Operations

On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, the Women Owned Law Firms  (WOL),  is holding its D.C. launch at the Fastcase  office in Washington D.C. Register here  now! This event is for women-owned law firms -but that’s not all. We’re seeking  women currently at big law, or who have left the practice to raise a family but…

A few months back when I first contemplated a two week trip overseas, I accepted that I’d have to put in some work-time in exchange for a prolonged holiday. Even so, I envisioned waking up a few hours sipping a cafe con leche on the balcony and watching the sunrise, while tapping out a blog…

As a widow who will have not only one  but two daughters in college in just a few months, I’ve been dutifully completing multiple financial aid forms on the off-chance that I may now qualify for a bit of assistance above the partial merit scholarships that my older daughter currently receives and that my younger…

At airports across the country, thousands of lawyers have mobilized to represent immigrants who may, or have been detained as a result of Trump’s Executive Order  (January 27, 2017) . For those not closely following the details, the EO indefinitely bars Syrian refugees from entering the United States, suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and…

Everyone is familiar with layaway plans. Most common in the context of retail (think Toys R Us  or Walmart, to name just a few), layaway plans give customers the option of depositing a fraction of the cost of the item they want to buy, and paying the balance over time. Meanwhile, the seller sets the…

Although I’ve probably employed thirty people over the lifetime of my practice — as contractors, part-time associates, law clerks, or of-counsel, I never used a payroll service until a year ago.  Up until very recently, payroll services were costly, complicated or both – and I didn’t want the added expense. And although lack of a payroll…

Just as desperate times deserve desperate measures, overly broad advance waivers of conflicts  deserve overly broad relief in the form of disgorgment of legal fees, held the California Court of Appeals (Second District) earlier this year Sheppard, Mullin v. JM Manufacturing, 244 Cal. App. 4th 590 (January 2016). The dispute arose after Sheppard Mullin agreed…

Though some solos are perfectly happy to operate as an army of one, others look forward to the day when their workload and revenues justify hiring that first associate. But even when that day that a solo can afford an associate’s salary is tantalizingly close, once they sit down and do the numbers — tacking…