Chuck Newton

Do Not Mind The Law Snobs

2009-11-06T11:55:19-06:00

I have been getting attitude from other lawyers lately concerning my practice method. (Well, I guess I have gotten all along in the way of looks and stares, but now it tends to be more snide). For example, in telephone calls and in meetings, I get offhanded jokes and jabs about being a virtual lawyer or law firm. And, you can tell from the tenor in their voice, that it is not meant in the best sense of the word.

I have always tended to rack this up as jealousy. And, I do think that is partly the issue. The truth of the matter is that times are getting tough out there because of the economy. It just has to be harder on traditional lawyers up to their eyeballs in rent, salaries, benefits, commuting costs, appearances, memberships and the like to make the best of the financial situation. After all, if the college my children attend goes up, let us say, $1,000.00 in tuition, I might have to come up with $1,400.00 in new earnings just to cover the taxes and the like on the money. What do these traditional lawyers have to do? Many more times this, I would bet. More money, means more cases, which means more staff time, which requires more rent, which requires more in the way of fixtures, which requires more ... You get the point.

More often than not, there is just a nasty streak in some people that despise other situations, work conditions and things that they do not have. They do not want someone to have a benefit that they themselves do not have. You see this especially in our current political climate.

Whatever the reason for the snide comments, virtual, home office attorneys, connected attorneys, solos, Third Wavers, carpet commuters and the like are too often confronted by law snobs.

You know the type. These are lawyers who believe that their vast and ultimately unnecessary trappings of law (offices, staff, commute, the power to hirer and fire) make them better attorneys than everyone else. And, based upon this, they will often ridicule and speak condescendingly toward others lawyer that do not share their grandiose vision of how lawyers should practice.

Of course, we know, that these trappings have nothing to do any longer with the actual practice of law. We know these trappings are much like the powdered wigs that lawyers have to wear in some parts. We know these trappings, in this day and age, tend to be frivolous, aimless, imaginary, tenuous, capricious, and rather arbitrary to the practice of law. In fact, these trappings can be cavalier, imprudent, wasteful, and really expendable, irrelevant and truly unnecessary.

I hate to be rude, but my solution for law snobs is to be rude. Do so by ignoring these lawyers. You do not need a pithy comment. Just do not pay attention to them. After all, they are making their snide remarks because they desire to talk. So just smile and do not respond.

It is strange really. These lawyers are ultimately curious. Otherwise why would they be paying attention to you and your practice int he first place. They have an interest of some sort. I think they want to know more. It is just that their kingly personality of everything I do it great and everything you do is wrong gets in the way.

The point is to be comfortable in your home office, or virtual or solo or Third Wave practice of law. The only reason you might not is because of what others, like the law snobs, my think. If that concerns you, then you will not be comfortable.

Whether these lawyers are highbrows, or smarty pants, or pretenders, or upstarts, or name-droppers, or puritans, or charlatans, or braggarts, or just plain old arrogant, it does not matter. They can rob you of your goal, or your enthusiasm, or your comfort level in doing what you do.

Do not let this happen. Just ignore the law snobs. As I use to tell my young daughter, "I don't need your attitude young lady, I have one of my own."

Rise Of The "Homepreneur"

2009-11-04T00:41:46-06:00

BusinessWeek published an article on the "homepreneur" and the economic statistics it provides in the article are amazing. Specifically, did you know that we that work from home and collaborate with others account now for more than half of all business in the United States and employ more people than venture-backed companies.

So, the question really is, why are you as an attorney or legal staff still pursuing work in a dying, industrial-style system? We as Americans, like it or not, are going freelance. We are, love it or hate it, becoming carpet commuters.

This, to me, is one of the reasons I just hate this insurance debate going on presently. All you hear about is the concept of people being allowed to stick with your own company, or forcing coverage through large scale employers, when much of this matrix either does not exist any longer, or it will not in the not too distant future. Most big firm and big company employees do not have a health care problem because the employer has been eating the ever increasing losses. The problem is that this benefit is increasingly not true for most of us, and in reality that type of insurance no longer exists, even if you want to buy it, for us spare room tycoons.

It is also the reason that I hate the law school tuition bubble. It is based upon recruiting and training lawyers to get jobs -- but not teach them how to practice law -- with larger law firms, in-house, and government agencies. Law schools ignore the likely outcome of most of their graduates -- solo practice -- small firms -- collaborative practices.

Of course, when BusinessWeek talks in terms of the "homeprenueur", it is referring to us Third Wave attorneys.

As indicated in the article, the time is coming when we home-based attorneys and business people can no longer be viewed as eccentric or dismissed as quaint hobbyist.

An estimated 6.6 million home-based enterprises provide at least half of their owners' household income. Together Third Wavers employ one in 10 private-sector workers.

I am not even sure this figure is correct. I think the figure of those that make their living at home is even greater. Just in my neighborhood alone, there are a good many people that work from home, and I do not mean Mary Kay people. I know many lawyers that work from home most of the time.

The Internet, broadband in the home, cloud computing, online collaboration, and smartphones have accelerated the trend.

Just listen to some of these statistics. The 43% of home-based businesses that provide at least half of the owners' household income are, on the whole, smaller than non-home-based companies. Only about 35% have revenue above $125,000, compared to 75% for non-home based businesses. But they measure up to other small companies on key aspects of doing business, including access to capital, benefits to workers, marketing, and innovation. On average they have two employees, including the owners, and together they employ more than 13 million people—more than venture-backed companies, which employ 12.1 million people in 2008. In some of these companies, the operations are concentrated in the owner's home. Others use their residence as a headquarters but do most of their work at clients' homes or offices. The variety of home-based businesses cuts across industries, but the top sectors are business and professional services, construction, retail, and personal services (such as law).

As a result of this trend, there has been a change of consciousness in the business world to recognize home-based enterprises as legitimate.

Why?

Well, the most obvious financial benefit for home-based entrepreneurs is lower operating costs. A 2006 SBA study compared tax returns of sole proprietors who deducted home-office expenses with those who deducted commercial rent. That analysis found that home businesses, on average, had lower sales and net profits than companies in commercial spaces. But profitable home-based ventures retained a greater share of their total receipts as net income: 36%, vs. 21% for non-home-based businesses.

As we have been saying, I think what you see here is an trend that will continue to grow, and grow, and grow.

Want To Be A Good Lawyer? Try Not Thinking Too Hard.

2009-11-01T12:04:25-06:00

I do not know if I can be accused of being a good lawyer, but I am certain I can be accused of not thinking too hard. But, let us face the truth. We all tend to come up with our best stuff -- out best ideas -- our best thinking on a subject when we are distracted and thinking about something that we sometimes more pleasant.

I am, of course, talking about that "aha" moment -- that break through in thinking moment -- that point where things seem to coalesce in our brain.

This is the problem I have with those lawyers that disregard the concept of work-life balance or blending. Those that think you take a new associate, chain him or her down at a desk staring at documents 60 hours a week, might be expanding billable hours, but they are not promoting creative lawyers.

Do not we all find that the prime moments of thinking come when we appear distracted? That what we want to come to us does not when we are struggling to come up with it? Well, the same is true for law.

It is nice to think, as lawyers did in the Second Wave, that you are going to maintain to-do lists, calendars, get up early, go to bed late, and stay on a work schedule. In truth, you will end up bored out of your gourd, tired and just plain unimaginative. And, any way you cut it, that does not make for a good lawyer. That makes for someone that wants to exit the practice of law.

How many of us have come up with our best legal ideas, causes of action, solution, arguments, legal theories, and during moments when concentrating on other things, in front of the TV, at our kids track meet, watching a ball game, walking around the block, blogging, at a concert, on the golf course, doing yard work, on a card ride, or otherwise no expecting to? I would dare to believe most of us.

It is undoubtedly part of the saying that goes something like, "All work and no fun makes Chuck a dull boy". It also makes me -- and you -- unimaginative, one dimensional, and burned out on the practice of law.

I was reading an article recently in SmartMoney magazine, while waiting to get my hair cut, that pointed out that Nobel Laureate physicist Richard Feynman used to visit a topless bar, sip soda and scribble quantum mechanics on a napkin. Now that is a distraction, but not one that I would necessarily advise.

Albert Einstein came up with his theory of special relativity while not thinking about it at all. He was imagining himself as a child riding on a beam of light.

Brain scans show that when we think we are not overly thinking our unconscious mind is working overtime looking for the perfect solution. And yet, when try to force it with our conscious mind we get nothing but confused and a headache. The conscious mind is sort of like working with a pencil and paper, while the unconscious mind is more similar to inputting data into a computer and letting it run through through all random data.

This is the reason that answers often seem to come to us from nowhere. Better yet, these thoughts from nowhere tend to be more creative and novel than the ones we slave over.

When you concentrate on a matter you turn on your brain's prefontal lateral areas, which governs analytical thought. But, your insightful and more nuanced answers come when you allow your medial areas to work.

This is the old right brain, left brain analogy. It is part of the women are from Venus and men are from Mars understandings. Hey, maybe it is what distinguishes conservative -- prefrontal -- people from liberal -- medial -- people. But, I digress.

The point is that creativity comes when both parts of the brain are allowed to work effectively. Therefore, those that never do any work, and those that always work at the practice of law have a problem. The data has to be in the your brain before the unconscious computer can do its work.

The difficulty with trying to find the "aha" moment is that you cannot work for it. You cannot dig for it. Prolong staring at codes, statutes or case law is going to help. You cannot get to the deeper regions of your brain just because you want to. The more you press to get there, the less likely you will find the solution or the idea for which you are looking. The only way you can access this portion of your mind is to let your mind wander freely by doing something repetitive, such as washing clothes, power washing your driveway, playing video games, watching cooking shows on the Food Network, attending your child's recital or play, watching football, going to a movie, or casually surfing the Net. This is because when we concentrate, the brain suppresses territory on our mental map, and it tells all of the thoughts and theories in the unconscious to be quiet.

So go to the movie matinee, go to the ball game, go work in the yard, go walk your dog, go read that novel, go catch part of that old movie on Turner Classics, and take a nap. It does make you a smarter person and a better lawyer in my opinion.

Now, what does make this easier to do is to not work within the direct scrutiny of others that can observe you doing this. All these people need to know is that you get your work done, and you deliver the thoughts and ideas that they need. It is no secret that some people view this the wrong way. Therefore, working at home is best. It is the place that you can best blend work and life into a powerful and creative thought cocktail that will impress not only others, but also yourself.

The Law School Tuition Bubble. Has Logical Reasoning Abandoned Our Law Schools?

2009-10-27T12:08:32-05:00

You know, I lived through the 90s when credit card companies thought they could loan all the money available to anybody regardless of the ability to pay, get the public entrapped, then raise interest rates through the roof, get the Congress to make it harder for families to escape the debt in bankruptcy, and that there would no end to the madness. In short, they thought that could fashion some sort of diabolical plan to make tons of money that could not be harmed by something as trivial as the American public's ability to pay back the money at loan shark type interest rates.

I lived through the tech bubble of the late 90s and early part of the century in which seemingly smart people thought they could raise many billions of dollars from people based upon nothing but a story, a cool name, a logo, and pay for everything with worthless stock, despite the fact that the companies had no product, no market and no earnings. The hubris was that the story of future unseen riches were so unbelievable that people would continue to throw billions at them forever regardless of results.

And, I lived through housing and derivatives bubble of this century, that almost plunged the World into a depression. It was based, again, on the greed for larger and larger amounts of money from ordinary people, that anybody with a high school education new could not be met, and that seemed to defy all logic about how these money grabs would later be made whole.

Lost in all of this greed, we might be witnessing the law school bubble. This is where law schools promise students the moon for enrolling, only to increase tuition and fees (the cost of the education) through the stratosphere in the process.

Law school tuition has been increasing at an alarming rate. And, nothing seems to justify the amount of the increases, except that, at least in the past, law students have had an endless supply of debt made available to them. Sure there has been some inflation, but between rankings, prestige and a culmination of greed, there is no real basis for the money if the goal was to just provide a solid legal education.

There is little difference here than credit card companies pandering to college students with no jobs and uncertain futures. Law schools would not be increasing tuition and fees as they are if students could not find a way to pay for it, and I doubt then that the quality of education would much change. So, they pile the students up with increasingly higher interest debt and lead them to believe that Big Law will bail them out when they graduate. But, that is not going to happen except for a highly gifted few (which means not most of the graduating law students).

Here is an example of the problem faced:

Law school tuition has skyrocketed over the past 15 years, while federal loan limits have remained stagnant. This has resulted in the need for students to take out higher-cost private loans.

In 1994, students were limited to $18,500 in low-interest loans from the federal government. Fifteen years later, that limit has only increased to $20,500 though the $18,500 available to students in 1994 is worth $26,959.69 in today's inflation adjusted dollars.

At the same time, tuition and fees have tripled for in-state students at public law schools, and more than doubled for out-of-state students at public schools and those at private schools.

In the 1994-95 school year, low-interest federal Stafford Loans covered full tuition for in-state students at every public university law school in the country. In the '07-08 school year, Stafford loans covered full tuition at 80 percent of public schools, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

Stafford loans used to cover full tuition for out-of-state students at 97 percent of public university law schools and 80 percent of private law schools. In the 2007-08 school year, those loans covered only 22 and 11 percent, respectively.

The effect has been calamitous for students. The average law school graduate in 2008 left school with more than $71,000 in debt, the GAO reports.

"The rising debt burden of law graduates and other graduates has a negative impact on the ability of highly qualified individuals to pursue careers in public service," the American Bar Association reports. The ABA has been calling for Congress to raise the borrowing limit under the Stafford loan program.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill calling for reform in the loan program. It's now in the Senate.

The answer, in the long run, is not so much about the need for cheaper money, although that would be welcomed. The problem is the amount of money, the amount of borrowed money, that is needed to achieve a law school education. Then, in this world of freelance work, some honest advice needs to be given to law student prospects about the type of work they will likely be engaged in after graduation.

The question is, when is the law school tuition bubble going to burst?

Top Paralegal Schools Online

2009-10-26T10:17:56-05:00

There is a need for paralegal training. Sometimes, it is necessary to acquiring basic knowledge to find a job in the field. Sometimes, someone has a job in the area, has learned a lot on their own, but just feels the need to have the credentials. Either way, it is not always easy to make the move, find the school, or find the time to attend.

If this is the case, Top Paralegal Schools Online has been called to my attention. You might go to this site and review your options.

The Mixed Martial Arts Law Niche

2009-10-24T13:03:34-05:00

The people at LexBlog have a right to be proud of and highlight David Nelmark. They blogged about his blog Mixed Martial Arts Law Blog. After all, LexBlog designed and set up the blog for David Nelmark and his law firm, Belin McCormick.

Now, I do not have to be enthused by David Nelmark's Mixed Martial Arts Law Blog and his practice niche. I do not have an economic affinity to either. My blog is purely noncommercial.

The problem is that I am enthused by his blog and his practice niche. It demonstrates better than most anything what is possible and what is doable in regard to law practice segmentation. The more you can narrow your focus, the easier it is to find clients, remain top of the game in your legal practice, position yourself as the expert you have or can become in the area, and lower your overhead in relation to the money earned. And when the law concerns an emerging area, that is even better. It is like getting in on the ground floor.

