Are You STILL Unsure Whether to Start Your Own Law Practice?

A recent subscriber to my newsletter wrote to me and said he’d like to cancel his subscription.  I honored his request and asked him why.  What he said gave me great respect for him.  He didn’t whine, he didn’t complain about how it was too expensive, he didn’t come up with an excuse.  He simply said, “I’m not cut out to be an entrepreneur!”

That I can respect (somewhat like when people don’t drink just because they don’t like the taste of alcohol).  But he’s the exception.  Only about a week back I had a seminar attendee whine to me about how he doesn’t know if he wants to start a law practice or go work for someone else.  He asked for my advice.  In other words, he wanted ME to give him clarity about his life?

What do you want your life to look like in 3 years?

Look, I understand that’s it’s often hard to know what to do.  But it’s not that hard to know where you want to be.  My vote will always be for entrepreneurship but that’s it’s not for everyone.  So figure out what you want your life to look like in 3 years (I say three years because regardless of whether you’re starting your own practice or working for a firm you pay your dues for at least 12 months).

Do you want to be working 60 or 70 hours per week, hopefully making a high six-figure income, only getting to tuck your kids in at night, not having job security, commuting back and forth to the office and remaining in the rat race (fine, I’m a bit biased but if you can justify that lifestyle based on the money more power to you).

Or do you want to work your ass off for the next 12-18 months and establish a practice where you will make MORE money and if you play it smart and listen to what I teach, work less than 20 hours per week.  But that’s not the end goal.  The end goal is more time with your family (or if you don’t have a family and enjoy going out every night and getting lit well, who am I to second-guess you), working from home as and when you choose, might as well throw in a little golf because you know it’s a requirement to be a bar member and overall enjoying the lifestyle we are meant to lead NOW and not when we’re 72 years old and burnt out from the whole idea of practicing law.

So don’t ask me if I think you should start your own practice.   The answer will always be YES.  But if you’re unsure about what you want (and assuming your not a desk rat that really belongs behind a desk all day) then ask yourself, “what do I want my life to look like in 3 years.”  You’ll have your answer.

Are You the Recognized Expert in Your Area of Law?

People want to work with experts.  You don’t want a cardiologist performing brain surgery and you don’t want a divorce attorney representing you when you’re charged with armed robbery.  That’s the straightforward part.  But how do you set yourself apart from the OTHER divorce attorneys or the OTHER criminal lawyers?

The simple answer is that your WRITE and SPEAK.  It’s that simple.  When you write articles, answer questions, hop on stage or provide useful, practical INFORMATION in a public forum you become the recognized expert.  It’s really that simple.

Write articles for newspapers, blogs, magazines, newsletters, etc.  Hop on stage to give seminars, appear on TV as an expert, etc.  When people see you speak and read your articles you default as the expert.

This isn’t rocket science.  Sometimes it’s as simple as taking some basic questions that people have the providing answers (be careful to disclaim any attorney/client relationship being established).  So seek out and accept every opportunity you have to get in front of a captive audience and share your expertise.  You’ll get easy recognition and guess what, experts can charge more than non-experts and people will still seek you out.

Have You Negotiated Yet (come on, we’re lawyers – it’s what we do)

Everyone’s screaming recession and yes, EVEN attorneys are getting slammed.  But for those of us that run our own businesses there is no better time than NOW to revisit every bill that you’re paying.  I a few hours on the phone with my vendors/suppliers/etc. and ended up saving at least $400 a month.  That may not seem like a lot but for the way I run my practice it’s like pulling out buckets of water from a dry well.

In case math isn’t strong point that’s $4800 in savings every year.  Not a bad chunk of change to keep in your pocket.  So go ahead and call everyone from your cell phone provider to your malpractice carrier and scream RECESSION then ask for the best price they can give you.  When they respond, simply ask, “is that the best you can do?”  Good luck and happy recession!

Lingering Questions on How to Start Your Own Practice

I went through the questions of the attendees of my seminar in at Rutgers Camden Law School this past weekend and all could be sumarized in 3 questions:

1) How do I get clients?
2) How much does it cost to start”
3) How do I learn what to do, say, advise, etc.?

We covered most of them Saturday but I know there were some lingering questions so if there was anything left unanswered shoot me an email at sameer@lawfirmguru.com and I’ll get it up here.

The question of the bona-fide office is already up here.  One question that I saw was how do I afford health insurance.  I wish I had a simple answer to that.  My recommendation is that if you’re in good shape go for low monthly cost and high deductible.

