Small Law Firm

In a few months, I will celebrate my third anniversary as a solo practitioner. Without question, this experience has been the most rewarding of my nearly 16 years practicing labor and employment law. In reflecting on this arbitrary milestone, I ...

I’m always cautioning lawyers about the hazards of dabbling, reminding them that there really is no such thing as a "simple" will or contract. It's not that I want them to avoid taking on matters that lead them into unfamiliar territory. Rather, ...

When you open a solo law practice, especially early in your career, it’s easy enough to do everything yourself. Often you’re too poor to hire anyone anyhow, and if you haven’t yet built up your book of business, you have the time to figure ...

At solo and small firm conferences around the country, lawyers gather to polish their skills, learn about new technology—and pick up a marketing tip or two. At the Illinois State Bar Association's Annual Solo and Small Firm Conference last week, ...

As a solo practitioner with a demanding work and family schedule, I’m always on the go. Between client meetings and depositions, I’m often attending parent-teacher conferences and baseball games and shuttling the kids to school, music and dance ...

In previous posts we asked the question, "How Much Does It Cost to Start a New Solo Firm?" And we received some great advice from practice management experts and a few newly minted solos on how much seed money it takes to start up a solo ...

You're a new lawyer, launching a new law firm. How do you decide what your hourly rate will be? The ethics rules say that your rate must be "reasonable." That doesn’t give you much to go on. You know your rate should be a fair price for the ...

It’s easy to feel all alone when you have a [fill in the blank] challenge in your practice. Cash flow slowed to a trickle? Stagnation on the business development front? Ethics scare? Or so burned out you just don't care? You name it and you know ...