As we ask in East Texas, do you want to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? I have chosen the latter. I understand that Mr. Nelmark works for a law firm that is more general in practice, but in this they have decided to excel.

Mixed martial arts, also referred to as MMA, is a full contact combat sport that allows for a wide variety of fighting techniques. Striking and grappling is allowed, for example.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the main United States based mixed martial arts organization. The UFC began in Denver, Colorado in 1993. The UFC initially imposes few rules on the sport and took a no holds barred approach. This led Senator John McCain to dub the sport "human cockfighting". This, and other publicity, initially led the UFC into the underground and most pay-per-view providers would not provide the games. Therefore, most of us who do not actively follow the sport, have not noticed it.

But, this is changing. The UFC has imposed more rules, it is operating now under the mixed martial arts banner, and it is emerging with cable-TV deals, and is expanding into Canada as well. For example, UFC games can now be seen on Spike, which is a cable channel owned by MTV Networks that is designed to attract a young male audience.

Also, with live gates at casino venues like the MGM Grand Garden Arena, pay-per-view deals are flourishing in this emerging sport, and the UFC has secured its first deal with Fox Sports Net.

As a result of the increasing popularity of the sport, the UFC was purchased by Zuffa, LLC., which is a sports promotion company.

The sport was included on the TV reality show American Casino. Now those at Zuffa and Spike are working on The Ultimate Fighter, which is a reality TV show no unlike Survivor where contestants battle in mixed martial arts matches for a six-figure UFC contract.

Now, I understand that this type of sport might not be appealing to a lot of you. But, it is a sport that is quickly becoming accepted. And, where you have a sport and millions of dollars at play, you have legal issues. This requires lawyers. Lawyers that charge good fees. Lawyers that understand the emerging sport. And this, really, represents the foresightedness of David Nelmark's Mixed Martial Arts Law Blog.

Maybe others should follow this lead.

Eliane Elias-Call Me

2009-10-22T10:08:58-05:00

Briefing to meet a deadline today at the Worldwide Home Office. Need some calming music. So, listening to Eliane Elias.

Forget The Herd

2009-10-20T23:24:03-05:00

I have receive a good many communications lately asking how a lawyer might get heard above the herd?

It is an interesting question really, and I understand why it is concerning for those wanting to enter the practice of law on their own. After all, the law market, like all other markets, are crowded, and it can be a challenge getting heard in and among the crowd.

The natural response is that somehow you have to be able stand out from the crowd in some sort of obtuse, aggressive and obnoxious way.

Maybe we think the we need to be the legal equivalent of Donald Trump or Richard Branson in order to stand out. Or, more low class like the late Billy Mays, Jon & Kate Gosselin or Sarah Palin, maybe, in which you have to act out in order to stand out.

I think it is that thought of needing to get heard above the herd mentality, the thought of being a showman or carnival barker of sorts, that so turn new lawyers off to the idea of practicing law on their own. It is also, strangely, that which turns some lawyers on - this thought of being a constant, annoying showboat can be appealing to some.

Either way, I think it is the wrong image to have and it is wrong idea to possess. In order to be heard above the herd, you not only need to go with the heard, but you need to get out in front of it. Take it from someone that has done it, the idea of this is no longer fun. Histrionics, bombast, exhibitionism, bragging and swagger is not only all to much most of the time, it tends to suit certain undesirable groups of attorneys all to well. You know, the churlish, detestable, gasconades none of us really like. They are only proud of themselves.

An attorney need not be a bomb thrower or noxious personality to stand out or succeed. There is no need to flabbergast or grandstand or stupefy in order to succeed in the lawyer's objectives.

I would suggest that you forget the herd. Hunker down and let them stampede past you. Trying to get out in front of the exodus in legal self-promotion will rarely serve you well, mainly because the herd is too distract in its adieu to pay any attention to you. In the long run, getting caught up in the moment will not buy you long term success.

And, I am not saying you do not need to be dedicated or pay a low level but constant attention to staying in touch with who can refer you cases. You just need to ignore the stampeding herd and concentrate on those that will remember you, your cause, and care about your needs.

Building a successful Third Wave law practice is really kind of boring if you want to know the truth. It is not about identifying the fleeing crowd, but in identifying those that can refer you the cases you would like, getting in front of them one on one, even for a few minutes, collecting their particular contact information, and staying in contact with them (by providing them simply and short information of interest) on a regular basis. And, then keeping them informed, and doing a good job, when you do convince them to refer you a client or case.

So my thought is do not try to get in front of a speeding train or bullet. Figure out what it is you want, the case or client you need; the people, groups, organizations and associations you need to get those cases referred; and, stay in constant boring contact with these sources once you find them.

It is also important to remember that herds concerning themselves not with legal niches but with overcrowded and promoted practice areas.

So, forget the herd.

The New ABA Approved Law Schools Since 2004

2009-10-18T21:59:08-05:00

There are a number of new law schools in the works, but otherwise 2009 has yet to yield any new ABA approved law schools.

ABA accreditation is important to a law school because this generally means the law schools graduates is eligible to take the bar exam in all jurisdictions in the United States.

Since 2004 the ABA has approved 12 new law schools. Some believe that by applying and attending newer ABA law schools that you might be able to obtain advantages that might not otherwise be available to you at more established law schools while, at the same time, not take the risks associated with a law school not yet ABA approved.

These law schools are by year approved are:

2009

None yet.

2008

2007

Phoenix School of Law

2006

2005

2004

The Bootless Bar

2009-10-16T17:44:40-05:00

One of my favorite legal commentators, even if he does gnaw at me once in a while, is Robert J. Ambrogi. He is a Massachusetts lawyer, writer and media consultant. He writes the blogs LawSites and Media Law, co-writes Legal Blog Watch and co-hosts the legal affairs podcast Lawyer2Lawyer.

All of this is an introduction to his post on the ABAJournal's Legal Rebels site entitled, State Bar Admission is Irrelevant. You can read the article for yourself, but his point is well taken. The state bar and licensing system has become antiquated in our virtual world. As he states, more law is federal and standardized, more lawyers are specialized, knowledge is king, and "state-specific savvy is a myth".

It produces an interesting predicament. I have noticed as the ABA and others have pushed for a uniformed bar exam and reciprocity, the federal district courts are trending toward restricting its bar to those lawyers licensed by the state in which the federal court sits. There is always resistance and blow back when change is on the horizon, and undoubtedly that is the case here. But, Arizona and Arkansas, just to name two, have in recent times lowered the requirements of obtaining a license to practice in those states.

I practice in a narrow niche, for example, that is based on a more universal federal law and right, which is not much affected by state law, and yet I still have to struggle with these geographic boundaries. And, this does not just include state boundaries, but the boundaries of each federal district in Texas.

There is no mistake about it. In the 80s I recall that Arkansas use to grant reciprocity rather generously. Then it stopped abruptly. The reason at the time was to prevent lawyers from outside the state from entering the state easily. Let's face facts. Lawyers like to protect their turf, and Arkansas attorneys are no different. Many other states not only act to restrict the bar, but have at least required in the past that to be a member you have to maintain a physical office and practice in the state. You might think that is reasonable, but what about areas like the one in which I grew up, Texarkana, that sits on a state line and is only a short throw from Louisiana and Oklahoma.

So, Bob is right. "Geographic restrictions serve neither the public nor the profession. They are irrelevant to a lawyer's qualifications to represent the client. Lawyers should no longer be licensed by the state."

What Is Your Personal Brand?

2009-10-16T11:33:22-05:00

Martha M. Newman is a lawyer coach, CLE presenter for the State Bar of Texas and Vice President of the Women Lawyers Section in her bar association. She is the founder of Gain Your Goals, Inc. and publisher of Top Lawyer Coach, a website that focuses on building lawyer's rainmaking, practice management, and leadership skills. She has kindly agreed to share with us some of her thoughts regarding branding.

___

Recently a group of clients I work with wanted to learn more about building and promoting their personal brands. One partner asked,“What aspects of myself should I talk about?”

I suggested focusing on the following:

Image, both in person and in print
Unique competencies
Niche markets served
Superior academic credentials
Integrity
Outstanding presentation skills

Cultivating your brand is essential in today’s marketplace. We are all free-agents – long gone are the days of an entire career spent with one company [or firm]. Today’s professional must create and promote their personal brand to clients, employers, AND peers.

The benefits of personal branding include:

Establishment of yourself as an expert in your field.
Increased perceived value among peers and clients.
Controlled development of your reputation.

Begin by focusing on the message of who you are and what you stand for within your chosen field. If self-promotion is difficult for you, remember you are the #1 marketer for your personal brand – you cannot skimp just because it is about you.

When promoting your brand, pay close attention to what is written about you.

When people read about you they should immediately be aware of the benefit and knowledge you offer. Strong and consistent messaging is crucial. Schedule time to revamp your resume, build or expand your profile on LinkedIn, and write a personal bio, all with your personal messaging.

It won’t be long before people will begin to seek out your services and expertise because they identify with your brand which is YOU.

IRS Issues 2010 Tax Rates

2009-10-16T11:09:25-05:00

Because it matters greatly to solo practitioners, you need to know that the IRS has issued the new tax rates and calculations for 2010. Most remain unchanged, but by law the dollar amount for various tax provisions are adjusted for inflation.

You can find a copy of the new provisions by CLICKING HERE. But, here are the basic changes:

• The value of each personal and dependency exemption available to most taxpayers is unchanged from 2009 at $3,650.

• The new standard deduction for heads of household will be $8,400, up from $8,350.

• The standard deduction remains unchanged at $11,400 for married couples filing a joint return and $5,700 for singles and married individuals filing separately.

• Various tax bracket thresholds will see minor adjustments. For example, for a married couple filing a joint return the taxable income threshold separating the 15 percent bracket from the 25 percent bracket is $68,000, up from $67,900 in 2009.

The University Of Massachusetts Wants A Law School

2009-10-15T18:28:06-05:00

It is funny really. The great liberal State of Massachusetts does not want a public option when it comes to a legal education in the state.

You see, Massachusetts is law school rich, but not one of its ABA or non-ABA law schools are public institutions. This means, of course, that a legal education in Massachusetts is expensive.

According to The Boston Globe, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education rejected the idea of a public law school four years ago.

The new plan, however, calls for the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth to take over the private, non-ABA, approved Southern New England School of Law, which is located in North Dartmouth. The state will be given the campus and all assets of the law school free of charge, which is a package valued at $22.6 million.

It would seem to stand to reason that a state that has a number of non-ABA law schools (but schools whose graduates can take the Massachusetts Bar) has a dearth of cost effective law school spots in the state. It also stands to reason that the affiliation with a large public university would improve this cost effective education as the newly positioned law school achieves its ABA accreditation.

The cost of starting a new law school is always associated with the start up. It takes years for the law school to start covering its overhead. Acquiring an existing law school not only adds assets, but it avoids this costs. It is not much different than when a large donor giving the university a large endowment to start a law school. It is actually better.

The other issue is that you cannot have a great public university if it is does not provide a legal education somewhere in its system. It's position is to serve the interest of the state. Like it or not, lawyers serve that interest. It is an education that college graduates desperately want, and it is only now provided at a high cost in Massachusetts. This cost, if nothing else, increases the cost of legal services for consumers in the state.

The repositioned UMass-Dartmouth law school would charge just $24,000 a year in tuition, fees and for books, which is far lower than the $40,000 it costs to attend Suffolk University Law School, for example.

The critics of course are primarily the other private law school in the state. Maybe for this reason, the criticism of the repositioned law school is a bit disconnected from the truth. The argument is that (1) Massachusetts does not need any new law school seats, and (2) as a result of the perilous economy that new lawyers are not needed.

But, economies do not stay in a funk forever and in three or four years when the law school graduates a class, the market will likely be better.

Regardless, the problem with the argument is that no new law school seat is being created. The law school already exists, has substantial assets, has 235 students already, and not one penny is being expended to create a new law school from scratch.

As to the economy, what the law students of Massachusetts need in perilous times is not fewer law school seats, but more law school seats that do not costs $40,000.00 a year in order to achieve a law license. Is it not the state's responsibility to provide an affordable education to its citizens? I think so.

The the question is, if the issue in Massachusetts is the number of overly expensive law school seats, should not one or more of the private law school shut down?

This reminds me of the times in which Texas A&M University and South Texas College of Law attempted to merge to afford Texas A&M its own law school, its students a better education, and a lot of paid off assets. The politics of the situation just would not seem to allow it. That did not then, and does not now, make any sense either.

Some Of My Favorite Really Bad TV Commercials

2009-10-15T01:16:43-05:00

chucknewton

Savvy Networking: For Lawyers Who Hate The Thought

2009-10-14T10:54:12-05:00

___

Does the thought of walking into a room full of strangers make you break out into a cold sweat?

You’re not alone.

Many people are reluctant to approach strangers at networking events. They feel shy, or they simply don’t have the energy to connect with people.

The key is to mentally prepare yourself before you walk into the room.

Design an action plan, set goals, and let a positive attitude guide your behavior.

Overcome any negative self-talk, and become a savvy networker, with these simple steps:

Find a networking buddy, but part ways after 5 minutes.
Act like a host, not a guest.
Eat before you go if possible. Drink sparingly.
Set goals for the event.
Have significant conversations with three people.
Introduce at least two people to each other.
Get introduced to specific people.
Meet the speaker and make yourself memorable.
Practice your openers and exit strategies.
Prepare a spontaneous answer to: “What’s new? How are you?”
Practice active listening. Listen more than you talk. (80/20 rule)
Ask open-ended questions
Give a value proposition answer to: “What do you do?” (Ex: “Clients come to me who need help with….”)
Use receptive body language: Smile, lean forward, give eye contact when you are listening.
Discover a way to serve! Give a lead, a referral, or an idea.
Exchange business cards with people you meet.
Spend more time with new contacts and less time with friends and associates.
Focus on remembering names.
Remember to follow-up within 24 hours.
Look for reasons to reconnect!
Calendar your next email or get together.

Remember, networking events often bring together people who have common goals and professional experience. Let these commonalities help you connect with others - and push aside any social roadblocks.

And last but not least, don’t forget to foster your new connections. Potential prospects often fall by the wayside shortly after a networking event. Overcome this by reaching out to prospects at least once a month.

Follow these simple steps - and soon people will be coming to you for savvy legal advice.

Lighting Up Your Home Office

2009-10-10T22:27:21-05:00

It is getting to be that time of year again. It is getting darker earlier and for a longer period of time. And, this makes me think of the lighting in most law offices, especially home law offices.

When establishing my home office, this was a major thing for me. I did not care as much about the amount of space, but when scoping out my new home a couple years ago I was well aware that I wanted my space to be by a big window.

Now, I know there are a lot of people who swear that they cannot work by a window because it causes them to daydream or some such thing. I have an attorney I work with who keeps all of his blinds closed while he is working. To me, it makes an office seem almost tomb like. I do not want that. It is depressing. I am older now and I am well past my younger days of reading in the dark. I do not want a big window in my office so as to gaze outside, although I like doing that. It is fun watching the humming birds outside my office window. Although, my desk is turned with my back to my window so that I am not always distracted.

