Home Office Lawyer

Going Solo in a New Economy

Grant Griffiths — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:07:24 -0500

Two of the top advocates of the solo attorney, Susan Cartier LIebel and Carolyn Elefant are offering a Teleseminar on Tuesday, June 9th Noon EST called, ‘Going Solo in a New Economy’

The Topics They Will Cover:

Why starting a law firm doesn’t have to be your first career choice; but it may be your only career choice
Why you don’t need a years worth of savings to start a law firm; nor may you have the luxury of a years worth of savings
Why you don’t need a ’sales-y’ personality to succeed as a solo; you just have to want to succeed as a lawyer
How to turn perceived disadvantages like lack of office space or shyness into selling points for your law firm; working with your personality instead of against it
How you can get clients even if you don’t have any experience; (now that should send some jurassic lawyers into a tail-spin)
Why going solo doesn’t mean being alone

Susan is offering a free 51 page eBook titled, 'Going Solo: Confessions and Inspirations'. Even if she wasn't offering this great resource, this is a teleseminar you don't want to miss. You can register for ‘Going Solo in a New Economy’ below.

Building a Successful Blog

Grant Griffiths — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:29:54 -0500

I have been writing an ongoing series over at Blog For Profit called Building a Successful Blog. If you are struggling with getting a blog up and going. Or you are thinking about blogging, I would encourage you to read the series.

And don't be afraid to ask questions in the comments of the post in the series. I always read them and answer them too.

Practice Pro Monthly - Jay Fleischman

Grant Griffiths — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:36:31 -0500

You more likely than not, have heard of Jay Fleischman. Jay is my friend and a consumer bankruptcy attorney who helps other lawyers market, manage and grow their practices.

What I like about how Jay does what he does is that he is really cutting edge and unusual, but totally ethical and honest.

Jay just shot this video and I know you are going to be interested in seeing it. You can view the video here.

I have seen what Jay has been working on first hand, and I can say what he's got behind the scenes is just incredible. Make sure you jump to the font of line on this. Jay already has 578 people waiting to jump on board for the few spots he is making available.

Watch the video and you can make your own mind up if this is truly an amazing opportunity for you to take advantage of. Oh, and you don't have to be a bankruptcy lawyer to profit from what Jay's putting together.

How Blogging Helps Solos Beat the Big Firms (and How Firms Make it So Easy)

Grant Griffiths — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:37:10 -0500

Black Thursday

If you're an attorney, you would have to be living under a rock if you hadn't heard of Black Thursday, when many of the U.S.A.'s largest and most prestigious law firms went on a pink slip rampage. Nobody knows for sure how many bodies were thrown overboard, but estimates are anywhere from 800 to over 1,000 attorneys lost their positions. What's even more unsettling are the whispered rumors that this is just the beginning. It's not hyperbole to say we are living in extraordinary times. I'm not saying any of this to scare you. Note the positive headline for this blog post. We feel that now is the time for unprecedented opportunity--for those brave enough to reach out and take it. You know there are plenty of "solos" out there. Single attorney law practices have existed forever, but they were never able to really compete with the big firms. Until now, that is.

To read more on how blogging helps solos beat the big firms, visit the Blawging Lawyers blog at How Blogging Helps Solos Beat the Big Firms (and How Firms Make it So Easy)

Blogging works for solos -- it is attracting clients and getting them noticed

Grant Griffiths — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:35:16 -0500

Two post you should check out over at Blawging Lawyers:

After you have read them, if you have any questions about blogging or Blawging Lawyers, please drop me an email at grant@g2webmedia.com and I would be happy to discuss further.

Blawging Lawyers Opens Monday, Feb 16th, 8:30 am Eastern

Grant Griffiths — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:24:32 -0600

Yes, the wait is nearly over! We're opening the doors to enrollment on Monday morning at 8:30 AM Eastern time (7:30 AM Central, 6:30 Mountain, and 5:30 Pacific). Michael and I have been working feverishly behind the scenes on content, editing audio, and creating screencasts. We can't wait to let you in so you can see it and start your "blawging" education. We can't wait to see you in the community support forums so we can say hello and answer questions for you. And we really can't wait to see you gaining clients and growing your practice because of what you learn in Blawging Lawyers.

250 is the Magic Number

But there's one thing you need to know. We're not sure how many members we'll be able to support effectively. When you have a question in the forums, you want it answered within a day, not within a month. And we want to make sure the server can handle the load we're going to put on it, especially since there's video and audio files to stream and download. So, even though we'd love to have Blawging Lawyers be available to every attorney who wants to join... we just aren't willing to sacrifice the overall experience of the group to do that. We've decided to limit the number of members to 250. We'll make sure we can handle that many members before we open the doors again to enrollments. If it turns out that we think we can take on a few more, we will open the doors again, and if you're on the email list (did you get your Blawging Lawyers Report? then you're on it) you will be notified in advance.

Next Semester

If you don't make it into Blawging Lawyers this time around, there might be openings in six months. That is how long the Blawging Lawyers program lasts. We say there might be openings because we'll always be adding great new content and people may not be willing to let go of the camaraderie they've developed in the forums. So it's possible people may not want to leave! They may want to renew their memberships even when the six months is over. Now, in our dreams, every member will renew, :) but we're sure there will be at least a few slots available in six months. But in all seriousness, we don't know how many.

Are You Ready?

Are you ready? Michael and I are just dying to throw the switch right now, but of course there are always last minute detials to attend. You'll just have to wait until Monday! If you have questions or just want to share your enthusiasm about Blawging Lawyers opening its doors, please leave a comment or drop me an email at grant@g2webmedia.com! And, bright and early Monday morning, you can visit Blawging Lawyers to register to be part of this great new community of Blawging Lawyers.

Blawging Lawyers -- What is it all about?

Grant Griffiths — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:37:42 -0600

Michael and I wanted to provide an overview of what the members of Blawyging Lawyers can expect. We have a lot of great material in store for the members which will help them market their law practice effectively through blogging, social media and beyond.

