JD Bliss

Webinar with Carolyn Elefant: From BigLaw to YourLaw: The Secrets of Starting and Growing a Successful Solo Law Practice

JD Bliss is proud to announce a new webinar on Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 12:30 PM EST:

From BigLaw to YourLaw: The Secrets of Starting and Growing a Successful Solo Law Practice

with

Carolyn Elefant, Esq.
Attorney, Author, Blogger and Consultant

During this 60-minute webinar, Carolyn Elefant, Esq., successful solo attorney, author of Solo by Choice, and publisher of the popular MyShingle blog for solo lawyers, will cover the nuts and bolts of starting up and growing your own successful solo law practice.

Attendees will learn:

• The 9 reasons lawyers leave law firms to start their own practices
• How to evaluate whether starting your own law firm is the right choice for you
• How to write a business plan for your new firm
• Techniques to identify potential clients and markets
• 3 easy marketing tools to help build your reputation
• How to negotiate an amicable departure from your current firm without "burning bridges" 
• And much more. . . . . .

Date: Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 12:30 pm EST

Location: Participate remotely from the comfort of your own office or conference room via a webex connection!

We look forward to greeting you!

Technorati Tags: Carolyn Elefant, solo law practice

In this Corner...Preston Halliburton Balances Careers as Lawyer and Professional Boxer

When attorney Preston Halliburton of Buckhead, Georgia is not operating his growing law practice, he might be working as a lobbyist at the state capitol for Preston Group Inc., the government relations firm his mother, Julianna McConnell, founded.  Or he might be training with his father, Richard Halliburton, at the Atlanta Art of Boxing Center on Spring Street, as he pursues his career as an undefeated professional boxer.  In his spare time (what spare time?),  Halliburton does some acting, having played a small role in the film We Are Marshall, and promotes some boxing events. 

Halliburton grew up learning boxing from his dad, and politics from his mom.  He was raised around the gym where his father trained boxers and, as his dad observed, "little kids naturally want to imitate the older boys."  Similarly, he grew up in the district of former Georgia House Speaker Tom Murphy, and worked on Murphy's final campaign in 2002.  Halliburton's ability to combine his interests into successful professional careers has impressed former state representative and current DeKalb County CEO, Veron Jones.  Jones recently complimented Halliburton, saying, "He hasn't forgotten his roots. He got an education and is a great legal mind, but he always shoots straight with you."

Despite the successes, sometimes juggling his diverse interests is a challenge for Halliburton.  He is considering eventually moving his law practice and boxing career to California, and he would like to do some more acting.  He has also considered running for a national political office someday.  His dad, Richard, occasionally encourages Preston to narrow his focus a little, but recognizes his son's need for diverse interests, remarking that Preston "doesn't want to put all his eggs in one basket," and speculating that his son might be waiting for "that great case, that great part in a movie or that great fight.'"  Here's hoping he gets all of them for his highest benefit.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger and another lawyer-boxer who has too many interests to pursue in one lifetime

Technorati Tags: attorney, career success, work-life balance

Justice Scalia Offers Different Perspective on Balancing Work and Family

United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and his wife, Maureen, have nine children.  However, in interview excerpts posted to The Juggle blog, Justice Scalia reveals that he did not actively participate in his children's activities while they were growing up.  Reporting on Justice Scalia's interview with Leslie Stahl on CBS' 60 minutes last Sunday, blogger Jamie Heller quotes Justice Scalia as saying:

“You know, my parents never did it for me,” Scalia said. “And I didn’t take it personally. ‘Oh Daddy, come to my softball game.’ No, I mean, it’s my softball game. He has his work. I got my softball game. Of course, [Maureen] was very loyal. She went to all the games.”

Heller's blog entry links to a transcript of Stahl's riveting interview with Justice Scalia, which covers much more ground than work-life balance.  Scalia's comment, though, raises some interesting questions about work-life balance.  Does Justice Scalia consider work-life and work-family balance important?  Are work-life balance and significant family time attainable for high-powered lawyers and Supreme Court justices who have children?  Does the spouse who does not work outside the home have a greater responsibility to participate in the children's events?