I want the window for the natural light that flows in during the days. It really sets the mood. It keeps me happy, I do not have to burn electricity on lights most of the days, and I suffer, I think, from a little bit of a funk when I do not have natural light. I am not a vampire, after all. Natural light just make me feel better, more up, more motivated. It is also easier to read with natural light, especially when you get a little older.

When I bought my home the room that is now my office had one of those combination ceiling fan and light. I had enough experience when renovating to know that this type of home lighting does not work well for office work. It his yellow, casts a lot of shadows and of course flickers when the fan operates. I replaced the fan with one that does not have a light attached to it, and I installed four pot lights or recessed lights in the ceiling that put out a lot of white light. You do not want diffused lighting in your home office. That is a lot for a small room, but it offers me the clear lighting I need, without the buzz and ugly nature of fluorescence lighting. And, it does not distract from the home-like nature of my house. I short, I am not adding something that is not attractive, is business like, and will make it harder to market and sell my home in the future, should I decide to sell.

If it is ambiance you need, given the room, you could certainly add a dimmer switch to your new recessed lighting.

Because the room is brightened by either natural light or the nice white light fixtures, I do not find that I need task lighting.

I hear a lot of complaints from people about their home offices. I think a lot of it is due to the lighting issues. My point is that with just a little planning and a little money you can adjust the lighting in a way that serves your professional purpose, while not destroying the homey-nature of your house.

I tend to think if your lighting combination is well thought out, and you can work in a clean, bright space, that is also attractive, you will not find as many problems with your workspace. Natural lighting, and bright white lights when natural light is not available makes a home office a comfortable and enjoyable place to work.

(Pictured is one of the two desk in my home office. The one showing the window).

The Belmont Stakes

2009-10-10T00:03:53-05:00

I am speaking of course about Belmont University and the new College of Law it is planning to open in the fall of 2011. The stakes could not be higher for the University or for the State of Tennessee.

Belmont University is a private liberal arts university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the largest Christian university in Tennessee and the second largest private university in the state, behind Vanderbilt University.

Belmont is still recognized by many as an arm of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, but the University actually severed its ties in 2007.

Many people still remember the presidential debates that took place at the school on October 7, 2008.

The University has over 5,300 students in both its undergraduate and postgraduate programs and it sits on an historic 75 acre campus.

Of course it is in Nashville and music plays a big part in the school. The University developed Nashville's first radio station in 1922. (I like this story - a 16 year old high school student installed the transmitter).

The University is home to the only AACSB International accredited Music Business program in the world - the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business. The University has three professional-quality recording studios on campus and owns the Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios, a for-profit studio used by artist like Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow and Bob Seger. It also operates the historic RCA Studio B in conjunction with the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Mike Curb Family Foundation. And, its students can spend a semester in Los Angeles and New York City learning about and interning in the entertainment industry.

The University has a number of other accomplishments, but now it plans to add the first new law school in middle Tennessee in a century beginning in 2011. A closely guarded secret until now, the move it has been in the planning for the last 5 years.

Belmont Law, in looking for a way to set itself apart from Vanderbilt University Law School, is considering aligning itself with its music program and promoting degrees in intellectual property.

The University plans to spend $25 million to build a 75,000 square foot law school and law library building. It will hire 20 new faculty members. Its first class will have about 120 students and tuition will be between $25,000 to $35,000 a year.

Solo Business Entities Are Just "Superfluous Window Dressing"

2009-10-09T16:39:21-05:00

Anybody that has read this blog for any length of time knows how I feel about solo attorneys, or attorneys that can nonetheless operate as solos in a group environment, forming and operating as corporate-like entities. I think it generally represents silliness that is more costly than it is good. Yet, almost every day I get emails from, especially newly minted, attorneys showing off there brand spanking new partnership designations, Incs, LLCs, PLLC, PA, PC, and other fancy designations. And, for what good reason? It does not impress me. It probably does not impress their clients, when and if they get clients, and it certainly does not impress their bankers or malpractice carriers.

I know, every time I write about this I get a degree of hate email especially from attorneys who specialize in business entities or recent law grads that took a liking to the subject in law school. On an academic or practice level entity selection and creation is its own form of fun. I read every word written to me in this regard and, admittedly, in rare circumstances there is a need for separate legal entities for solos other than a sole proprietorship in which you operate under your own name. I have seen some solos start title agencies, for example, in which they need to be separate from their law firm, but mainly these entities are not needed.

I tend to think the entity infatuation is more of an ego trip, or a feeling or wanting to feel important and established, than anything else. But, the truth of the matter is that nobody much cares except the attorney touting the entity. For me, if you want to feel cool take the revenues you would otherwise lose and go buy a Porsche or something - on credit. It has about the same feel and represent the same risk in my thinking, and at least you will have something others might actually swoon over and is fun to ride -- at least or until it is repossessed for non-payment.

David C. Winton on his blog Bay Area Real Estate recently wrote about this phenomena in a different context, but I think it applies here as well. He writes:

"Why, if the proprietor has gone through the expense and trouble to create a corporation or a limited liability company ("LLC") do these things wind up being just so much superfluous window dressing right at the moment when you really need them to step up and do their job? (Their job being to protect your assets when things go sour.) Because the corporation or limited liability company formed for the needs of the of the small business owner usually doesn't have adequate assets or resources to give any comfort to creditors--bank lenders most commonly--and so the lender wants as much security for the loans as possible. Enter the concept of the personal guaranty.

"If ABC Corp. wants to borrow $1 million for an operating loan but only has assets of $50k of office furniture, computers, fixtures, etc., bank is going to want some other security. And if ABC Corp's sole shareholder has a few hundred thousand dollars in equity in his home, then lender is going to want a security interest in that. Plus whatever else the owner may own. So lender demands a personal guaranty from owner, and such guaranties are usually so broad in what they cover that it renders the entire concept of the LLC or the corporation almost completely useless. And it happens with such efficient thoroughness and with such frequency, that it's probably safe to say that if a personal guaranty is involved, then don't even bother with the corporation or LLC. (Except maybe for tax or accounting purposes but we won't go into that here.)"

In the context in which Mr. Winton writes, LLC and corporate-like structures or entities are (1) completely irrelevant, and (2) offer no protection at all to the owner.

Beyond Mr. Winton's context I have heard time and time again that the LLC or corporate entity can offer protection against malpractice.

Wrong.

Most malpractice lawsuits are against the attorney. The corporate entity is usually thrown in to the suit for shits and giggles. Whether there is one attorney or more in one of these entities, the malpractice suit is going to be filed against every lawyer that touched or glanced at that file. If you were referred a case or you referred a case to someone else, you as the attorney will be brought into the mix - personally. In short, the dollars might be better spent on malpractice coverage if what you are doing is legal work risky enought to warrant some kind of LLC or corporation.

I hear all of the time of tax protection. There might be a little, but do not pay your company's 940 and 941 taxes and there will be a 100% penalty assessed against the attorney owner of the entity - personally.

There use to be a time back in the day when a corporate structure might have some benefits in the way of retirement plans and health insurance tax breaks, but this is not much true any longer.

Mr. Winton speaks to some extent about filing bankruptcy. Here there is no protection for the reasons stated by him. However, the detriment is probably greater than stated in a bankruptcy context by him. Given the state of financial arrangements, if you were to put a LLC or corporation of this type in bankruptcy, you as the owner would also likely face various kinds of fraudulent conveyance and preference claims from the trustee and the bankruptcy estate. These can arise for a lot of different reasons such as compensation issues at the point of insolvency, and the payment of loans by the LLC or corporation that were actually issued first or primarily in the attorneys' name.

Then, there is the little things that have always chapped me about holding yourself out overtly as a business, as apposed to John or Jill Smith, Lawyer. LLCs and corporate-like structures just make any attorney at target for higher bank fees, telephone fees, insurance fees and the like than what you would have to pay as a consumer who is also happens to be a lawyer.

Given this, I have always felt that it is better as an attorney not to hold yourself out as something you are not. And, is that not what the real purpose of an LLC or corporate-like entity is all about? To make you or your firm look bigger, better and more established than you really are?

Sure, you might have plans in the distant future where something more complex might be needed. But, that is in the distant future. That is empire building in your mind. By and large that is the myth of new lawyers and new law firms. The problem with predictions is that they will likely not come to pass in the way imagined up front. And, if they do, you can always change your business structure when and if that day ever comes.

As a solo just say no to LLCs and corporate-like structures. They are a fiction for a reason. The supposed benefits they offer to solos, and even people that might be loosely associated with other lawyers but can still operate as solos, represent fiction. Be yourself and save the time and expense involved.

(The Wizard of Oz Pictured Above)

When The Face Sues The Butt It Is All A Bit Too Much

2009-10-06T11:28:39-05:00

Sometimes it is hard to understand why lawyers and big companies have a bad image generally -- until you read things like this.

Cannot anybody take a joke? Since when is a parody, no matter how much you resent it, not protected speech? I always heard it was the greatest form of flattery.

Anyway, as reported by Courthouse News Service, The North Face, a popular outdoor clothing manufacturer, has demanded that 18-year-old Jimmy Winklemann stop his The South Butt clothing line. The South Butt line is a parody of North Face, whose lawyer claims the South Butt line is confusingly similar.

Winklemann's attorney, Albert Watkins, finds the claim humorous. "North Face has indicated as a matter of record that the public will somehow be confused by the South Butt product," Watkins said in a statement. "There appears to be little recognition, if any, that the savvy of consumers precludes anyone from confusing a face with a butt."

Winklemann is a freshman at the University of Missouri. He said he started the clothing line to help out his parents. "The economy is tough," Winklemann said. "I know my parents are working hard to help me out with college, I took steps to contribute and now I am being bullied into submission."

Winkelmann's attorney said, "In the end, no pun intended, North Face has to understand that Jimmy may be bright and creative, but he is an 18-year-old college freshman with a total net worth which precludes him from buying beef for dinner. Perhaps North Face and other mega-corporations should embrace his spirit and talents and not smack him across the butt with threats of litigation."

It Might Be Time To Move

2009-10-06T11:02:27-05:00

Let us face facts. Most law student, many new lawyers, and some establish attorneys are renting apartments. I know of attorneys that are also trying to practice out of their apartments.

If that is true for you, then although the economic downturn can be a bad thing generally, it might offer you some relief in regard to rent and amenities.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the apartment glut is expanding and looks like it is going to continue to expand through part of next year. As a result, rents are falling, and deals can be had. As stated by one renter in the WSJ, "Renters are the ones with the power". She had just rented a apartment in New York for $1,950.00, which was down from $2,450.00 from the previous tenant.

It is estimated that vacancies will peak, and rents bottom out by mid- 2010. So, if your apartment complex is not willing to deal now, it might be the time to move when you can.

Is There Something Hinky About Your Law Practice?

2009-10-05T23:04:08-05:00

Hinky?

It is a word used to describe when something is indefinably wrong, out of place of just not quite right.

It does I think describe most law practices, does it not? You report to work each day, do your best, and try to find that right balance between work and life. But, for reasons you cannot really define, you just feel out of place. You think what am I doing in this practice area, in this job, in this office building, with these cases, or working with these lawyers or staff. You almost feel invisible in and amongst the office, the law and life zooming around you. You tend to feel a little like Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe in the movie The Sixth Sense.

It is okay. You are not going crazy, and you are not in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

It ought not be that way.

The problem, I think, is that all of us happen upon our life and our law practice serendipitously. We come at it uncertainly, extemporaneously and sometimes erratically. It depends a lot on our early image of ourselves as empire builders, the first job or lack of a job directly out of law school, and then what we can afford to do. As such, the practice of law that we find ourselves, and the way in which we practice, and the cases we take, come less deliberately, less painstakingly, and with little premeditation. The practice is unplanned, more offhand than not, and we come at it unforeseen.

This does not mean that we did not come at the practice of law purposefully, or that we are not adamant in our profession. It just turned out that past all of this our direction was more wavering, more indefinite, less planned.

We came at the practice of law zealously and wholeheartedly. But, who among us really knew anything about organizing a practice, or allocate our lives, or reconciling what we want to do with the realities of what we end up doing. Then, as the practice moves on it is only natural that it all feels a little accidental or a little alien.

And then, after we find ourselves here, the fear of the unknown or letting others down, like our staff and family, cause us to feel stuck.

As stated, it ought not be this way. It does not have to continue this way. The benefit of hindsight is that you can see better the solution that might for us now and in the future.

For me, I hated the lengthy commutes, not seeing my children grow up, and the monetary strain of running a large practice. The first goal was to set out to correct this. In doing so, I know the practice area in which I practiced was too large and it required a retail type of presence in order to meet with clients. It was based upon volume and I was more concerned with dedication to a cause.

The point was that as I moved toward the new direction or objective I saw for myself, the fog started to lift and I could see how the other pieces needed to fit together. I began to feel more attached, more in control, and more tuned in to the my practice and what I wanted to do. Sure, at first, it was a little scary or confusing. I mean, after all, I had not addressed or placed a stamp on my own envelopes in a long time. But, I had faith that it would work out.

The point that I would like to make is that you can change. Just start with a premise of what you want to change and then think yourself through how achieving that change might affect everything else. Start in the direction of where you want to be in some category, and then figure out the rest as you go along. Just plan to work around the obstacles and do not stop the journey to avoid the obstacles you encounter. The objective needs to meet the objective.

And the other point to keep in mind is that you do not have to change all at once. You just need thought and movement. The transition is generally the hardest part, not because it is actually hard but because you have to fight to change your mindset. After all, what I have found is that most barriers exist no place but between our own ears.

The beauty of the practice of law, at least for me, is that you are not stuck with your practice, your policy or your area or niche of law. All of it can be retrofitted to represent you better, and to get you out of your hinky law practice.

University Of Akron School Of Law

2009-10-05T19:35:53-05:00

I know that Akron, Ohio might not be the most romantic city in the world. After all, one of its claims to fame is that it was here that Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935. It is referred to as "Rubber City" and "Tire City" for the automobile tire plants located there. It's known as the birthplace of the American trucking industry. LaBron James did come from here, however. It is a smaller city with a population of slightly over 200,000 people. Located between Cleveland and Canton, and just west of Pennsylvania, the cities industrial past is giving way to a "high-tech haven". Unfortunately, Akron is also called the "Meth Capital of Ohio". Regardless, it a center of quality higher education and medical services in the area.

None of this means that Akron is not a wonderful place to live, with many amenities. It can represent both a nice place to live and, because of the economic situation there and in Ohio as a whole, it can represent a more cost effective place to live. In economics and finance it is referred to as arbitrage, or taking advantage of a price differential between two or more markets. This works to some extent for law schools as well.

In this regard is The University of Akron School of Law. A public university and fully accredited by the ABA, the law school is ranked second in the National Jurist and the Pre-Law Insider magazines as a best value law school. Its Center for Constitutional Law is only one of four constitutional law centers established by Congress. And, the law school has both J.D. and LL.M. programs, and has both full time and part time programs. It offers joint law and master degree programs in business administration, taxation, public administration, human resources and applied politics. It has one of the few intellectual property law and technology law programs in the country.