Overview of Blawging Lawyers Features

Blawging Lawyers has several major features that combine to provide a total 360-degree education in law practice blog and internet marketing:

Written course texts in both Web page and downloadable "print-and-carry" PDF formats.
Audio "teleclasses" which overlap the other materials, but which are not duplicates of them and have their own unique content.
WordPress Walk-through videos that show you step-by-step how to use your blogging software.
Audio Interviews with Professionals you can listen to or download as downloadable PDF-format transcripts.
Recordings of all previous live teleseminars available for you to listen to whenever you like.
A Recommended Resources Area where you'll find links to the best resources we know of to accelerate your learning curve with blog marketing and make setting up your blog easier.
Community forums where you can interact with other Blawging Lawyers members and ask questions of Michael, Grant, and each other.
Live teleseminars three times over the 6 months, in which you can ask questions of Grant, Michael, and the experts brought in to lend their expertise to a subject.

All-told, you're looking at a rich vein of blog marketing gold. There are still plenty of good blogs on the web with plenty to offer about blogging and internet marketing, but most of them aren't focused exclusively on law practices. Everything you need to become a law practice marketing wizard is here, under one virtual classroom roof, in Blawging Lawyers.

Overview of Course Content

Blawging Lawyers course content is divided into several broad categories, each containing a series of individual lessons or topics. There are many lessons within Blawging Lawyers, and more are created on a frequent basis. The major categories are as follows:

Blog Marketing and Internet Marketing Lessons
Interviews with Professionals
WordPress Walk-through Videos
Blog Case Study Videos
Live Q&A Session Audios
Recommended Resources

The Lesson Plan

Blawging Lawyers features content that is released "automagically" according to a scheduled lesson plan, just like a "real" curriculum in a "real" school. Each member of Blawging Lawyers receives the content according to the lesson plan. As each new member joins, the timetable begins for that person, and new content is made available according to the lesson plan as it progresses from their start date. The timing of the Lesson Plan is to release the next lesson (and sometimes more than one topic) once per week. Once per week might be too quickly for some, but once a lesson is available to you, it's always available. You could go on vacation for a couple weeks and just catch up when you come back refreshed.

Blog Marketing Lessons

Most of the course content is focused on this area, naturally. Below is a complete list of these lessons:

Why A Blog for a Law Practice?
Aligning Your Blog to Your Practice Area
Getting Set Up and Running 1 – Hiring Help
Getting Set Up and Running 2 – Do it Yourself
How to Use a Feed Reader and the Benefits of RSS
How to Get Noticed 1 – Promoting Your Blog Before Launch
How to Get Noticed 2 – Promoting Your Blog After Launch
How to Get Search Traffic
What to blog about
How to save yourself from writers block
Using an editorial calendar and organizing to blog
Turn Visitors into Readers
Turn Blog Readers into Clients
Reading the Numbers: Visitor Statistics
The Social Media Connection – An Overview
Twitter for Lawyers
LinkedIn for Lawyers and Practices
Facebook for Lawyers
Ethics of blogging for lawyers and firm policies
Using a blog and a website together or separate?
Networking online and offline to promote your blog
Email Marketing Basics 1 – Use the Power of Permission to Grow Your Profits
Copywriting Basics – The Importance and Power of Words
Linkbaiting for Lawyers – What it is and How to Do It
Using Video Effectively on Your Law Blog
Promoting Your Blog Locally
What to Do when You Run for Office

WordPress Tutorials

These are provided starting after the Getting Set Up and Running 2 – Do it Yourself lesson.

Getting Around in WordPress
How to Write a Blog Post in WordPress
How to Manage Comments in WordPress
Creating Core Content Before Launch
Working with Widgets in WordPress
Working with Themes in WordPress
Working with Plugins in WordPress
Getting and Using Great Pictures for Blog Posts
Creating and Managing a Blogroll

Internet Marketing for Law Practices

Once you graduate beyond having all the clients you can handle, you can use Internet marketing to take advantage of your position to create passive online income streams. These will begin to appear in your Content area (Lesson Plan) after the Copywriting Basics – The Importance and Power of Words lesson.

Email Marketing Basics 2 – Use the Power of Permission to Grow Your Profits
What a Landing Page is and When to Use One
Advertising Online 1 – The Basics
Advertising Online 2 – Pay Per Click Campaigns with Google AdWords
Create and Market Information Products to Attract More Clients and Generate Supplemental Profits

Quick Links

Blawging Lawyers News

The News page is where you'll find members-only announcements not found on the blog. Look here for news regarding technical or content updates and changes which you need to know, but which are not intended for the public.

Blog Case Study Videos

From time to time, we'll be doing blog case study videos, where, using screencasting (video of what's on a computer screen) we'll perform a critique of a member's blog. Blog case study videos are immensely helpful, not only to the attorneys whose blogs we study, but for everyone who watches. Each one will have valuable take-aways you can apply to your own blog.

Success Interviews

One of the keys to your success in "blawging" is doing what others have done successfully. In other words, you need great examples to work from. We have them aplenty. A small overall number of attorneys are blogging, and out of that small number, a smaller number yet are successful enough to serve as examples to everyone else. These Success Interviews are made available here as a collection you can listen to whenever you want, as often as you like.

Live Q&A Session Audios

Three times over the 6 months, we're going to conduct live question-and-answer seminars where you can ask any question and get no-holds-barred answers from us and our experts. These will be made available to any member who wants to listen in on these session later.

Recommended Resources

You will find a listing of resources external to Blawging Lawyers which we recommend to you. The Recommended Resources lists includes any of the following:

Other law practice marketing blogs and sites.
Relevant books on law practice marketing (some of these are authored by experts we're interviewing).
Blogging sites and books.
Internet marketing sites and books.
And more.

Thanks for Reading Through what we are going to be offering at Blawging Lawyers

As you can see, there's a lot of content in Blawging Lawyers. But you don't have to worry about trying to absorb everything as fast as possible, because the Lesson Plan automagically presents the lessons in a time-release fashion. You're in for a great ride! Successfully marketing your practice through blogging could be the breakthrough for you that it has been for us and our experts.

