Inspiration & Encouragement

Starting a law firm is nothing if not an adventure always full of surprises. Here are some of the things that surprised me about starting a firm. You will always be terrified. For as long as you are in practice, you’ll always fret that one day the phone will stop ringing, that business will dry…

In one of those press releases-cum-SEO drivers that routinely crop up in my news aggregator, I noticed this announcement about Stephanie Fierro’s promotion from law firm associate to senior counsel at Frutkin Law, a mid-sized Arizona law firm.  Nothing out of the ordinary there – but what most caught my eye was that prior to…

Though it may surprise you, I’m not a fan of lawyers describing themselves as solos. Despite eleven years of promoting the virtues of hanging a shingle  and big law’s tarnished image, the legal profession — from law schools to judges  — still reveres big firm lawyers and their shiny credentials. Even the so-called  Newlaw darlings…

Behold the Menurkey. Part Menorah, part Turkey, the Menurkey commemorates the intersection of Thanksgiving and Hanukah, two holidays that celebrate the triumph of religious freedom over oppression; of small outliers over large dynasties.  In many ways, both holidays represent the story of solos. Although age-old holidays inspired the Menurkey, it came to life in decidedly 21st…

Recently, one of my colleagues shared with me the success of a monthly subscription service that he’d recently launched for his clients, who are businesses in a relatively specialized industry.  He was surprised by the positive results because another one of our colleagues had tried a similar program a decade earlier with no takers. There…

Seems that no matter what lawyers do these days – whether it’s accepting a phone call from an unknown number, or scanning press releases on a news aggregator or visiting a bar association website, or signing up for what appeared to be a free service — they quickly find themselves bombarded with high-pressure sales offers…

We’re our own worst enemy when it comes to starting a law firm. Alhough naysayers abound, frequently your worst enemy is you. Because I blog about starting a law firm and have done it myself in my respective practice area, not surprisingly, I’m asked for advice on getting started.  Yet more often than not, every…

Huma Rashid doesn’t write here anymore because she’s too busy practicing as a criminal defense attorney for a small firm in Chicago. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read her blog about what she’s doing now, especially this fresh post, Isn’t It Funny How Your Dreams Come True?.  Huma has a great career today,…