Here, we do not pay that much attention to U.S. News rankings as we believe the rankings are flawed in many ways. Nonetheless, U.S. News ranks Akron Law as a third tier law school. This means it is a good middle level law school that still has a lot going for it.

In what should matter most, Akron Law has a competitive tuition rate and a nearly pristine bar passage rate. Despite the sharp rise in tuition by law schools nationally, Akron's current full time tuition is $17,928.00 for in-state students, and $29,960.00 for out of state. Especially if you are from Ohio, or can eventually establish residency there, there are few law schools that are going to offer you a better value. If you live in Ohio, you probably would not want to forgo Akron in lieu of an out-of-state or private law school. Further, the law school offers much in the way of scholarships, work study jobs, and apprenticeships. For example, law students are automatically considered for first-year scholarships. According to Law School Numbers, 34.7% of the student body receives grant aid, and 10.3% receive full tuition grants.

Akron Law exceeds the bar passage rate average for Ohio. Recently, for example, Akron Law recorded an 85% passage rate for first time, full-time, bar exam takers. The Ohio bar passage rate for all schools was 75%.

As for admit offers, this is why I referred to arbitrage. The law school, despite its value, admitted 37.7% of its applicants in its full-time program and 47.5% in its part-time program, for a combined average of 39.4%.

You have to think if Akron Law was located differently, that it would a hard law school to enter.

The point is that if you are considering law school, you might wish to seriously consider Akron Law for the value and quality of legal education it represents.

Rebooting Your Law Practice

2009-10-04T18:51:51-05:00

I am not talking so much about leaving your practice and then finding out later that you have to come back to it. You see this a lot with lawyers who move into other law practices or leave their law practices for paycheck-type jobs that do not work out for one reason or the other. No, what I am talking about is the need from time to time to realize your law practice has become stagnant or is loosing momentum. You reach a crossroad where you need to reboot it or restart it or you need to move on to something else.

This is the situation I see most often. Attorneys who are chugging along in their practice or niche, and then over time the firm slowly declines. The lawyers tolerates it for a good deal of time thinking it is a lull that will correct itself, but for an occasional blip in business it never seems to come back like it was.

Sometimes it is not even so much a gradual loss of clients or profits, but the need for the attorney to earn more money and the law practice is not keeping up. The practice area has not so much retarded, or has been impeded, as it is simply not much accelerating as much as is needed, or as much as the economy requires.

This can of course happen for any number of reasons. The law changes not making the practice area profitable due to a court decision or legislation. The practice area can become acceptable to the extent more lawyers are venturing into the area. The need for the legal services provided could be in a natural or prolonged decline.

Each of these things can, of course, be contributing factors. But, generally speaking, in most situations, these issues are not the problem. Competition is always an issue, but it most often seems to help than hurt, and most practice areas do not experience a catastrophic failure due to changing public policy or judicial decisions.

As stated, most of these reasons are visible enough that they get the blame. It is just that they are not just substantial enough in and of themselves to hinder most practices substantially. (As an interesting side note, I have noticed that when practice areas are most often in decline, those that continue to concentrate in the market see no decline in good business because the cat and dog law practices -- or the lawyers that do not concentrate in the area exclusively -- are exiting the practice area in faster proportion than the decline the quality cases remaining).

Most lawyers that I hear from about this issue have their assumptions, but it is simply easier to blame other factors other than yourself. I have had several attorneys complain of late that their practices are in decline as a result of TV advertising attorneys in their area. And, although it is true that the TV advertising attorneys have a good chunk of the market, the truth of the matter is that TV attorneys have always been there (at least during the time that I have practiced). The advertising might be working better now that the market is increasing in size. However, these TV attorneys are not increasing their market share as much as the market is increasing; most consumers do not chose their attorney based on TV spots; and, most TV spots only act to inform the larger public that the services are available. In short, most TV attorneys benefit the overall market, while at the same time there is a substantial amount of the market they can never encourage to employ these TV marketers. In other words, they are probably helping more than they are hurting, especially if your referrals are coming from other lawyers and professionals.

Over the many years that I have practiced, I have noticed that most attorneys, even successful attorneys, really do not have a firm understanding of how they generate business. The truth of the matter is that their business is referral business, and they are not really certain what they have done in the past, and what they are not doing now, to get the business in the front door or on the phone or online. This is probably true for all of us to some extent, but for most of us it is completely true. The problem with a practice declining or becoming stagnant is that most attorneys did not know what they were doing in the first place to profitably generate the referrals.

A perfect example of this occurred to me in the early part of the decade. I have always worked referral sources well to let them understand how important they are to me and how much I appreciate what they do for me. But, when my practice niche became first stagnant and started to decline, I struggled to understand why. What I finally realized is that in the 90s all of these preliminary-type hearings like management and scheduling conferences, and certain hearings on motion practices, started to decline. I did not worry about it because, hey, it made my life a lot easier. I did not have to get up each morning and decide what part of the State of Texas to get to. As cases ramped up, bankruptcy judges started to be overwhelmed, and new judges started to take the bench believing they could streamline their dockets. For example, these judges started instituting standard scheduling orders and conducting hearings over the phone. Where I use to be in court several days a week, I was now in court once every few weeks. What could be better than that?

I realized that most of my referrals came from bankruptcy attorneys. What I failed to realize was that, unbeknown to me, the continuous, time wasting cattle calls in which judges line all of the bankruptcy attorneys up in a courtroom to decide on things like deadlines, timelines, and trial dates was my greatest source of contact. At these hearings I got to keep up with my old friends, I got to reintroduce myself to my colleagues from whom I wanted referrals, and I got to meet the new attorneys joining the practice. Court tended to run long, and I would almost always go to lunch with attorneys when I attended court. It was not my intent, but what I have come to realize is that, more out of friendship and fellowship than out of an overt grab for business, I got to court early, I tended to stay for a good while, and I worked the room like a campaign event. It was a continual example of association, friendliness, affinity, closeness, familiarity and sociability.

I guess it was the relationship marketing meltdown equivalent to attorneys that advertising in the yellow pages in a declining yellow page market. In the past, you could place the ad and forget it. Now substantially fewer people turn to the yellow pages, the price of placement has gone up, you are locked in, and the medium no longer works What use to be a benefit is now, because of its contract terms, a liability.

The stark reality of this situation occurred to me when I spoke at a recent statewide CLE event. In the past I would look around the hall and know most of the people to whom I was speaking. Now, I noticed my old friends and colleagues I do know were in the minority. They were older, like me. The room was full of younger practitioners I have never seen before. Many of them I have worked with, but have never met because of how my practice operates. A good many I neither knew nor with whom I have never dealt. As it turned out the CLE events use to more of a reinforcement of what I do and how I could help these attorneys with their practice. Now, it was more of an introduction. The cool realization after the event was meeting lawyers with whom I have worked but have never met in person. The thought of how possible this is in this day and age is pretty amazing. The detrimental realization is that most new introductions do not garner you new business. It is only a start to the possibility of obtaining new referrals in the future, after more introductions.

The learning experience in all of this for me was that you must continually work to restart your law practice. Both because of changing environments and our own apathy we lose the natural advantages we did not really realize that we had. The practice starts a decline or starts to stagnate because the legal area in which you live has moved on and you have not. That is the reason most practices end after a degree of success.

The problem with all of us is that as we find a level that is comfortable we become fat and sassy, and take what we do or do not do for granted. What we need to do is continually work to rethink and to add to what we do, and how we do it; to get clients and referrals through the doors or on the phones or online. Like a house we must continually work at refurbishing it, breathing new life into it, overhauling it and reconditioning it, or it becomes outdated and dilapidated. The same thing happens to law practices even when you stick with your what you have always done and exert the same level of commitment.

In the early part of this decade when I came to the realization that I had to revitalize my practice and replenish my referral sources and revive my firm's upward trend, the question became how? After all, I could not make judges turn the clock back to massive cattle-call-type hearings. As it turned out the remedy was more comfortable and beneficial for me, but I had to learn to reach out in modern times.

For me, I started a practice blog because I could no longer share my thoughts and consult with my friends and referral sources at court. In short, these people were no longer coming to me, so I was going to have to go to them. I started a simple little database in which I started collecting all of their contact information, including their email addresses (which at that time were in little use), and fax numbers (which were in heavy use). Then I started out sending them email and fax blasts regularly, as well as some targeted direct mail. This worked well because I learned that attorneys tended to read their faxes and emails, and it was easier for them to share these with their staff, when they would otherwise forget when I simply handed them a card at court. I followed this up with some targeted direct mail. Admittedly, it takes longer for mail, emails and faxes to work, but it takes much less time as well than attending court several days a week.

I also started making it a point to revive the tactic I used when I started out. Now, if I have to attend court or some event out of town, I make it point to take my old referrals sources to lunch, dinner or to just drop in unexpectedly to their office to thank them. It almost always results in a referral if not at that moment, then shortly afterward. "Look Bob, I don't want to keep ya'. I just wanted to stop by and tell ya' thanks for your past referrals. I truly appreciate it." Often times I get this from the attorney or the staff - "No problems. Say, I'm glad you stopped by, what do you think of this problem one of my clients is havin'". Sometimes it is something with which I can assist, and sometimes it is gratis advice. Either way it is building good will.

What I have learned is that these terms or slogans like "clients for life" or "endless referrals" are most often hype. It takes continued work and effort to figure out both how you are reaching the people that matter. What worked then, does not always work now.

Whether you are new to the practice of law, a particular practices area, you are well established, you wish to expand your practice into other areas and markets, or you need your practice to grow more profitable, you need to continue to ask yourself the same questions:

1. Who or what are the groups, people , associations and organizations I need to know in order to encourage referrals;

2. What is the message I need to continually reinforce with these groups, people, associations and organizations to encourage referrals; and,

3. How do I stay in front of these groups, people, associations and organizations on a continual, repetitive, and everyday basis that encourage them to send me the referrals.

The message can change. The groups, people, associations and organizations can change. The deliver method necessary to affect these groups, people, associations, and organizations can change. And, when you do not truly understand what has brought you success in the past, and you do not keep up with how the legal marketplace for your ideas and practice area is changing, no matter what the competition, your practice is going to be adversely effected in terms of growth and, possibly, decline.

There is always a need for all of us to re-inaugurate our practices and ourselves, to re-formulate our practices, to re-imagine our position in the legal marketplace, to forge again new referral sources or to introduce yourself again to those that already know you, and to redesign the method of delivery.

There is a need for all of us to reboot our practices from time to time.

The three rules of thumb, I have found, are really simple. First, you do not need to stop what you are doing to try something else in this regard. Second, if what you are doing is not working like it use to, it is time to take a chance with something else. Third, if you ignore what you are doing and ask yourself the three questions above from time to time, with the thought of rethinking how to accomplish them, you will do well.

Ronald Reagan use to like to say about he becoming a Republican: "He did not change. The Democratic Party changed". This ultimately might have been a good thing for Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party, but I can assure you it does not work as well in continuing in your practice area of law. If the legal market changes, ever so slightly, and you do not change to keep up with the work you love, you are going to see your practice area stagnate and/or decline.

You need to spend a little bit of time, all of the time, to enliven, stimulate, exhilarate, reanimate and boost your practice area. If you do not, you will eventually see your practice area degenerate and depreciate. If that happens, it is time to reboot your law practice.

(Video) Social Media - Are You Up To It?

2009-10-01T01:26:38-05:00

I have to admit it. I have been slow to social media. No so much in failing to use it, but in failing to use it effectively, across the spectrum, to not so much promote (although I guess you can call it that), but to display my business and my cause and my law firm.

As far as I am behind the curve, much worse are most attorneys. Blogs might be the hub of the new social media scene, and most lawyers are stuck with a little used Facebook site and a static website, and typically a crappy website at that.

As much as I hate the overt hucksters that send me blatant advertising over Facebook, the truth of the matter is we are living with abundance in social media. It is abundant because it is cheap and easy to use.

It is not being used because to do it effectively requires the use of a scarcity known as time. The web and social media might be abundant, but the time to manage it is not.

I think what we all need to realize is that the scarcity of time or not, we have to focus on what is important, and in the overall scope of things, this is important if you want success in your profession.

To Build Or Establish A Law Practice, Just Begin

2009-09-30T21:46:55-05:00

As for myself, I have in the past been amazingly accomplished in exploring and developing law practices, and I have been equally dilatory to the point of not getting anything done - ever - in the same regard.

It is a shame really, and you need to strive not to let the latter happen to you. But, I have learned a few things in the process.

The main problem with establishing a law practice or even a new niche is trying to figure out at the outset how to proceed, and all that needs to be done. A business plan if you will or a road map that will tell you at the outset where to start, where to travel and where the journey will end up. That is a problem because you generally do not know the answer to these questions, and all of the thoughts, ideas, concepts and questions that develop swirl around in your head to the extend you just become dizzy. You start thinking that you just are not talented enough, or you cannot figure it out, or the task or uncertainty is just to monumental to do it.

The truth of the matter is that nothing operates in a vacuum, as is often said, and the same is true in developing a practice or niche. Should I incorporate? Do I need an office? I do not really know what to do in this practice area or niche to which I am attracted. How do I know I will like it? Where to I find clients? I will look totally foolish if I speak to anybody about either my plans or in trying to get them to retain me. Office furniture? What books or software do I need? What about forms? How do I handle myself in an initial interview? What if I am asked a question I do not know? Is it best to go it alone or associate with someone else? If so, who can I associate with? What about a mentor? Where do I find a mentor?

The truth of the matter is that is can, at first glance, seem all too involved and insurmountable. I understand that feeling.

There are just a couple of things I can share about this experience. First, nothing in law seems as hard as it appears at the outset. I do not care what anybody tells you. It seems insurmountable because in the beginning you do not even know what you do not know. But, every practice area has a set of rules, or a matrix if you will, that few talk about (possibly because existing practitioners have just internalized it and have not written it out themselves). You are just going to get to figure this stuff out as you go along, and you have to come to accept this fact.

One of the beauties of the Internet and Google, if you ask me, is that you can begin to discover this matrix for yourself just by visiting any and every website and blog on the subject. Especially those of other lawyers. Oh, it is not necessarily there on any given site, but as you focus and think through these sites the pattern starts to emerge. Maybe it is not perfect, but it is a start. It is a good start.

The websites and blogs are probably even better than course material because course material is generally so comprehensive that you get lost in the trees. With the matrix in mind, the course material will later make sense, but not so much now.

Whether by faith or fortuitousness, we all that which we think we might be interested in doing. It might be because of background or empathy or you just enjoy the thought process involved, or it is just quirky enough to excite you. It really does not matter. The point is that whether you are born with the desire or your have to hype yourself into the mood, you reach the point where you just have to explore this area or niche.

And, that is really how most practice areas or niches start out for attorneys. It is more of a journey and adventure than it is business decision or resolute approach. You just head out with the faith that somehow, some way, all will work out and you will be okay.

