I can hardly believe it’s already February. What a great start to 2012 it’s been. Besides the fact the weather has been unseasonably warm in New England, we are pleased to say our SPU faculty members continue to produce outstanding classes:

Recent Classes

• Stephanie Kimbro shared some valuable information in her post: Update on Ethics Rules Impacting Virtual Practice.
• Daniel Gershburg made available his newest classes:  Marketing a Bankruptcy Practice and Procedure and Practice Advice.
• Jonathan Ginsberg shares a couple of great Practice Tips in his classroom –  Using Social Security’s Forms to Prepare Your Direct Examination.
• Fraudulent Financial Reporting by  Roman Matatov is another classes in his course.
• Michael Brown has Lesson 7 – Case Feasibility of an Employee Rights Matter and Lesson 8 – Setting Up an Employee Rights Practice in his in-depth Employment Law course.
• Entertainment Law Update Podcast 25 can now be seen in the Entertainment Classroom from Gordon Firemark.
• Marc Garfinkle rolls out Criminal Law 101 with Class 1 – Developing a Criminal Clientele, Class 2 – The Initial Client Interview and Class 3 – Jailhouse Visits.
• Gene Goodsell kicks off International Sports Law with Class 1 – What Is International Sports Law?
• Richard Maseles keeps providing great information in Real World Legal Research: Face the Rule, and New Chapter (Finally) Case Law.
• If you’ve wanted to learn how Google can help our practice check out Lesson 1 – Introduction to Google and Lesson 2 – Everything Gmail which is now available with  Martha Sperry
• Susan Cartier Liebel continues How to Hang A Shingle Right Out of Law School…or Shortly Thereafter with her  Lesson 8 – Business Plans (Part 1)
• Chris Hill has shared Classes 23, 24 and 25,  Use Your Solo Status to Your Advantage, The Necessity of Written Change Orders and A Wrap Up and Preview in his popular Construction Law course.
• Gerry Oginski’s latest in Creating Online Videos for Lawyers. Also find out about The Most Powerful Testimonial Formula Ever.
• Lesson 4 – Getting Started with WordPress, Lesson 5 – Maintaining Your WordPress Site, and Lesson 6 – Customizing Your WordPress Site by David Carson
• Celeste H.G. Boyd returns with here latest Lesson # 2 – The Ethics of Freelancing.
• Rochelle Richardson gives us Lesson 2 – Establishing Service Connection for PTSD and Other Psychological Disabilities and Lesson 3 – Navigating the VA Claims Process in the Introduction to Veterans Law classroom.
• In the Unemployment Appeals classroom –  Lesson 3, Unemployment Procedure from Claim to Judicial Review, Lesson 4 – Disqualifications for Misconduct , and Lesson 5 – Voluntary Quit and “Able and Available” by Bruce Godfrey
• Want to understand Social Media and the Law? Deborah Gonzalez kicks off her Social Media and the Law classroom with Lesson 1 – Overview of Social Media & the Law, Lesson 2 – E-Professionalism, and Lesson 3 – Privacy and Ethics
• Greg Yaghami updates his classroom Trial Techniques with Lesson 14 – The Fit Lawyer.
• In Landlord Tenant Law Lesson 10 Kira Founteneau delves into The Proper Care and Feeding of Tenants

New Faculty Announcements, Guest Bloggers & Guest Lectures

• Martha Sperry Joined SPU and will teach Everything Google – Using Free & Cheap Tools To Ease Your Workload And Budget
• Gene Goodsell will teach on the very hot topic of International Sports Law.
• Douglas Greenberg joined SPU as a columnist discussing his experiences going solo.  There are already eight columns filled with great info.
• Rush Nigut has joined as our new columnist discussing  Business Law & Tech. Learn about the best advice he ever received as a lawyer in his inaugural column.
• Rania Combs, Annie Tunheim, Roy Ginsburg, and Micheal Whelan provided excellent guest blog posts ranging from their adventures as savvy solos to lessons on networking.
• Jared Correia gave a phenomenal guest lecture answering new solos frequently asked questions.  It’s a must listen if you are new to practice (and not so new!)
• Omar Ha-Redeye , also a Savvy Solo, gave a riveting guest lecture on GIS – Geographic Information Services.  Seriously, you need to listen to this area of law which affects all of us!

