Practice Management

I advocate for lawyers and law graduates going out on their own.  But, I never said it was easy.  Nothing is and going it alone is no exception.  You need a certain minimum number of set skills to make it easier.  Here are a few things that I suggest will make going it alone more pleasurable:

1.  Plan ahead.  Most of us talk about it, but most of us are also pretty bad at it.  I am not talking about extensive lists of things to do, but if you know what needs to be done or completed in the immediate future you can pace yourself accordingly.  You do not feel like you are just putting out fires all of the time.  You start to feel like you are in charge and in control.

2.  Compartmentalize. We hear a lot about multitasking.  Forget it.  This goes hand in hand with planning ahead.  You need to train yourself to work on one thing at a time, and then learn how to move on quickly to the next task.  When you know what has to be done, you can do this much easier.  If you are working on a motion, finish the motion and then return calls, check your email, blog (oops), and not before.  When you try to multitask you start to feel like you are overwhelmed.  That is unnecessary.

3.  Ask for help. The biggest fear I think for most attorneys, especially recent grads, is the thought they will not know what to do.  Well, I can tell you from experience that happens no matter how long you have been practicing law.  Sure, the longer you do a particular thing the easier it is to fight your way out the bag, but it still does not mean you know all of the freaky, tricky, unique arguments and points that are going to rise everyday.  Just because you are a solo and do not have a water cooler to gather around with other lawyers does not mean you cannot ask for advice.  Stop other lawyers in Court, call then on the phone, email them.  They will not do your work for you, but advice helps you narrow the issue and think your way through the problem.  Get on listservs.  Go to bar meetings.  Call and email these attorneys at times when you do not need anything.  Most lawyers are glad to help.  Need a form to start you consideration.  These are the people from whom you need to obtain it.

4.  Let yourself off the hook.  First, let me say that no case, no client, no trial, no meeting goes exactly how you might expect it.  You do not win every argument and you tend to regret every settlement.  You tend to second guess yourself in ways that are unproductive.  So, do your best, but be prepared to move on and to let yourself of the hook.  This goes back to planning ahead and compartmentalizing.  Moving on lets you concentrate on what is ahead of you and not what is behind you.