Legal Marketing & PR

Interview with Susan Cartier Liebel on Solo Practice University

By Amy Derby

Susan Cartier Liebel of Build a Solo Practice was nice enough to take the time to let me interview her about Solo Practice University. I’ve been reading Susan’s blog and chatting with her on Twitter for what seems like a lifetime in internet years, so I was thrilled when she agreed to chat with me.

It seems like I’ve been hearing rumblings about Solo Practice University for at least a year now, and I’m psyched to hear you’re about to open it’s doors on March 20! For those who might not be familiar with this awesome creation you’ve been building, what exactly is Solo Practice University and who should be in line to attend?

Yes, the rumblings have been a little over a year now as we started posting about Solo Practice University. It is a very ambitious project and we wanted to allow people to follow our construction, get excited about the possibilities, give us feedback along the way and be a part of the process.

And so what is Solo Practice University? It is a web-based educational and professional networking community for lawyers and law students where they can learn from outstanding faculty the very things they never learned in law school, the actual ‘practice of law.’ Now, realistically we know nothing takes the place of getting into the fray and getting your hands dirty. But being able to learn about jury selection for an indisputable expert on the topic, how to take an effective deposition from another master of the game, learn the actual business side of running a practice from well-respected management consultants, getting a peak into the mind of a prosecutor as he walks you through ‘how a prosecutor thinks’. There is so much more and you can see our outstanding faculty to date here. 

SPU is for anyone who currently is or wants to go solo. There is something for everyone. But the real glue that holds it all together is the incredible communities we are building through bleeding edge technology which takes the fear of ‘loneliness’ out of the solo experience and helps everyone connect to like-minded professionals who share the same ambitions (and fears) about going solo.

Your Build a Solo Practice blog is one of my favorites and has been for a while. Was your blog and its readership instrumental in inspiring you to put together Solo Practice University? Or was the blog created to help promote your plans?

Solo Practice University is a natural evolution based upon everything I have ever done and experienced as a law student and legal professional. It is what I wish existed while I was in law school to support my dream of entrepreneurship and what I wish existed while I was a practicing lawyer to support my goals and educate me while I was finding my way as both a professional and a business person. Had this resource existed then I would have enrolled because there is nothing worse than feeling by yourself. But feeling by yourself is not a good enough reason to be an employee if that’s not what you want to be. Build A Solo Practice was my way of reaching more lawyers who wanted to become solos and to showcase how talented solos are. It was their continued feedback and support which made me realize I need to create something I wish existed - Solo Practice University.

The faculty list for SPU is certainly impressive, covering a lot of ground. How did you go about finding the best folks to teach? Did you meet many of these folks via blogging and social media?

Faculty needed to meet certain criteria, some of it objective and some of it subjective. But the commonalities they all share are they are very talented and what they will be teaching, have shown tremendous generosity already with their knowledge, are practicing law effectively in the 21st century and utilizing the tools of the 21st century very well. They also have an incredible enthusiasm for what is being created at Solo Practice University and want to learn as well as teach.

Thank you once again, Susan, for making time to share all of this with us. Solo Practice University looks and sounds like an excellent resource. If I were a lawyer, you wouldn’t be able to keep me away!

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For those of you who are reading here, are you planning to enroll? Are you one of the many talented faculty members? I would love to hear about your involvement, hopes/expectations, or experience with Solo Practice University.

Full post as published by Law Firm Blogger on March 16, 2009 (boomark / email).