If you are interested in becoming faculty or guest posting, please e-mail susan@solopracticeuniversity.com

Faculty News and Accomplishments

• First, we want to congratulate  Stephanie Kimbro,  as she celebrates her 7th year of practicing law virtually. She lives what she teaches. Very Impressive Stephanie!
• Recently, Virginia Business Magazine announced its 2011 Legal Elite.  The magazine received 1,483 completed ballots nominating nearly 3,900 lawyers. Of that number roughly 20 percent, made the cut for the Legal Elite.  That being said, Christopher Hill was announced by his peers in Virginia as Legal Elite in the Construction category.  Chris has been given this honor for the past 5 years!
• Then back in December, Toby Bloomberg who teaches Social Media at SPU, was awarded the “Social Media Leader” award by the Atlanta Women in Social Media. Wonderful news, Toby!
• One of our founding sponsors, Clio, announced  a $6 million Series B financing for its cloud-based legal services package. The company principals Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau made the announcement at the opening of the ALM LegalTech conference and trade show. These funds will enable Clio to implement their vision of moving many more solos into the cloud with their excellent practice management services.
• Solo Practice University was featured on Forbes.com in an article called ‘Occupy Solo Practice University‘.  Check it out.  I also had an opportunity to contribute to Forbes.com in an article touting the virtues of virtual practice and women who have used this technology to their advantage in Women Lawyers Without Borders Rock Legal Practice.

Best of the Season Blog Posts

• ‘Closing The Deal’ – The Lawyer’s Version
• You Only Fail if You Don’t Get Up Again.
• You Ask…I Answer. Should I Put My Picture on My Business Card?
• Celebrating 2 Years Solo: Lessons from the Trenches
• Did a Groupon Really Work for a Solo Lawyer?
• Best Advice I Received as a Lawyer: Don’t Forget to Take the Time to Think
• Step 1 – Get Clients.
• Don’t Let Pro Bono Work Put You Out of Business
• How to Dabble in Delegating
• What Do You Do When….
• The Misunderstood Virtual Law Office
• The Referral Power of Positive Reviews on Yelp.
• Making the Leap From BigLaw to Solo Practice
• Strategies For Making 2012 Your Year To Rezoom
• Lessons Learned From a Hard First Year of Solo Practice
• How To Gain Experience As A Young Lawyer
• Learning How to Be a Lawyer Under Fire. Hitch A Ride On Someone Else’s Ego
• Keeping The Grinch At Bay.  Managing Your Student Loans
• Ready, Set, Goal!
• Forget LLC or PC.  Simpler Is Better
• You Ask…I Answer:  I Want to Fire a Pro Bono Client.  What Say You?
• Don’t Let Pro Bono Work Put You Out of Business
• Why People Hate Lawyers. Getting Beyond the Stereotypes
• 10 Reasons Why Thanks Can Improve Your Law Practice
• Networking Can Be An Ethical Landmine.  Be Careful.

SPU Keeps Growing

Our Bridges Program is expanding steadily! Chapman University and UALR Bowen School of Law have just recently brought our program to their current students and alumni. You will see more ‘public’ announcements soon as we grow our strategic partnerships with forward thinking law schools who recognize Solo Practice University® is an excellent resource for their law students and alumni who are or will be going solo.

Where’s Susan?

If you’re going to be in Athens, Georgia on March 3rd participating in the WIPI (7th Annual Working In the Public Interest Conference) sponsored by the University of Georgia Law School, let me know.  I will be moderating a panel on, you guessed it, going solo.

Or, if you are going to be in Orlando May 18th attending the Barry University School of Law  ’How to Hang A Shingle’ day long CLE, let me know so we can connect.  I will be teaching on my favorite topic, once again.

Law Without Walls

I have also been very privileged to be invited to participate as an Entrepreneur Mentor in the Law Without Walls Program created by the incredible team of Michele DeStefano and Michael Bossone out of the University of Miami School of Law.

LawWithoutWalls is a part-virtual, collaborative academic model, created by Michele DeStefano and Michael Bossone at the University of Miami School of Law, that brings together students, faculty, practitioners, business professionals, and entrepreneurs from around the country and the world to innovate legal education and practice. It is motivated by a desire to help those engaged in the education and practice of law to realize the impact our changing world is having upon our shared legal enterprise and to embrace that change to create a resonant, efficient, and sustainable future. Our goal is to jointly develop creative solutions to real problems in the way law is taught and practiced.

You can learn more about the program here as well as see who the ‘players’ are.  It’s innovative legal education at its finest.

SPU Classes Can Now Be Enjoyed  on Your iPad and iPhone!

Ready to Enroll?

Don’t need CLE? Want a monthly tuition less than your cell phone bill? Check out our new Solo For Life program.  Stay just for the classes you need…or as long as you like.  Tuition is never more than $45 per month after the first month. Check out our Tuition Prices, pick your plan and get started!