WINNERS:
1. Making copies of all checks from clients before you
deposit them. You need information from the check to find
out from the bank whether it has cleared or bounced. Long story,
but you can probably guess how it goes.
2. Carrying business cards with you wherever you go.
Invariably, the very few times I happen not to have a card with
me, I meet someone who wants one. Once, when I was on vacation,
I met a potential client on the beach. I borrowed a pen and
wrote my information on one of my daughter's (clean) diapers.
Still waiting to hear from him…
3. Co-counseling cases with other attorneys. Of course
you need to screen these cases as carefully as you would any
other; you need to make sure the other attorney is competent and
trustworthy; and you need to have a clear agreement up front
about how compensation will be divided. I co-counsel cases
outside my areas of expertise to gain experience; I co-counsel
cases with high costs so that a more established practice can
carry the out-of-pocket expenses; and I co-counsel some
run-of-the-mill cases because I like working with other lawyers.
4. Networking for maximum effectiveness. One-time
events are not as good as ongoing participation where people
will see you over and over. Attending five cocktail parties is
less effective than attending five meetings of the same
committee; just showing up on a committee is less effective than
taking a leadership role.
5. Giving it time. Conventional wisdom says it takes
two years for a business to make a profit. Because I was able to
keep costs down, my practice was profitable the first year, but
it took about ten months of part-time practice and intensive
networking before I hit a critical mass where my phone was
really ringing.
LOSERS:
1. Accepting referrals of dog cases from other attorneys.
If another litigator is referring a case out, they probably
have a good reason for it. Gain experience with decent cases,
not with dogs.
2. Agreeing to represent a client who is not committed to
seeing a case through to the end. If they can't accept from
the beginning that they may need to take their claim all the way
to trial, walk away.
JURY STILL OUT:
1. Signing up for the referral list with your bar
association. While I receive one to three calls a week from
people referred from the list, the vast majority of them do not
have good cases. In fact, so far I have only agreed to represent
one individual referred by the list. Fielding the calls takes
significant time. Overall, I would recommend this for people
just starting out who have more time than cases, as a good
marketing tool for future business.
2. Requiring a cost retainer up front for contingency fee
cases. I started doing this out of necessity because I
simply couldn't afford to carry out of pocket expenses for cases
in litigation. On the plus side, this screens out clients who
want something for nothing, and keeps clients invested in the
case. On the down side, it also screens out clients with good
cases who simply can't afford to pay up front. My current policy
is to inform all potential clients of my policy during my
initial conversation with them. I then usually screen the case.
Occasionally, if I really want to take the case, either because
it's a great case or I just like the client, I will waive the
cost retainer. Interestingly, women practitioners tend to
encourage cost retainers while male practitioners warn me away
from it. I don't know if this has to do with economic status,
risk aversion, or something else.
HUNG JURY:
1. Working from home. Working from home has been
phenomenal for the brief-writing portion of my practice. All I
really need is my telephone and my computer system, and the
convenience can't be beat. On my "non-working days" I often work
from 6 AM to 8 AM while my husband gets up with my daughter.
When attorneys who hire me are in a real crunch, I can work all
night, something I would definitely not feel comfortable doing
in an office building. Note, however, that I have a private
office in my house that no other family members are allowed to
enter; this is key for protecting my work and client
confidentiality. Working from home is becoming less practical as
my litigation practice grows. I could really use a part-time
secretary for the litigation work, something I can't have in my
house; meeting with clients is problematic; and I get no walk-in
business. Finally, the most important tip for practicing law or
just living: Be yourself. There is no cookie-cutter model for a
successful law practice. The lawyers who do best are those who
know their strengths and play to them. But that's another
article.