What You Can Do Now

Go to Blawging Lawyers and sign up to receive our Blawging Lawyers Report. Also, be watching for further announcements on when we will be taking the membership side of things live. It is just around the corner.

Solo Practice University -- Faculty Announcement -- Jay Foonberg

Grant Griffiths — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:03:42 -0600

It is amazing to watch the announcements coming from Solo Practice University™ over the last few days. First Carolyn Elefant and now Jay Foonberg. Two of the biggest names in the solo lawyer community. This is just outstanding and not only an amazing chain of events for SPU. It is a huge couple of announcement for those who are going to be the students at SPU. Where else can you go and get this amount of knowledge from two power house faculty members in one place. No where. I can't wait and I am just glad to be even a small part of this.

Jay Foonberg has successfully practiced business law, business litigation, estate and probate litigation, legal ethics and aviation law. He will teach two courses at Solo Practice University™.

One course is entitled, ‘Client Relations 101: Teaching lawyers how to change their ways of doing things to improve client relations.’ By doing so it will result in the elimination of avoidable ethics and malpractice complaints while simultaneously improving the success of the practice. This course is based upon his famous ‘Nine Steps To A Successful Practice’.

The second course is entitled, ‘Ethics and Professionalism 101: Covering both the basics and the new developments in the traditional ethics areas including Conflicts, Trust Accounts, Client Confidences, Internet and Media Advertising, Multi Client Representation, Fee Agreements, Permissible Fee Arrangements’. This course will serve as an excellent review of law school ethics updated to be current. The course will also cover professionalism, the differences between a profession and an occupation, and the differences between a profession and a business as well as lawyer to lawyer conduct, and how these differences affect Americas’ trust in lawyers and the legal system as evidenced by the increasing number of complaints against lawyers.

Jay has served in the ABA House of Delegates; he is on the Advisory Council for the ABA Commission on Evaluation of the Rules of Professional Conduct and he was a founder of the ABA Law Practice Management Section. His book, How To Start and Build a Law Practice (5th edition), is the book that is most frequently stolen from law libraries in the United States and it has earned more than $1 million for the ABA, and has been their best seller every year since 1977. Mr. Foonberg is the author of three other important books, all available from the ABA: How to Get and Keep Good Clients (3rd edition); Finding the Right Lawyer; and The ABA Guide to Lawyer Trust Accounts. A much sought after speaker, Jay has led seminars and taught client relations, malpractice prevention, ethics and client development in every one of the 50 states and as far afield as Europe, South America and Asia in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Jay earned his JD from UCLA Law School and has received the prestigious Harrison Tweed Award, CLE’s highest honor. He lives and practices in Beverly Hills, California.

Recognition of his skills has resulted in his being perhaps the only person ever honored for lifetime achievements with awards from four American Bar Association entities including the following:

Harrison Tweed award from the ABA-PLI Consortium on Continuing Legal Education for being the Most Outstanding CLE Educator in the United States.

Sam’s Smith Medal for a Lifetime Achievements by the Law Practice Managment Section of the ABA.

Don Riklis award for Lifetime Achievements by the General Practice Solo and Small Firm Division of the ABA.

Law Student Division of The ABA for Life Time Achievements.,

Lou Goldberg Award as the Most Outstanding Attorney-CPA in the United States by the American Association of Attorney-CPA’s.

Jay has also been decorated by the nations of Argentina and Brazil for his work in International Trade as well as having been accepted by The Knights of Malta for his work with hospitals throughout the world.

For more information about Jay, visit his website. (He will have a blog very soon!)

Mr. Foonberg has expressed optimism and enthusiasm in Solo Practice University™ as a platform, available anywhere in the world via the internet, to provide both basic and current information and ideas to help solos and small firm lawyers provide high quality legal services to their clients and to the community. He will also provide information on the resources available to solos and small firms through National and local bar organizations.

Source for Post Solo Practice University™.

WordPress SEO -- Do I need it?

Grant Griffiths — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:43:09 -0600

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the hot button topics right now and there is a lot of discussion about it. For some, just the thought of worrying about SEO causes a sick feeling to overcome them. And it shouldn't. Search engine optimization is not something you or I should be scared of. In fact, it is not impossible for us to do and because of that, we need to be looking at SEO every time we draft a blog post.

Why do I Need to Worry About WordPress SEO

Search Engine Optimization, commonly called SEO means just what it says. We need to optimize not only our entire site for maximum search engine placement. We need to make sure we optimize each blog post too.
Not being found in a search conducted by one of our possible visitors is really the same as our blog not existing at all. In other words, we need to make sure we are being found in the search engines when someone is looking for topics we are writing about.
Keep in mind there is a direct correlation between the link structure of a blog, its content, and whether or not site pages will rank well in a search. What? Exactly, keep reading.
The questions we have and the answers we need about WordPress SEO are really not being answered by the generic SEO courses available right now. In fact, there is almost nothing out there that thoroughly addresses the needs of a person who is both new to SEO and who is using a WordPress self-hosted blog, until now.
A new study course to teach WordPress SEO is available. I was given an advance copy of the program and it was amazing. I have been blogging for 4 years and there was a ton of stuff on it I did not know. In fact, I have already started to do some of the suggestions on my own blog and my traffic has increased.
The study course is called, WordPress SEO Secrets: Search Optimization Magic for WordPress Blogs. This is one study course you don't want to miss out on.

Get your own copy of this great WordPress SEO study course by going to this link: WordPress SEO Secrets: Search Optimization Magic for WordPress Blogs

Faculty Announcement - Carolyn Elefant

Grant Griffiths — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 07:51:34 -0600

This is exciting, my friend and fellow blogger Carolyn Elefant has been named to the faculty at Solo Practice University™.

Carolyn Elefant is a lawyer, author and blogger. She will teach a course entitled ‘Starting Your Own Bar Association’ at Solo Practice University™.

Carolyn is founder and principal attorney in the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant (LOCE). Prior to founding LOCE, Carolyn worked as an associate attorney for the law firm of Duncan and Allen, a national energy boutique located in Washington D.C. from 1990-1993 and served as an attorney advisor with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1988 to 1990. In addition, from 1994 through 1997, Carolyn held an adjunct faculty position with the University of Maryland University College Paralegal Studies Program where she taught contract law.