Perhaps the strongest conclusion we can draw from Justice Scalia's remarks is that work-life/work-family balance means different things to different lawyers and that each of us has to arrange the balance that works best for us, our spouses, and our children.  This is just one man's opinion, of course, but even allowing for such diverse viewpoints, I'd like to attend as many of my children's sports and school activities as possible.  Kids grow up so quickly.  Work will always be there, but childhood's days are fleeting.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Technorati Tags: Justice Scalia, work-family balance, work-life balance

Four Successful Attorneys Who Pursue Their Personal Passions in Their Professional Practices

It's inspiring, perhaps even thrilling, to see other lawyers who love the work they're doing.  Whether it be professional sports, television show business, video games, or the restaurant business, some lawyers are fortunate enough to blend their personal passions with their law practices.  Chicago Lawyer magazine recently published an article featuring four Chicago lawyers who manage to combine their personal and professional interests in interesting and rewarding careers.

In the article, you'll meet:

• Irwin Mandel, the lifelong sports fan who, as senior vice president of financial and legal operations for the Chicago Bulls, indulges his competitive spirit as he interprets and applies the National Basketball Association's complex rules about player acquisitions and the maximum amount teams can spend on layer salaries each season.  Being very competitive himself, he looks for ways to use the rules as an advantage for his team.  Mandel grew up wanting to be a professional athlete and calls his job with the Bulls the next best thing to playing the game on the court.
• William L. Becker, the general counsel for Harpo Inc., the company that manages the various entertainment projects of television superstar Oprah Winfrey.  Originally hired because of his background in employment and entertainment law, Becker now enjoys an in-house practice that involves dealing with a wide variety of legal issues, the mixed bag due in large part to Oprah's creativity and her ongoing flow of new ideas.  Of his dynamic work environment, Becker observed, "I can’t think of a legal issue that hasn’t come across my desk."
• Deborah K. Fulton, who developed an enduring passion for playing video games when she was a young girl, and who now serves as general counsel, senior vice president, and secretary for Midway Games.  Fulton heads a busy legal department that deals with a variety of matters, ranging from the traditional securities law issues facing a publicly-traded company to the intellectual property questions that arise in an evolving video game industry that merges entertainment and complex technology.  Fulton's job has some interesting perks; for example, she once made a voice recording on one of the company's games.
• Jay L. Stieber, the general counsel and CFO for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc., a group of about 72 restaurants serving diverse fare at eateries that feature themes around which menus are presented.  Stieber, a lawyer and accountant who makes himself accessible to the 53 equity partners who own the restaurant group, stays busy handling legal issues that range from negotiating real estate leases to securing financing for new projects.  Although he probably won't leave his legal and financial work to wait tables anytime soon, Stieber has said he could run a restaurant for a few days and apply the skills he acquired during his 14 weeks of on-the-job training at one of Lettuce Entertain You's restaurants.  He enjoyed every minute of that experience and learned the work quickly.

Read the full stories about these interesting attorneys and their interesting work here.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Technorati Tags: attorneys, career satisfaction, interesting careers

Ex-"Big Law" Attorneys From Wilson Elser and Other Firms Overcome Obstacles and Start Their Own Practices

Starting up a new law firm is not for the faint-hearted.  For most lawyers leaving large firms to begin new small firms, the major challenge is covering high startup costs such as rents, employee salaries, insurance, and office supplies until the first clients are billed and start sending in checks. The lucky lawyers are those who have already built up a portfolio of clients who are willing to move their business to the new firm.

Often, lawyers striking out on their own need to get up and running under tight time constraints if their firms ask them to leave immediately once they announce their decision to leave.  The current economy creates some challenges, too.  Depending on the nature of a small firm's practice, it may have more or less business during a slower economic time.  Some areas of practice, such as commercial litigation and immigration, will remain strong during an economic downturn. 

