The Practice

An Open Letter to the State Bar Board of Governors

Lawyer misconduct charges will go online because of your vote. You, who were voted in by the members of the State Bar to represent our interests, have completely ignored the interests of your members. As the California Bar Journal stated “The board… rejected opposition to online postings by the majority of those who contacted the bar about the proposal.” It is a shame that you have taken such an approach and ignored the majority of your constituents.

You have, with one vote, managed to place access to legal services to the most needy of our population at risk. It is quite simple. Sole practitioners, especially those of us who practice social justice law, provide access to the legal system that is vital in a democratic system. My clients, for example, cannot afford to hire Mr. Bleich’s firm or Ms. Fujie’s firm. Even the 3% of attorney time that Mr. Bleich’s firm spends on pro-bono time is a drop in the bucket compared to the legal work done by sole practitioners and small firm attorneys throughout the state When we honestly analyze the legal system, we see that small firm attorneys provide most of the legal work to most Californians (and most Americans, nationwide).

Of course, who is more likely to have a complaint filed against him? The attorney in the 100+ lawyer firm who represents the nation’s biggest companies, or the sole practitioner representing individuals? In law firms with a managing partner, the complaint moves up the chain of command to be resolved. For the sole practitioner, there is no one else to call. Further, the corporate clients don’t need to file complaints, they just pull their million dollars plus of legal work. The individual clients file complaints more often. This is played out in the back of the California Bar Journal where the discipline reads like a list of individuals making complaints against other individuals, not corporations complaining that mega law firms are violating the ethics rules. Sole practitioners, the very people who provide most of the legal services to individuals, face most of the complaints.

And how does a sole practitioner compete against the big firms? What is the best marketing for a small firm or a solo? Word of mouth. Reputation. My clients hire me because they have been told that I am good at what I do. They have found out, through a variety of sources, that I am an honest, ethical, hard working attorney. Of course, one resource is the State Bar website. This is how most small firm lawyers and sole practitioners get their work.

But, what happens if the State Bar decides to bring charges against a sole practitioner? The reputation that the attorney worked so hard for is gone with just a few keystrokes. Sometimes it will be deserved. Sometimes it won’t. The eight percent figure cited in the California Bar Journal (although other sources put the number higher) when the Bar does not prevail represents a fair number of attorneys whose reputations will have been wrongly sullied by your new system. While Mr. Bleich believes “Charges are just that,” innocent until proven guilty has no meaning to the general public who will assume you are like the US Attorney with dog fighting charges – you never are wrong. Reputations will be ruined before one word has been uttered to the

State Bar Court

. You won’t need to wait for an attorney to fight the charges, just the bringing of charges will put the sole practitioner out of business.

Interestingly, Scott Drexel, chief trial counsel, “wondered aloud if people ‘want ready access’ to disciplinary information when they hire a lawyer. ‘I think the answer has to be yes,’ he said.” Mr. Drexel is WONDERING this when a vote is pending. Instead of wondering about whether the public wants this information and instead of thinking he knows the answer, why did the Bar not follow the lead of the board members who wanted more time to study the issue? A simple survey, which the Bar has done many times before, would have made it so Mr. Drexel does not have to wonder what information the public wants, but would rather have provided a firm answer as to what the public wants. This issue is too important for wondering or guessing. I wonder what Mr. Drexel would say if the California Legislature wondered if the public would like the Bar to be dissolved and voted based on their musings and not based on facts. I think the answer is he would not like votes based on wondering.

I spent three years volunteering on the board of CYLA. I have continued to offer my assistance to CYLA. I understand the commitment board members make – not just in time, but in family sacrifices. And I generally appreciate it. However, every board member who voted for this proposal should be ashamed. You have ignored the members of the Bar and you have put legal services to most Californians at risk. Why would any attorney want to open a law firm in a day and age when it is clear that the Board of Governors cares nothing about the sole practitioner or small firm attorney? Maybe its time that the Board composition be changed to more accurately reflect the membership of the Bar and the big firm attorneys be replaced by those of us who understand the needs of the majority of members of the State Bar?

Sincerely,

Jonathan

New Marketing Email List

I have a new product for you, but its free. Who can complain about free?

For the last several years, I was running a marketing list with limited membership. That list will stay that way. But, due to popular demand, I am opening up a second list to anyone who wants to join. And what will it cost? Nothing. That's right - here is an opportunity to share marketing ideas with other attorneys and learn what has worked, what hasn't worked and what may work. And all it takes is signing up.

Click to join sololawyermarketing

Come join my list.  And tell your friends to join as well.

Solosez

I have written in the past about Solosez and how it can be a great resource. I took some time away from Solosez, but am back on it now. What benefits do you get from solosez? Here are my top 5:

1. Friends. I have met a lot of good friends on solosez. Its always a good thing!
2. Learning new practice areas. There are a lot of posts, but you can always pick up something in a new practice area. Or, if you have started a new practice area, there is someone who will have tips to help you.
3. A virtual water cooler. Okay, so this may not always be a positive, but you do get a chance to talk about current events, jokes, etc... just like if you had colleagues in an office. Of course, if you read too many of these, you may not get your work done.
4. Service provider locator. You can find an expert or a process server anywhere in the country (and probably the world) with a short post to solosez.
5. Technology abounds. The folks on Solosez have more ideas about technology and how to use it than any other group I have been around. You may need to even get out a book on technology to understand some of what they talk about!