Carolyn’s law practice is focused on energy work, including emerging renewable energy development and compliance/enforcement issues, appeals, and civil rights litigation. To learn more about her law practice, visit her website, Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant, the trade association that she co-founded and for which she serves as regulatory counsel Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition and her law firm blog, LOCE Offshore Wind and Wave Energy Blog. In addition, she also blogs at American Law Media’s Legal Blogwatch.

Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be

Carolyn is the creator of MyShingle.com, a popular weblog for and about solo lawyers and small law firms. MyShingle was the first of the now dozen or so blogs by other solo and small firm lawyers who generously offer their wisdom on a range of issues like starting a firm, working from home, maximizing use of technology and share their own personal experience of the process of going solo.

MyShingle lead to a book deal and in January 2008, her publisher, Decision Books released her book, Solo by Choice: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be . The first major book on solo practice in five years, Solo by Choice is a why to book that explores the benefits of starting a law practice, as well as a how to book on leveraging 21st century trends like outsourcing, social networking, alternative billing and the Internet to start and create a successful practice.

Source for Post Solo Practice University™.

Blog For Profit

Grant Griffiths — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:38:47 -0600

Don't forget to stop by Blog For Profit where we are discussing all things about blogging to market and promote your professional service firm. In addition, we discuss using social media tools such as twitter too.

Also don't forget to subscribe to the Blog For Profit Newsletter. We include information in the newsletter we don't feature here on the blog. And when you subscribe, you get a free copy of our eBook , Blogging Tips to Help You Blog.

Rocket Matter Launches Their Signature Legal Time and Biling Saas Product

Grant Griffiths — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:37:18 -0600

BOCA RATON, FL – January 6, 2009 - Rocket Matter, a leading web-based legal practice management and time and billing solution for small to mid-sized law firms, today announces the launch of their signature product - Rocket Matter 1.0. The product is a web-based SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) product that addresses legal practice management and time and billing needs of law firms.

The product was originally brought to the market in beta form in February 2008. Since this time, the product has matured and developed thanks to the feedback of legal technology experts and pilot customers located all over North America.

‘Rocket Matter was designed to help attorneys have an easier way to bill for their hours,’ says Larry Port, founding partner and chief software architect. ‘Our ‘Bill As You Work™’ technology captures user’s billable time throughout the day thereby eliminating the need to total hours at the end of a billing cycle.’

The features of Rocket Matter 1.0 include:

Contact and Matter Management – makes current and past case and client information available immediately.

Calendaring – lets users track important dates and deadlines in the context of matters.

Mobile Access – enables customers to view an optimized version on a smart phone.

Batch Billing – allows users to spend their time billing, not generating bills.

Expense Tracking – captures costs, easily and quickly.

Reporting – helps increase efficiency and profit with reporting functions available.

Offline Access – maintains backup copies of firms’ data locally.

Messages – provides a powerful message taking and inter-office communication tool.

Rocket Matter 1.0 also provides increased security and assists firms with their business continuity preparedness and disaster recovery. In the event a firm is damaged or has lost power, they are able to continue their business remotely. Rocket Matter has servers in secure locations that are backed up continuously to ensure data is always protected.

Attorney Keith Bruno, a Rocket Matter pilot user since March of 2008, says, ‘After testing virtually every practice management software program known to legal man, I found Rocket Matter to be the only one that works seamlessly, allowing me to capture time from anywhere in the world with ease. Rocket Matter more than pays for itself with the time that is captured, and the bills that are produced are professional, accurate, and easy. For a small firm, it is an essential practice tool.’

Instead of purchasing and installing software and expensive hardware, Rocket Matter requires no installation or upgrades. Users navigate Rocket Matter securely using an Internet browser and by simply logging in to use the application. Known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Rocket Matter represents an evolutionary development in the typically non-innovative world of legal practice management software.

About Rocket Matter, LLC

Rocket Matter, LLC (URL: http://www.rocketmatter.com) provides a web-based legal practice management and time and billing solution for small to mid-sized law firms. Rocket Matter^TM is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application, providing increased security, business continuity, decreased technology infrastructure and maintenance, and improved return on investment for information technology expenses. Launched in February 2008, Rocket Matter’s corporate headquarters is in Boca Raton, FL.

A "Fear Into Faith" Holiday Gift For You

Grant Griffiths — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:34:19 -0600

The economy has issues. There's no denying it. And hiding our heads in the sand won't help.

Good lawyers are going out of business. Other's are paralyzed by fear wondering how they will survive in 2009.

On Thursday, December 18, Alexis Martin Neely is conducting a no sales pitch, 100% content simulcast event where she'll reveal her top three most powerful marketing/client attraction strategies that generate clients in droves - regardless of what is happening in the economy.

Joining her on the call are three lawyers whose businesses have doubled, tripled or quadrupled this year, in a bad economy, by following these three insider strategies. They are going to share with you exactly how they did it and the steps you can take right away to duplicate their breathtaking success.

Also joining Alexis on the call, is one of the most high powered, highest paid marketing wizards on the planet who specializes in teaching lawyers, including Alexis, how to create almost instant cash flow surges.

This is a REAL GIFT. She is NOT selling anything. She's doing this simulcast for one purpose - to help you thrive in 2009.

You can get all the details right now by going to this link.

Yes, you can break free from fear and move into faith - and increased profits and peace of mind - by attending this event and discovering these three crucial success strategies.

Go to this link right now and get all the details so you can attend this event that will have you fired up for 2009 and ease your mind so you can fully enjoy the rest of the holiday season with your family.

New Design Over at Home Office Warrior

Grant Griffiths — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:28:03 -0600

We have a new design up over at Home Office Warrior. So, don't panic when you visit and it doesn't look the same. Hope you like it.

My Law Practice on a Treadmill Desk

Grant Griffiths — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:04:08 -0600

Lisa Solomon posted about her new home office desk on her blog Legal Research & Writing Pro Blog. You have to check this out.