Because it is a journey and it appears from the beginning to be overwhelming, the best I can offer you is simply this. Just begin doing something toward building your law practice or niche today. It does not matter what it is. Maybe today it need only be an affirmation that tomorrow you will start the process or an exclamation to family and friends that this is where you want to go. But, the point is that this and this alone is the start of the journey. It is intended to be and its should be empowering to you.

Then, like building blocks, just do something every day toward the goal. Forget about the order. Tear up the road map. What should you do? It does not matter as long at it tries to advance you in some way in regard to the niche or practice you wish to create. Maybe the days chore is simply to call or email people with a question, read a blog on the subject, order some layman-type book on the subject from Amazon. Maybe it is thinking through how not to do something, such as how not to hire staff, or rent office space, or buy a new computer. That is okay as well. It is the small events that matter, and it is the small and continuous events that result in big changes and advances for you. The point is, even if it is somewhat blind in its application, these small, sometimes incoherent tasks represent movement.

The truth of the matter is that you can only see so far. That is the reason at the start the journey looks so terribly impossible. But, when you get to where you initially look, you can always see further. When you take those small steps, it advances you further along so you can see further. And, as you advance further those matters causing you confusion will be made clear, answers will be found, resources will be discovered, solutions will become apparent as in an epiphany, and things will ever so slowly fall in place.

So, just start doing something today, and you will be on your way to a new niche or practice area.

The best to you in this regard.

(Video) Microsoft's Courier

2009-09-30T17:45:15-05:00

Courier User Interface from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

The Water Law Niche

2009-09-29T22:40:58-05:00

When you think about it, water is the vital ingredient for all living things on this planet. Therefore, it makes sense that it is something that is going to fought over and legislated. Where there is conflict and where there is regulation, there are attorneys because they are necessary.

Water law is greatly related to real estate law, but it is more than that. It is also affected by environmental law. Unlike real estate, the unique features of water make it difficult to regulate as it can be used simultaneously by many users. There are issues of water being diverted and used up. Shortages occur. There are pollution issues. Almost anything done with or to water effects the ecosystem.

There are oceans, rivers, lakes and aquifers that cross states and national boarders, and this causes problems. Water issues and use even involve treaty rights with native Americans.

Our systems of for allocating water rights in is rather complicated. Complicated things need legal experts and representation.

It is strange, but I recall when I was young having an usual interest in this after watching an episode of Bonanza on TV. The corrupt landowner above the Ponderosa had damned and diverted the river leading through the ranch. It was just fiction, but it also was not. I thought how unfair that was, using water as a weapon. And, I realized that fights over water have existed for time and eternity. Who know the Cartwrights taught CLE.

Many eastern states use the old English law known as riparian rights, which generally provides that the landowner whose property is adjacent to a body of water has the right to make reasonable use of it. These rights cannot be sold or transferred other than with the land. But, then arguments arise as to what is "reasonable use".

Most western states follow the Colorado Doctrine, which generally allows for water rights to be unconnected with the real estate and sold and mortgaged like any other property.

There is water project law, that deals with the construction and management of water projects.

There are a number of sites you can look at to get an idea. For example, there is Texas Water Law, Water Law, Water Colorado, American Water Resources Association, Circle of Blue Waternews, North Carolina Water Rights Coalition, Utah Water Law And Water Rights, and Ground Water Science, to name a few.

There are articles on the shenanigans of investors like T. Boone Pickens buying up hundreds or millions of dollars in water rights for purposes many are not going to appreciate.

It might be a worthwhile legal area for you to explore.

No-Motion / Home-Motion

2009-09-27T02:12:37-05:00

Lawyers, probably more than anybody, suffer from no-motion. That is when at a law firm provides you, or as an associate you technically get, a promotion but no increase in salary or bonus. The law firm adds responsibilities, duties or more cases to tge attorney's current roster, but the 'monetary compensation does not keep up with it. This is something that typically creeps up on lawyers at larger firms anyway.

In short, it is a good thing for the law firm, but I am not always sure it is good thing for the lawyer.

Some law firms like to play this game where you move up in title from associate to senior associate, to junior partner, to senior partner and then to name partner. Maybe they have other positions as well. But, the jump to any partner level position should be a little concerning if you are taking on liabilities and responsibilities but not much else in the way of compensation.

In bigger law firms there is always the issue of taking risks but not getting paid for it.

I just finally came to the conclusion that I can no-motion myself. I call it the home-motion wherein I move my office home, and have no staff. At first, anyway, this creates more responsibilities. After all, you now have no one to address your envelopes and place a stamp on them. That is now your job. But, at least when the money is good it is my money.

At least with the home-motion you have the added perk of avoiding a commute, and having breakfast on the back patio.

My suggestion really is when continually faced with the no-motion at work, try the home-motion, and do what I do.

Stevie Wonder ~ Superstition

2009-09-26T10:13:44-05:00

It is a bright Saturday at the Worldwide Home Office, and Stevie Wonder is playing on Pandora.

Big Law, Big Law School, Big Bummer!

2009-09-26T00:39:09-05:00

Do not take my word for it. Check out the article on American Lawyer entitled Not That Into You. It reports on a study entitled After the JD, which tracked 5000 lawyers who began practicing in 2000. In short, what is life like eight or nine years out of graduating from law school? How well were these lawyers expectations of the future met? The results, to some, might be amazing. To us Third Wavers, carpet commuters, connected lawyers, future lawyers, untethered lawyers, solos, small firmers, home office lawyers, virtual lawyers and the like, we have known the results in our hearts for a long, long time.

Here is what the study found. It is not all about prestige and money. As stated,

“new lawyers working for firms of more than 250 lawyers are less satisfied with their jobs than their counterparts in smaller firms,” and that “[g]raduates of the most selective schools are the least satisfied with their jobs at large firms, while graduates of less selective schools are relatively more satisfied.”

The article has some notions of why this is so, including graduates of elite schools are “groomed to expect success” whereas lower-tier graduates are more likely to view a job at a large firm as “a coveted reward for hard work . . . not to be squandered.”

From my position and observations, the issue is not as much about money made as debt incurred, the life style that must be maintained, the image that must be presented, the hours that must be worked, the time for friends and family that must be squandered, and the satisfactions, as a result, that is lost.

Sometimes, when you as a solo or small firm attorney find yourself in a pity party about how you avoided these so-called riches, or did not apply yourself better to get into a "better" law school, or achieve a level where Big Law might be interest, you might count your lucky stars that you are a more humble and contented person.

New York Law School - An Example Of When Law Schools Play With Debt

2009-09-24T19:36:08-05:00

I went to South Texas College of Law. Not the most prestigious law school in the World, I guess, but when I attended it had one trait that you had to appreciate. STCL would not build anything, add anything, or pay for anything if it did not have the cash. I do not mean that it had the promise of donations and it borrowed against those promises. It was a cash and carry business, so to speak, and the law school did very well.

I do not know if this is still STCL's practice, but I kind of miss that philosophy. It has somehow been lost among everyone in the last many years. At least, in my opinion, STCL's attitude about debt was an influence on many of its graduates.

Now, no matter what the intention might have been, you gauge that against the story in the New York Times and the ABA Journal concerning New York Law School. According to the stories, in 1986 an amendment to the tax code changed to allow all nonprofits, such a law schools, to float tax-exempt bonds. New York Law School took advantage of this easy money, much the same as homeowners took advantage of easy liar loans, I guess.

New York Law School apparently not only took to borrowing money, it started playing around with some of the more risky alternatives out there to say maybe a percent or so in interest.

For example, New York Law School sold its library on prime Manhattan real estate for $136.5 million, added the money to its endowment, and then borrowed money for construction in 2006 by floating $135 million in auction-rate securities, which are sold at weekly auctions that establish the interest rate, but this type of auction dried up last year because of the credit crunch.

Why did New York Law do such a crazy thing?

Much for the same reason that homeowners took out crazy adjustable rate loans with teaser interest rates, that they knew they would have to refinance every year or so. According to the Times article, the law school’s dean, Richard Matasar, stated that interest on the securities was originally under 4%, compared to 5.5% the school would have paid on ordinary fixed-rate bonds.

Now, however, the law school has had to convert its securities into a variable rate note secured by a letter of credit at a higher interest rate, and its endowment has fallen by 20%.

Of course, here is the problem. During good times law schools in general raised their tuition much faster than the rate of inflation, and they did so with impunity. There was no project or one scheme too small for which they could not demand that law students borrow even more money and give it to the school. But, that greed was not enough, so New York Law School sold its building and borrowed over a hundred million dollars on some kind of debt that resembled something similar to a giant credit card. Now this gambling will likely result in law students being requested, now in bad times, to borrow even more money to bail the law school out. Law students will be indebted for nearly a lifetime because of New York Law's Enron-like behavior.

Why are people not demanding that all of the rascals associated with endangering the law school leave?

"Show Me The Note" Defense

2009-09-22T17:40:51-05:00

There is one thing that the law requires in almost any real estate action, at least in those states or in bankruptcy court, where there is a judicial action concerning foreclosure. That is the requirement to produce the actual real estate note, or at least a reasonable copy of it.

One would think that a lender, wishing to litigate on its note, or wishing to foreclose, would not have that much difficulty producing the darn thing. But, that appears to be wrong.

According to an article in HuffPo, and other media outlets, a small homeowner rebellion called "show me the note" or "produce the note" is taking off with some degree of success.

The truth of the matter, in this computer day and age, as these mortgages have been sliced up and transferred with great regularity, it just seems impossible for many creditors to produce the original mortgage note, as they must do if challenged. This has provided an opportunity for lawyers to get foreclosures stopped and get modifications negotiated.

As quoted in the article, "You wouldn't imagine that the lenders would be that slovenly that they would not be able to produce adequate documentation of the debt," said House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.). "But apparently a lot of times they really have been unable to."

When involving North Carolina's legal assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure, roughly one of every three mortgages has been found to have some substantial legal discrepancy.

During the securitization boom, millions of mortgages were sold and packaged into bonds -- often many times over, metastasizing into esoteric financial instruments -- for sale to investors. Each time, the paperwork should have been changing hands and the homeowner should have been notified that someone new held the note. But just as deciphering the true holder of the mortgage has become more and more difficult for homeowners -- Is it the servicer? Investor? Trustee? Original lender? -- the paperwork has also become difficult to track.

This also comes on top of the trend with the legal aid attorney in Florida, requiring proof as to actually owned the debt. Now they are filing quiet title actions attempting to get title to the client's home.

In dismissing 14 foreclosure cases in 2007 based on a lack of proper documentation, a federal judge in Ohio admonished the lenders, stating their argument that "'Judge, you just don't understand how things work'...reveals a condescending mindset and quasi-monopolistic system where financial institutions have traditionally controlled, and still control, the foreclosure process."

Most Attorneys And Law Firms Have A Website But They Are Not Really Online

2009-09-21T18:19:00-05:00

I like Duct Tape Marketing And John Jantsch, and he has reminded me about a concern I have about the web presence of most attorneys and law firms.

Almost every lawyer I run into these days has a website either for themselves or their law firm, and they think that represents an online law practice. But, does it?

Of the dozens of attorney websites I see everyday, some are quite beautiful in design. Some are rather average. Regardless, most of these websites are simply static. They are written in a tone that can only been viewed as, well, manufactured. Come on, who writes most of this stuff. It is not generally that informative, and it is terribly generic or merely customary. There is a page about how the firm is better than everyone else for no apparent reason stated. There is a review of the lawyer, and why he or she is unique like everyone else. There is the contact page, which provides them an address and phone number. That is good. Then there is usually a practice area page that explains that if you have a little money the attorney will practice in any practice area you request. Then throw in the clip art of a building in which the attorney does not office and a bogus picture of smiling staff that does not really represent the staff that work at the firm. And, ... Well, you get my point.

It is not that this information is not marginally important. After all, with the decline in phone books, potential clients and existing clients need to be able to fine the attorney, but it cannot be said that the law practice is online.

John Jantsch states it accurately and states it this way -

"Even though you may think you have one of the world’s coolest websites, if you aren’t constantly adding educational content, finding new ways to connect with your markets online, building community around your ideas, and ultimately using your website as a tool to convert know, like and trust into try, buy, repeat, and refer – then you stand little chance of competing in your chosen industry these days.

I know you’ve heard plenty of late about social media, but this is really a bigger idea still. What I’m talking about is the total integration of your online and offline activity through the use of a primary web hub".

This "hub" idea I have advocated for a long time. Your website needs to be the place where you bring all of your content together. All attorneys have it. They just do not expose it to the world.

I am still not sure about all of the new social media, but no attorney needs to be falling behind this curve. Social media feeds can be added to a site. There needs to be a blog as part of a site. If the site has a blog, someone needs to be actually blogging. What about a video channel? This needs to be embedded in the website. What about e-books or white papers? Those need to be there. Do you have forms that need to be filled out? Put them here. Have a speaking engagement? Put it there. The bottom line is that clients and potential clients that might be interested want to get both a feel for the attorney, firm and the law represented. So, give it to them.

And, if you want a chance to learn a little more, John Jantsch has a FREE webinar sponsored by Verizon on September 23 at 2:00 pm eastern time, entitled "How to Get More from Your Small Business Website." JUST CLICK HERE TO ENROLL.

How To Fire Your Receptionist

2009-09-20T20:20:59-05:00

I guess I should feel bad about advocating the elimination of jobs, especially the lower level jobs in this World. After all, it cannot be helpful to the job market if most law firms, traditional and non-traditional, eliminated their receptionist. But, the truth of the matter is the good old receptionist is about outdated as the buggy whip.

In the good old days the receptionist was necessary as not only the palace guard, but he or she directed all communications and mundane work to the person who was due to receive it. But that is old world. Now the receptionist is an expensive luxury.

Lawyers, especially I think, got use to not the usefulness of the receptionist at intake and directing information, but in hiding lawyers from their clients. This task has not passed, but it is about the only task for which a receptionist is still useful -- as the palace guard. Interestingly, I have found, it is the task (lying to clients) that most receptionist hate the most.

It is not just the cost in terms of salary and benefits, although that is steep. It is the cost of the additional space for the receptionist, the need for on-premise phone systems, computer equipment, fax machines, copy machines and all of the utilities expended on this staff person. And for what? I called a bankruptcy lawyer the other day and asked to speak with him, and the well trained receptionist stated, "He is in court, can I take a message." I asked if I could just leave a voicemail message. She said yes, and directed me to his voicemail. It took a minute or so after I was placed on hold, so I suspect she had to ring him first and tell him not to pick up his phone when she transferred it to his extension. She came back and on said, "I'll transfer you now." On my voicemail message I told the lawyer his receptionist told me he was in court, but it was 5:30 p.m., and when I left court there was nobody but the cleaning crew there. He promptly called me back and apologized. His receptionist thought it was a client calling.

Well, I was thinking, what if it was a client? Even more important, what if it was a prospective client? This tactic might make a lawyer feel more comfortable, but not only is the cost of the receptionist too expensive, it is probably costing him money in missed opportunities.

So get rid of the palace guard. Here is how you start.