Despite the challenges, Jim Kaplan and Bill Zeena, formerly of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, report that their move to "small law" has been "rewarding" and is "working out very well". Specifically, the repositioned attorneys are enjoying the ability to grow their practices the way they want and to have more influence over which clients to represent and the areas of law in which to concentrate their practices, as well as the billing structures they use with their clients.  Their new firm's smaller size allows them to avoid many of the client conflicts of interests that were common during their large firm days.  However, along with the greater flexibility has come more management and administrative work.

Back at Wilson Elser, the managing partners said they were happy about how the transitions worked.  They said they wished their former partners well and understood why they left.  One partner emphasized that the departures had been amicable and that his firm continues to work with the new, smaller firm on various matters.

Other lawyer transition stories can be read in an article recently appearing on law.com. Lawyers contemplating starting up on their own should read the article to learn more about the potential pitfalls and rewards.

As we recently observed, leaving a large law firm to start a small one is not for everyone.  However, while lawyers departing from large firms to start smaller firms will certainly face challenges, they can also find great rewards in the small firm setting and make a successful transition, even in a relatively slow economy.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Technorati Tags: big law, career news, firm transition, small law

New York State Bar Report Finds Work-life Balance Still Eludes Most Attorneys

No, it isn't just you.  Balancing a professional and personal life is very difficult for most lawyers, regardless of the number of years they have been in practice, the size of their law firms, or their practice settings.  Indeed, a report by the New York State Bar Association recently concluded that the law is an ever-more demanding profession and that lawyers are finding less time to spend with their families or for citizenship activities in which lawyers have traditionally engaged.  The committee that drafted the report gathered information from lawyers at several forums held throughout the state.

For the committee's chairwoman, M. Catherine Richardson, her own life experience underscores the importance of effective work-life balance.  Attorney Richardson's father, himself a lawyer, passed away when she was only 15 years old.  She cherished the time she had with her father, made possible because her dad's commitment to work-life balance, along with some prompting by Richardson's mother, led him to keep weekends open for his family.  She pointed out that young lawyers really cannot spare the family time they lose by working at their offices on weekends.

Although the lawyers surveyed "overwhelmingly told the committee that they like practicing law and would enter the profession if they had it to do over again," they bemoaned the lack of flexible work schedules and options to work fewer hours.  Interestingly, technology is contributing to the attorneys' distress.  While e-mail and Internet-enabled wireless devices allow lawyers to work more efficiently and conveniently, they also keep lawyers on call to their firms and clients 24x7, 365 days a year.

The extensive report offered several recommendations, including that: 

• law firms allow reduced hours or flex-time, and make them easier for attorneys to use; 
• law schools do a better job of describing to students what to expect when they become attorneys, to address the committee's observation that most lawyers did not appreciate how demanding their jobs would be and the amount of stress the practice of law would cause for them; 
• bar associations offer programs on time management and stress management; and 
• law firms establish "boundaries" about when attorneys should be contacted for work.

Ms. Richardson said the committee wants to study the work-life balance issue further, to explore two additional questions:

• what solo lawyers can do to manage achieve work-life balance with little or no support staff, and
• how courts can adjust their schedules to accommodate attorneys better.

Read the entire report here as a PDF file.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Technorati Tags: career satisfaction, lawyers, work-life balance

Commercial Law League of America to Sponsor May 1 CLE Event in Chicago That Will Address the Billable Hour, Transitioning Between Firms, and Ethical Issues for Attorneys

On May 1, 2008, the DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal will hold its sixth annual symposium.  This year's event is called, "Lawyers, Law Firms & the Legal Profession: An Ethical View of the Business of Law," and will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Westin Michigan Avenue hotel.  At the symposium, you can learn more about some of the issues we cover here at the JD Bliss Blog.