A contract lawyering practice is very conducive to working from home. When you work from home, you can arrange your office to suit your needs. You can also wear what you want.

My continuing quest to get into better shape, along with the time limitations of a busy professional and personal life, have led me to put together this treadmill desk.

Lisa states, "the treadmill (which I bought in 2003) has been gathering dust in the family room since 2004. I already had the laptop and extra monitor. The cart next to the treadmill is used during the summer to ferry food from the kitchen to the patio for barbecues."

This is not Lisa's full time desk, but it is a great idea on how we can work and doing something to get off our rear-ends at the same time.

Source for Post Legal Research & Writing Pro Blog.

Growing Your Solo Practice in a Down Market

Grant Griffiths — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:06:14 -0600

Brett Trout agreed to provide me with a guest post a couple of weeks ago and what a post it is. If you don't know Brett you should. He publishes an outstanding blog called BlawgIT. Plus he has written a great book called Cyber Law: A Legal Arsenal for Online Business. Brett is also on the faculty at Solo Practice University. If you are not subscribed to Brett's blog, you should be.

Do not let accounts receivable get out of hand

Regardless of market conditions, nothing affects your bottom line more than keeping your accounts receivable in check. As market conditions deteriorate however, even rock solid clients may be forced to choose who gets paid this month. If it is not you this month, and you keep providing service as usual, who is it not going to be next month? Review your engagement letter. If it does not clearly state that you will stop providing services on invoices left unpaid for thirty (30) days, revise it and make sure it does. Remember, once accounts go over 90 days, the chance of ever collecting is about the same as the Dallas Cowboys finally calling me up to start at quarterback.

Fire Bad Clients

Solo practitioners, especially new solo practitioners, have a tendency to want to take every client who walks in the door. Over time, solo practitioners earn some savvy as to which clients are good and which will be nothing but headaches. Regardless of how good an attorney might be at sizing up new clients, bad eggs inevitably slip through. Even though these bad clients may make up only 10% of your clientele, they tend to create 90% of your headaches. As difficult as it may be to fire any client, getting rid of this bottom 10% will open up more time to cater to other the 90% of your clients, and significantly increase your satisfaction with your practice.

Develop a personal relationship with your existing clients

Large law firms may tens of thousands of dollars every year attracting large clients, only to pull the old bait and switch once they are in the door. With larger firms laying off lawyers right and left, clients tired of being shuffled around like office furniture are reviewing their options. These clients are looking for the personal service they received when they first signed on, an attorney who treats them as an individual, rather than as a commodity. As a solo practitioner, you are uniquely positioned to maintain that personal relationship with every client. Use this to your advantage; never take any client for granted. You can never go wrong treating your existing clients like you treat potential clients.

Invest in your personal brand

As a solo practitioner, your name is your brand. Old-school clients located your brand using the yellow pages, new-school clients locate your brand online. Search Google for your state and your expertise. If you are a patent attorney in Iowa and do not show up on the first page of Google search results for "Iowa Patent Attorney," you might as well be invisible. Using blogs, social networking and website search engine optimization (SEO) does not cost a lot of money, but it does take some time. Leverage these tools to increase your transparency and your findability. While referrals are still the best type of clients, clients who find you over the web are far preferable to those who found you letting their fingers do the walking.

Develop a full-service virtual law firm

Many solo practitioners tout their practice as a full-service firm. If this is you, you risk being a Jack (or Jill) of all trades and master of none. Specialize, specialize, specialize. Specialization may initially mean fewer clients, but sticking to a specialty eventually translates into a higher hourly rate and happier clients. What about the work outside your specialty? Unlike large law firms which require attorneys to refer clients to the in-house “specialist,” you have the luxury of referring clients to a true specialist. Adroit use of social networks , podcasts, blogs and other online tools can help you develop a list of the best attorneys in each specialty. Unlike large law firms, your virtual firm has the benefit of including every specialty your client could ever need. Another benefit is that you can add and subtract “partners” based upon their performance and client satisfaction, rather than upon the degrees of consanguinity they may have with the managing partner.

Brett Trout

Announcement: Grant Griffiths Joins Faculty at Solo Practice University

Grant Griffiths — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:17:16 -0600

I am so very pleased to announce that I have joined the faculty at Solo Practice University™ (SPU). SPU is a web-based legal educational and networking community for lawyers and law students created by Susan Cartier LIebel, publisher of one of the best legal blogs on the web, Build a Solo Practice, LLC.

SPU is an online source for law students and legal professionals who want one place to go for information and resources on the practical aspects of running their own law practice. This is exactly what law schools should be doing and aren't.

When I was asked to join the faculty at SPU, I considered it for a total of 2 seconds before I said, "yes". I told Susan, "this is something which has been missing from the legal profession from the beginning of time." Where else can you go for a complete source of information and resources then the web. And Susan saw this. She has taken the charge by bringing to those who are starving for such information and resources in one location by founding SPU.

I will be teaching, talking and interacting with the students of SPU about blogging. Specifically, how to effectively use blogging to market and promote their law practices. With the mini-communities SPU will be providing, this is a unique opportunity for students and other legal professionals to enter into a conversation and learn from each other about how to use a blog in their own marketing programs.

My goal as a faculty member of SPU is to encourage those who enroll in the university to engage in that conversation about blogging. By taking advantage of the interaction which I hope takes place between the faculty and the students, each will walk away from this experience with tools and ideas and those all important connections they will need to have a successful marketing program for their own law practices.

I also want those who are enrolled in SPU to always feel like they can contact me anytime to ask questions or discuss their concerns about blogging. It will be these conversation which will make this a great experience for all. I look forwarded to meeting all of those who are enrolled in or will soon be enrolled in SPU. Let the interaction and learning begin!

How do I get clients if I am working from a home office?

Grant Griffiths — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:17:09 -0600

I received that question not too long ago from one of our readers. I am not going to use his name, but I will tell you he is an attorney. A professional service provider as I also like to call attorneys. However, what I tell him really applies to anyone working from a home based office. And it will work to start getting you clients and customers now. Here is what I wrote him in an email in response to his questions:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you with your question. You really answered this question yourself when you said blog. I am serious, if you want to position yourself as the place to go for legal help, you need to position yourself as the place to go for information first.

