This post was written by Ed Poll: "Audrey H. Rubin is president and founder of Rubin Solutions, Ltd., She designs and implements business processes which improve the financial performance and operations of corporate law departments and professional services firms. She talks with Ed about what lawyers need to know before they open their own law firm. In today's world, this is a topic of great interest, especially to those increasing numbers of law school graduates who are starting their own practices right out of school. You can learn more about Audrey at www.rubinsolutions.com.

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Source: LawBiz Blog, 20 August 2010. © 2010 Edward Poll & Associates, Inc., reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by StephanieWestAllen:  "Excerpt:

Many large firms have been slow to invest in legal software, which helps streamline and expedite case work, because individual programs can be both expensive and too field-specific for generalist practices. Boutiques, however, which concentrate on only a few legal aspects, can justify investment in a handful of such programs because they are more likely to use them repeatedly. This has allowed the boutiques to become far more efficient in their chosen fields than their larger rivals, according to Barron Henley, a legal technologist with Affinity Consulting Group in Columbus..."

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Source: idealawg, 8 August 2010, reproduced with permission of the author.

This post was written by Susan Cartier Liebel: "Wow.  I go away for a vacation and all hell breaks loose! (only kidding) But during my vacation week when my big and little guys were asleep after an exhausting day at the beach I learned of Carolyn Elefant's post on MyShingle.com letting loose on the ABA as an 'organization' (not it's volunteers or staff)..."

Read more about the ABA and solos by clicking on her name above.

Source: Build a Solo Practice, 26 July 2010. © SPU 2010 Susan Cartier Liebel, reproduced with permission.

This is a guest post by Stella Fayman: "Lawyers who own their own practices must be aware of all aspects of their business. One often overlooked aspect is credit card processing, or merchant account processing. If your law office plans to accept credit cards as a form of payment, you will need to choose a merchant account provider to process credit cards. Unfortunately, choosing a credit card processing company tends to be a long, frustrating, and inefficient process--and many businesses get ripped off along the way. Here are some tips to prevent that from happening:..."

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Source: Lawyerist.com, 28 July 2010. © 2007-2010 Lawyerist Media, LLC. Reproduced with permission of the site editor, Sam Glover.

This post was written by Susan Cartier Liebel: "You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you will be the guy who'll decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go. ... Dr. Seuss from 'Oh, The Places You'll Go..'

If you are a reader of my blog or new to Build a Solo Practice @ SPU, you have learned or will learn I'm a firm believer in choices, personal responsibility and a 'no victim' mentality.  That's not to say in life those who are personally responsible can't feel or be victimized. But life is what you do with the cards you are dealt (or deal yourself) and it all turns on the choices you make with the options in hand.

Failure isn't due to lack of resources, it's due to lack of resourcefulness. - Anthony Robbins

If you are on the verge of going solo or in the process of making this decision and weighing your options, there are a few exercises you need to sweat through.  And you need to give serious consideration to the results:..."

Watch a good video by Tony Robbings and continue reading this interesting post by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Build a Solo Practice, 19 July 2010. © SPU 2010 Susan Cartier Liebel, reproduced with permission.

This post was written by Sam Glover: "I first talked about the tools I use to manage my law practice in April 2008. I updated the list of my practice software and tools in February 2009, and it seems like a good time to do so again.

Since the last update, my firm has gained one attorney employee and three independent contractors, but the software I use to manage my practice has been flexible enough to survive these transitions. The most-significant change is the switch from GnuCash to Quickbooks for bookkeeping. I ran into trouble with reports in GnuCash that caused me to have to file a rather expensive amended tax return. Quickbooks has been smooth sailing for a full tax season, though, and I am glad I switched.

I also added Basecamp for project management. Basecamp allows me to keep track of everyone working on a case without requiring them to use or install any software themselves. We use it on complex cases, as well as cases involving substantial collaboration with co-counsel..."

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Source: Lawyerist.com, 20 July 2010. © 2007-2010 Lawyerist Media, LLC. Reproduced with permission of the site editor, Sam Glover.

Podcast description from the site: "Small firm lawyers, with small cases and small budgets, often feel like the proverbial David facing Goliath when disputes end up in the courtroom. On this edition of Law Technology Now, host Monica Bay talks to attorney Ross Kodner, CEO of MicroLaw, about how you can use technology you already own and master the courtroom. They also discuss Law Technology News' July cover story about the new LTN Vendor Satisfaction Survey.

Related Podcasts

• May 25, 2010 -- Delivering Maximum Value in a Cost-Conscious Legal Era
• April 7, 2010 -- Rethink Open Source & Green Legal Matters
• March 23, 2010 -- Time Management to Avoid Lawyer Meltdown
• March 4, 2010 -- Taming Chaos
• January 20, 2010 -- Favorite Law Practice Management Tips for A Successful 2010"

Active links and podcast are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Legal Talk Network, 12 July 2010. © 2010 · Legal Talk Network. Reproduced with permission of Scott R. Hess.

This post was written by Susan Gainen: "If you are busy enough to consider hiring a law clerk, you need to see beyond the project that you would like to hand off and to understand that supervision takes time and costs money.  If you believe that "if you want something done right, do it yourself," then hiring a law clerk may not be your best bet. You will need to plan to take the time to make this hire work for both of you..."

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Source: Lawyerist.com, 12 July 2010. © 2007-2010 Lawyerist Media, LLC. Reproduced with permission of the site editor, Sam Glover.

This post was written by Roy Ginsburg: "Although many who read the posts on Lawyerist are solo practitioners or work in very small firms, I suspect there are some who practice in larger law firms and visit the site to see what the solo/small firm life is like. If you are part of that group, this post is for you.

As a career coach, I've counseled my share of lawyers contemplating leaving their law firms and going out on their own. Of course, each of them had their own reasons why they wanted to leave, but they had one thing in common.  All had carefully thought through the consequences of going solo, and their heads and hearts told them they should leave, yet each still could not quite find the courage to pull the trigger. Each had some fear that stopped them dead in their tracks. For every one of them, we would talk through their particular fears and afterward, not once, did they decide to stay at their firm. All left and are glad they did. In no particular order of importance, here is my list of the top ten fears that attorneys face when going solo. Each one will be debunked.

Continue reading this interesting post and reach the active links by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Lawyerist.com, 23 June 2010. © 2007-2010 Lawyerist Media, LLC. Reproduced with permission of the site editor, Sam Glover.

This post was written by Roy Ginsburg: "Although many who read the posts on Lawyerist are solo practitioners or work in very small firms, I suspect there are some who practice in larger law firms and visit the site to see what the solo/small firm life is like. If you are part of that group, this post is for you.

As a career coach, I've counseled my share of lawyers contemplating leaving their law firms and going out on their own. Of course, each of them had their own reasons why they wanted to leave, but they had one thing in common.  All had carefully thought through the consequences of going solo, and their heads and hearts told them they should leave, yet each still could not quite find the courage to pull the trigger. Each had some fear that stopped them dead in their tracks. For every one of them, we would talk through their particular fears and afterward, not once, did they decide to stay at their firm. All left and are glad they did. In no particular order of importance, here is my list of the top ten fears that attorneys face when going solo. Each one will be debunked.

Continue reading this interesting post and reach the active links by clicking on the author's name.

Source: Lawyerist.com, 23 June 2010. © 2007-2010 Lawyerist Media, LLC. Reproduced with permission of the site editor, Sam Glover.