Law21 Twitter Updates- Lawyers don't want to hear about future of law involving automation: http://t.co/Hnj5K41e (kind words, smart observations by @ernieattorney)
Category Archives: Solo & Small Firm
Innovation pays
I’m willing to wager that the one phrase most frequently spoken in partnership meetings, when the subject of potential new initiatives comes up, is: “Are any other firms doing this?” Law is virtually the only industry where a negative answer to that question is met with disappointment. Doing what everyone else is doing will get [...]
Also posted in Innovation 1 Comment
Solo innovation
Conventional wisdom has it that when the meteor struck the earth millions of years ago, the small early mammals survived because they could slip into underground holes and caves, while the larger dinosaurs, with nowhere to go, were struck down. Not to do overdo the analogy, but a series of innovations in solo and small-firm [...]
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The 21st-century solo
(Author’s note: Read to the end to learn about a scholarship contest for sole practitioners.) During my recent webinar on legal marketplace trends with Susan Cartier Liebel of Solo Practice University, I raised a point about solo law practice that’s been bothering me for a while. Almost every lawyers’ association in North America, I noted, [...]
Also posted in Innovation 8 Comments
Are you selling the lawyer or the firm?
From England and Wales, the newest hotbed of innovation in the current legal marketplace, comes word that the first nationwide solicitor franchise is on its way. Legal Futures reports that Face2Face Solicitors “is initially aimed at small private client law firms and will provide franchisee solicitors with centralized back-office systems – including accounts, IT and [...]
Also posted in Big Firms, Marketing, Talent 5 Comments
The boutique exodus
I was talking the other day with a partner in a large national firm. For a variety of reasons, including the nature of his practice area, his annual billings have been declining for a couple of years now, and he’s been contacted about it by some of the senior people in the firm. He’s been [...]
Also posted in Big Firms 3 Comments
The lamp and the laser
When you set up a home office, as I’ve recently been doing, you begin to notice lighting in a way you hadn’t before. It quickly becomes apparent that fixed overhead lights and large floor lamps, no matter how bright they might be, don’t illuminate desks and laptops very well. For close-range work, helping you navigate [...]
Also posted in Big Firms, Marketing 5 Comments
Solo Practice University guest lecture
After all these years, I’m going back to law school. I’m happy to announce I’m making my first appearance as a Guest Lecturer at Solo Practice University on Tuesday, January 12 at noon ET. After having numerous great conversations with SPU founder Susan Cartier Liebel by phone and email over the years, it’ll be tremendous [...]
The hyperlocal lawyer
You’ve seen plenty of references to the decline of traditional news media here, usually in the context of similar struggles in the legal marketplace. Instead of dwelling on that industry’s problems, however, here’s what looks like one of its future successes, and how it might have potentially profound applications to the law. It’s the rise [...]
Also posted in Clients 3 Comments
Size and the legal media
My newest column has been posted at Slaw, Canada’s best legal website. As always, you can read it there, or read it here.
Also posted in Big Firms, Publishing 2 Comments
The franchised future of small law firms