And since you are, as you call it, basically a brand new attorney starting out, a blog is one of the best and lowest cost marketing tools you can use. But don't stop there. Incorporate a well thought out and designed email newsletter to your blog too. Give your readers a way to subscribe to the newsletter. And if that is not enough, come up with something you can give them for FREE. A short ezine series on something you are going to be practicing about. Take for example divorce. An ezine on how to prepare and meet with your attorney would be a good one. Anything you can do to show you are the place to go for information is what you want to do.
(A little self-promotion coming up).
If you are not reading my blog, Blog For Profit, go read it and subscribe. And while you are there subscribe to my Newsletter. I talk a lot about blogging for businesses and professional service firms. Not about monetizing a blog with ads. Which there are too many of those.

I hope this helps. Oh, and don't forget some of the other traditional marketing tools. Network, both on and offline. Join a civic group and get involved in your community. If you are going to work at home, where is home? Do you live in a subdivision with a neighborhood center. If you do, offer to give free seminars on something people are wanting to know about. Estate planning is a good one. Bring in other professionals to do them with you. Financial planners for example. They may need the PR with today's market ups and downs.

Drop me an email at grant@g2webmedia.com if you have questions about blogging or working from home. I would be happy to visit more by phone too.

Please leave your comments on other suggestions on how you can get clients or customers if you work out of a home office. The more we can share the better off all of us will be in these uncertain times. Instead of sitting back worrying about the economy, lets get out there and make our own. Lets keep the conversation going!!!!

Should you be the one to write your blog post?

Grant Griffiths — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:38:59 -0500

"Should you be the one to write your blog post?: "

A week or so ago, there was a lot of discussion on other blogs about who should be writing for your business blog. They included:

Who Should Write Your Business Blog?

Who should write for a business blog; owner, employees or freelance bloggers?

Who Should Write for the Business Blog?

Who Should Write Your Business Blog? (Part 2)

The options presented originally were four; the business owner, employee(s) of the business, freelancers, or canned blog posts. I have my own opinion on this, but before I give you that, I wanted to take a look at what has been suggested from others.

Talk in the Blogosphere

To read the rest of this post, please visit our blog, Blog For Profit.

Macs in Law Offices (MILO) Forum Now Over 900 Members Strong

Grant Griffiths — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:25:25 -0500

Ben Stevens over at The Mac Lawyer just posted the following announcement. I am pasting it here for the readers of Home Office Lawyer. And thanks to all of you who are members of Macs in Law Office (MILO).

Just a few short weeks ago, I announced that the Macs In Law Offices (MILO) forum had surpassed 800 members in its roughly 18 months of existence. In the seven weeks since that post, we have now had over a hundred more people join, increasing our membership to over 900 members.
I believe that MILO is the premier online forum for attorneys who want to maximize the use of Macs in their law practices, and my co-founder Grant Griffiths and I are thrilled that apparently so many others agree. If you want to find out more about MILO and/or wish to join (it's free), click HERE.

Source for Post The Mac Lawyer.

VLOTech Co-Founder Joins Faculty at Solo Practice University

Grant Griffiths — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:03:46 -0500

Stephanie Kimbro, co-founder of Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC and client of G2Webmedia published this exciting announcement this morning. Congrats to Stephanie and to Solo Practice University for landing another quality faculty member.

VLOTech is pleased to announce that co-founder, Stephanie Kimbro, has joined the faculty at Solo Practice University™, a web-based, legal education community created by Susan Cartier Liebel of Build of S ol o Practice, LLC. Solo Practice University™ (SPU) is opening its doors to law students and legal professionals who want to learn more about the practical aspects of running a law practice, an education they may not have received in law school.

Kimbro’s goal as a faculty member will be to provide SPU students with the resources to open a virtual law practice and to operate that practice with strong ethical and professional standards that will provide quality online legal services to the public.

Kimbro will teach a course on virtual law practice that covers many different aspects of elawyering, including opening and operating a virtual law office (VLO), marketing techniques for an online practice, and handling technology and ethics issues that may arise from practicing law over the Internet.

She practices North Carolina law online with her own virtual law office powered by VLOTech and will share her virtual law practice experience with students. A variety of technologies, including web conferencing, videos, podcasts, blog posts and other media, will be used to teach the course and create a productive dialogue with students.

Source for Post Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC.

Legal News Feeds on Twitter

Grant Griffiths — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:16:46 -0500

Thanks to JD Scoop for providing this great list of "legal news feeds on twitter."

ABAJournal - continuous news updates from the ABA's 'leading legal affairs magazine and website'...

LexMonitor - from LexBlog, a daily review of law blogs and journals, highlighting prominent legal discussion on all subjects...

PhilaCourts - streaming Philadelphia court news...

lawtweets - U.K. law news and tweets (one of the first legal news feeds via Twitter, from Nick Holmes and infolaw)...

tradelawnews - news and information on export controls, customs law, the FCPA, antidumping law, and other international trade issues...

ImmAdvocates - from Immigration Advocates Network, a free online network that supports legal advocates working on behalf of immigrants' rights nationwide...

overlawyered - feed of posts from 'the oldest law blog' skewering everything litigious...

pointoflaw - feed from the web magazine sponsored by the Manhattan Institute; information and opinion on the U.S. litigation system...

Farmworker Justice - from Harvesting Justice, advocates for farmworkers' and immigrants' rights...

technola - from the eponymous technology blog for legal aid and public interest advocates...

lawiscool - feeds from a Canadian law school blog and podcast...

Copyright Law - relevant links from multiple news sources, culled by prof. Michael Scott, Southwestern Law School...

juristnews - real-time legal news from Jurist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law...

Technology & Media Alerts - feed of alerts and news covering legislation and developments in Technology, Media, and Communications law (fr. JD Supra)...

Commercial Law Alerts - alerts and news covering developments in commercial law: securities, taxation, banking, antitrust, etc (JD Supra)...

