Solos/Small Firms

Legal Rebels: Riding Solo

There’s no one more ordinary—or more inventive—than a solo practitioner. Half of the nation’s lawyers in private practice are solos—419,000 in all. Most provide the core services of legal work: serving families, home buyers, the injured, criminal defendants and small businesses. And yet, as the recession that reached full flower…

Sep 1, 2010 9:50 AM CDT

Group Buy-In

A new service tries to harness the power of group discounts for solos

Sep 1, 2010 6:50 AM CDT

Lawyer ‘Devastated’ After Allegedly Missing Stop Sign, Causing Fatal Accident

Unfamiliar with the area, a North Carolina real estate lawyer missed a stop sign in Rutherford County yesterday, authorities say, and caused a fatal accident, reports the McDowell News. “Physically, he is in pain. Emotionally, he is completely devastated,” says Marion, N.C., Mayor Steve Little of his 30-year-old law partner,…

Aug 25, 2010 10:21 PM CDT

Relatives Can Be Invaluable in the Office

Erik Hammarlund says he wouldn’t have it any other way. Since bringing his wife, Karena, a former accountant, on board as office manager about a year ago, the Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., solo says he has more harmony in both his professional and personal lives. “We realized it was the perfect…

Aug 20, 2010 8:13 PM CDT

Are Clients Squeezing BigLaw into Small Law?

Partners leaving big firms to go out on their own isn’t new, but it seems to be picking up. A growing reason is that clients have become more careful about spending. And lawyers can lower their rates after leaving BigLaw. Clients have clamored in recent years for reduced rates, fewer…

Aug 20, 2010 7:04 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Forging Judge’s Signature on Orders in 4 Adoption Cases

A Georgia family practitioner was arrested at her Stockbridge law office yesterday after allegedly forging a judge’s signature on court orders terminating parental rights in four different adoption cases. Lynn McNeese Swank, 60, is accused of falsely informing her client, the Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, that she…

Aug 11, 2010 6:28 PM CDT

Lawyers: Get a Pedicure, Go to the Dentist and Don’t Give Away Free Consultations, Expert Says

Lawyers who want to build successful practices should first find more personal time. That was the advice given by estate lawyer-turned-business consultant Alexis Martin Neely at a program on ways solo and small-firm lawyers can boost revenue and please clients at the ABA’s 2010 Annual Meeting in San Francisco. “Look…

Aug 8, 2010 12:46 AM CDT

Video Storytelling Project Is Aimed at Chronicling the Solo Experience

What started out as a road trip through the Midwest for two Eastern seaboard solos has morphed into what promises to be a long-term video project featuring the thoughts and experiences of solo and small firm practitioners across the country. This week, Carolyn Elefant of Washington, D.C., and Lisa Solomon…

Aug 2, 2010 10:18 PM CDT

Convicted of Theft, Ex-Lawyer Is Now an Advocate for Others with Background Issues

Back when his income of over $100,000 a year seemed like chicken feed, attorney Michael Sweig decided to leave his law firm and hang out his own shingle. The result was disastrous. A major client didn’t pay a legal fee, and Sweig turned to the firm’s trust account for operating…

Aug 2, 2010 5:01 PM CDT

Family Ties

Relatives can be invaluable in the office

Aug 1, 2010 5:06 AM CDT

Making a Play for Solos

After reducing dues for sole practitioners, the ABA is bolstering its services to them

Aug 1, 2010 5:03 AM CDT

RICO Suit Seeks Billions from David Stern and His Foreclosure-Mill Law Firm

A racketeering lawsuit seeking class action status and, potentially, up to billions of dollars in damages has been filed against a Florida lawyer and his foreclosure-mill law firm. Also named as a defendant is a bank-created company that, the complaint alleges, owned a criminal enterprise which operated to violate homeowners’…

Jul 30, 2010 6:55 PM CDT

ABA Launches Smart Soloing Center

The American Bar Association today launched the Smart Soloing Center—an online resource that is the latest in its growing portfolio of products and services designed for sole practitioners. The center aggregates content from across the ABA’s website and a host of Internet sources. It includes: • The Solo Blog Network,…

Jul 30, 2010 6:40 PM CDT

Small Law Firm’s Big Back Office Delayed News of Less Work, Securities Suit Contends

A high-volume Florida foreclosure practitioner has been an early adopter of a businesslike model of law practice, in which a back-office company handles much of the litigation preparation work for his law firm. Now David J. Stern is also an early example of the potential pitfalls that can arise in…

Jul 28, 2010 6:34 PM CDT

Lawyer Says He Helped Client Show That $45 Garage-Sale Buy Is Worth Some $200M

Updated: After paying $45 for a box of old negatives at a garage sale a decade ago, a Fresno, Calif., painter noticed that some looked like the published work of famed black-and-white nature photographer Ansel Adams. Although the family of Adams pooh-poohed the possibility, Rick Norsigian finally hired a lawyer…

Jul 28, 2010 12:31 AM CDT