Link: Build A Solo Practice, LLC: "Tip of the Week" - Make Sure You Take a Vacation. Susan Cartier-Liebel really gets it right with this one. Our families are more important than our job. Do not be the guy or girl who figures that out on his or her deathbed. But, it isn't just the family who benefits from spending time with you. You will benefit from spending time with yourself. Solo practice can make this easier or harder, depending on you. Of course, there isn't anyone to cover for you if you are a solo. But, there isn't anyone to ask permission from either.

I have posted before that my legal secretary/assistant, who has been my right hand for over 25 years, is essential to my success as a practicing lawyer. My good friends, Grant Griffith and Chuck Newton, are proponents of the solo lawyer practicing from home, and eliminating overhead; which generally includes people type assistants. While I agree that having another person drawing a salary, and benefits, and all the other things that go along with having an employee, can be an expensive luxury, I have found my assistant to be well worth the expense. I was reminded of that fact this week, when illness forced me to stay at home. My assistant was at her desk at the office, fielding telephone calls, scheduling hearings and appointments, and conducting business as usual. She is an essential part of my law practice, and well worth the extra expense. Some expenses are beneficial to the law practice. So, go ahead and get proactive with reducing the expense of law practices. But, don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

Link: Legal Blog Watch. If you are contemplating leaving big law for solo practice, and you are still happily married, I give you the sad tale of this husband, who found, upon getting divorced and earning less income, that the Court took a dim view of being intentionally "underemployed". So, if you intend to make the lifestyle change, and to have a life, go solo now, before it is too late.

Link: Nearly 30% of Lawyers Surveyed Fear Firing | ABA Journal - Law News Now. In a down cycle for business and law, this post about fear of firing in big law didn't surprise me. What surprises me is that a lawyer who could hang a shingle and replace the fear of firing with the fear of not making enough to pay the bills, puts up with fear over which he or she has no control. If I go down, I am going down in my own boat.

Link: Because you never know...: Speck of Light. Shinyung Oh is a 37 year old former Big Law denizen who was unceremoniously booted. Her new blog has a gritty, literary feel, and this post about a big law partner in a big law firm, working late into the night on a big law transaction, gave me a big law headache. I know somebody has to do this work, and live like this; I am just glad it isn't me.

Link: Being Solo: GPSolo Magazine - June 2005 - ABA General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division. This interesting article from David Leffler chronicles the impact of the Internet and technology on the solo practitioner from1995 to the present,from the point of view of the solo lawyer. Especially interesting is the discussion of the evolution of email as a communication tool by solos and other lawyers. There has been an inexorable increase in the use of the Internet for communications, and law practice, especially solo law practice, has not been immune. Are you leveraging the technology advantages of the Internet in your practice?

Link: Associate Advice: Start Early on Client Development, Stay Late at the Office | ABA Journal - Law News Now. This article gives advice to the new associate in the megafirm. However, it fails to notice that the advice is even more important to the solo practitioner. While it may not be a life affirming decision to work 24/7, and to spend hours on building a client base; both decisions will impact favorably on the growth of a law practice by a solo. All the other skills are "people skills" that every new lawyer must have to succeed. Of course, the article neglects to mention the other half of a happy life. Family, friends, happy pursuits, kids, dogs, cats, and vacations. As a matter of fact, I am on one now,and the beach is calling my name.

Note: The photo was taken yesterday by a Centro cameraphone, and the kids are mine. I liked the fact that the kite was not visible in the photo. Kites, and life, should always be a little out of reach.

Link: My Life As An Associate by Jonathan Foreman, City Journal Winter 1997. So you want to work in biglaw, and have a big office, and a big salary, and a big car? Thanks to Neil Squillante at Technolawyer for this blast from the past. Actually, only a few years ago, and a required read for anyone considering solo practice who needs a push. I have been in solo practice for over 20 years. Nobody has EVER told me what to do with my weekends.