Sworn in, and ready to go

It's official, I've joined the ranks of the elite (or slimy depending on your views.)

I attended the new lawyer swearing-in ceremony on Thursday at 9:00 a.m., performed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. This was a pretty fantastic experience.

On Thursday at 10:30 a.m., I opened the doors to my new law firm, Absolute Legal Services, LLC. It's a scary and exhilarating feeling, but I think I've found some direction, and I'm going to get where I need to go.

If you have any advice, I'm certainly up for hearing it.

Your Own Practice

The Plaintiff Trial Lawyer, Paul Luvera, has some great resources on opening your own law practice. This is a fairly well-discussed topic, with industry leaders like, Carolyn Elefant, Susan Cartier-Liebel, and Jim Calloway.

The Plaintiff Trial Lawyer's post lists a lot of known, and unknown, sites to gather information. While it's not comprehensive by any means, it's a great initial first step.

My only criticism about the post is that Paul neglects to mention Carolyn's book, Solo By Choice. I think this is the new "Foonberg On Solo Practice." (You can read this post for a review.)

Simple & effective

Somehow this post slipped through my reader undetected. I must have clipped it with the intent to save it and read it. The post discusses some things you can do with MS Word 2007 to increase the effectiveness of the program and your staff.

What I wish I'd known

Simple Justice has a great post I've been meaning to comment on regarding law school. I wish I had this information when I started. It would have made the stress of 1L year quite less - perhaps even more comical.

Change your views now

Sadly, I'm a Gen-X/Yer. I say sadly, only because so many of my generation have brought so much shame to our futures. This post gives a great highlight of the problems/hurdles we face, especially in light of so many "slackiose" individuals.

I plead that you not view us with the same disdain.

The techno-lawyer's best friend

This post comes later than expected, because of some events that kept me from posting earlier. My apologies to my one reader.

I discovered the beauty of Microsoft's new Office Suite program, OneNote, in 2003. Back then, the release was a part of the broader MS Office 2003 release, but far less publicized. I received my copy from the University's technology department, immediately contemplating its use. Unfortunately, I did not possess a laptop, and alas, any use I'd make of the new program would have to wait.

During my first year of law school, I introduced numerous classmates to the program, and soon a revolution occurred. I continued to build my proficiency, and tweak the program's uses.

Now, with OneNote 2007, Microsoft seems to be gunning for the attorney market.

One of the greatest features is OneNote's ability to sync with others (collaborate). I'm not sure whether 2003 had this option, I didn't care. But now that I do most of my design work on the desktop, and use my laptop for travel, this feature is indispensible.

I've set up trial notebooks for each of my litigation cases. The ability to cut, paste, and import different files is unique and valuable. These notebooks take the place of my trial binders, and help save some paper. With OneNote, I'm able to import each file as a link, or completely insert the file as a printout. This feature provides an ability for me to arrange my documents, pictures, and exhibits in a way that will benefit the case.

There is a downside to the program, now I want a tablet PC.

An opportunity for solos

The ABA Journal is one of the publications produced by the ABA that I religiously read. For the most part, I believe there are very few things that are "pro-solo" produced or sponsored by the American Bar Association, but the ABA Journal is one of them.

In practically every issue, you'll glean some relevant and useful information about technology, big firm ethics/management, or legal practice. This article is one of those gems.

You'll notice that 100% of large firms have websites. Well duh, these 100 lawyer-plus firms can afford website design. What I think will be an extensive and innovative opportunity is to make sure that your solo/small firm (only about 52% of you) offers unique website features. I'm looking to revamp/rework my website, and therefore, I'm checking out my competition for examples of what not to do (i.e. a pompous list of my affiliations and "reported cases").

I'm also talking to my friends and family, getting suggestions on what they'd like to see on their attorney's website. One great suggestion I received is to provide access to client files via SSL and password protection. I'm searching the ethical/fiduciary responsibilities of this suggestion, and talking to my web designer about implementation. This special feature provides the solo/small firm with a unique advantage over the larger firms, in addition to some specialized client attention.