1. Answer you own phones. Clients, attorneys and the courts are all now use to phone trees so that calls are directed to the necessary people. For less than a $100.00 a month, add a virtual PBX and work on the phone tree so as to get the calls directed as you wish. If you are really not at the office, directed the call to where you are. If you cannot take a call, let it go to voicemail.

2. Eliminate the reception desk. In fact, move your office home, your staff to their homes, and all of the other lawyers to their homes, and work virtually. But, if you cannot do that for some reason, then rearrange the office so the people closest to the reception area can hear when people enter.

3. Publish your own email address. Come on, face facts, whether the email goes to a general email address, clients discover your email eventually. And besides, whether it goes to a more general email address, the email or a copy of it gets sent to you anyway. You have to at least scan it and email it to someone else to follow up. And, if you are not getting the emails now, how safe is that to your law practice?

4. Add a direct fax number for everyone in your office. That is right, you do not need a fax machine anymore. Who uses those things these days anyway? I am just kidding, I know there are some clients and older attorneys that still use a fax machine because they do not have the capability or do not understand how to scan and email. But, I can tell you that number is falling fast. Even as early as a couple of years ago, I would get one or more faxes every day. Now I probably get a fax a week. So, you do not need the receptionist to check the fax periodically or to fax things out. Either sign up for a stand alone service or most virtual PBXs have fax to email and email to fax capabilities. If you have a simple, cheap, scanner on most desks even in a physical office, and some extranet, you do not need someone to keep up with the faxes coming in and going out.

5. Start eliminating the mail. Most of the mail I get these days is just junk anyway. Sure it makes the letter carrier happy to have a friendly face to look at and someone to say hi to each day, but is this worth the cost? I do not think so. Get bills coming to you by email, work at cutting down on junk mail, and start directing clients and other attorneys to send you attachments on email. If you have a physical office, then establish a discrete basket for incoming and outgoing mail and alert your letter carrier to this. Then whoever is coming in and out that works at the office can pick up the mail and distributed it quickly to the one who needs it. If it is a matter of applying postage for outgoing mail, then how hard is this. Just place the scale somewhere close, teach everyone how to use it, keep the postage machine or stamps handy, and like the water pitcher in the frig, whoever empties it is responsible for purchasing or supply replacements. Or, at least to place it on the list of things to acquire. But, most postage machines require you to call in and get a number for new postage.

6. Overnight packages. Email is eliminating the overuse of this service as well. But, I understand that you still get settlement checks and the like. First, discourage any document that can be sent by email coming to you by overnight delivery. Second, direct the overnight delivery people to the same mail basket. Third, if you are sending a package out, put it in the drop box yourself so that the delivery person does not have to rifle through the mail basket for outgoing overnight packages. If a signature is needed to accept a package, then simply apply the same procedure for anyone entering the office. The person closest to the reception area needs to be alerted and is there to sign for the package. How hard is it to throw it on someone's desk?

7. Legal research. In my day, the receptionist was mostly the person that updated the law library. She would add the pocket parts when they came in, she would place the Reporters back in place, and generally clean up the conference room. But, who maintains books any longer. If you do, stop! Online research is easier and less expensive. And, it does not cause a mess. It does not resort in the need for copies. It does not have to be updated or placed back in place.

8. Copy machines. Some receptionist are responsible for the copy machine. They have to keep it stocked with paper or run the copies themselves. Eliminate the copy machine. Scanners and printers are cheap. In fact, if you keep yourself from printing everything, you can buy old use printers for nothing. Add documents to your extranet. Email them to whoever needs them. This eliminates the need for a lot of toner and the need to keep the paper in the copy machine stocked. If there is no copy machine to use as a crutch, the number of copies will naturally fall and this, along with the cost of a fax machine and maintenance contracts, will save you a ton of money as well. If you do need a copy, then scan and print or print it off your extranet.

9. Errands. Is there are reason to run to the courthouse any more to file papers? If so, do it electronically. If you need to look at a file, then do it when you are at the courthouse yourself. You are probably a better judge of what you need to see anyway. When you are at the store on the weekend, just pick up the water, sodas, coffee and tea for the rec room, or the toilet paper for the bathroom, and carry it in with you when you come to work. And, pick up your own damned laundry. Quit being a spoiled baby.

10. Calendar. If most communications are by email or phone calls, and you are handling your own mail, then it is just easier for you to train yourself to calendar it then and there. Besides, it takes more time to remember to tell someone else to do it. Keep your firm's calenders online. That way you can access them at home, at court or when you need them.

11. Paychecks. Guess what, if you eliminate the receptionist, you have just cut the number of paychecks by one. You have cut the number of vendor checks by many. So now everything is easier. But, in any event, you do not need help handing these out. Just have your bank, accountant, or payroll company automatically deposit the checks in everyone's bank accounts. It is easier. If you are not that sophisticated, then use the online pay system at your bank.

Believe me, there is nothing that your receptionist can do for you, unless you are sleeping with your receptionist, that cannot be easily replaced by cheap tech. And, frankly, there is a substitute for sleeping with the receptionist that your computer can provide. And, this way your spouse or significant other does not catch something and nobody gets pregnant. I do not advise you to use this service. I mention it to say that a receptionist is so last century. I cannot imagine why you are wasting the money, time and space continuing to pay for a person that should have gone out with the buggy whip.

Now, if you have a receptionist, this post might have just saved you minimally what? $30,000.00? You are welcome!

Hamline University School Of Law

2009-09-19T16:25:55-05:00

We have not written about little hidden gems in terms of law school lately. So, let us talk about Hamline University School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The law school was founded in 1972 as the Midwestern School of law, but it was acquired by Hamline University in 1976. Hamline is one of the smaller universities to support a law school. That small, personal environment might very well be something for which law school aspirants are looking.

The law school is ABA approved and provides a flexible education schedule of both full-time and part-time programs. This is good, because as an ABA accredited law school, a graduate can practice law about anywhere they wish, provided they can pass the bar or otherwise obtain a license in that jurisdiction.

Hamline is a 4th tier law school, but that is not something on which I would concentrate. U. S. News rankings are flawed at best for most people who are interested in going to law school. The question is always whether you are receiving a quality legal education, at a survivable cost, and what is your likelihood of passing the bar upon graduation. In this area Hamline law seems to prevail. It consistently achieves high bar passage rates. Of late 91% of first time takers, for example, passed the Minnesota bar exam. 100% of first time takers passed the Wisconsin bar exam.

What is especially admirable about this bar passage rate is the Founders Enrollment Program the law school has adopted. The law school sets 20 seats aside each year in their weekday program for law students that have low statistical predictors, meaning low LSAT scores and/or GPA.

The annual tuition is approximately or presently $27,096. That is a lot of money, but it is low by private law school standards, Saint Paul is not the most expensive place in the world to live, and if you are more likely to pass the bar than not, it might very well make it cheaper than some public law schools. Also, it should be pointed out that Hamline does provide a lot of scholarships (or free money) that can greatly reduce this amount. The point is that you are likely to spend a lot more money (borrowed or otherwise) obtaining a legal education at other private law schools, in more costly places to live, with a greater chance of not passing the bar the first time out.

If you are looking for a law school opportunity, you might very well wish to look at Hamline.

The Community Association Law Niche

2009-09-19T14:19:52-05:00

Home is where the heart is. It is, according to most statistics, a families biggest investment and largest debt. In short, the home brings to the surface both extreme emotion and money issues. The home as a private place has been instilled in all of us from the drafting of the Constitution down. And where there is emotion, money and conflicting rights there will always be a need for lawyers. That is simply the hard and fast truth of the matter.

So, a real estate law practice, although parts of the practice might suffer inevitable ebbs and flows depending on the economy, the overall practice area always remains strong. For example, most real estate lawyers will tell you that when the economy is good, real estate closing practice is good. When the economy is bad, although more unpleasant, the legal work related to workouts, refinancing, evictions and foreclosures takes over. One area tends to offset the other.

But, like every practice area these days, the real estate practice area is large and there is a Third Wave need to find a niche. On such niche, that seems to do well regardless of the economy, for the reasons stated above, concerns community association law. These are often referred to as homeowner's associations (HOAs) or condo associations.

Community associations are prevalent for a number of reasons. A community association is usually a non-profit legal entity, typically created by the real estate developer who is or has developed a residential neighborhood, town home or condominium project, mobile home park, or apartment building, depending on where you live and what these units are called. There are also business or commercial community associations, but they are not as plentiful. From the standpoint of the real estate developer a community association can help it in developing, manage or selling the project while it is still in control. It can also make for an easier mechanism to legally, financially and functionally exit the project, once completed and sold out. It serves the homeowners in taking over control of the community from the developer in maintaining a project in a manner that attracted them to the property in the first place, and it allows them to have some control over what their neighbors do or do not do in a way that protects their investment or aesthetics. For the municipality, it usually allows it to increase its tax base while at the same time reducing the amount of service it would ordinarily have to provide.

Community associations have become increasingly common in the United States and most states within our country, and it is now anticipated that community associations govern 23 million homes and 57 million residents in this country as of 2006. And, at least until the downturn, those numbers are increasing daily.

You add to these numbers the relatively low number of attorneys that either represent community associations or lawyers that represent homeowners against community associations, and there is a niche to be filled. This is not to say that there are not visible attorneys working and marketing in the field. It is just to say there are fewer community association lawyers than would seem justified given the 23 million plus homes under community association control and growing.

The key authority enforced by most of the associations are what are referred to as CC&Rs, or covenants, conditions and restrictions. In Texas, these are just typically referred to as restrictive covenants. These CC&Rs are recorded in the property records when the property is subdivided and they follow the property as it is sold or transferred. Included in these CC&Rs is a provision for payment of periodic fees and costs.

Associations also service and maintain common areas, and often manage recreational amenities such as pools, clubhouses, gyms and walking trails. For all of these reasons they often levy assessments (sometimes referred to as "dues"), regulate activities and impose fines for non-compliance with the CC&Rs.

These associations do this by conducting meetings and electing boards among the property owners to manage these tasks. In reality, most associations hire management companies that assist them with these tasks. These management companies are most often for-profit businesses, and they sometimes operate the associations to maximize profits or fees for themselves. Since these management fees often make up a big part, if not the biggest part, of the community associations' assessments or dues imposed on homeowners, this can lead to issues that involve lawyers as well.

As a result, community associations are not always so popular. Zogby International once conducted a opinion poll on associations. Although it found that only one in eight had a negative opinion of their associations, you would have to believe that this the ongoing percentage of those that find themselves confronted by a community association attorney. That of course means legal fees.

Other surveys have shown that upwards to two-thirds of association residence are "annoyed" by the existence of their community association. They find that their associations are undemocratic, onerous, involve misconduct or worse. All of this is the normal give and take between associations and their residences and many of these are problems associated with any organization that has power over people. But, it is important to keep in mind that conflict in this sense means legal conflict. This means the need for and use of lawyers.

The luxury of most community association practices, if you can call it that, is that insurance is typically involved in the larger litigation issues by or against the association. Because of this fact, this large litigation is typically referred out to those lawyers approved by the insurance companies. Lawyers interested in extensive litigation practices can certainly solicit this business. This leaves, however, the ton of collection and enforcement issues (typically demand letters, monitoring, the filing of lien and foreclosures) to those lawyers that directly solicit community associations and their management companies.

This latter type of work typically involves fix fee types of business, that although not large in fees, is plentiful from a referral source basis. (In other words, you can achieve a small volume of this type of work from one referral source, and this makes it justifiably cost effective). And, although there are larger groups of attorneys that cobble together for this kind of work, this is the type of legal work that lends itself to the Third Wave practice of law, which means solo work or collaboration work with other attorneys, virtually, from home or small nondescript spaces. Most of it involves documentation, the telephone and certified mail, which can all take place from an attorneys' computer. There can be some court work, but it not typically something that requires large office space and huge support staff, if you do not want to organize this type of legal work in this way. This is because most of this kind of legal work can be formed out and handled quickly and efficiently. And, because it comes from a referral source that typically generates a lot of this kind of business, there is enough work for an attorney with just a hand full of these referral sources to make a comfortable living.

The establishment of community associations is also part of this, but typically this means working with the builder or developer in establishing bylaws, a non-profit association or corporation, filing the restrictive covenants in the property records, conducting the initial board meetings, instructing the builder or developer on informing all involved of these, and applying for any tax considerations. In short, all or most of if this type of legal work does not require fancy outside offices, preparing for trials, or jetting around all over the place. Most of this can be done from your computer and with a phone, and maybe a visit to the builder's or developer's office from time to time.

There are a number of attorney blogs, which you can follow on the subject, learned from and and from which you can get a feel for the practice. These include, for example, HOA Law Blog, Colorado Homeowners Association Law, Virginia Condominium & Homeowner's Association Law Blog, Northwest Condo & HOA Law Blog, Florida Condo & HOA Law Blog, Seattle Condominium and Homeowners Association Attorney, California Homeowners Associations Law Blog, HOA Law, and Ohio Condo & HOA Law Blog. One of my favorite sites, even thought it is probably not one of most sophisticated-designed site, is The California Condo Guru. The site is content rich and provides a lot of options, meaning information in a number of different formats, including a blog.

And, unlike mass marketed legal services, if you seek to represent community associations, although there are a large number of such groups, organizations and people to solicit for referrals over time, these are readily identifiable and are not infinite. This is important, because it allows you not to have to market broadly or expensively, in order to eventually find work and obtain contacts and referrals.

One of the groups with which you have to get involved is the Community Associations Institute. Not only are they an information, issues and advocacy group for community associations, management companies, attorneys and the like, but they have 60, typically active, local chapters as well. From this group you can begin to learn of the various management companies and community associations in your area. You can learn of those in charge, meet them and obtain contacts. And, from this you can build mailing, email blast and fax blast lists to follow up with them on a regular basis, along with any website and blog. Many community associations have their own websites and you can view those in your area and you can usually find most management companies in your area using Google. And, you might find some useful information on the Community Associations Network.

The point is that representing community associations, or representing property owners against community associations can be a niche practice for you, either as a stand alone specialty, or as an add on or addition to another type of real estate practice, or even maybe a bankruptcy practice. In short, if you are looking for a niche law practice, this is an area to which you ought to give serious consideration.

The Law School Admission Game By Ann K. Levine

2009-09-15T17:43:39-05:00

The law school admission process can be particularly complicated for the uninitiated. More often than not there are just unanswered questions as to how to proceed and what should really be done to which you have no reasonable way of knowing the answer. It is for that inside knowledge that some elect to hire a law school admission expert to help them.

One of those experts is Ann K. Levine. She is a magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. She was the director of admissions for two ABA law schools where she reviewed thousands of applications each year and was primarily responsible for making all admission decisions including awarding scholarships.

Whether you feel you need or want the help and assistance of a law school admission experts, there are two ways that Ann Levine has sought to assist everyone. First, she has a content rich website and blog known as Law School Expert. Second, she has written the book The Law School Admission Game: Play Like An Expert.

I got a copy of the book recently and read it. What impressed me was the clear and understandable road map that is lays out for anybody that is considering law school. It is written from the inside of the admission process.

