You're a lawyer, not an accountant. Yet many lawyers who run their own firms are forced to face billing and accounting head on to ensure their doors stay open. And the challenges only seem to be mounting, especially for small law firms. But why—and what's the solution? Here's a rundown.

In previous posts, I've covered how Evernote helps to get things done more efficiently and with ease. In this post, I'll focus on using checklists in Evernote to help you become an even more productive lawyer. First, it's important to point out there is a real and meaningful distinction between checklists and tasks in Evernote. Checklists are designed to serve as reminders of things that you need to do, but not things that serve as single-action items, which Evernote considers a task. Checklists come in handy for activities that take several steps to complete, or for a portion of a project that requires lists.

Legal question-and-answer sites—they're sometimes controversial but ultimately worth the effort. At least that’s been my experience. I’ve used legal Q&A sites as part of my San Diego-based criminal defense law firm’s marketing outreach and, overall, have found that my time has been well spent. But before I discuss the benefits of these sites, let’s cover the basics. First of all, what are legal Q&A sites? READ MORE

At a time when the supply of good, qualified lawyers exceeds the demand—and with so many options for finding legal advice or representation online—it is critical to differentiate your practice. To be found and hired, you need to speak clearly about the solutions and skills you will offer clients. How? Here are 12 ways to stand out from your competition.

It's so comfortable to tell yourself all your clients want is for you to efficiently complete the matter, give them the bill and get out of the way. Comfortable for you, but not quite true. That's just what clients ask for. It's like those yellow sticky notes: No one knew they wanted them until they had them. Similarly, by doing things they didn't know they wanted you to do, you can surprise your clients with how much they truly like and value you. And once surprised, clients are way more likely to tell others how great you are.

Question: We’re a fairly small law firm—15 lawyers, 9 partners—but it seems like we’re always fighting about who gets the best offices. Every time someone retires or leaves, it’s like a circus with everyone arguing about the empty office … and who gets the office of the person who got that office. How can we prevent this? It’s incredibly disruptive and creates rifts among the partners that just don’t need to happen! ... READ MORE

Congratulations! Your law firm has a brand. In fact, maybe several. You may have no control over it, but when people hear your name and recognize it, they think ... something. So the first question is whether you want to control your law firm brand, or allow your competitors and random market forces to define you. The former seems preferable. ... READ MORE

Last summer we began our journey toward an automated, money-printing practice when we discussed how to use project management apps to manage your practice and your people. Pardon me while I make the assumption that your firm has not quite yet begun to operate 100 percent autonomously … with your only remaining role being the cashing of your clients’ checks (paid early, of course).

Computer security is a cat-and-mouse game, and we’re the mouse. Even with virus prevention and detection, says Don Wright, it’s only a matter of time before unauthorized programs and predators get past the gates. Still, there are steps to take to keep your client and law firm data reasonably safe. For this Friday Five, we asked Don, who's head of information systems at the Association of Legal Administrators, for some advice. ... READ MORE

If you use WordPress for your website or law blog (and you probably should), there are some basic optimizations you should consider making if you care about people finding your content in search engines. If you follow these optimization tips, you can avoid some of the most common WordPress SEO problems, and your website will perform better across the Internet.