Solosez is not perfect. But, if you are a sole practitioner, it is a good way for you to get up to speed, make some contacts and provide a service to your clients by expanding your capabilities.

Dumb Cases

There is a such a thing as a bad case. What is it? Well, its one of those things that you will know when you see it. But, how do you tell? What do you do once you see it?

You can tell a bad case fairly easily, if you have experience. Once you have been talking to people for a while, you can tell who has a bad case and who does not. But, when you are starting out, how do you know? My contracts professor in law school taught me something easy: who is suing who for what? Ask yourself that when you get a call from a potential client. If you cannot answer it easily, it is probably a bad case. If you can answer it, but it sounds strange, then it is a bad answer. In other words, if you say that "Bill is suing God..." well, you can stop right there. If you say "Bill is suing Suzie for laughing at him?" then you have a bad case.

What do you do with the bad potential case? First, send a rejection letter. Send it quickly. Don't wait. Second, do not refer it out to someone else. If it is a bad case, just tell the client you cannot help him or her and send out your letter.

New Resource for Trial Attorneys

Are you a trial attorney wondering what happens after trial? Have you ever thought about an issue and said "Hmmmm....I wonder how it works on appeal?" Ever curious about what goes on at the appeal stage of a case?

If you are curious, there is an interesting new blog out by Donna Bader, An Appeal to Reason. Her topics include how appellate attorneys fit into the picture, the role of appellate attorneys and why recycling your post trial briefs is a bad idea.

This is a great resource and an interesting look into the role of the appellate attorney. Take a look at it.

Write A Book - The Right Way!

As you know, I wrote a book about Litigating MIST Cases - a type of personal injury case. Well, I did it the hard way. Okay, not the very hard way. But, a hard way. I just found out there is a better way. You can publish a book without tearing out your hair. (Okay, I admit it. I have no hair to tear out!!)

Anne Loehr is an executive coach, speaker and author. She published her book, "A Manager's Guide to Coaching" (by American Management Association) in the arguably record time of 6 months. She learned a lot along the way, and now she's teaching a one-on-one course for others who want to take a shorter route along the rocky road of publication.

Anne is teaching the 10-week course to help you capture an agent's attention, get the right endorsements, and grab attention for your new book. Price is $1,500. Mention you saw it here and get 15 percent off (take the course for $1,200). Read about the entire training package that Anne offers.

A discount. Imagine that. Hey wait, I keep giving you guys information on discounts. By the way, publishing a book fits in well with Ben Glass' Great Legal Marketing!

Great new advertising firm

I came across a great new advertising firm in California. Well, new to me. But, the founder has over 25 years of experience. From his website:

Hipnotic Inc is a full service advertising, design and marketing firm located in Santa Monica, CA. We provide integrated solutions for web, print, multi-media and broadcast. With 25 years of award-winning work and experience we have the knowledge and ability to create outstanding ideas and execute them across all mediums.

His list of past and current clients is impressive. And you will see from his other projects how he can help you build a message.

Put Gary Alpern's design expertise in conjunction with Ben Glass' marketing program and you have a sure fire way to make sure you stand out in your field and get the clients you want!

Jump Start 2008

Ben Glass of Great Legal Marketing fame is having a conference in January in Fairfax, VA. Jump Start 2008 is going to help you learn to take control of your law practice and make it so your law practice will serve you instead of you serving your law practice.

Ben, as you know, is the creator of GLM, the system I use to market my practice. His methods work. He will teach you how to make your practice a tool to help you instead of you being a slave to the practice. I wish I could make it, but alas, it is three days before a scheduled trial and someone has to keep the bad guys at bay, right?

If you go, and you should, let me know what you think.

Top 25 + 1 more! (Plus some books)

I can't believe I left AccessLaw off my list. Thankfully, Julie Goren of Litigation By the Numbers reminded me.

By the way, if I were putting together a list of books you need, I would tell you that you need:

1. Litigation By the Numbers;
2. Rules of the Road;
3. Ball On Damages;
4. Ben Glass' Great Legal Marketing (not really a book, but reading materials).

Enjoy!

Secretaries, Oh My

Why am I not a big fan of legal secretaries? Because they get in the way. Oh, don't get me wrong. A good secretary is worth her weight in gold. The key word here, however, is good. And those are hard to find.

Not only are good legal secretaries hard to find, but a legal secretary can get in the way of communication. You see, if I want to invite someone to lunch, I pick up the phone and call. It is pretty easy. However, there are many attorneys, and I mean many, who tell their secretary to call.

Great, so you say you want to take me to lunch, but you can't spend the 5 minutes setting up the appointment yourself? You send someone else to do it. What does that say to me? It says - in loud words - "I want to talk to you, but not that badly."

If you must have a secretary, find a good one. And let her do him/her do his/her job. But do not let him/her get in the way of you doing your job and communicating with people. After all, attorneys are communicators!