Law Practice News - articles and newsletters covering issues, products, and services in Legal Practice (JD Supra)...

Legal Alerts - newsletters, articles, and alerts covering all subjects & published by lawyers, firms, & legal professionals on JD Supra.

Source for Post JD Scoop.

Blog For Profit Newsletter

Grant Griffiths — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:17:03 -0500

In order to continue to build the Blog For Profit community, I am thrilled to announce a way for our readers to become even more involved in the blog and that is by subscribing to our FREE members only newsletter.

The newsletter will start out as a bimonthly event and may go to a weekly. Best of all, other then giving you a brief update on the most popular posts for the last two weeks, the content will be new and fresh. It will be content only the newsletter subscribers will get. We will also include links to other blogs and even products we feel you will be interested in. And yes, when we highlight products, we may just have an affiliate with that product. But we never recommend anything we do not or would not use ourselves.

There will be special features of the newsletter, including a "Featured" blogger for each edition. Which is why we ask that you submit by email to me at grant@g2webmedia.com who you would like to nominate to be included. And yes, you can nominate yourself. Just make sure you include your email address and blog's URL.

Submit your name and email address in the below form to be added to the newsletter community. Your privacy will be valued and your email address will not be used for any other purpose than to send this newsletter. You may unsubscribe at any time.

On submitting your email here you will be sent an email asking you to confirm your subscription. Please let me know if you have any problems with our subscription process.

While you are there, subscribe to Blog For Profit to keep up to date on new post.

Announcing the Outstanding Faculty at Solo Practice University™

Grant Griffiths — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:47:47 -0500

This just announced from Solo Practice University™. Should be an amazing offering and opportunity for all solos, new and old to get what has been missing from the practice of law.

Beginning the week of October 27th we will start introducing you to the outstanding faculty at Solo Practice University™.

We promised you SPU would have the teachers you wished you had in law school, those profitable in the trenches actually practicing what they preach and sharing their experience and wisdom. Some may actually teach on more than one topic.

And unlike any other site that we know of, Solo Practice University’s faculty will really teach you the ropes of what needs to be done. Each faculty has committed to a full curriculum of teaching in their area of expertise just like law school (no thirty minute hit and run ‘teases’)……and all from the comfort of your computer. Each faculty member is committed to answering your questions, encouraged to be totally creative with full authority to add or vary classes based upon the students’ requests.

Imagine, you are following one of our premiere criminal defense attorneys’ teachings and an important case makes the news. You want to understand the ramifications of that case. That faculty member, because he or she is well entrenched in their practice area, gathers together several attorneys to have an impromptu debate on the subject, then takes a break from the syllabus and discusses this important case in a spirited and thought-provoking round table. This is absolutely encouraged at Solo Practice University™.

Or you are learning from our personal injury lawyers. You want to know what goes through the mind of an insurance adjuster when presented with a claim. To make the anatomy of a personal injury suit come to life our personal injury lawyer arranges a panel discussion with an insurance defense lawyer and an insurance adjuster to get all the perspectives.

This is the type of education you will find at Solo Practice University™; - practical, timely, fluid, creative, interactive and fun.

If you can’t participate on the day the class or seminar is being offered, no worries. Once a class has been taught you will find the class recording in our library to reference at your leisure. You can always catch up.

As all faculty have the flexibility to teach in whatever format they choose, lessons will be video, audio, a combination of the two, workbooks, PDFs and more.

One of the best parts, faculty will also have office hours (to be determined by them). Whether through forums or recorded Q & A, you will always be able to follow up with the faculty on what you’ve learned, either asking questions live or reviewing after the fact when it’s convenient for you.

So, starting the week of October 27th we will introduce you to the current faculty, two or three per week. Since all our faculty are experts and incredibly talented at what they will be teaching, we decided to introduce them by lottery. That’s right, names in a hat and pulled out at random. (We didn’t like alphabetical either).

Please encourage our faculty with comments to show your enthusiasm. Visit their sites, get to know them. Let them know you can’t wait to learn. They are bringing a lot to the party because they’ve decided you’re worth it and Solo Practice University™ was just the right educational environment.

Ask the Readers -- Blogging Questions

Grant Griffiths — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:54:29 -0500

Been visiting a lot lately with solos and small firms about blogging in connection with our new business, G2Webmedia. And what I have discovered, there is a huge amount of interest out there right now for blogging.

It appears to me more and more lawyers are beginning to see the benefits of blogging. Especially for the solo and small firm. More and more are seeing blogging as a way to put the solo and small firm on the same "footing" as the larger firms in establishing a web presence.

Blogging for what it cost to get started is one of the best marketing investments you can make. Even if you have firm professionally design your blog, you will spend only a fraction of what a large yellow page ad will cost you.

Submit Your Questions

In an effort to answering as many questions as I can and to also keep the conversations going on blogging, submit your questions here. You can either leave a comment to this post or drop me an email at grant@g2webmedia.com. We will hopefully get enough we can do a continued series here on Home Office Lawyer where we discuss blogging.

And no question is a stupid question. There is no such thing.

How to Use twitter as a Lawyer - Feed your Post - Part 3

Grant Griffiths — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:47:47 -0500

Since I started to use twitter a few months ago, I have actually seen my blog traffic increase over that time. One way you can use twitter is to promote your own blog. And luckily, there is an application which helps you do just that. I use twitterfeed to feed my blog post directly to twitter. And you can do this with each blog you post to. You set it up once and after that you don't have to do anything to have your post fed to your twitter followers. If your blog is on WordPress, you can use a plugin called Twitter Updater. This one does the same thing as twitterfeed, but it is tied only to WordPress blogs. What you should not do however, is only update your twitter feed with your RSS feed. Don't be a twitter spammer or what those of us on twitter like to call, a twammer. This should be only a small part of what you are doing on twitter.

Rocket Matter Introduces Web-Based Messages … And More!

Grant Griffiths — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:35:25 -0500

This just in from Rocket Matter. Looks like another great feature has been added to an already great legal SaaS. Check it out.

Rocket Matter is pleased to announce our newest time-saving feature: Messages.

