Small Law Firm

There are myriad reasons to run an efficient, sound, organized law practice. Here are two great ones, from an ethics standpoint: First, it helps lawyers avoid making the costly errors that lead to ethics trouble. Second, when lawyers receive a ...

Back in January 2017, I was having breakfast with a local lawyer when he said, “I think I need to raise my rates this year. I am just not making enough money, and raising my rates should make the year more profitable.” This led me to ask, "Do ...

In previous columns, I have talked about the concept of tribes and building a network to support you when your practice takes off in a major way and you need extra help. But have you thought about ways to broaden the scope of your community to ...

Straight out of law school, I joined a small law practice. I didn’t start out as an associate with a large salary and plenty of document review projects to hit my hours. I had to eat what I killed and immediately begin bringing in clients. If ...

In my December post, “A Pre-Year-End Checklist for Solos and Small Firms,” we ran through the major systems of a law practice and took stock of concerns to attend to in the new year. (If you missed it, be sure to go back and get the downloadable ...

Some lawyers choose to limit overhead by working from home. They may arrange for supplemental virtual services and conference room access. While not every practice area may lend itself to working from home, technology has made this a more common ...

Clio gets to see us with our pants off. With data on the billable and nonbillable activities of more than 60,000 lawyers, Clio sees what users of the practice management platform are doing on an everyday basis. And, as with last year’s ...

Self-employed lawyers rely heavily on their ability to propel their businesses forward — more so than lawyers employed by others or partners of large firms. Fail to keep the engines going and your practice will close. Too much propulsion, ...

Growing law firms need cash, but cash can get tight. All firms should have access to reserve cash, such as a line of credit, but applying for a loan can be nerve-wracking — especially when bankers start throwing out unfamiliar terms. To help ...

Earlier this year, I attended the Group Legal Services Association annual meeting in Arizona. The highlight was the spirited "State of the Industry" panel. While the panel reported that the industry isn't yet seeing change at a disruptive rate, ...