Another question was asking about whether you need to take out a small-business loan.  Simple answer is no.  If you’re looking to build a legal empire maybe that’s not the best advice but if you are looking to start a solo practice with minimal hours and a solid six-figure income then you don’t need the loan (unless you don’t even have $1000).  In which case temp at Starbucks for a month and start your law practice the next.

Finally, the question of paperless office came up.  I addressed it in the seminar but I cannot emphasize how important a paperless office is if you are planning to lead the lifestyle I discussed.  Make this a staple of your practice from the start and I guarantee you’ll be thanking me a year from now.

For the love of God just help them out!

Could be just a fluke that this happened twice in one day but here’s another example of how customer service transcends industry.  An old client of mine calls me up and tells me how his boss is having issues with his attorney and wants a 2nd opinion.  After a bit of delving it looks like his boss’s attorney is giving the same advice that I would.  Turns out that wasn’t the issue.  The other attorney was doing what most attorneys do – telling him that’s how it is and I can’t help you.

Clients can handle bad news or limited options but they just want a little help.  They want to be hand-held.  If you were at my seminar this weekend then you know what type of business we’re in (not the legal business).  Most attorneys don’t get that.

So now his boss is going to give me a call because I’m going to tell him the exact same outcome but I’ll let him know the pros, the cons, his options and I’ll hold his hand.  Really, not rocket-science here.

That’s the legal side.  Later today I step out to pick up some groceries and I’m waiting on line and the cashier tells the lady ahead of me “your card didn’t go through.”  Fair enough, so the lady swipes it again, enters all her digits, requests her cash back, etc. and the cashier turns to her and says, “didn’t work again” and blankly stares at the customer to do something about it.  For the love of God just help her out.  Swipe the card for her, type in the digits manually, offer a bloody solution or at least an option before talking to your fellow cashier about what time she gets off tonight.  Nope, none of that.

Well I’m not one to stick around so told the cashier I was leaving and left my groceries there.  I figured it would give the cashier something to do once the woman ahead of me was finally able to check out (no clue if it actually happened – I was long gone by then).

Bottom line – hold your clients’ hands.  It’s not that hard to do.  They’ll appreciate it and guess what.  The outcome of their case will be the same whether you’re an ass or a sweetheart!

Bona-Fide Office Rule (NJ)

So it seems that after this past weekend’s seminar “ethics” have got the best of many of my readers.  I’ve said it many times before but I’ll restate it, “ethics regulations for lawyers often make it difficult to run an efficient and effective business.”  With that said, I’m NOT in favor of breaking ethics regulations.  But at the same time I’m not one to play things overly safe.

Thanks Terry for sending me the following excerpt which covers the bona-fide office rule in NJ:

1:21-1. Who May Practice; Appearance in Court

• … no person shall practice law in this State unless that person … maintains a bona fide office for the practice of law. For the purpose of this section, a bona fide office is a place where clients are met, files are kept, the telephone is answered, mail is received and the attorney or a responsible person acting on the attorney’s behalf can be reached in person and by telephone during normal business hours to answer questions posed by the courts, clients or adversaries and to ensure that competent advice from the attorney can be obtained within a reasonable period of time.

The statute is reasonably self-explanatory so let’s not read more into it.  Keep files at your office, have a “RESPONSIBLE PERSON” running the gig (yes, a receptionist can be responsible), and respond with “competent” advice in a “reasonable” period of time.  That did not translate into “answer your phone at all times between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday and give advice to your clients, etc. IMMEDIATELY.”

But even after getting this blurb the the questions were still rolling in.  Can I have my calls forwarded since it’s technically OUTSIDE my office?  How can I have a PO Box if mail is to be received at my office?  Etc., etc. etc.

Look, there’s a level of common sense invovled in running your practice and balancing the operations of your practice with ethics regulations.  Leave the “what if” questions to your clients (trust me, they’ll have more than enough).  You focus on running an ethical practice through the use of good common sense (and a knowledge of what you can and can’t do).  It’s not that hard to avoid lying, cheating and stealing.  That’s basaically what ethics regulations do.  They keep your clients safe.  Focus your attention on the same end goal and it’s going to be tough to be in violation.

Camden Seminar This Saturday (5/9/09)

For those of you who are in the NJ/PA area this weekend I’m presenting a 4-hour seminar on starting and marketing a solo practice.  We are a few seats over capacity but I’ve been told that we can move to a bigger room if we have more people signing up.  If you’re interested just click HERE and keep an eye on your email in case we change rooms.