The symposium will feature panel discussions about the following topics:

• "Lawyers in a Fee Quandary: Must the Billable Hour Die?"
• "Lawyers in the Hot Seat: The State of Ethics & Professionalism"
• "Lawyers in Transition: Ghosts from the Old Firm Haunting the New Firm"

A luncheon panel will explore the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts and will consider the impact that the 2008 elections will have on federal jurisprudence.

Tickets for the symposium are $90.00 and the price includes the luncheon and written materials. Judges and students can attend for free.  Here is an online brochure for the event.  Up to 4.5 hours of CLE credit are offered.  You can register online at www.clla.org through the "Chicago/Spring meeting link." For more information, contact Don Carrillo at (312) 362-6178 or depaul.bclj@gmail.com.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Technorati Tags: billable hours, business of law practice, career resources, CLE, events, transition

Nathan Sawaya: Lawyer's Love of LEGO® Blocks Leads to a Life Outside Law Practice

We previously blogged about Nathan Sawaya in December 2006. Sawaya left his job as a practicing lawyer to become a sculptor.  What makes Sawaya's sculptures so unique is his choce of material: LEGO blocks. 

In this update, we're happy to report that Sawaya's fame is spreading. The innovative lawyer-artist recently appeared on ABC television's Good Morning America program to tell how what started as an after-work hobby bloomed into a full-time career. (Link to video is here.)  Like many children around the world, Sawaya had played with LEGO bricks when he was a boy.  In his Good Morning America interview, he explained how he now takes those toy bricks and transforms them into works of fine art.

Nathan Sawaya's LEGO sculptures regularly appear in exhibits at major art museums, and ABC News has published an online photo gallery of some of his work.  Check it out (and show your kids). The "brick artist" himself provides more information about his work at his Web site.  Congratulations, Mr. Sawaya, on your successful and apparently fun career change.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Technorati Tags: artist, attorney career success stories, LEGO, Nathan Sawaya, sculpture

The Complete Lawyer Explores What Do Women Lawyers Really Want

The most recent issue of The Complete Lawyer offers a collection of compelling essays authored by various well-known women attorneys and other professionals exploring the question of what women lawyers are looking for in terms of professional success and personal fulfillment. Authors include:

• Holly English addressing three key changes in the legal profession that women attorneys want
• Ellen Ostrow discussing changes in workplace policies needed to address the goals of women lawyers
• Deborah Epstein Henry on what makes a best law firm for women
• Judi Craig with work life balance tips for female attorneys

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: female lawyers, women attorneys

Back to "Big Law": John Liu and In Lee Move From Two-Lawyer Practice Back to Fenwick & West

In discussions about career satisfaction for attorneys, it's sometimes easy to think that the road to a rewarding, balanced career is one that leads from "Big Law" to some other work setting.  That may be true for some lawyers, but it's certainly not for all of us.  For instance, we recently featured the importance of considering carefully the move from a large law firm to a position as an in-house lawyer.

For another pair of attorneys, it became important to move back to "Big Law" after spending five years in a firm having at most four lawyers.  John Liu and his partner, In Lee, had left Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati to found the Charter Law Group in Menlo Park, California.  Now, the two men are leaving their boutique corporate firm and joining the 250-attorney firm Fenwick & West at its headquarters in Mountain View, where they will be of counsel in the firm's startups and venture capital group.

At Charter Law Group, Liu and Lee operated a successful firm practicing in corporate and intellectual property law.  So why are these successful small firm lawyers returning to a big firm?  Their reason is practical and due to their clients' success: "they were tired of losing their startup clients after they grew up."  By joining Fenwick & West, they will be able to keep those clients.

The Charter Law Group is now winding down its practice, and John Liu remarked that he will miss the firm's Menlo Park office, even though he is happy to be at Fenwick & West.  The experience of Liu and Lee reminds us that there are multiple paths to professional satisfaction in the law; any given route is not necessarily right for everyone.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger

Technorati Tags: attorney retention, lawyer career moves