Would it help to retake the LSAT? Ann Levine covers this issue.

Want to know how the wait list works and whether you can still get in? Ann Levine covers this issue as well.

What is the trick of the trade as it concerns letters of recommendations? It is covered.

Ann Levine also helps out by writing honestly about -

Writing Your Best Personal Statement
Creating a Powerful Resume
Explaining a Low LSAT or GPA
Getting the Best - and Avoiding the Worst - Letters of Recommendation
How Law Schools Evaluate Your Application
Learning How Law School Rankings Impact Admission Decisions
Deciding Where to Attend
Negotiating Scholarships

If you need these questions answered for yourself, or you need an overall feel of the process, I encourage you to order this book. You can do so by clicking HERE.

Students Who Flunk The Bar Exam Face Serious Financial And Personal Problems

2009-09-14T23:15:41-05:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting on the new analysis on law school graduates that finds that those unable to pass a bar examination have an even tougher time personally and financially that average college graduates. And, this continues far into the future. Five to ten years in the future, they still lag behind, and trail well behind law graduates that did pass the bar. The only good news is that these graduates do bounce back in the later half of their professional lives.

Now, there can certainly be a lot of reasons for this, but undoubtedly a lot of it relates to the law graduate not to find any kind of quality employment or assistance as a result. This is the reason that I often state that the one criteria those thinking about law school need to look at is the bar passage rate of a law schools graduating class. This is given little attention in the ranking systems. Certainly, if a law school has a higher or lower bar passage rate does not mean you will or will not pass the bar. Notice if you will, however, that some law schools have a history of weak bar passage rates. It can be said that statistics are statistics, but it does mean the likelihood is even greater that you will not pass the bar and will be left behind. The truth of the matter some law school, no matter of their rankings, focus on the right things and focus on building practice ready students. They focus on the bar exam.

How to l(a)unch your law career

2009-09-13T23:02:09-05:00

If you do not know Tomasz Stasiuk, you are about to. He is the publisher of Colorado Social Security Law, and as the name suggests he has dedicated his legal career to obtaining Social Security and medical benefits for Colorado based adults and children. But, he has also found himself generously providing advice to recent law school graduates as to how to find a job out of law school. Job finding is not a subject we handle too much at the Third Wave, and his advice is very good in this regard. He offered to share with the readers of this blog this advice, and it is a pleasure to introduce him.
____________________

One of my friends recently updated her Facebook status to say that she is finalizing her resume to find her first job out of law school. Having made just about every job search mistake possible, many of which I did not even realize until I started my own office, I can offer some advice to young graduates.

First of all, I think she made the right move by using Facebook to notify her network that she is looking for a job. You want everyone to know you are available and looking for work: old friends, classmates, even the barista at your local coffeehouse. Don't laugh! Lawyers love Starbucks and the local barista may well have the inside track on who is hiring!

You have probably heard that you should, "tap your network." But here is something that is probably more enjoyable and that you may not hear much: go have lunch.

Call a lawyer in your desired practice area and ask them to lunch. I remember when I was fresh out of law school, these words would start my knees to shaking and give me a cold chill. So here is a quick script to follow:

"Hi, my name is John Smith. I am a young lawyer, just starting out, and I would like to meet with you over lunch to talk about [criminal law, estate work, East Michigan mineral rights -- whatever the lawyer's practice is].

If you get the receptionist, stick to the script and simply replace "I would like to meet with you" with the attorney's name.

You may have to follow up in a week with another call, letter or email until you get a response, but it will be worth it. Persistence counts!

The worst that can happen is the lawyer will say that they do not have time to meet with you and they will ask you to stop calling. It is not the end of the world. If you get denied, call another lawyer.

Before your meeting, make sure you have a business card. It does not matter if you are not currently working, get a card made. While business cards may be "so last century," they are still the universally accepted way of communicating your contact information in a business setting.

Beyond providing your name, telephone number and e-mail address (if it is sweetcheeks73@hotmail.com, get it changed) include your LinkedIn address, twitter handle, or professional blog URL -- so long as you are using these for professional development and not talking about your cat.

What if you are not doing any of these things? The easiest place to start is a LinkedIn profile. Fill in your information, then connect with your law school chums. When the lawyer looks you up, you want to show that you have some connections or recommendations on LinkedIn.

If you are not ready to write a legal blog, you can at least be twittering about developments in the area you want to practice in. If you are not already on twitter, setting up an account is easy and free. Find news stories and blog posts through Google, Google reader, or Google alerts and tweet them. It may not seem like much, but it shows that you are staying on top of current legal developments.

What do you talk about at the luncheon?

Ask the lawyer how his business is going. Talk to him about any news on the lawyers website or blog. Asked how he got into this area of practice. Ask what is the best part of practicing in that area.

The worst mistake you can make is not "being stupid." The worst mistake you can make is trying to appear knowledgeable, when you really do not know anything about what the lawyer does. Remember, you are talking to an old hand at this, and you are the newbie. It is okay to be the newbie. Ask questions, and listen attentively.

Ask if there is anything you can do to help the attorney. You are not asking for a job, or for contract work. You are simply asking if there is something or someone that you know that might be of assistance to the attorney. Remember, you are the avant-garde. You take for granted the technologies that the lawyer is probably struggling with: online filing, Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, blogging, creating YouTube videos, and social networking. Be willing to share your knowledge. The lunch will go fine.

Of course, after the meeting, send a note thanking the attorney for his or her time.

Does this guarantee you a job? No, but it builds personal contacts which are the best source of job leads.

By Tomasz Stasiuk - http://www.ColoradoSocialSecurityLaw.com

(Videos) Third Wave Attorneys, Solos, And Small Firm Practioners Need Health Care Reform And A Public Option

2009-09-09T18:50:03-05:00

Because affordable, and shall I say reliable, health insurance is such a missed necessity for solo practitioners and small firm lawyers, I think that insurance reform is necessary. I believe that the public option is necessary. Co-Ops sound nice, but I doubt they can do the job that is needed to bring real competition to the health care industry. For example, one co-op-like health insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, just got caught using necessary premiums for extravagant parties and millions of dollars in inappropriate bonuses. The one failing of the Third Wave practice of law is the lack of lower deductible health care insurance that the practitioner knows cannot be canceled when they or their family needs it, denied coverage based on rescission, and which allows him or her to cover pre-existing conditions for both the practitioner and his or her family. The latter is what keeps many practitioners from going out on their own or even practicing law in the first place. And then, if you do get sick and cannot work as you must, you will lose coverage because you cannot pay for it. The truth of the matter is that many solos and small firm attorneys pay many thousands of dollars each year for what is essentially fake insurance. Insurance that will not survive the very high deductibles, the pre-existing conditions, the always present rescission after the fact and the diagnosis, and the loss of income. The truth of the matter is that the solo or small firm lawyer cannot trust that they will actually have coverage when they need it, no matter how diligent they are in maintaining insurance.

Now in reality, we really need a single payer system in which the money is collected to insure everyone, and then payments are made regardless of income, illness, or desire to the private insurance company of the persons choice. This requires tighter regulation of the health insurance company preventing them from doing what is wrong. The money is there for that with cost savings, but the distribution of the insurance dollar cannot be hoarded. The truth of the matter, however, is that Washington does the political will to do this.

Therefore, the public option is necessary if we do not want health insurance reform to not be a fraud. If there are not market conditions put in place to help nothing will stop the insurance companies from the outrageous greed and obscene profits that are harming and killing people in this country -- self employed people like attorneys. As seen in the video, below, one insurance company executive alone, Stephen Hemsley, paid himself 1 out of every $700 health care dollars spent in this country in one year.

The public option is not government controlled medicine. The hate and the hype to the contrary is simply not supported by facts. Robert Reich explains the simple public option in the video below.

I do not know what the president has to say tonight, but I would encourage each of you to actually write your representatives and tell them reform is well overdue.

As for big company employees, during the Bush Administration, it was argued that real wages for workers did not increase during his term. Well, that is not entirely correct. What did not increase was take home pay of the workers, and this was despite some tax cuts. Pay actually increased 25% during the Bush Administration for the average worker. The problem was that most of it, along with the tax cuts to ordinary workers, went to pay for increased health insurance cost. By all measures, this amount is escalating. If the trend is not reversed, health insurance coverage will increase to the point that even the large companies will not be able to provide it. More people will have to go without. More people will be uninsured. More will be under insured. The more and under insured there are, the higher medical costs and rates will be for all of us.

It is for this reason that a public option is so vitally important.

I hope for the best. I would ask your to help.

Thank you.

And ... They're Off! Applying On The First Day Applications Open For Law School.

2009-09-05T14:36:42-05:00

Ann Levine over at Law School Expert has a good little post about the fear or anxiousness some might feel to apply on the first day applications are excepted at law school in order to get the best advantage. Her position is that you need to of course be diligent at getting your application and materials to the law schools you have chosen to apply, and deadlines are important, but the rush to make the opening bell is not necessary. Even if the school has a rolling admission process, she states that law school admission officers are off recruiting people to apply to their law schools, and they are not spending much time, if any, in September reviewing files. Her concern is not that you should avoid applying at the bell, but that you might sacrifice the quality of your application and the process in order to meet this artificial deadline.

My concern also centers on those law school applicants that believe they have somehow suffered because they were not immediately out of the gate with their application. Maybe they decided on the school later. The meet the opening bell mentality might discourage them from moving ahead. This should not happen.

Marketing With Permission

2009-09-05T01:38:45-05:00

Not long after I started practicing law I discovered the magic, I thought, of TV advertising. Yes, it was incredibly expensive, but it produced large results -- fast. But, there was a problem with the potential clients it brought in. Although they were intrigued enough to venture into the office, they came with a great deal of skepticism and with many misconceptions. After all, it is difficult to transmit any kind of real information in the 28 to 29 actual seconds you are on the air. The potential client was there because of the unmitigated repetition (the shear number of spots) broadcast into their homes by my law firm. The other problem was that in order to properly inform them and advise them, you have to conduct a massive number of individual initial interviews, one on one, often without success. By this I mean you as a lawyer have to give away probably half of your available time visiting with people, for lengthy periods, and a good percentage of them are never going to employ you. The result is you bring in other expensive (in terms of overhead) lawyers and non-lawyer financial advisers to conduct all of the give-away work to try and educate the base and motivate them to retain your law firm as opposed to someone else.

The reason for this is that TV commercials, as most mediums, constitute push advertising. This is, essentially, advertising (or marketing) that comes to find us. It is what bombards us daily. It is prevalent. It is what makes duck and run for cover. It is why we all sing the praises of TiVO.

Now certainly every form of marketing enjoys a little bit of push. After all, a market has to be made for the services provided by your practice. The question is how much push works and at what costs. As I explained, above, push advertising or marketing is expensive both because it forces the spots in the face of your potential clients, it has to do so with enough frequency that they let their guard down, and then the cost of the individual attention to detail is very expensive.

The opposite of this is pull marketing. Pull marketing or advertising is the opposite of mass marketing. This is where the consumer wants to come to you for information and understanding and help. Certainly you have to make yourself available and visible to those that want to find you and seek the understanding your provide, but they are their of their own volition. They have not been motivated by what is the mass media equivalent of a cattle prod.

The Internet is the now the common tool of pull advertising and marketing. It sort operates as the initial door or flashing sign that encourages potential clients to look at you further. The other forms of pull marketing are seminars, speeches, papers, articles, courses, books, meetups, education and the like. Things that people go looking for as opposed to being pushed on them. Not so much a form of selling, but a coalescing and a flattening of the costs or overhead associated with advising, informing and educating the prospective client (or non-client for that matter) in the nuances of your practice area.

Where push advertising lures the doubtful, agnostic, cynical and uneducated or uninitiated disbelievers that are attracted by the hype; push marketing almost ignores the visitor while they are invited to come up to snuff through communal instruction and available cheap information as to how you can help or assist them if they so wish.

Another way of looking at it is that push advertising forces its way in front of the prospective client (and many others who have no interest). It is almost a shoulder to the front door of the person's home, much like the pushy yard guy who is "not soliciting", but rather he just wants to sell you some mulch he has left over from another job.

The pull prospects have an interest, are interested in knowledge and an understanding, and it is like they are inviting you over for a glass of vino to pick your mind about a subject they want to know. More importantly, from a cost of business standpoint, much like a Tupperware party of old, they are willing to invite you to visit with a crowd of people, all of which can hear the same information at once.

In short, with pull methods you are marketing with permission. Push advertising is a product of overcoming non-inclusion. In the long run, the best way, the most cost effective way, the most productive way, and the quickest way is to market with permission. It produces less skeptical, more enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and hence more profitable and enjoyable client relationships.

How do you do this?

Certainly, one of the best ways is with a blog. Not an effortless website, but something that is categorized and contains a lot of free and worthwhile content. A thoughtful site for potential clients to visit and learn as much as they wish with very little personalized or individualized attention by you (at least at the outset).

Increasingly with the inclusion of pictures, audio and video, blogs are becoming less impersonal because they are getting better at inviting people into your environment, letting them see you and learn from you. But, blogging is not always enough and there are more personal ways to market with permission.

CLE is a good way, as are participating or conducting seminars, workshops, courses, lectures, speeches, papers and the like. You are not only invited to market, but it introduces you as the expert in the field or niche in which you practice. It also allows you to educate in mass. Imagine, if you will, holding one giant initial consult or interview where you walk your prospective clients and referral sources through the intricacies of your practice area. Not only what they need to know, but what you need to know in order to help them quickly. When you are though, the personal touch now takes minutes as opposed to hours.

In the final analysis, as I found out, marketing with permission beats intruding on the masses with sloganeering in the hope of attracting the one in a thousand skeptics that might consider your services if you can overcome their doubts or fears.

Try marketing with permission. You might not have hundreds and thousand of clients, but then you do not need them to make a perfectly good living.

Home Office In A Steamer Trunk

2009-09-04T18:15:23-05:00

I know some people have space issues with home offices, but I have always said there are creative alternatives. In that regard, here is one creative alternative I found on Unplggd.

Not a lot of you may remember travel trunks. Frankly, it is beyond my years as well, but I have seen a number of them over the years in my junk shop hopping. But in the age of steam boats this was the way to pack for long trips. The $3995 Mayfair Steamer Secretary Trunk is available from Restoration Hardware. It is a reproduction of a secretary trunk designed by Timothy Oulton of London is made from hand distressed leather and with over 3,000 hand-hammered brass nailheads, with enough storage and desk space to accommodate for an iMac or laptop.

Is it what you have been looking for? A reminder of the distant past from which to run your futuristic virtual law practice?

Stop Job Hunting And Start Profession Finding

2009-09-03T23:47:52-05:00

I do not know if you ever watched the TV series The Waltons. (You can watch some clips by CLICKING HERE). But, I remember one scene in which John Boy was worrying about the unemployment or non-employment rate for writers. Then his younger brother confirmed with him that writers are self-employed, to which John Boy agreed. Then the little brother asked if writers are self-employed, how can they ever be unemployed?

It is a darn good question in the area of law as well.

