Be A Cardtable Lawyer. . . .

Get the tools you need, but you don’t always need a motor to cross the lake. . . .

I once had a student-gone-solo contact me in a large city on the east coast with pictures of his newly rented office with fine woodwork throughout and a nice stash of law books in the background. He looked almost “regal” and was quick to tell me that “You need to look successful to succeed”. I cautioned him before graduating to keep his overhead low. Chris was bound and determined to succeed and he worked hard. However, as time passed, his correspondence grew more despondent. He explained that he loved doing criminal defense work, but it was “low pay, slow pay” and distracted him from developing a private pay practice. As a result, he was unable to pay his bills and couldn’t afford to get married. Finally, he closed his doors and went to work in a small firm and gave up the solo dream.

I tell students it isn’t the environment where you work that determines your success – it is you and your persona and attention to the needs of your clients that fosters growth in your practice. You could operate from a card table and tell your new client – “I have never done this before, but I will tell you this – you are the most important person and your problem has the highest priority on my list. NO ONE ELSE who has been in practice will give your issue the attention that I will. I may not have a lot of experience, but I know where to go to find the answers and I will give your case the attention it deserves.” First, be yourself and genuine and communicate your sincerity to your client and do your best. That is what builds a client base and ultimately, quality referrals.

In spite of your best efforts, if you don’t view your practice as a business enterprise keep your expenses low and develop a profitable market plan, you may be destined to fail. Or, you may stumble through your legal career just staying ahead of the bill collectors. One of my former students, within three years of graduation, paid off her student debt and is debt free with two offices and four employees. She has been very successful. But even more important, she has established business practices which preserve her quality of life while managing her practice.  She even planned ahead so that she was able to take two months off to give birth to her new daughter.

But, she left law school with a plan. She was exceptionally resourceful, intelligent, personable and stuck to her plan. She will tell you that she had no thought of going solo until we discussed it as a viable option in her third year of law school.

Many students ask me how much will it cost to start a solo practice. My answer – it depends! But in the final analysis, try to keep your expenses as low as possible for every dollar saved is one less dollar that you will be able to keep for yourself but make sure you have all the tools necessary and don’t skimp on the essentials. Essential hardware and management tools should include;

Malpractice Insurance
Laptop Computer
Scanner
Copy Machine
Practice Management Software
Smart Phone
Sequestered Meeting Environment
If you have these essentials in place, you can operate from almost anywhere and keep your overhead to a minimum.

Malpractice insurance is essential. Fortunately, you don’t start out with a book of clients so the insurer has very little risk. Some areas of practice have a higher likelihood of malpractice and insurance is priced accordingly. So you will need to check with your carrier to obtain specifics. Often, you can employ insurance brokers who will find the best rates for you. But, don’t “go naked” as they say. Take some of the worry out of your practice start-up anxieties and get insurance for your piece of mind. Most claims arise as a consequence of poor communications with clients or missed deadlines due to poor time-management skills (see Time Management Blog to learn how to avoid those mistakes).

Laptop Computer. I would invest in a good laptop computer. It is possible to use the computer you acquired in law school, but make sure that it has sufficient operating systems for your practice needs. PC or MAC, either one is acceptable but you will pay more for a Mac with equivalent capacity and there are more open source programs available for PC’s than MAC’s. But, if you are into MAC’s like many users are, then by all means stay with it. Many laptops have performance comparable to desktops anymore and the portability of the laptop strongly mitigates in favor of that platform when you are getting started.

Scanner. Today, many courts require documents be filed electronically. Accessibility of your documents from outside of your office is virtually impossible unless they are scanned and stored digitally. Scanners have improved to the point that you can do high speed scanning with a high quality scanner which is “text searchable” meaning that once scanned, you can find anything previously scanned with search terms unique to that file such as a client, or opposing counsel’s name, phone number, file number or text (“red 2008 Ford™ pick up”).

