Traditional or Home Office - The Great Debate

One of the first things solo lawyers debate is where to practice. This isn't particularly a practice "specialty" debate, as much as a general debate regarding locating your practice.

 

There are two general "schools" of thought regarding locating your practice. The first is the home office school, while the other is the traditional method.

Home office lawyers champion the idea that because of technology, the location of your practice is not important. With WiFi almost as common as the cell phone, your office can be anywhere you want.

 

The traditional school believes that your office is what distinguishes you from the "schmuck" attorney, and that having a physical location lends credibility to your solo practice.

 

My thoughts have always centered around those of the traditional school, but there's viability to the home office crowd.

When I began my practice, there really was no home office option. I have 3 small children, and therefore, practicing out of my home would have been a disaster. I realized early in law school that if I wanted to accomplish any work, I had to leave the home. Many other attorneys find the same thing.

There are some particular pros and cons to each, and here they are:

Traditional: Pros

1. "Secure" space to meet with clients and discuss important issues;
2. Ability to network with other businesses, attorneys, or professionals sharing office space or in the building;
3. "Legitimacy" to the solo practice;
4. Focus for unfocused home office people
   

Traditional: Cons

1. Costs for renting/outfitting office space
2. Distractions from others
3. Takes time to get going
   

Home Office: Pros

1. Little to no overhead
2. Use cellphone/home internet/technology to manage office
3. Meet clients where and when you want
4. Easy work/life balance
5. Easy to get going
   

Home Office: Cons

1. Distractions at home (dishes, kids, TV, etc.)
2. Perceived "illegitimacy"
3. Meet clients at home or travel elsewhere - consumes extra, valuable time or raises security concerns

I think most new attorneys will opt for the traditional method of practicing. I think, like me, you learned early in your academic career that you're less productive if you're sitting at home.

I believe if you leverage technology, you can establish a high-quality work/life balance working away from home.

Startup Predictor

The website, YouNoodle has created a pretty cool predictor to estimate the value of your startup. The cool thing about this is that you can get the prediction for your startup's value in 3 years. Although the test is geared toward traditional startup ventures (ie: those types of businesses that can take/split profits with non-lawyers), the predictor gives a nice glimpse into your firm's success.

I took the test for my firm's site, and failed miserably (although it values my firm at $141,000 after 3 years, so I don't think that's too bad), as far as my potential for the million dollar firm.

Your Alma Mater

Not feeling like you got the best education during law school? Check out this post by Scott Moss, which ranks the top 10 law schools. The catch, Scott uses crimes and punishments to create the list. The spoiler, Harvard (said with sarcastic arogance) ranks numero uno.

Our firm's site

Check out the blog on our law firm's site.

Hanging the Shingle

I participated in the swearing-in ceremony for the Western District of Oklahoma on Thursday. This was a great experience, and a great opportunity to reconnect with folks I hadn't seen since graduation. What struck me the most out of this whole event was the number of my classmates who have "hung their shingle."

As this report, this report, and this report in law.com show, associate layoffs are certainly going to be a trend in this new economy. One of my colleagues faced a similar situation with his "Big Law" job, when he discovered that his firm was "imploding." Suddenly his seemingly strong and stable job turned into mush. He's now struggling, 3 months after becoming an attorney, to begin operation.

Other folks I'd graduated with told similar stories of having to fend for themselves without any guidance. This isn't a trend that will quickly disappear. Big firms, and even some smaller firms, are seeing that they cannot handle these $130,000-plus salaries, and still support their big law models. There is a strong argument from these reports that even the small firms must evaluate their own business models in order to stay competitive - that's another post all together.

What everyone should be concerned about is the sudden influx of attorneys into solo practice who know nothing about the actual practice, and business, of law. If you're one of them, here's some suggestions:

1. Purchase Jay Foonberg and Carolyn Elefant's books.
2. Sign up for Solo Practice University.
3. Talk to your Bar's law practice/solo and small firm section leader.
4. Don't mock the solos (we know you did), because, now you're one of them. Amazing how quickly situations change, isn't it?

Plaintiff's Victory

Finally (now you know my bias), a victory for Plaintiffs in Oklahoma. Check out Woods v. Unity Health Center, Inc., 2008 OK 97.

Marketing and Marketability at its best

Congratulations to Barack Obama! What an accomplishment, and what a statement of resounding approval. Obama takes the presidency with over 52% of the popular vote, and with a landslide in the electoral college. So, what made Obama the clear-cut victor? Simply stated, his thematic message, "Change We Can Believe In."

Regardless of you opinion of whether he actually promoted policies that would lead to change, President-elect Obama created something extraordinarily special, and meaningful for many people. The essence of Obama's campaign was his theme.