I get phone calls from lawyers every day it seems looking for employment. I get unsolicited resumes in the mail and as email attachments. I get asked advice about looking for a job as a lawyer. At the courthouse I hear lawyers bemoan the current firing of attorneys from Big Law and other law firms. The district attorneys' office and the United States Attorneys' office is overcome with applications, many by lawyers that do not even want to do that kind of work. And, then based on this so-called lack of employment, commentator after commentator, especially those like me with their own blog, denigrate law schools and the law as a profession.

Where this sense of entitlement for a law job came from I am not sure. Certainly, it is fostered by law schools, and by the ranking system, in that schools promote employment rates to those looking at the profession. It is deceptive in that these employment rates do not much discern whether the law school graduate has $100,000 plus a year job with Big Law, or whether they are really working pouring shots at gin joint. (I guess being a "member of the bar" can have a lot of connotations).

When I was a young attorney running TV spots and heavily marketing, older attorneys would decry my efforts by stating that law was not a "business" but a "profession". Needless to say, they were not enamored with the changes in the profession that I was presenting. But, they also were not enamored by the entry of more women in the profession or minorities either. Let us just say that although I always tried to stay respectful, they were not happy with a lot of things I was doing to build my client base.

I have thought about this a lot over the years because I grew up with a lot of great attorneys in my community who I respected. These attorneys played a big part in the reason that I went to law school. And, although some of what they were saying might have been lost on me then, I have had a long time to think about it.

One of the things I believe they were trying to communicate was that law is not a "job". It is a "profession". It is a calling. It was not necessarily suppose to be a post of employment. It might be a series of tasks but it was not suppose to be a material assignment. The idea of an appointment of any kind was really more a luxury offered to those that had achieve much in their profession over the years. Nine to five is not what it is suppose to be about. It is not a business calling as such or a grind or an operation or a position in an organization. The practice of law might be a vocation of sorts or an occupation in a sense or a calling in the real sense of the word, but it was not meant to be a swindle, burden, enterprise, or some kind of tour of duty.

More often than not, the profession of law meant to be unaffiliated, non-staff, independent, freelance, free agent type of work. In short, associated with other or not, a lawyer was really more of a individualist. It is hard to be this when you live off the tit of another. You tend to lose your individuality, your morals, your differences you bring to the table, the special complexion you bring to the law, the distinction, your way, uniqueness, and really your separateness.

When you think about it, law is probably one of the last areas in which you can survive and thrive on your own and on your own terms. Comparing lawyers to businesses might not be appreciated, but think about everything else and see how it culminated into working for a bigger organization that does not much appreciate you. Realtors increasingly have to joint large national brands to survive. Doctors have to typically join hospitals or large multi-specialty clinics or a doc-in-a-box in order to practice effectively. Do you think you can compete as a mom and pop video store any more? What exactly can compete well against Wal-Mart or Home Depot or Office Max or Best Buy? Or, for that matter Amazon, Dell, Microsoft or Google?

And, whereas jobs have some benefits, who do you know that does not want to quit their job or to eventually do something else? In the practice of law, if you do not like the practice area, you can just start accepting a different type of case.

If you were to stop with the mindset of looking for a job, and start looking for work, or cases, or clients or a cause, you would see that what law, according to the old timers, is a profession, a calling, that lends itself well to helping others on your own or in small groups. It does not take a paycheck. It simply takes a will to be the best you can be. And, if you pursue it this way then the money will follow. A living will be made. Oh, you might not get rich (although a few might), but you will be happy doing what you want to do, when you want to do it, in the way you want to do it.

Further, a law job is still, at best, contingent work. If you do not perform to the liking of another, if the firm does bad whether you do or not, or the economy goes south, or your colleagues do not perform up to par, you are going to eventually find yourself on the street and starting over from scratch, and possibly at an age when you do not want to be in that position. Besides, we all know that most Big Law associates eventually lose their jobs or move out or are forced out. Which is harder, having a big income and losing it, or building your profession and income slowly but consistently in a position that you cannot easily lose and that you like? I will take the latter.

So, forget the job and take the profession, and I think in the long run you will be happier and more comfortable.

Dilbert's Right - Work From Home

2009-09-03T10:15:15-05:00

chucknewton

How Various Majors Perform On The LSAT

2009-09-02T19:35:20-05:00

I guess we have always known this. Certain majors do better at the LSAT than do others. Ultimately, to me anyway, I am not sure how much it matters. I do not think there is much of a correlation between LSAT scores and the achievement or joy in the practice of law. In fact, high LSAT scores might indicate a dislike for more abstract practice of law. I do not know, but as reported on Discover, a new study looks at the average LSAT scores of students with different undergraduate majors, grouping related fields together, to provide a statistically significant sample. The best scores were attained by students studying:

Physics/Math (160.0)
Economics (157.4)
Philosophy/Theology (157.4)
International Relations (156.5)
Engineering (156.2)

A bit humorous was that Prelaw with an average LSAT was 148.8 and Criminal Justice with an even lower score at 146.0.

As stated in Discover, the obvious explanation is that physics and math students get to be really good at taking tests like the LSAT.

Again, if you are a prelaw or criminal justice major, do not lose heart. The goal is the goal. Statistics are statistics. If you know what you enjoy and want to achieve it, tht is really all you need.

As for me. I was a poli sci major and prelaw. My drawback, if you can call it that, was the LSAT. If I can do it, you can.

Low LSAT majors unite!

How I Effectively Learned To Staff My Law Practice

2009-08-31T22:59:24-05:00

I had a large bankruptcy practice with five office locations, lots of lawyers and lots of staff, and during that time I tried to answer one of the primary questions of any law firm manager. How to effectively staff a law firm?

And, let me tell you, I was bad at it. Some might think I was a bad boss. I would disagree with that. I was an ineffective boss. In hindsight, I thought I should have been more of an ass in dealing with the other lawyers of my firm and staff. And, therein lies the truth of the matter. Too often you have to be an ass to run a complicated law firm business.

And, who wants to be an ass? Oh, it might make you feel tough and in charge for a while, but it wears on you. Nobody wants to feel like a bad person.

As for me, I would swing to extremes. Generally, I would let staff walk all over me. Do not show up to work, answer the phone, have a bad attitude, and not do the job. I would sit there and worry for weeks about needing to terminate the person. Sure I did not want to have them around any longer, but I worried about what getting fired would do to the person's family. I would feel guilt and I had no reason to.

Then I would have had enough, generally over the fear of cash flow, and demand to know everything. Scrutinize everything. Yell about everything.

Somewhere in the process I just decided that I did not want to lord over people. If that was empire who in the hell needed it. All I recall is that there had to be a better way. What I wanted was for people to do their work, and not to hoover around trying to find out how and when they accomplished the work. All I wanted was to be able to determine the firm's profit margin with some degree of accuracy.

Meetings? Hated them. Managing staff conflicts? Resented it. Meeting a large overhead? It made me sick at my stomach.

I do appreciate lawyers not long out of law school, especially the business minded among them. They want to conquer the world, and rapidly grow a legal organization. They envision themselves as more CEO than lawyer. I understand. I did to. I, by the way, achieved it. But, what that means is empire building. That might be fine for some, but I can tell you it is not what it is cracked up to be.

The other thing I generally found is that you cannot effectively staff your office, or any business for that matter. You will always not have the right combination of people at the right time, doing the right job, to make an organization work as well as you want. This does not mean you will not survive. It just guarantees that you will be miserable most of the time. Trying to solve these problems will mean that you will never have enough time for yourself and your family. When you do the talk will not be about the kids, or your parents, or church, or your upcoming vacation. It will be about work and trying to achieve this goal. You will have too much staff and not enough lawyers. Lawyers and not enough staff. Staff and lawyers not doing the right job. Nobody paying attention to the bottom line. Nobody will be happy with pay and benefits. You are firing, hiring, rearranging, and trying to make ends meet. Is that how you want to practice law? Is that why you went to law school?

So, what I did was ditched it, niche it and pitched it. This is to say that I ditched the practice and the firm. The staff, the attorneys, the office space, and the overhead. I niched the part of the practice that was most profitable and individually manageable. I then pitched that new niche to everyone I could find that could refer me clients -- cheaply. No more TV ads, newspaper ads, radio ads, yellow pages, or phone book covers. No more landlords, equipment leases, or utilities outside of my own.

I only became effectively staffed when I became a firm of one doing what I knew how to do, and what I wanted to do.

This does not mean that I work alone. I am just saying that the cases float the overhead and not me personally. You see, I collaborate. There are now four lawyers working from diverse locations, in a couple of states, that work with me on cases. I no longer worry about when they get to the office, leave, how long they take for lunch, who they are dating, the personal time they need, what kind of car they drive, or anything of the kind. What I care about is that the work is completed on time. These attorneys are motivate by the same thing I am motivated in doing. Making a living. Their ability to make a living is the same as mine. It requires timely work and an attention to detail.

I no longer have offices; equipment other than my personal computer, printer, phone, etc.; commuting costs; staff; or, paychecks to worry about.

So, the most effective staff for any law firm is you and only you. The best way to assign work is to collaborate and not to hire. The best way to peacefully with others existing is to mirror pay to performance. The best way to find the most personal time is to cut not only the commute, but cut so many layers that you no longer manage much.

It is really up to you. Do you want to be an emperor? Or, do you want to do what you want, with a few problems as possible, and make a consistent living? It is up to you.

Google Google

2009-08-31T11:26:03-05:00

chucknewton

Ave Maria School Of Law Prepares Students For Law School By Scrubbing Toilets

2009-08-30T20:29:33-05:00

Of there is no secret that I like Ave Maria School of Law. And, I appreciate this story on the local NBC station.

Before beginning classes, more than 200 Ave Maria law students boarded buses at Ave Maria to travel where they will scrub toilets, wipe cabinets, and clean ovens as a way to learn how to be better people and attorneys. Simply, by learning to help others on the smallest of levels, Ave Maria officials say the art of giving back will only blossom on a larger level.

(Video on the NBC station site).

The Automatic Stay Violation Law Niche

2009-08-30T19:12:46-05:00

It is an arcane area of the law, and admittedly it is one area about which I have not much written. Maybe it is because I might be a bit protective in that this is the area of law in which I practice -- in which I have pioneered in fact. But, the truth of the matter is I have encourage countless attorneys over the years, with little success, to consider this legal niche as a full time practice.

The practice concerns one particular provision of the Bankruptcy Code - 11 U.S.C. § 362. This is the automatic stay provision of the Code. In other words, it represents an injunction issued upon filing of most bankruptcies, which prohibits creditors and others from undertaking collection action against the debtor and against property of the bankruptcy estate.

The automatic stay is born of two parents really. The mother is federal injunction law. The father is federal fee-shifting law, or what is commonly referred to as "private attorneys general" statutes. The mother is the automatic stay provisions of 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). The father is the enforcement provision of 11 U.S.C. § 362(k)(1). (Before bankruptcy reform, this provision was known as 11 U.S.C. § 362(h), which still applies to all cases filed before the enactment of BAPCPA).

The purpose of the automatic stay is to tell creditors and others what they cannot do after a bankruptcy is filed. So, somebody or some entity is suppose to read § 362(a) to determine what is prohibited, and then § 362(b) to see if there is an exception. In most consumer situations there is not an exception. Then if one of the proscribed acts is committed, the automatic stay is violated. It is really that simple. And, the automatic stay is violated whether the violator knew of the bankruptcy or not.

The question is whether the violation is compensable? In other words, the question is whether the person or company or entity violating the stay has to pay someone for the damages, including all attorneys' fees and costs incurred in litigating the violation?

This question is answered by § 362(k), which allowed an individual injured by the automatic stay to recover all damages, including attorneys' fees and costs, and the possibility of punitive damages, if the violation is "willful".

Understanding that the terms injury and individual are simply standing issues, all United States Circuit Courts of Appeal have answered in some version what constitutes strict liability under § 362(k)(1). Although the language varies to some extent, the four basic things that must be proved to recover are: (1) that the automatic stay was in place when the violation occurred; (2) that the person, company or entity violating the stay knew of the existence of the bankruptcy either when it violated the stay, or failed to immediately remedy the violation after learning of the bankruptcy; (3) that the automatic stay was violated; and, (4) that the violator intended the action in which it engaged. (In other words, it does not matter if the violator intended to violate the automatic stay, and all that matters is that the violator intended the action it undertook, such as sending out a demand letter, repossessing a car, or filing or continuing with a lawsuit against either the debtor or the property of the bankruptcy estate).

What is important to remember is that there is no good faith defense that can be raised as to a willful violation, with the exception of an inability to comply with the automatic stay that goes beyond a mere allegation of inability. This defense can almost never be met as it has to be specific and fact intensive, and most automated processes do not meet this standard.

It is becoming pretty clear in all jurisdictions that creditors can also bring a cause of action against a violator for violating the stay under § 362(k)(1), if that creditor is an individual. It is unlikely that a trust, trustee, corporation, partnership or other entity can bring such an action under § 362(k)(1). But, these parties can bring a cause of action under the Court's equitable powers contained in 11 U.S.C. § 105.

Although it is unlikely that you are going to retire or get rich off of the typical violation, my point is that proving up a violation is not overly difficult because most of the time the violation can be proved from the objective facts and notices contained in the bankruptcy court's own file. And, all such records are viewable online.

What makes the practice niche generally enjoyable from a practice building standpoint is that the referral sources are readily identifiable and reachable. The referral sources are by and large bankruptcy attorneys. These attorneys generally are not set up to prosecute these matters, and many times because of the notice requirements the attorneys are prohibited or discouraged from bringing these actions on behalf of their clients under the lawyer-witness rule. This means simply that the bankruptcy attorneys or the law firms are witnesses in the case, as to an essential element to be proved, and they are generally not allowed to be both the attorney and a witness in the case.

Because the clients are generally referred by the bankruptcy attorneys, and the claim can generally be researched fully from the notes of the bankruptcy attorney and the court records online, you generally do not have to meet with a client in person, unless the matter goes to trial. This is not to say there is not client contact, but it is almost always online and over the telephone. Like all litigation, most cases settle if you and your client are reasonable. If an in-person meeting is necessary on occasion for trial or discovery, I just use the courthouse or the bankruptcy attorneys' office.

Because of the work at home and low overhead possibilities, and the need to forgo most in-person consults (as most creditor also do attorneys do by the way), and the limited number of bankruptcy courts or locations in a state, you can generally cover the entire state in which you practice. This reach increases your ability to obtain enough referrals to make a living.

My firm's practice site is StayViolation.Com. Although there are attorneys in this country that bring a few of these cases each year, as part of their bankruptcy practice, I am not aware of any other group of attorneys that limit their practice to this practice niche with the exception of my law firm. This means, of course, that the referral sources are not being overwhelmed by offers to help them.

It is a practice niche that might be worth pursuing.

Okay, I am still a little protective, and I would prefer that you stay out of Texas and Arizona, the two states in which my virtual law firm practices in this area. But, if you are in the rest of the country, you might want to consider this niche.

. . . And, if you become aware of a stay violation in another jurisdiction in which I might of help, and in which you are licensed, I am more than willing to accept that referral and work with you in preparation of the court appearances you will have to make, if any.