Whereever that sequence of words appears, the documents will be sourced immediately. You can’t do that with paper files. Also, the cost of storage and maintenance of files is virtually eliminated. In the event of a natural disaster, you can store your files in the “cloud” and be backed up and ready to go without the loss of data. During Katrina, many attorney were put out of business or sorely handicapped as they scrambled to reconstruct their damaged paper files. The cost of paper, ink and maintenance of sophisticated copy-machines is largely minimized when you go paperless. For details the scanner that I use in my office which is highly rated by most reviewers, go to http://scanners.fcpa.fujitsu.com/ They have several models, some come with Adobe 10™ read and write which you can download to your computer.  The cost of that software is about as much as the scanner alone. These are very versatile machines and will give you the freedom and independence that paper-based firms cannot exercise.

Copy Machine. You will need a copy machine, even in a “paperless” environment as clients, administrative agencies, opposing counsel, and others will often require “hard copies” of documents. Invest in good quality printer but you don’t need to spend a bundle on this and single purpose machines are best as you will have a stand-alone scanner and faxes can be done through your computer.

Practice Management Software. The choices here are mind-boggling. You can get software for document assembly, file management, billing, time-keeping, and integrated software for all of the above. I attend the ABA TechShow each year and the vendors come and go, some are more stable than others but they are all quick to tell you that you cannot operate without their system and that other products fall short of all the features that their package provides. The truth is that they all offer excellent features, but that some are more comprehensive than others. Some offer better support than others. Some have pricing that is attractive today – but subject to price “enhancements”.  To switch over to another system later can be rather frustrating. I would recommend that you check with others in your local legal environment to see what they are using. Ask them how good the support, pricing, and long-term viability of their software has been. They have no dog in the hunt and will give you the best evaluation and recommendations. If you know someone else using the same software and you have a problem, often that user will be more attentive and responsive to your inquiries than a rep four states away on the telephone.

Smart Phone. I know of a few attorneys who still operate without “smart” phones. If you want flexibility and synchronization of all your applications and software – the “smart phone” is the way to go. Today, with voice recognition, Google Voice™, and many other applications, you can be connected and conduct much of your business from your phone. Look for battery life – there are phones on the market that will operate for two full days before charging is necessary. I know, I have one. There are so many apps that are available to make your life easier. One, just for time-keeping that I hear is excellent, is iTimeKeep™ which you can find at http://www2.bellefield.com/itimekeep-for-attorneys/. Studies have shown that delays in logging time results in significant loss of billable income. Software can tract time time spent looking at emails, on the phone, and other matters seamlessly so that you don’t miss out on valuable billable work spent on behalf of your clients.

Sequestered Meeting Environment. Notice, I didn’t say “office space”? The reason I say this is that there is a trend towards “virtual office” meeting space. Today, attorneys work in “brick and mortar”offices, rent space on an hourly basis, and finally, many attorneys operate with nothing more than a post office box. How you choose to operate depends on your business plan, type of clients, area of specialization and budget. Today, because of the internet and operating systems, it is very easy to operate remotely from a physical office. As a result, many attorneys spend less and less time in their offices with some offering services sans physical office.

This can work very well depending on your area of practice. For instance, an attorney who does appellate work really doesn’t meet clients in his or her office. Most of the research and writing and referrals are done over the internet. In some instances, an appellate attorney can solicit work on-line, have the transcripts sent by email, draft an appellate brief and submit it without ever meeting another human. Criminal defense attorneys often meet their clients at the courthouse, prison or in jail and never see them in their office. There are some attorneys who have “mobile” offices and meet clients who are home bound in their homes. Many attorneys meet clients in coffee shops, court houses or professional office buildings where conference rooms are rented on an hourly basis and where that attorneys mail can be received.

One of my former enterprising students found an attorney with a large law firm who took a liking to him and leased office space to him for evenings and weekends on a busy avenue for very little. One evening that student called me to say, “guess where I am?” I am in the middle of a walnut paneled law library waiting for my client to arrive. The added advantage was that he was meeting with clients at times convenient for them. Eventually, he rented his own office; but you never know what you can do until you ask.