Pink message pads are history! Now, you can take down and review phone messages from any computer with Internet access. Watch this video to see the feature in action.

A breeze to use, Messages can revolutionize the way your firm handles its inter-office communication. This brand-new, extra functionality is available at no additional charge to our Pilot users! Legal SaaS just got a lot more powerful.

Begin by clicking on the telephone icon at the top of the page. This brings up the new message dialog. All of your users, contacts and clients, and matters are at your fingertips, so taking a message has never been easier.

Let’s say I take a message for an attorney, Keith. When Keith logs in, he sees that he has 1 new message. He clicks on the link next to the phone that says ‘1 New Message’, and views his message list. From there, he can drill into a message. He can read it. He can forward the message to another person in the firm.

Keith can even associate billable time with any follow-up work related to the message. This is an extension of our Bill As You Work(TM) technology, and will get funneled right into billing, to appear on an invoice, ready to go out to the client.

Save time, ditch the mouse, and use your Enter/Return key to submit

Now, gain back even more billable time by giving your mouse a rest. Move through your forms without leaving the keys. Fly through the Add Matter wizard - hit enter instead of clicking the OK button to submit your forms.

This feature has been high on the list of many firms - and we’re happy to deliver. Keyboard submit is enabled on all pages, so you can get your information into Rocket Matter more efficiently!

Source for Post Rocket Matter.

Podcast Features VLOTech Co-Founder Discussing Virtual Law Practice

Grant Griffiths — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:36:31 -0500

New from G2 Web Media client Stephanie Kimbro, Esq. VLOTech Co-founder, Stephanie Kimbro, Esq., was interviewed for a podcast on The Slippery Slope, a blog and podcast project of Meredith R. Miller, Assistant Professor of Law at the Touro Law Center.

The podcast discusses the VLOTech technology used to create a virtual law practice, the difference between a VLO and a brick & mortar law office, and the benefits of a virtual law practice for the public and the legal profession. You may listen to the podcast by clicking on the play button below the blog post for the podcast or by downloading it on iTunes.

Source for Post Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC.

How to Use twitter as a Lawyer - Who Should I Follow - Part 2

Grant Griffiths — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:52:31 -0500

How to use twitter as a lawyer - who should I follow - Part 2 is the next in the series we are doing over at Blog for Profit.

Take a look and leave any comments or questions you might have about using this great marketing, networking tool as a lawyer. If there are specific questions you would like to see me cover in this series, please let me know. I want those who read this blog to have the information necessary so they can explore using twitter themselves.

The Mac Lawyer Upgrades to Rocket Matter

Grant Griffiths — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:27:57 -0500

This just in from Rocket Matter. And if you have doubts about RocketMatter, this should put many of them to rest. I personally know Ben Stevens and I know for a fact, he has spent a lot of time exploring his options when it comes to case management software. And if Ben decided on RocketMatter, it was a decision well researched and thought out.

Attorney Ben Stevens, author of The Mac Lawyer blog, has switched his legal practice management and time and billing software over to Rocket Matter. We’re very excited to have Ben on board!

Ben is a very knowledgeable guy, and in addition to his popular blog, is the co-founder of the Macs in Law Offices Google Group, authored the ABA Journal’s Mac v PC cover story, and is a host on the MILO podcast.

You can follow his experiences, including using Rocket Matter on his new 3G iPhone, and his initial thoughts concerning his Rocket Matter switch.

Thanks for the kind words, Ben!

Source for Post Rocket Matter.

Home Office Lawyer

Going Solo in a New Economy

The Topics They Will Cover:

Building a Successful Blog

Practice Pro Monthly - Jay Fleischman

How Blogging Helps Solos Beat the Big Firms (and How Firms Make it So Easy)

Black Thursday

Read More

Blogging works for solos -- it is attracting clients and getting them noticed

Blawging Lawyers Opens Monday, Feb 16th, 8:30 am Eastern

250 is the Magic Number

Next Semester

Are You Ready?

Blawging Lawyers -- What is it all about?

Overview of Blawging Lawyers Features

Overview of Course Content

The Lesson Plan

Blog Marketing Lessons

WordPress Tutorials

Internet Marketing for Law Practices

Quick Links

Blawging Lawyers News

Blog Case Study Videos

Success Interviews

Live Q&A Session Audios

Recommended Resources

Thanks for Reading Through what we are going to be offering at Blawging Lawyers

What You Can Do Now

Solo Practice University -- Faculty Announcement -- Jay Foonberg

Jay Foonberg has successfully practiced business law, business litigation, estate and probate litigation, legal ethics and aviation law. He will teach two courses at Solo Practice University™.

WordPress SEO -- Do I need it?

Why do I Need to Worry About WordPress SEO

Faculty Announcement - Carolyn Elefant

Carolyn Elefant is a lawyer, author and blogger. She will teach a course entitled ‘Starting Your Own Bar Association’ at Solo Practice University™.

Blog For Profit

Rocket Matter Launches Their Signature Legal Time and Biling Saas Product

A "Fear Into Faith" Holiday Gift For You

New Design Over at Home Office Warrior

My Law Practice on a Treadmill Desk

Growing Your Solo Practice in a Down Market

Announcement: Grant Griffiths Joins Faculty at Solo Practice University

How do I get clients if I am working from a home office?

Should you be the one to write your blog post?

Talk in the Blogosphere

Macs in Law Offices (MILO) Forum Now Over 900 Members Strong

VLOTech Co-Founder Joins Faculty at Solo Practice University

Legal News Feeds on Twitter

Blog For Profit Newsletter

Announcing the Outstanding Faculty at Solo Practice University™

Ask the Readers -- Blogging Questions

Submit Your Questions

How to Use twitter as a Lawyer - Feed your Post - Part 3

Rocket Matter Introduces Web-Based Messages … And More!

Save time, ditch the mouse, and use your Enter/Return key to submit

Podcast Features VLOTech Co-Founder Discussing Virtual Law Practice

How to Use twitter as a Lawyer - Who Should I Follow - Part 2

The Mac Lawyer Upgrades to Rocket Matter