Category: Practice of Law
You’re Not Alone — Everyone Gets Some Crazies
I genuinely thought I was part of some long-term punking. I get so many calls from people wanting to hire me who use the same lines to try to get me to take the case. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I have a slam-dunk case that is going to make some…
Just How Scary Am I? — Wacky Big Firm Behavior
Oh, the wacky, wacky things big firms do. My firm just took over a business litigation matter that has been going on for about eight months. It’s the usual nonsense where my client left a company and the company doesn’t want him to compete, so it is claiming he took trade secrets. I’ve had probably…
Don’t Be That Attorney — Save the Drama for Your Mama
I have spoken here before about the folly of posturing, but an incident today made me return to the keyboard. Many attorneys must think that posturing accomplishes something, because so many engage in the practice, but it is my position that it usually works to the detriment of their clients. Opposing counsel will know the…
Why You Should Be Using Evernote
I’ve said it before here. After deciding not to write about a program like Evernote because I assume everyone is using it, I run across an attorney who says, “Evernote? What is that?” If you use a computer and any smartphone or tablet, then Evernote should be at the heart of your organizational life. I…
Stop Attaching Documents to Your Complaint
The planets must be aligned or misaligned as the case may be, because I’ve been flooded with callers who are dissatisfied with their current attorneys, and want to fire them to hire me. I get a lot of these calls, and reviewing the cases to decide if I want them gives me great insight into…
Five Reasons Attorneys Fall for SEO Scams
In my book, How to Create a Big, Fat Pipeline of New Clients for Your Law Firm in Just 10 Days, I provide the following anecdote: There is a classic Peanuts comic, where Linus is going door to door trying to sell wadded up pieces of paper as cat toys. His sales presentation is good, but…
Attorney App of the Week – Car Finder Reminder
I drove out to Riverside Superior Court today for an ex parte application set for 9:30 a.m. In Southern California, as I’m sure in many other metropolitan areas, you just never know how long it will take to get somewhere due to the vagaries of freeway congestion. Drives times are always stated in ranges, as…
Best Client Call of the Week
Technically this was an email and not a call, but close enough. It is only Wednesday, so I suppose I could receive a call that would top this one, but I’m pretty confident this will be the winner. In the email the potential client was seeking representation on a breach of contract matter. The email mentioned…
Fun With Numbers – Your Real Hourly Rate
Fun with numbers [January 24, 2023 – Author’s Note:] I first published this article in 2008. Given the passage of time, the numbers concerning how much you can earn at your own firm are low by today’s standards. I suggested the attorney in question could charge $250 per hour, but that amount is now so…