and Solo. What I haven't spent enough time on is what it took to make the transition from BigLaw to Solo. How exactly did I make the leap? First and foremost, I got fed up. Yes indeed. I had to hate being a [...]

Continue

One year ago, in December 2010, I hung out my shingle as a solo. I thought I would look back on that year and the lessons that I learned. First and foremost, I learned that I can do this! When I initially left Big Law, I was convinced that I needed a partner, that I [...]

Continue

We've all heard the jokes: Q: What is black and brown and looks good on a lawyer?  A: A doberman. A client who felt his legal bill was too high asked his lawyer to itemize costs. The statement included this item: "Was walking down the street and saw you on the other side. Walked to the [...]

Continue

These days, it doesn't pay to take whatever work walks in the door. Jacks of all legal trades find themselves masters of none. Clients need *specialists* (not being used in the 'not allowed' designation unless you are certified as a specialist) who know their niches very well. They come to you with a problem that [...]

Continue