Obama did two really great things to build on that theme, and tie everything together. First, he used the message in every campaign stump. This is something that John McCain failed to grasp, and failed to do well. Obama made sure to notify Americans that he promoted change, and that constant notification gave many people encouragement.

Second, Barack Obama used other media methods to promote his message. Obama's website was a textbook in web-publishing, and the multiple tools only enhanced its appeal. While John McCain appreciated many of the methods, his acceptance and use of these tools dwindled significantly when compared to Obama's. I was especially impressed with Obama's use of television and his website to promote his tax plan. I innocently typed in the specific URL, and immediately a non-descript tax calculator showed up. What a great combination of visual and tactile marketing to encourage and rally tech-savy youth.

Additionally, the Obama campaign masterfully used technology to encourage and retain young voters. Monday's "Get Out the Vote" campaign on Facebook was just one of the many tools used.

So, how does this help you. Think long-and-hard about the methods you're using to promote your business. Are you still stuck among the 2,500 other lawyers advertising in the YellowPages? How does your website look? Is it interactive? Is it tied to your firm's thematic message? Does your firm even have a thematic message? How are you promoting yourself to the younger generations?

Get up and running quickly

How long does it take to get yourself an online presence? 1 week. I know, because I did it.
How much did it cost me? About $250. How, you ask? Because I found innovative ways to manipulate the system, while saving some costs. Here's the secrets:

1. Find a cheap hosting service, and pay for the long-haul. I recommend this site for "heavy hitters," and those people seeking full-service web hosting. DISCLAIMER: I'll get a "kick-back" from them, if you tell the site you're referred by me (jbtokc). I'd still recommend their services if you decide not to line my pockets. I also recommend this site for the "faint of heart." Either site does the trick, and provides a method for developing your own content/style sheets. Note: I reviewed MS Office Live here.
   
2. Minimize your initial web-design costs by using web templates, or pre-fab sites. You can use sites like this one to get an idea or design. Note: you will probably need to know some HTML coding (I do) to make these work for you. However, you can still make it work by taking the site to your designer and asking him/her to make your changes. Save even more by writing your website copy, and sending it to your designer to cut-and-paste. Part of the cost of web-design is having to develop the code, and write the content. You've done both, and saved the developer some time. If you need a developer, I'll recommend a guy if you'll email.
   

You're done. I added some features, like SSL encryption, that will serve some of my specific purposes.

Now, there will be naysayers who will critique my method, especially using templates. I can see the headline/post now, "I would not recommend using someone else's content. Find your own style and spend the money to develop it." Well, sometimes you're stuck with what you've got. I have a web/design budget of $350. When that's gone, it's gone. If I'm seeking the services of someone else, it's going to cost me at least $2000. Budget BLOWN!

With my work-around, I'm within budget (I spent $400 with the SSL upgrade), and I have a web-presence I can be proud of. What's more, I'm online in 1 week, as compared to a colleague who has been paying for his site designing for 3 months, and still isn't online. I'd hate to pay his design bill.

Finally, my method allows for expansion. I can save money now for a future rebuild, or I can pay my web-guy to design a site on my monthly budget, and have the rebuild ready in a year or so.

Side notes:
I agree with Susan Cartier-Liebel in her constant (see here and here) admonition to buy your domain names. It's important for your firm and practice, if you're going to develop the right brand. Remember, despite your aversion to the process, you're just like every two-bit car salesman, auto repair shop, and pizza joint. You need people to remember you, and want to use your services. Build your brand now, and use it effectively in the future. You're small, but you've got the tools to be big.

Second, do not spend time learning HTML in order to "save money" in your web-design. Also, never learn to use advanced coding programs like Dreamweaver or Adobe GoLive. TOO LATE. If you wanted to be a web-designer you should have changed career paths long ago. Cut your losses, and pay someone. Just increase your design budget and move on. These programs have enormous learning curves, and often their "easy" method isn't so easy. I spent 3 hours on one page, fixing code because the drag-and-drop feature didn't place it right.

What your staff can teach you

I like reading Matt Homann's blog. Despite his rather long URL, he almost always has an informative post. This time, he has this post on taking a law firm retreat with your office staff.

His suggestions are right on. In every business I've worked, I wished the manager would take my ideas more seriously. While I realize that some of the technology ideas were shocking, many of the office practices (like making email mandatory), were just useful, but unused.

I'm sure you have some similar experiences. I think Matt's suggestions, and the ones you'll develop on your own, are likely to improve your overall business environment. Also, in this stressful economy, it makes sense to implement some money-saving techniques to lower your office bills.

Thanks for the advice Matt.

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.