America is a pretty great place

My wife has been begging and prodding me to read a blog about this couple (see here and here too). She happened upon their blog through her incessant blog-stalking, and cannot seem to shake their experience from her mind.

Now, after reading the blog, who can blame her. It seems they were injured in an airplane crash, and now spend their days in a drug-induced coma, with burns covering up to 80% of their bodies. To complicate matters, they have 4 children who are particularly concerned about their parents.

I think one of the most truly magical things that's emerged from their experience is the number of people rallying to support their cause. Despite the difficult financial times, many individuals are donating to their Foundation.

I'm particularly impressed with one businessman from Utah decided to donate 100% of his September proceeds to the family's support. Another woman created an auction site whose efforts are devoted to raising money.

I can't help but think that this is The American Spirit in action. In small patches everywhere, people are supporting similar causes, for countless numbers of unknown individuals.

Dave Dee has an excellent post on his website where he criticizes those rabble-rousers who seek to discredit the benefits of being an American. In what other country, (Canada? England? Iran?) would you find so much freedom and good will. Regardless of your views about The War, politics, or religion, Americans have the best system on Earth. This American system encourages this American Spirit.

The greatest thing since...

I love MS Outlook 2007. To some extent that same sentiment extends to the other Microsoft Office 2007 products, but I think Outlook is head and shoulders above any other email/calendaring program. Is there any wonder why most practice management programs incorporate MS Outlook?

We recently installed an Exchange Server which has improved the functionality of Outlook ten fold. Similar programs can do the same thing for less cost, but they tend to have a few bugs to work out. (I still support ShareO as a valid alternative to email/calendar sharing).

I love that MS Outlook contains all of the necessary components for managing a law practice. I've developed a system to use Outlook for case tracking/client matter updates. This makes conflict searches quick and easy. Moreover, using the notes section, I can tag information about specific conversations I've had with a contact. This is especially handy in the case of clients, where I can log the information, then print off that note summary when I close their file.

The MS Outlook system has greatly improved my productivity and effectiveness.

Read tomorrow's review of MS OneNote 2007.

Wonderful wikis

I'm preparing to open my new firm in October, pending favorable bar results (I'm sure they'll be fine). One of the things I'm working on is arranging for website development, including hosting, design, and maintenance. There's a lot of the technology stuff about website design and hosting, that I already know. Although I'm not going to design the site myself, I plan to implement and maintain a variety of other elements.

One of the items I'm implementing is a firm Wiki. If you're not sure what this is, then check out Wikipedia. As the original purveyor of the Wiki system, Wikipedia has developed the largest online encyclopedia devoted to user generated/edited content (look here for a review).

The concept of the Wiki is that users create and modify content for a particular purpose. I've been implementing this concept into my firm's website to develop an online depository for firm policies, procedures, and other commonly done tasks. The idea is that when I hire on new associates or assistants, we can start off in a cohesive manner, and be able to understand each other and our expectations.

More importantly, I hope that a firm Wiki will enable everyone to develop a relationship of trust and enable our firm to excel at client service.

I remember clearly walking into my current firm as a 1st year law student, being assigned a task, and then having no clue of what to do, or what was expected of me. Within the Wiki, I'm developing a "How To" list of tasks I've done, and obviously directions on how to complete those things. There are simple items, like how to file a case at the courthouse, to more complex things like how to conduct a title search. The lists include particular documents, links, and other items that are important to accomplishing the task. My goal with this is that new members of the firm will not have the anxiety I did when asked to complete the job, and hopefully be more productive and effective.

Moreover, I hope my Wiki will enable me to grow and develop. I believe that the solo or small firm practitioner needs a variety of keys to help. This is especially important when you're completing a task that is highly unique or specialized, and may only occur once in the proverbial blue moon. A step-by-step guide will enable me to retain competence in a particular matter, while focusing on more lucrative or frequently occurring issues.

If you're a solo, and you'd like access to my Wiki, email me or post a comment. Remember, there are some Oklahoma-specific issues, but there are some general tasks too. If you have a "how to" list you'd like to share, let me know also.